At the Mountains of Madness, The Call of Cthulhu and The Music of Erich Zann

by H.P. Lovecraft

This H. P. Lovecraft trilogy represents the best of Lovecraft’s writing. At the Mountains of Madness was initially rejected by Lovecraft's publisher but is now considered a classic by horror fans. The disturbing, nightmarish story of a journey through Antarctica and a discovery of secrets hidden in a frozen mountain range has influenced writers and film-makers for decades. The Call of Cthulhu is a terrifying trilogy of horror stories that has influenced writers like William S. Burroughs, Ramsey Campbell, Thomas Ligotti and Stephen King. The Music of Erich Zann is a short story, one of Lovecraft’s finest.

Genres: Horror

132 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 26, 2014

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

[Matthew Newbold · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a creepy set of stories! I hadn’t been this disturbed since I read “Communion” by Whitley Streiber. The truth is that they are not that scary or suspenseful... there is just something about them that creeps you out. I did some research on H. P. Lovecraft and it turns out that all his stories came to him in dreams! He wasn’t into occultism but occultists believe he was tapping into something he didn’t understand. I say Amen to that because it fits into what the Bible calls Principalities and Powers. I believe Lovecraft really saw stuff and these stories are his interpretation of it. He tries to describe geometry, disturbing shapes and other worldly music with limited knowledge and language. (Not his limited language for he is quite verbose!). Strange multi dimensional creatures and superior ancient structures of alien origin. I am not into horror movies or books so I don’t know how to compare it to the genre.
It was published in 1929 - 1931 but still seems to resonate with our fears of the unknown and being a lesser being in the vastness of time.
I rate these stories 3.4 out of 5.

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've been meaning to get around to Lovecraft for years; now I have. Amusing in its way, but I wish I'd just reread the Poe it's derivative of. Of these three, I enjoyed "Call of the Cthulhu" best, though "Eric Zane" is a better bit of writing (but not as daft). "At the Mountains of Madness," which I've seen referred to as his magnum opus, was actually rather tedious.

[Shane Milton]

it was alright for an old novel