Sirbriang2 > Recent Status Updates

"The Dunwich Horror" - far too long, but decent enough. Definitely part of the Cthulu mythos. Interesting because it switches the subject of the horror from Wilbur to his invisible brother about halfway through. Typical Lovecraft would have ended with Wilbur's death.

The good news: Pitt's romantic interest is a 37 year-old Congresswoman, so she's portrayed as a strong character. The bad news: their relationship is open, which leaves Pitt to flirt mercilessly with the first woman he meets in the book. Also, the Congresswoman suffers from the coincidence of being in the wrong place at the wrong time and is captured by the enemy very quickly. Still a damsel in distress?

"...more ____ than gays in San Francisco." Jesus.

CNN is a standard for journalistic excellence. That dates this book more than the sexism or casual racism.

USA and Canada merged in these books? What the what?

"...a trifle too obsequious, even for an Asian." Jesus.

"The Picture in the House" - a good short one. Creepy old hillbilly who is apparently a cannibal.

"The Shadow Out of Time" - far too long. This acts as a companion piece, thematically, to "The Thing on the Doorstep." This time, though, the narrator has been possessed. So this marks an unusual occurrence: the narrator is the interesting character for a change!

"Shadow Over Innsmouth" - Fish people! The structure of the story is similar to a lot of Lovecraft. The narrator hears a weird story, is forced to spend the night somewhere, and narrowly avoids a horrid fate. I like the twist at the end, but felt this one was too reminiscent of others stories in this collection.

"Shadow Over Innsmouth" - Fish people! The structure of the story is similar to a lot of Lovecraft. The narrator hears a weird story, is forced to spend the night somewhere, and narrowly avoids a horrid fate. I like the twist at the end, but felt this one was too reminiscent of others stories in this collection.

"The Thing on the Doorstep" - pretty good, although it is interesting that the narrator does not actually detail the murder he commits.

"The Terrible Old Man" - super short. A fun tone, very different from his usual stuff. It might get old if it was longer.

"The Whisperer in Darkness" - Crab! People! Pretty good, although the narrator is really dumb for a self-professed worldly and educated man.

"Cold Air" - pretty concise short story. I'm not sure why the body seemed to dissolve, but other than that, I liked this one. I especially liked the comment about the voice sounding like he wasn't breathing.

"The Haunter of the Dark" again, with the narrator explaining a mystery after the fact! Pretty cool Cthulu-esque monster (unknown and unknowable evil from beyond), but the very ending seemed odd. So the monster left its church tower for the victim/hero and he died horrified...and then what? Did the monster die?

"The Colour Out of Space" - suitably creepy and full of dread. Again, I'm not sure why the narration takes place so far after the events of the story, or why the narrator is an impartial observer.

"Pickman's Model" - fun idea, but I think having it narrated after the fact hurts it a bit.

"In the Vault" pretty dull and tame stuff.

"Rats in the Walls" - a slow burn until the climax. Cool haunted house/awful legacy plot. Noteworthy for taking place in England, not Massachusetts

"Rats in the Walls" - a slow burn until the climax. Cool haunted house/awful legacy plot. Noteworthy for taking place in England, not Massachusetts

"The Lurking Fear" - one of the better episodic stories so far about unknowable fear. I'm still not entirely sure what the monsters were, but still pretty good.

"The Lurking Fear" - one of the better episodic stories so far about unknowable fear. I'm still not entirely sure what the monsters were, but still pretty good.

"Herbert West: Reanimator" - this was published as a serial, so the obligatory recaps tend to slow the story down when reading them successively. It's an interesting twist on Frankenstein, with the Doctor being more deliberately evil.

"The Music of Erich Zann" - on a nonexistent street, in a curious house, the narrator heard someone playing a viol (-in? -a?) furiously in the night. The music is fascinatingly unique. It turns out the fiddler is fiddling against some unknown surreal evil darkness. So that's a thing.

"The Outsider" - definitely a weird one. The twist at the end isn't surprising, but the netherworld that the narrator comes from is a bit confusing.

Finished "The Room." Not sure what to make of it. An invalid (hypochondriac, perhaps) wife is secretly tired of her active husband's visits. The husband worries about their daughter, whose spouse is very sick. The sickness appears to be mental, and the father fears that the daughter is succumbing to the spouse's madness. He may be correct.