That's all you took from Lovecraft's writing? Such a shame- I'm sorry you feel that way.Silentpony said:
Lovecraft, where to start
- Thread starter Dreiko_v1legacy
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The Rats in the Walls has an unfortunately-named cat, but the story in general is not particularly racist. Many others are. Personally, I think it's his best short story. Oddly, The Call of Cthulhu is one of my least-favorite. You could just dive in anywhere, really. All his works are relatively short.
EDIT: Also, The Dunwich Horror and The Shadow Over Innsmouth are pretty sweet.
EDIT: Also, The Dunwich Horror and The Shadow Over Innsmouth are pretty sweet.
Well sure, there are monsters and spoopy things on the occasion. But if there's a villain or traitor or human bad guy, its either the black guy or the Jew. Alwaysthe December King said:
I dunno. I don't want to get into how accurate this statement is, but I can certainly respect that the racist elements have put you off Lovecraft's writings, as they understandably can. Fair cop.Silentpony said:
It reminds me of one of Robert E Howard's stories about the little people, I think it was called The Children of the Night (1931). To be honest, a lot of Lovecraft and Howard's stuff has racism evident in the stories. When I read them in my youth, I never really attributed the racist overtones to the writer, and instead thought it was just a trait of the characters. But when I reread this story later (I think it was in my teens), it kinda opened my eyes to it being more likely the writer's biases. Still bloody great writers, though.
As an additional aside, I think that that Conan MMO that came out several years ago could have done with a little fantasy racism, mainly because the kingdoms were more racist in the stories, and it fueled the aggression of war in a lot of the stories (EDIT: I'm implying that the political intrigue as well as the open hostilities between races and kingdoms in the stories would likely make an excellent fuel for any story for gameplay, just to be clear). I am, however, fully aware that this would not be a popular opinion, and would at first flush certainly seem to fly in the face of inclusivity. Elves hating Dwarves as a racist trope in fantasy is easier to accept because the races arguably have no direct real world counterparts. But Shemites and Hyrkanians are, loosely, based on ancient kingdoms/peoples, so yeah. Not as fun.
what stories were those? because i honestly cant remember any bad guys that were jews/black, which is weird when i think about it. there were a lot of talk about grotesque african cults and deprived (insert race that isn't white american or british here) or stuff like that but i can't remember any specific characters like it.Silentpony said:
I would...sixth, seventh? Whatever we're on now, The Colour Out of Space. I think it works as a prime example of what makes Lovecraft Lovecraftian and not just Jump Scares: Now with Tentacles Edition! The point of Lovecraft has always been less on "Blargh monsters!" and more on just how small we really are when you realise how big the universe is, and the thing going wrong in Colour is a prime example of that; unknowable, undetectable and utterly unstoppable. Its some force beyond our very comprehension and it just keeps coming
I'd say hold off on the Dreamlands stories, especially the trilogy "The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath, The Silver Key and Through the Gates of the Silver Key" Until you have more familiarity with the rest of his work.
Mostly because the fate of several of the characters from his other stories is revealed in these books and its not what you would expect, it also shows some of his 'monsters' from a very different perspective
Mostly because the fate of several of the characters from his other stories is revealed in these books and its not what you would expect, it also shows some of his 'monsters' from a very different perspective
http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Fiction-Lovecraft-Knickerbocker-Classics/dp/1631060015/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1464028540&sr=8-1&keywords=complete+hp+lovecraft
Just get this. It has everything of his. However, for story wise, start with Dunwich Horror and Colour Out of Space. Those are very good. Personally though, At the Mountains of Madness is my favorite story of his.
Just get this. It has everything of his. However, for story wise, start with Dunwich Horror and Colour Out of Space. Those are very good. Personally though, At the Mountains of Madness is my favorite story of his.
I don't think Herbert West was a jew or a black guy.Silentpony said:
I was going to suggest Herbert West?Reanimator, actually, but it seems like I'm the only person, ever, to like it. It's also not 'typical' Lovecraft, having a different structure and not falling under his typical theme of 'monster you can't understand.'
Shadow Over Innsmouth and The Whisperer in Darkness were my initiations to Lovecraft. They were quietly chilling and crept up on you like a Winter's fog. Very subtle and unsettling.
Wasn't there a film adaptation that became a cult classic? I thought the film, at least, was reasonably well known. I can't say how accurate it is to the book, though. All I know is that a zombie apparently goes down on a lady.AccursedTheory said:
Oh yeah, is was great! The movie, I mean. And I mean it was more camp than horror. But still. There have been a few Lovecraft inspired flicks like that one- Bride of Re-Animator, From Beyond, and my favourite, Dagon, which captured the terror of a lone protagonist running from an entire town of evil monsters quite well.Fox12 said:
The three volume collection published by Arkham House is fairly thorough, though it doesn't touch much on his collaborations or ghost writing, and disregards his poetry entirely (much of which was pretty awful, admittedly). Much better collections than the Del Ray collections, overall.Shoggoth2588 said:
The Del Ray collections do touch occasionally on his poetry, ghost writing, etc however and are better thematically arranged.
Neither of those covers his correspondence, but most people aren't particularly interested in his correspondence when they say they are interested in Lovecraft.
If you are interested in his poetry, there's a compilation titled "The Ancient Track: The Complete Poetical Works of H.P. Lovecraft" which is exactly what it says on the tin.
My personal favorite among Lovecraft's work is "The Quest of Iranon." It's not talked about or referenced as much as his other stuff, and it's a bit of a departure from his usual formulas. It hits pretty hard at the end, though.fenrizz said:
Most importantly, don't read The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath, The Silver Key, and Through the Gates of the Silver Key until after you've read the other Dreamlands stories. Dream-Quest in particular touches on things throughout the rest of the Dream Cycle.Quellist said:
A good book to read that people haven't mentioned is, 'Supernatural Horror in Literature'. It' a fantastic book because it shows you just what it is that Lovecraft is going for in his stories and I think it shows that his apparent racism is not just him being a racist but that it shows up in his works because the thing he always stresses is the "strange and weird". A person from another continent in the far past was like an alien from outer space and even in his own time foreign people were people far removed from what is normal, as apposed to today where we can all turn on a T.V. or go online and learn all about a foreign culture.
But it's his analysis of horror and the horror written by other authors that really shows what it means to make Lovecraftian horror.
But it's his analysis of horror and the horror written by other authors that really shows what it means to make Lovecraftian horror.
Personally, I would start with 'the outsider' as it is relatively short and has one of the best endings of any short-fiction I've ever read. Probably Pickman's model and The colour out of space next.
Then I would skip his dream lands work and read his Cthulhu Mythos in the following order: The Dunwich Horror, Dagon, Shadow over Innsmouth, the Thing on the Doorstep (bit of a slog this one, feel free to skip), Call of Cthulhu, Haunter of the Dark, Shadow out of Time (my favourite), The whisperer in Darkness and finally At the Mountains of Madness. Really important that you read those two last since they make explicit a large amount of things that prior stories present in much vaguer terms.
Also, probably check out a short-story he ghostwrote called "The Mound." It starts as a fairly ordinary ghost story and very quickly goes off the fucking rails into sci-fi horror territory.
Then I would skip his dream lands work and read his Cthulhu Mythos in the following order: The Dunwich Horror, Dagon, Shadow over Innsmouth, the Thing on the Doorstep (bit of a slog this one, feel free to skip), Call of Cthulhu, Haunter of the Dark, Shadow out of Time (my favourite), The whisperer in Darkness and finally At the Mountains of Madness. Really important that you read those two last since they make explicit a large amount of things that prior stories present in much vaguer terms.
Also, probably check out a short-story he ghostwrote called "The Mound." It starts as a fairly ordinary ghost story and very quickly goes off the fucking rails into sci-fi horror territory.
Ahh, The Mound was brilliant...jademunky said:
A totally horrific and yet also thrilling romp through a phantasmagoric underworld, with the hideous reveal of the guardian- simply a hideously mutilated torso given animate mobility- right at the end... such wonderful imagery.
Reminds me a lot of Entombed With The Pharaohs as well.