La Città Senza nome

by H.P. Lovecraft

The Nameless City of the story's title is an ancient ruin located somewhere in the deserts of the Arabian Peninsula and is older than any human civilization.
In ancient times, the Nameless City was built and inhabited by an unnamed race of reptiles with a body shaped like a cross between a crocodile and a seal with a strange head common to neither, involving a protruding forehead, horns, lack of a nose and an alligator-like jaw. These beings moved by crawling; thus, the architecture of the city has very low ceilings and some places are too low for a human being to stand upright. Their city was originally coastal, but when the seas receded it was left in the depths of a desert. This resulted in the decline and eventual ruin of the city.

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Fiction, Lovecraftian, Fantasy, Classics, Audiobook

11 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1921

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

[Bill Kerwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

While reading Lord Dunsany’s “The Probable Adventure of Three Literary Men,” H.P. Lovecraft became haunted by one Dunsany phrase: “the unreverberate blackness of the abyss.” The ghost of that phrase inspired a dream, and later, when H.P. awakened, he found he possessed the idea for a story. That story idea soon became “The Nameless City” (1921), one of Lovecraft favorites, and often considered the first appearance of the Chthulu Mythos.

It is a favorite with me too. Its beginning evokes the eerie sensation of a traveler who stands among ancient ruins visited by harsh winds and sand (Algernon’s Blackwood’s “Sand” [1912] may be an influence here), its continuation tells of hidden temples and subterranean passages filled with strange bas-reliefs carved with images which hint at an unsettling story, and its ending suggests an even more sinister reality beyond these disturbing images of stone.

Is this then the first of the Cthulhu tales? Well, that is stretching things a bit. True, it is the first Lovecraft story to evoke the “Mad Arab Abdul Alhazred” (here referred to as “Alhazred the Arab”) and to quote his legendary verse (That is not dead which can eternal lie, /And with strange aeons even death may die), and our traveler does state that he discovered “certain proportions and dimensions in the ruins which he did not like.” The ruins themselves, however, are not cyclopean, the beings described are not gargantuan, and there is not even a hint of ancient slumberers from space who await a sinister awakening. Because of this, although “The Nameless City” is an important precursor, I continue to consider “The Call of Cthlulu” (1926) to be the first tale of the Mythos.

Still, our little story is an important “first.” It is, I believe, the first time H.P. used a long descent into subterranean darkness to evoke terror, and it is certainly the first time that he used the appearances of the walls to tell a tale of growing strangeness (each bas-relief here carrying the events further ahead in time). Later the same year he would use a subterranean ascent for similar purposes (“The Outsider”), and two years later create his first great tale of subterranean descent (the descending levels now leading back in time), the horrific “The Rats in the Walls”. Lovecraft would return to the device many times, and in “At the Mountains of Madness” (1931)--perhaps his greatest tale of subterranean descent—he returned to the bas-reliefs he had devised for “The Nameless City.”

One last note. Although this was one of Lovecraft’s favorite tales, it was not a popular one with the publishers. Although he managed to get it printed in the amateur magazine The Wolverine (November, 1921), he didn’t succeed in placing it in a professional journal until the barely respectable Fanciful Tales published it in 1936 with fifty-nine printing errors. Weird Tales rejected it twice.

[Lyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

At a poker table in a cavern in Hell sits Asmodeus, Cthulu, Orcus and Beelzebub discussing H.P. Lovecraft’s short story The Nameless City.

Asmodeus: I like what the young man is doing; it’s fresh and original and speaks to me.

Cthulu: I could not agree more, of course I would LOVE it as he is paying HOMAGE to yours truly.

Orcus: Cthulu, you are such a DROLL sea creature, while my seers reflect that this may become the first in what may become the “Cthulu Mythos” this is still just a very early story from a very young writer, I think you are both way ahead of yourselves.

Beelzebub: GREEE! GREEEEEEEEE! GREEEE GREE GRE – GREEE

Asmodeus: Beelzebub does have a point, Lovecraft’s use of Egyptian settings contribute to the overall sense of mystery and foreboding that will no doubt become a benchmark for his work.

Beelzebub: GREEE! GREEEEE! GREEEE GREE GRE – GREEE AGGGH!!!

Asmodeus: Ah, I see, the Egyptian references further separate a still earlier allusion to Mesopotamian mythology, thank you for clearing that up.

Orcus: While I cannot disagree with Beelzebub’s erudition, I must point out that this delightful young writer has dramatically captured a mood that will make the mortals cringe and remember why they fear the dark – it’s simply delicious.

Cthulu: And of course the inference to pre-human alien life is FABULOUS!!

Asmodeus: OK, so it seems as we have a quorum, The Nameless City gets three barbs WAY up!

[Evoli · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'll try to write a review soon!!

[Fabian {Councillor} · Rating 4 out of 5]

This short story can be read for free online on the H.P. Lovecraft website.

I'm not going to lie, for years, I was intimidated by the writings of H.P. Lovecraft, the cosmic mythological concepts of his worlds and the stunning, yet frightening artwork that has originated from Lovecraft's words. I should rephrase: it isn't so much the Lovecraftian vibe itself that I dreaded, but rather my feeling that reading Lovecraft might not live up to the monumental expectations that years of exposure to Lovecraft-inspired media were responsible for building. I have eagerly consumed and enjoyed countless fictional works that were widely described as 'Lovecraftian' (e.g., Carpenter's Apocalypse Trilogy, Sam Raimi's Evil Dead Trilogy, the works of Panos Cosmatos and Richard Stanley, and of course the entire filmography of Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead) – but I have never read anything actually written by Lovecraft.

The moon was gleaming vividly over the primeval ruins, lighting a dense cloud of sand that seemed blown by a strong but decreasing wind from some point along the cliff ahead of me.

What struck me immediately with this short story, one of Lovecraft's first published writings, was how the story is soaked in atmospherical touches. From the first sentence, you get a strong sense of the images Lovecraft tried to conjure up, of how he produced such intricate written templates to the infinite amount of stunning artworks crafted from his universes.

Lovecraft draws a gorgeous painting with his words, and then infuses it with dread and terror, existentialist fears and increasingly claustrophobic feels. Best read in the surroundings of the darkness of the night.

[Jon Skeggi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nisu sve priče jednako snažne a ni jednako strašne a i ja sam se malo odvikao od horora. Izdvojiću priče On, Strava u muzeju, Iz dubina eona i Tumul kao najuzbudljivije. Sve pohvale izdavaču. Izgleda da ipak knjiga može da se pusti u prodaju a da bude odlično prevedena, sjajno tehnički i vizuelno opremljena a da ne košta milion dinara.

[Jo · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a short story from H.P. Lovecraft. I've read a good few Lovecraft stories, and for me, this one was fairly average. I found that Lovecraft included descriptions including the words "terrible" and "horrendous" which I think is typical of him, but it leaves no room for the reader to think for themselves. I struggled to feel the atmosphere of the story, and to be honest, it didn't scare me. The ending felt like it was left open, and there was no solid conclusion, which for me, gave an unsatisfactory end.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

First off, it's a short story. I started reading this story this morning, kind of vaguely thinking I had probably already read it. (It was rainy, dark. Lovecraft seemed appropriate.) I was probably recalling Lovecraft's "Under the Pyramids." Anyway, "The Nameless City" is the first story in a massive (and cheap) collection of Lovecraft's (complete) stories that I got for my Kindle. What a nice and creepy surprise! How I missed this over the years is beyond me. It's mentioned as being the first Cthulhu Mythos story. No question. Several references to the "mad Arab" Abdul Alhazred, weird murals in an ancient and abandoned city, with strange creatures portrayed, and an oppressive sense of dread. As a story goes, it's slight, with an unnamed protagonist (an archaeologist?) exploring the ruins of a shunned city on the Arabian peninsula. Ancient mythology, weird and unclean looking alters, and strange noises all combine into an atmospheric precursor for the later "Mountains of Madness." The emphasis here is on atmosphere, so much so that it casts the kind of spell, through rhythm and language, that has you thinking of poetry. If you are into the CM, "The Nameless City" is foundational and necessary stuff.

Note: Allow me to bitch about the Library of America edition of Lovecraft's "Tales." The Library of America publishes some handsome looking books. They also publish, with a selected author, EVERYTHING that author has cranked out. That often includes the good and the bad (see , for example, Faulkner's Pylon). I was initially thrilled to see Lovecraft make the cut for the Library of America series. Now I just feel ripped off. The above story should have been included. I'm now sure there are quite a few others. Here's a link to the story if you want to read it: http://www.hplovecraft.com/writings/t...

[Markus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another pretty awesome Lovecraft story, although it is noticeably early in the author's sequence of stories and development of his mythos. The Nameless City gives off a rudimentary, under-developed feeling to it, but that in a way only makes it more exciting as a glimpse into the early stages of Lovecraft's legendarium.

[[ J o ] · Rating 2 out of 5]

My very first Lovecraft.

It was written supremely well, if inundated with many long, fantastical words that may or may not have been needed. Can't say I was scared or horrified or even that moved by it, but it was definitely intriguing.

A lone narrator wanders the desert and finds himself in a lost-and nameless-city, just screaming to be explored. Great descriptions of what is to be found there, if not altogether easy to follow. I feel like there is a certain way to read Lovecraft that I hopefully will figure out soon.

[Tyler Gray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Weird, atmospheric, intriguing. I liked it.

[John Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

Our fearless narrator takes us where no one else has courage to go. The very mention of it evokes horror on the face of the listener. The narrator will carry in his features fearful incisions that the experience has had on him, particularly his nervous system. His major discoveries will be made at night in the company of the moon. Powerful writing.

[✨faith✨trust✨pixiedust✨ Dead Account; Not Coming Back · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked that omg

[Mizuki · Rating 2 out of 5]

It is a very standard and typical Lovecraftian horror short story: a lone narrator mumbling about his experience of extreme horror in some ruin of a long-lost ancient city within an Araby desert. He believes this nameless city was built by a race before humans and he may, or may not see something horrible in the dead of the night before he turns tail and flees from this ruin.

The story is short, but the description is long winded and wordy and Lovecraft didn't bother to give you any break by putting some dialogues into the story. So, 2.5 stars.

[Luka Jovanović · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grobnica 3⭐
Onostran zidina sna 4⭐
Bezimeni grad 3⭐
Mesečeva močvara 3⭐
Hipnos 3⭐
On 4⭐
U grobnici 3⭐
Zli sveštenik 3⭐
Strava u muzeju 5⭐
Iz dubina eona 5⭐
Tumul 3⭐

[Manuel Veloso · Rating 2 out of 5]

I find that Lovecraft's style of writing is a bit too forced. He relies heavily on making the horror explicit through words such a "terrible" "horrendous" or "terrifying" to convey the dread of his plot instead of letting the reader feel these emotions trough his own imagination. The way he conveys the aura of his settings is clearly sufficient to inspire terror in he reader without the need to emphasize these feelings explicitly. In my opinion, such abuse of the horror adjectives tends to actually dilute the ambient, making his stories less dreadful than what they could be. Its as if he tries too hard to inspire the imagination of the reader, and ends up spoiling the experience

[Mir · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I drew nigh the nameless city I knew it was accursed. I was traveling in a parched and terrible valley under the moon, and afar I saw it protruding uncannily above the sands as parts of a corpse may protrude from an ill-made grave. Fear spoke from the age-worn stones...

This opening reads like a dream, but we're not in the Dreamlands this time; we're in "Araby," albeit some region thereof where no living man has set foot. Here our protagonist finds a typically Lovecraftian edifice: enormous, impossibly ancient, of proportions and angles some disturbing to the human eye.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the vivid imagery of the desolate, abandoned city, ancient beyond all measure. There's something so compelling about discovering and exploring such an immense, ancient relic that Lovecraft taps into here.

[Valerie Book Valkyrie-on Holiday Semi-Hiatus · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Antidiluvian Stars
RTC 💛🧚‍♀️🙋🏼👍!

[Montserrat♨️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Estoy leyendo una recopilación de los relatos de Lovecraft que no está aquí, en goodreads. Existe una colección de 5 volúmenes de autores del horror cósmico en general, predominando Lovecraft con 3 libros de sus relatos; el estoy leyendo es La llamada de Cthulhu.

Me encantó la sensación de atracción hacia continuar, avanzar, descubrir. Ese dejarse llevar, ese sentirse ajena en solitario a un espacio desconocido y fascinante mientras imaginas el pasado de ese sitio, son cosas que resultan familiares, y que me evoco realmente muuuy vividamente este relato.

[Ahmad Qassab Bashi · Rating 1 out of 5]

Thank god it is a short story

[Fhionnuisce]

"What a weird world".

[David Sarkies · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mysteries of the Desert
28 August 2022 – Heathrow

The previous times that I have been to Heathrow, it has been a mad two hour to attempt to get from the entrance to my gate. However this time it actually went much quicker and I now have an hour to kill before I learn where my plane’s gate is located, and another hour before the flight takes off. Sure, it’s like 7:15 in the morning, but since time doesn’t really matter all that much when you happen to be flying halfway around the world, I decided to go and visit the pub. Anyway, I thought this might be the best spot to actually write a review on this short story.

It actually reminds me a lot of ‘The Mountains of Madness’ in that the narrator finds a lost city beneath the sands of the Arabian Desert and decides to go and explore it. As it turns out this city pretty much predates humanity, and he also discovers that it was inhabited by a race of seal lizards with demonic heads. However, the question is raised as to whether the word ‘was’ is the appropriate word to use in this situation.

As is typical with Lovecraft, these lost cities of the ancients tend to be much, much more than they seem. This was the case in the Mountains of Madness, and this seems to be the case with this story as well. In a way the idea is that the ideas of our origins, in the world of Lovecraft, are probably best left hidden away. Anyway, in a number of his stories, the knowledge of our origins are generally ignored, and written off, by many of the contemporaries.

Still, I do like these stories where the unnamed narrator happens to be exploring some long lost ruins, and discovering new things, even if those new things might not be something that humanity should know. Then again, I guess that is the difference between Dungeons and Dragons and Call of Cthulu. In Dungeons and Dragons, the players are supposed to survive a dungeon crawl, as long as they aren’t stupid, and the DM isn’t particularly harsh. In Call of Cthulu the whole point is that the players will die. I’ve played it a couple of times, and sure enough my character was always killed off. However, it is somewhat unclear as to what happens to the narrator at the end of this story. One does raise the question of how the story got out, but the thing is that this, well, might not actually be a story that made it beyond the darkness of the Nameless City.

[Nicolai Alexander · Rating 5 out of 5]

A man discovers a lost and ancient city and decides to explore the secrets kept within. He sees that the city "had been mighty indeed, and wondered at the sources of its greatness". Just like I, who have discovered the mystical writings of Lovecraft, so too does this man venture forth into the unknown, for the reward is adventure and knowledge beyond compare. It might be scary and harrowing, but it's worth it: "I was more afraid than I could explain, but not enough to dull my thirst for wonder" and then "yet the tangible things I had seen made curiosity stronger than fear".

I see myself in this man, as I too am obsessed with mystery and horror, I too have that "instinct for the strange and the unkown which had made me a wanderer upon the earth and a haunter of far, ancient and forbidden places"", because "as always in my strange and roving existence, wonder soon drove out fear; for the luminous abyss and what it might contain presented a problem worthy of the greatest explorer".

Aah, behold!

That is not dead which can eternal lie,
And with strange aeons even death may die.

[Jeannette · Rating 3 out of 5]

Also available on the WondrousBooks blog.

While not as good as The Call of Cthulhu, The Nameless City also managed to create an atmosphere of chilling monsters waiting in the shadows. As a comparison between the two, The Call of Cthulhu is a lot more general and builds the world of ancient giants on a more cosmic level.

The Nameless City is a lot more stuffy and claustrophobic. The narrator is walking among the ruins of an ancient city, discovering a lot more about the history of its terrifying inhabitants, and while he's seeing the desolation and death of their race, it feels like he's walking to his own impending doom.

I could compare the feeling I had reading this to the feeling of reading the journey through Moria in Lord of the Rings. The deeper and darker the character(s) get, the more it seems that the way out is not coming and a shadow of danger is following.

[Mika (Hiatus) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I seem to enjoy the stories most where an unknown land is explored as well as some creatures that no human can imagine. This story gave me both, which made it even better.

While the creatures unfortunately possess no name, it adds to the mysterious atmosphere of the nameless city.

I enjoyed this read a lot.

[Graeme Rodaughan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cautionary tale about exploring ancient cities built by elder reptilian races, at night, by yourself, with naught but a guttering torch. You also shouldn't leave your camel by itself at the front door. Next time - bring a stout rope - whoops, no next time...

3 'Ill-Prepared,' stars.

[Taske · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Ja sam isto ono biće kakvo ti sam postajes u slobodi odmora bez snova. Tvoj sam brat u svetlosti i sa tobom sam lelujao iznad bleštavih dolina. Nije mi dato da otkrijem tvome zemnom i budnom sopstvu o tvojoj istinskoj suštini, ali svi smo mi lutalice po širokome prostoru svemira i putnici mnoštva vekova." - Lovecraft, 1919.

"Smrt je milostiva, jer iz nje nema povratka, ali za onoga koji je izašao iz najdubljih odaja noći, čemeran i sa saznanjem, više nema počinka. Kako tašt bejah što sam se sa tako neobuzdanom jarošću upustio u misterije koje nijedan čovek nije smeo da pronikne, a kako nerazuman, ili božanski beše on - moj jedini prijatelj, koji me je poveo i predvodio i naposletku porinuo u užase koji meni možda tek slede." - Lovecraft, 1922.

Pet priča koje su ostavile najveći utisak na mene su : Onostran zidina sna, Hipnos, Strava u Muzeju, Iz Dubina Eona i Tumul, te ću im se vrlo rado vraćati. Lavkraft je zaista arheolog snova.

[ezgi · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5
çölün ortasında, çoktan unutulmuş kadim bir şehrin harabelerinde geçen bu kısa öykü, tek başına bir anlatıcının yaşadığı korku deneyimini aktarıyor bize. anlatıcı, çölün ortasında, insanlardan önce yaşamış bir ırk tarafından inşa edildiğine inandığı isimsiz bir şehri keşfediyor ve gecenin karanlığında, bu kayıp uygarlığın izleri arasında dolaşırken bir şey görüyor ya da görüp görmediğinden emin olamıyor.

anlatımın yoğunluğu, kullanılan betimlemelerin zenginliğiyle birleşince ortaya oldukça güçlü bir atmosfer çıkmış ama bu atmosfer beni içine pek çekemedi. yok olmuş bir medeniyetin kalıntılarını okumak merak yaratıyordu fakat etkisini çok geçmeden de yitiriyordu. ağır, uzun, süslü cümleler ve aşırı tasvirler, o ürkütücülüğü göstermekten çok öykünün önüne geçti bence. sonu da oldukça açık uçlu, sanki yazar bilinçli olarak okuyucuyu yarı yolda bırakmış gibiydi.

konu olarak oldukça ilgi çekici olsa da, okurken o ürkütücülüğü ve korkuyu tam anlamıyla hissedemedim. etkileyici bir anlatım, güçlü bir atmosfer var kesinlikle seveni de çoktur ama beklenen tedirginliği yaratmadı benim için.

[Rissa (rissasreading) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 - I absolutely loved this Lovecraft short story which is often seen as the first of the Cthulhu tales he wrote. Reading this made me wish it was more heavily featured in other collections of his works because it actually gives a bit of a description!!! Shocking!!!! Listening to the description as well made me think that so many people got it wrong, but it would've been amazing to know what exactly Lovecraft was thinking when writing it. I really enjoyed this one and reminds me of why I love Lovecraft shorts so much

[b · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretty good. All the things I found myself longing for (crunchy details about the search for the city and the navigation thereof, more than one witness and the group of them reconciling their finishing sanity together, etcetera) are present in the better version of this story, aka, At The Mountains Of Madness. Great atmosphere, but not enough content to satisfy.