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Never read lovecraft, where should I start?

Soul Kitchen

By Soul Kitchen
in Unexplained TV, Books, Film and Radio

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Soul Kitchen Illuminated

Soul Kitchen

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I've been hearing everywhere about this HP Lovecraft and it really seems like stuff that I would enjoy.

I know it doesn't matter that much, but which book should I start with?

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Bracket
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I'd stick to his smaller stuff. His bigger stuff can admittedly be a little long winded, and this is coming from a huge Lovecraft fan. Most of his stories come in collections of his works anyways, so

Soul Kitchen
Soul Kitchen

I've been hearing everywhere about this HP Lovecraft and it really seems like stuff that I would enjoy. I know it doesn't matter that much, but which book should I start with?

Fluffybunny
Fluffybunny

Yeah, short stories are a bit easier to get started with; remember how long ago it was written and that it is at a different pace than something by Stephen King or Dean Koontz. Enjoy the incredible vo

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Bracket Immortal

Bracket

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I'd stick to his smaller stuff. His bigger stuff can admittedly be a little long winded, and this is coming from a huge Lovecraft fan. Most of his stories come in collections of his works anyways, so i'm sure you'll find something you'll like. Or, you can just get the Necronomicon, which is a thick book that has all of his stories. :tu:

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Fluffybunny Transcendent

Fluffybunny

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Yeah, short stories are a bit easier to get started with; remember how long ago it was written and that it is at a different pace than something by Stephen King or Dean Koontz. Enjoy the incredible vocabulary he has...it is almost musical to read.

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Bracket Immortal

Bracket

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Yeah, short stories are a bit easier to get started with; remember how long ago it was written and that it is at a different pace than something by Stephen King or Dean Koontz. Enjoy the incredible vocabulary he has...it is almost musical to read.

Yeah, not to mention that he liked to write in a very "antiquarian" way.

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Cybele Experienced

Cybele

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I read a collection of his short stories over the Christmas holidays, and I'd say my personal favorites were The Case of Charles Dexter Ward (very long for a short story), The Call of Cthulhu (his most famous), and The Dream in the Witch House.

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Bracket Immortal

Bracket

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I read a collection of his short stories over the Christmas holidays, and I'd say my personal favorites were The Case of Charles Dexter Ward, The Call of Cthulhu (his most famous), and The Dream in the Witch House.

Yeah, those are good. Although i'd say his most famous is Re-Animator, which i'd also suggest reading along with The Thing on the Doorstep, The Colour Out of Space and The Shadow Over Innesmouth.

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supervike Perspicacious

supervike

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I think you can start anywhere to be honest. As 90 percent of his stuff is 'short stories', and they really aren't directly connected to each other, you can pick up anywhere.

As mentioned above, he uses very archaic terms at times,(which were even archaic when he used them) so it's kinda nice to have a dictionary nearby. After a story or two, it'll not be an issue. Plus it adds such a depth to the story, it is really interesting.

Also one thing I'd like to mention is that modern readers often expect that the books will be 'scary' as they are described as horror. But it isn't quite the case. Creepy at times, for sure, but it was more about the futility and insignifigance of mankind. The 'monsters' are often left undescribed, which to me is absolutely perfect.

My favorite stories are 'The Shadow over Innsmouth', 'The Dunwich Horror', and 'The Whisperer in the Darkness'

jeez, i may have to go re-read some of these now....

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Soul Kitchen Illuminated

Soul Kitchen

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Thanks guys, I guess I'll start with some short stories to get acquainted with his vocabulary. And I'll get that "Necronomicon" thing. I really wish I had a kindle...

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George Ford Enlightened

George Ford

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http://www.sffaudio.com/?p=3491

Hello people,

Check the above link for free streaming audio H.P. Lovecraft stories. There is nothing to sign up for or anything, just click the story you want and sit back and listen.

Have fun! :tu:B):w00t:

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George Ford Enlightened

George Ford

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http://lovecraftzine.wordpress.com/2011/01/28/at-the-mountains-of-madness-audio-drama/

here is a link to a site with a link for a free Radio Drama (so its got some sound effects and different voice actors!) it's one of my favourite stories, At The Mountains Of Madness. You should listen to this one first!

I see they were gonna make it into a film with Guillermo del Toro as director, but he pulled out when the Studio bosses told him to make it a 12 certificate instead of an 18. Del Toro said he would not compromise, so shame they are no longer making it but good for Del Toro to stand up to them!

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Cybele Experienced

Cybele

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The Colour Out of Space

IIRC, that's one of his longer, alternate dimension/alien ones. I honestly couldn't stick with those for long.

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Eldorado Eternal

Eldorado

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Spin, spin, spin my little darling / Spin, spin, spin my little babe / Stay in the garden; let your mind tarry / Dance to the sunlight, smell the strawberry ...

(lol)

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theGhost_and_theDarkness Illuminated

theGhost_and_theDarkness

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Ohh, I looove HP Lovecraft. Definitely one of my favorite writers. Pickman's Model was my favorite. I don't know what it was about that story, but it was very creepy, and always the one I find myself reading over and over. The first book I picked up of his was The Best of HP Lovecraft: Bloodcurdling Tales of Horror and the Macabre. I found it at an old bookstore for like 50 cents. You can also find a lot of his work online. . .the first story of his I ever read was Dagon on the internet. Another pretty good story.

The think I like most about him is that his style just cannot be compared to any other I have ever read. The theme of some of the stories don't seem very terrifying at all, but the poetic way he writes really makes all the difference in the world. He takes things that don't seem very frightening and turns them into very haunting tales. Dagon, for instance. . .a man sees a monster and runs. Pretty much the entire story. But he takes something so simple and turns it into something quite lovely.

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Cryptozological Mascot Intermediate

Cryptozological Mascot

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The Mountains of Madness :tu:

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Taun Transcendent

Taun

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After you've read a good sampling of his stories, try this one...

"Baby's First Mythos"...

Not scarry and not by Lovecraft, but for those that enjoy his work (and have

a sense of humor) it's pretty funny...

It's aimed at kids but can actually help keep some of the 'things' in his

stories straight in your mind...

edit: and I agree... "The Mountains of Madness" is excellent...

post-102111-0-35407500-1305802003_thumb.

Edited by Taun
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Wookietim Enlightened

Wookietim

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I've been hearing everywhere about this HP Lovecraft and it really seems like stuff that I would enjoy.

I know it doesn't matter that much, but which book should I start with?

To be honest, just pick up one of the HPL collections. Two stories to keep an eye out for :

"The Colour out of space" - a rather chilling read and a good example of Lovecraftian horror in that nothing specifically happens, but lots of things happen... difficult to explain until you read the story.

"The Call of Cthulhu" - probably his most famous story. Perhaps not his absolute best but probably in the top 5 or at least the top 10 on most people's lists.

But really, any collection of his stories will work as a good introduction. Just be warned - his style is not for everyone. It's not that it is antiquated or anything (Actually, his use of language is relatively modern... for it's time at least). But it's more that that particular style of "Horror" doesn't appeal to everyone - it's all about what happens in your imagination rather than what he explains on the page. The best way to describe it is the difference between "The Blair Witch Project" or "Paranormal Activity" and "Hostel" - the first two are more HPL type horror in that it is all about what your imagination cooks up but not about showing you the stuff and the latter is all about showing you things with no ambiguity. Neither is objectively better than the other of course and it's all about personal taste, but keep in mind that HPL doesn't like to directly show you the things he talks about...

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Wookietim Enlightened

Wookietim

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After you've read a good sampling of his stories, try this one...

"Baby's First Mythos"...

Not scarry and not by Lovecraft, but for those that enjoy his work (and have

a sense of humor) it's pretty funny...

It's aimed at kids but can actually help keep some of the 'things' in his

stories straight in your mind...

edit: and I agree... "The Mountains of Madness" is excellent...

"Mountains of madness" is great!

I might also remind the OP that HPL is not the only person to write good Lovecraftian horror - Robert Howard (Of Conan fame) wrote quite a few Cthulhu mythos stories that are pretty darn fun to read as well...

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Agent D. Scully Explorer

Agent D. Scully

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Shadow over Innsmouth was a good one, as was the Call of Cthulu. The Cats of Ulthar is awesome, too. I'd recomend you stay miles away from his poetry (most wasn't much good, actually a pretty lousy imitation of Poe,) and go for the short stories forst, and wait to read the longer ones and novels.

Oooh and I have a joke for you Lovecraft fans on this thread! Why was Herbert Wesr such a good barkeeper?

'Cause he knew the way to mix a tonic! Get it?

Because if you say mix a tonic fast it kinda sounds like Miskatonic...!

*dodges flying fruit*

Edited by Agent D. Scully
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Bracket Immortal

Bracket

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Oooh and I have a joke for you Lovecraft fans on this thread! Why was Herbert Wesr such a good barkeeper?

'Cause he knew the way to mix a tonic! Get it?

Because if you say mix a tonic fast it kinda sounds like Miskatonic...!

*dodges flying fruit*

Wow. :no:

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Oniomancer Illuminated

Oniomancer

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Shadow over Innsmouth was a good one, as was the Call of Cthulu. The Cats of Ulthar is awesome, too. I'd recomend you stay miles away from his poetry (most wasn't much good, actually a pretty lousy imitation of Poe,) and go for the short stories forst, and wait to read the longer ones and novels.

Oooh and I have a joke for you Lovecraft fans on this thread! Why was Herbert Wesr such a good barkeeper?

'Cause he knew the way to mix a tonic! Get it?

Because if you say mix a tonic fast it kinda sounds like Miskatonic...!

*dodges flying fruit*

You're lucky it's not flying polyps.

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Bracket Immortal

Bracket

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You're lucky it's not flying polyps.

Now THAT'S funny! :w00t::tu:

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xlizen Neophyte

xlizen

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I've been hearing everywhere about this HP Lovecraft and it really seems like stuff that I would enjoy.

I know it doesn't matter that much, but which book should I start with?

My one friend convinced me how awesome Lovecraft is so I purchased The Best of Lovecraft: Bloodcurdling Tales of Horror and Macabre. The stories in this collection are easy to read and help ease you into Lovecraft's greater works such as the Cthulhu mythos and Mountains of Madness IMO. After I purchased the Best of Lovecraft, I moved onto The Transition of H.P. Lovecraft: The Road to Madness for this one contains "The Mountains of Madness" and "Reanimator" which was the story that inspired the Re-Animator movie. They're really cheap online and easy to find too. Hope that helps!

0345350804.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

The-Transition-of-H-P-Lovecraft-The20-med.jpg

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Soul Kitchen Illuminated

Soul Kitchen

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   #25 
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My one friend convinced me how awesome Lovecraft is so I purchased The Best of Lovecraft: Bloodcurdling Tales of Horror and Macabre. The stories in this collection are easy to read and help ease you into Lovecraft's greater works such as the Cthulhu mythos and Mountains of Madness IMO. After I purchased the Best of Lovecraft, I moved onto The Transition of H.P. Lovecraft: The Road to Madness for this one contains "The Mountains of Madness" and "Reanimator" which was the story that inspired the Re-Animator movie. They're really cheap online and easy to find too. Hope that helps!

0345350804.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

The-Transition-of-H-P-Lovecraft-The20-med.jpg

I might just go with that one

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