The Rise and Fall of the Cthulhu Mythos

by S.T. Joshi, Jason C. Eckhardt (Illustrator)

Noted Lovecraftian scholar S. T. Joshi has authored a criticism of Lovecraftian and Cthulhu Mythos fiction, beginning with the stories by H.P. Lovecraft that gave birth to the entities, locales, books, and other plot devices that have come to be known as the Cthulhu Mythos. Joshi further details the works of August Derleth, Frank Belknap Long, Clark Ashton Smith, Robert E. Howard, Donald Wandrei, Robert Bloch, Fritz Leiber and other. Joshi then expounds upon the Derleth Mythos and its influence on subsequent Lovecraftian fiction. Joshi then explores a new generations of Mythos writers and their respective expansion of the Cthulhu Mythos, including Richard L. Tierney, Gary Myers, Brian Lumley, Ramsey Campbell, Michael Shea, Walter C. DeBill Jr. and others. Finally, Joshi reviews some of the more modern authors who have taken up the Lovecraftian Jeffrey Thomas, Stanley C. Sargent, Wilum H. Pugmire, Thomas Ligotti, Joseph C. Pulver and many others.

Genres: Nonfiction, Lovecraftian, Horror, Cthulhu Mythos, Criticism, Literary Criticism

312 pages, Hardcover

First published September 30, 2008

About the author

Sunand Tryambak Joshi is an Indian American literary scholar, and a leading figure in the study of Howard Phillips Lovecraft and other authors. Besides what some critics consider to be the definitive biography of Lovecraft (H. P. Lovecraft: A Life, 1996), Joshi has written about Ambrose Bierce, H. L. Mencken, Lord Dunsany, and M.R. James, and has edited collections of their works.

His literary criticism is notable for its emphases upon readability and the dominant worldviews of the authors in question; his The Weird Tale looks at six acknowledged masters of horror and fantasy (namely Arthur Machen, Algernon Blackwood, Dunsany, M. R. James, Bierce and Lovecraft), and discusses their respective worldviews in depth and with authority. A follow-up volume, The Modern Weird Tale, examines the work of modern writers, including Shirley Jackson, Ramsey Campbell, Stephen King, Robert Aickman, Thomas Ligotti, T. E. D. Klein and others, from a similar philosophically oriented viewpoint. The Evolution of the Weird Tale (2004) includes essays on Dennis Etchison, L. P. Hartley, Les Daniels, E. F. Benson, Rudyard Kipling, David J. Schow, Robert Bloch, L. P. Davies, Edward Lucas White, Rod Serling, Poppy Z. Brite and others.

Joshi is the editor of the small-press literary journals Lovecraft Studies and Studies in Weird Fiction, published by Necronomicon Press. He is also the editor of Lovecraft Annual and co-editor of Dead Reckonings, both small-press journals published by Hippocampus Press.

In addition to literary criticism, Joshi has also edited books on atheism and social relations, including Documents of American Prejudice (1999), an annotated collection of American racist writings; In Her Place (2006), which collects written examples of prejudice against women; and Atheism: A Reader (2000), which collects atheistic writings by such people as Antony Flew, George Eliot, Bertrand Russell, Emma Goldman, Gore Vidal and Carl Sagan, among others. An Agnostic Reader, collecting pieces by such writers as Isaac Asimov, John William Draper, Albert Einstein, Frederic Harrison, Thomas Henry Huxley, Robert Ingersoll, Corliss Lamont, Arthur Schopenhauer and Edward Westermarck, was published in 2007.

Joshi is also the author of God's Defenders: What They Believe and Why They Are Wrong (2003), an anti-religious polemic against various writers including C. S. Lewis, G. K. Chesterton, T. S. Eliot, William F. Buckley, Jr., William James, Stephen L. Carter, Annie Dillard, Reynolds Price, Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, Guenter Lewy, Neale Donald Walsch and Jerry Falwell, which is dedicated to theologian and fellow Lovecraft critic Robert M. Price.

In 2006 he published The Angry Right: Why Conservatives Keep Getting It Wrong, which criticised the political writings of such commentators as William F. Buckley, Jr., Russell Kirk, David and Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, Phyllis Schlafly, William Bennett, Gertrude Himmelfarb and Irving and William Kristol, arguing that, despite the efforts of right-wing polemicists, the values of the American people have become steadily more liberal over time.

Joshi, who lives with his wife in Moravia, New York, has stated on his website that his most noteworthy achievements thus far have been his biography of Lovecraft, H. P. Lovecraft: A Life and The Weird Tale.

Reviews

[Wilum Pugmire · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am now half-way into this magnificent book -- this book that has me so excited about being a professional Cthulhu Mythos writer and determined to write many more books of my own Lovecraftian tales. Joshi says many provocative things herein, but always with keen intelligence and interest. I have been posting at Facebook's Cthulhu Mythos groups about S. T.'s dismissal of "The Dunwich Horror" as an artistic failure, with which I entirely disagree. There is so much about "The Dunwich Horror" that makes it a strange and unique work of weird genius; and the story shews how Lovecraft, with the simplest of strokes, creates characters that have a huge inner-vitality despite their lack of dialogue. Lavinia Whateley is but a minor role of is daemoniac drama, and yet she comes across as a fascinating victim, one of which I could base a novel just from what Lovecraft has revealed of her in this story. Wilbur Whateley is a creature that reaches mythic proportions. S. T. finds the story flawed because of its lack of cosmicism and because it goes against HPL's stated claims that human relations and concerns have no meaning or place in his fiction. But Lovecraft often strayed from his stated goals as a literary artist -- and yet the works he wove continue to live with astonishing vitality, flawed though they may be.

I have just finished the portions of the book in which S. T. discusses the fiction of those friends and correspondents who knew Lovecraft personally or who corresponded with him when they were teenage boys and then, in later life, became professional writers themselves. These sections shew the AMAZING influence that Lovecraft had while yet he lived, based on such few tales published, mostly, in WEIRD TALES. I understand his allure absolutely, for I fell under his spell as a child, when I determined to become a professional Mythos writer -- and I am under his magick still, as an elder author of what I hope is authentic and original Lovecratfian weird fiction. YOG-SOTHOTH!

[STIMBOT5000 · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is a lot to like about this work and S.T. Joshi deserves praise for his work around Lovecraft and the Mythos, not least the marvellous and defintive new collection that he edited. Unfortunately his apparent need to bicker with other Lovecraft 'scholars' over minutiae is extremely intrusive and reminiscent of internet forum dwelling, keyboard mashing bedroom intellectuals. That for me is what is holding Joshi back from an unassailable position as the premiere contemporary Lovecraft authority. A little more professionalism and a little less territoriality would have transformed this book into something much more impressive and commendable.

[Henrik · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing feat by S. T. Joshi. Agree with him or not--you are sure to find thorough and opinionated comments about the stories written in the bizarre sub-genre known as the Cthulhu Mythos (CM). By a man who is more than well-equipped to have a say about it all; few, if any, have read so much as S. T. Joshi when it comes to the weird tale genre.

Contrary to common belief, Joshi is not per se against stories that are of the so-called CM variety. What he does have a problem with is if they are without genuine literary and/or philosophical merit. That's a high standard, and many are bound to fail meeting it. I am sure many will think that is demanding too much, but I must say that on the whole I agree with Joshi's stance--a stance originating from the Master himself: H. P. Lovecraft (HPL).

Early on Joshi sets out to explicate what criteria he thinks a so-called CM story must meet to fairly be categorized as such a tale; and these criteria are, not surprisingly, different from what can more correctly be called a "Lovecraftian" tale. I am not sure I agree completely with the details in what he says here, but the division as such is of course sound and wise. And by doing this it also helps the reader understand Joshi's approach when commenting on the development of the CM from HPL's time to the present. It is good to know so clearly on what grounds Joshi critizes the works he critize, as well as why he praise the ones he praise (and there are quite a lot of these, btw!).

The main bulk of the book examins the development of tales that can be said to be CM stories, beginning with HPL's own work, going through his contemporaries' work; through Derleth and his fatal misunderstanding of HPL's worldview and actual ideas of what he ultimately tried to reach in his (later) stories; through the next decades and up to writers in our time, incl. Ramsey Campbell, Thomas Ligotti, W. H. Pugmire, Donald Tyson, Neil Gaiman, and even a few words about Stephen King. The latter is surprising--knowing the low esteem Joshi has of King's oeuvre--but he actually says some fairly praising words about King's The Dark Half; whereas, btw, he isn't too keen on the short story "Jerusalem's Lot." Re. King I am surprised that there is no mention whatsoever of King's From a Buick 8, but that is probably because it's a peeve of mine--I think this is King's ultimate "Lovecraftian story," and succesfully so! Oh well, you can't satisfy all;-)

Not surprisingly Joshi has harsh words about August Derleth. It is important to emphasise, however--as Joshi does--that the critique of Derleth is not aimed at the warping of the Mythos many in the know nowadays refer to as "the Derleth Mythos," but was then thought of (thanks to Derleth) as the CM. Here, clearly spelled out, is Joshi's reasons for his severe judgment of Derleth:

Derleth was within his rights to pen as many Cthulhu Mythos tales as he wished. But he was not within his rights to foist his interpretation of the Mythos on to Lovecraft, as he did repeatedly in article after article, and he was not within his rights to claim that his "posthumous collaborations" were anything but stories entirely conceived and written on his own and which widely departed from what Lovecraft himself would have done had he written them." (p. 202)

I agree with Joshi. (A side-note: Later this year I will be publishing a little book with scholarship on August Derleth and his influence on the weird tale till his death in 1971, written by Derleth scholar John Haefele, which sheds favourable light on Derleth in that area; it must not be forgotten that he did, in fact, do a lot of good as well.)

I have a suspicion many who dislike Joshi's judgment on this or that story just don't understand Joshi's stance. For instance, many have wondered--for many years now--how he can possibly think so little of HPL's "The Dunwich Horror," which to many readers is a superb story. Well, the reason is simple--this is a story that fails to meet HPL's own standards; standards that, in fact, also point to where HPL is truly creating something new in literature as a whole. The keywords here are his cosmicism and the indifferentism; the reason why Leiber (rightly so) called HPL the "Copernicus of literature." And HPL himself acknowledged in letters that he from time to time failed to meet these standards (as Joshi well quotes in the book). That is the light in which we need to understand the criticism--of HPL's own work and everything that followed. And in terms of everything after HPL the point is not so much if a given writer manages to say what HPL had to say (or if they share the same worldview), but if the writer in question manages to create something that reflects his/her's worldview, has something original to say, based on HPL etc. Admittedly, it is clear that Joshi has a hard time really accepting worldviews that differ too much from HPL's (or his own, which is closely linked, at any rate)--his puzzlement of Ligotti's stories (a writer he nevertheless admire very much) is a testament to this. Still, I dare say this basis makes good sense and is executed throughout this survey of a most bizarre literary spawn that is nothing short of admirable.

Highly recommended.

[Myles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Joshi proves hes the lead HPL academic, changing the way I look at pastiches of the Lovecraft/Cthulhu mythos vs Derleth mythos, and even some HPL stories. But in the words of the Big Lebowski "You're not wrong, you're just an asshole."

[Tim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lovecraft scholar, Joshi, has definite ideas of what Mythos stories should be like and trashes anyone who dares not to write to his expectations. After ripping into almost everyone except Lovecraft (and Joshi even complains about some of his stories), Joshi ends the book by saying that, as a whole, the literature was better than he expected! LOL!
Really does not contain much new information. It is mostly Joshi venting his spleen, which, apparently, is pretty large.

[Stately Elms Librarian · Rating 5 out of 5]

S.T. Joshi has provided an exceptional history of the rise of Lovecraftian literature.
Anyone who is unfamiliar with, or confused by the expansive array of mythos entities, titles, literary props and the overall structure that has become the 'Cthulhu Mythos' should read this book.

Joshi is a harsh critic: he verbally flogs writers who take from Lovecraft and provide (according to him) nothing of their own (Derleth, Lumley); he critiques authors whom he holds in high regard for ways they should do better (Kiernan, Pugmire, Ligotti); he even holds Lovecraft accountable for the stories that failed in their attempt to portray genuine cosmic horror (The Dreams in the Witch House, The Thing on the Doorstep, The Dunwich Horror, etc.).
He does all of this with sound reasoning and a scholarly approach that has lasting value to the life and legacy of HPL.

[Dylan Rock · Rating 5 out of 5]

An well written and informative study on formation and influence of the cthulhu mythos from it's beginning to its reversion by by August Derleth and it's contemporary resurgence

[Thee_ron_clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm in a band. I'm in a band in which I write the lyrics. I love horror films and horror literature. This brings me to writing a majority of my lyrics about said media. Hold on. I'm getting to the book. Let me give some quick reasoning first. Anyway, I've been dying to write more lyrics involving Lovecraft's stories and in particular; the "Cthuhlhu Mythos." That, ladies and gentlemen is why I purchased and read this book.

The Rise and Fall of the Cthulhu Mythos almost seems to be a doctoral thesis on the subject. It runs through some of Lovecraft's personal life, but focuses more on his literature and some of the authors who have been influenced by Lovecraft.

This novel gives a fountain of information for those looking to read works revolving around the Cthulhu mythos. Joshi talks about numerous authors and their works in relation to Lovecraft's created universe. He gives praise to some authors.

He also thoroughly bashes others. August Derleth is the main target of said bashing. This is somewhat deserved though because Derleth was a bit slimy when it came to Lovecraft's name after his death. In fact, one of the first Lovecraft novels I read was the Lurker at the Threshold which I later found out was written mostly by Derleth with only 1/6th from Lovecraft himself. Derleth also took Lovecraft's dismal world and turned it into something more hopeful with good forces working to protect humanity from the Great Old Ones.

Where I might disagree with Joshi is on his Brian Lumley attacks. I have not read any of Lumley's novels on the Cthulhu mythos so I cannot speak for them. What I can speak for are his Necroscope novels, which I loved. When Joshi compares both series and calls the Necroscope books equally ridiculous, I find myself compelled to look into Lumley's Titus Crow books.

Regardless, this book gave me a great deal of sources to explore for my new songs as well as my future reading. I've already been reading short stories by Algernon Blackwood (who influenced Lovecraft and Derleth), Robert Howard (Conan's creator) and others online.

Fans of Lovecraft and the universe he created should definitely check this out.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joshi is by some margin the most well-informed and perhaps significant Lovecraft commentator and academic. As such, this is well-informed and significant.
He is also strongly opinionated. He sets up the nature of the 'Cthulhu Mythos' and the 'Lovecraft Mythos' clearly and straightforwardly and then effectively restricts criticism to his own values, usually couched in terms of other writer's 'aesthetic success'. This is, as far as I know, the debatable type of literary criticism that has had decades of deconstruction, undermining, exposure and a fair amount of thorough condemnation.
On the other, and even more annoying, hand, I generally agree with pretty much everything he says. Derleth ruined the Mythos for years after Lovecraft's death and probably lied about stuff. Brian Lumley is not a terribly good writer. Most modern contributors to the Mythos are quite bad. No-one does it quite like Howard at his best. All true.
But there's nothing here that speaks to Lumley's general success (a hack he maybe but he's damned prolific and popular, more so outside of HPL-land) or, perhaps more importantly, anything that goes some way to explain quite why there is such an explosion of contributions/anthologies/writers in the last 30 years. That's complicated and maybe a little more interesting. I'd certainly like to know what he makes of 'The Natural Dissolution of Fleeting Improvised Men'. Or Moore's 'Providence'. Both of these are later than the book though so I'd have to check his blog.
Which I don't much want to do.

On a more practical note, it would appear that the recent 'A Mountain Walks' anthology, edited by Joshi, is pretty much all the stories by people (other than Lovecraft) that he approves of. And therefore -you can't deny it- is going to be pretty damn good.

[Carlos · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice tour of the development of the Mythos, from its origins in Lovecraft's fiction, through the Derleth era. It covers a good number of authors who have worked in the Mythos. Also, I was rather thrilled to see that Joshi found Mr. X almost as disappointing as I did.