Review - At the Mountains of Madness

Title: At the Mountains of Madness - And other Tales of Terror
Author: H. P. Lovecraft

When we took our vacation this past fall, we walked around the Taste of Madison, and ended up in a used book store.

"Hmmm....," I wondered, "what could I find in a used bookstore that I've always wanted to read?"

Well, fortunately, I thought of H. P. Lovecraft. I've played Call of Cthulhu, and maybe at some point in the past I've read something of his, but I wasn't sure. So I bought this collection of stories.

The first story, which gives the collection its name, appears to be one of the key stories in the Lovecraft mythos. It is set in Antarctica, during a time in our past when that frozen continent would have been our true final frontier on the surface of the Earth. It was just beginning ot be explored, so an author of suspense and horror could easily get his readers to believe that anything might be there, including the archaeological remains of an alien culture that predates humanity. Though there were some parts of the storytelling that pulled me out of the moment a bit, the overall mood moved from science fiction into horror, and I appreciated it greatly. Elder Things and Shoggoths - very well described and very scary!

The Shunned House and the very short The Statement of Randolf Carter were pretty traditionally horror, and they had suspense and mood. I believe they'd be even better if read by a good actor. I tend to read pretty fast, and I think Lovecraft is meant to be relished. I had to force myself to slow down at times.

Finally, The Dreams in the Witch-House was another longer science-horror which expanded on Lovecraft's universe, while developing as a mystery. Though the reader saw what the characters refused to see, the actions and reactions of the people in the story were very believable. I almost couldn't handle one of the evil acts performed by the horrific "dream creatures."

I may read some more Lovecraft someday, but if I don't I certainly am happy I read these.