Fantastische verhalen : 1905-1921

by H.P. Lovecraft, Pierre Dekeyser

Vroege griezelverhalen van de Amerikaanse horror-schrijver (1890-1937).

320 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Howard Phillips Lovecraft, of Providence, Rhode Island, was an American author of horror, fantasy and science fiction.

Lovecraft's major inspiration and invention was cosmic horror: life is incomprehensible to human minds and the universe is fundamentally alien. Those who genuinely reason, like his protagonists, gamble with sanity. Lovecraft has developed a cult following for his Cthulhu Mythos, a series of loosely interconnected fictions featuring a pantheon of human-nullifying entities, as well as the Necronomicon, a fictional grimoire of magical rites and forbidden lore. His works were deeply pessimistic and cynical, challenging the values of the Enlightenment, Romanticism and Christianity. Lovecraft's protagonists usually achieve the mirror-opposite of traditional gnosis and mysticism by momentarily glimpsing the horror of ultimate reality.

Although Lovecraft's readership was limited during his life, his reputation has grown over the decades. He is now commonly regarded as one of the most influential horror writers of the 20th Century, exerting widespread and indirect influence, and frequently compared to Edgar Allan Poe.
See also Howard Phillips Lovecraft.

— Wikipedia

Reviews

[Marco · Rating 4 out of 5]

Griezelverhalen uit het begin van de 20e eeuw. Literaire fantasierijke horror in een science fiction setting. Lovecraft putte zijn inspiratie uit zijn dromen en angsten. De verhalen gaan vaak over verboden kennis, experimenten, sektes, religie, vreemde gebeurtenissen. Zelf zegt hij dat alledaagse werkelijkheid slechts een dunne schil is van een diepere laag die zo complex en vreemd is dat het menselijk brein deze niet kan bevatten. En dat omschrijft perfect het type verhalen in dit boek. Van genoten hoewel het geen doorlezer is en je soms tijdsgebonden denkbeelden en ronduit racisme tegenkomt die je vandaag de dag de wenkbrauwen doen fronsen. Dat wil niet zeggen dat je niet van het boek kunt genieten. Lovecraft creëert een eigen wereld van gruwel en laat de verklaring ervan over aan de lezer zelf. Bijzonder.

[Bjorn · Rating 3 out of 5]

not finished. too much ‘world building’ (although i feel like too little of an expert to be using that term), too little storyline. this is really Lovecraft experimenting with different techniques and settings; i can imagine quite well all these elements being combined in a single story resulting in a pretty decent and captivating piece. but the stories in this collection just weren’t that.

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love playing Call of Cthulhu the rpg game. Sometimes there are short stories in the books but I tend to skip them. I wanted to read something from him. So I picked up this book. There are some nice stories but not everything is so special. I'll stick to the RPG's :)