Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos by H. P. Lovecraft
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Book Reviews of Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos
Book Review: A Competent Collection
Summary: 5 Stars
It's hard to fault a "best of" collection - each story is, after all, there because it is the best in some way, or represents a vital contribution. There is no point to my going through the listing and mentioning which stories are my favorites; they are all excellent (or at least important). Collecting the out-of-print books that contain these stories individually would cost hundreds, even when searching for the most recent reprint, so this is quite a valuable addition to your library (although you may wish later to read more by the anthologized authors). The authors below are representative of the pool of literature that Lovecraft drew from for his own stories, his contemporaries who collaborated with him, his post-humous successors, and people like Stephen King who were motivated to begin a career from reading HPL's work.
"The Return of the Sorceror" and "Ubbo-Sathla" by Clark Ashton Smith
"The Hounds of Tindalos" and "The Space-Eaters" by Frank Belknap Long
"The Black Stone" by Robert Howard
"The Call of Cthulhu" and "The Haunter of the Dark" by Lovecraft
"The Dweller in Darkness" and "Beyond the Threshold" by August Derleth
"The Shambler from the Stars", "The Shadow from the Steeple", and "Notebook found in a Deserted House" by Robert Bloch
"The Salem Horror" by Henry Kuttner
"The Terror from the Depths" by Fritz Leiber
"Rising with Surtsey" by Brian Lumley
"Cold Print" by Ramsey Campbell
"The Return of the Lloigor" by Colin Wilson
The last 5 are farther removed from Lovecraft; probably the best is Stephen Kings' "Jerusalem's Lot"
More interesting than my opinion on the stories included is those left out; nothing is said of those authors wholly predating Lovecraft but who significantly influenced him. There is no Lord Dunsany, no Arthur Machen, and most signifcantly no Robert Chambers (and his King in Yellow, which seems to have been the archetype for Lovecraft's Necronomicon). I mention this merely for completeness' sake; this is a superb collection.
Book Review: The master inspires other masters.
Summary: 5 Stars
H.P. Lovecraft is one of my favorite horror authors if not my favorite depending on my mood. This book showcases the fact that he inspired so many great authors. Notebook found in a deserted house by Robert Bloch is a great example of a haunting environment with great, creepy implications which was what made Lovecraft the master of his trade. The Freshman by Philip Jose Farmer is amazing in the fact that an air of mystery, mystique, and evil are all wrapped in one. This is my favorite so far but Stephen King almost outshines him with Jerusalem's Lot which originally appeared in Night Shift. This story is so amazing at using Lovecraft's mythos with his own original writing style using letters to tell the story which allows for a foreboding and downright eerie series of events and locales. Some of the earlier stories seemed like they tried to hard to copy Lovecraft while not being to original. I'm looking at you August Derleth who scammed me by making me by his book by using Lovecraft's name. But stories by Ramsey Campbell who I find hard to like because some of his stories are hard to follow while making little sense unless you read them over and over. But his story is very good and I still like his stories very much. All in all, this book contains Lovecraft's masterpiece The Call of Cthulu while containing very good original stories. A must buy for fans of dark, atmospheric story telling.
Best stories:
Jerusalem's Lot
The Freshman
Notebook Found in a Deserted House
Cold Print
Book Review: A Amazing Collection of Weird Fiction
Summary: 5 Stars
After buying Gollancz's massive "Necronomicon: The Best Weird Tales of H.P. Lovecraft" with its 878 pages, I started looking for another book of lovecraftian fiction that was more...portable. Thank God I chose this one. Its a great collection of stories by other authors that expand the Cthulhu mythos, and also includes Lovecraft's "The Call of Cthulhu" and "The Haunter of the Dark", two of his best stories.
The best stories in this book(in my opinion) which I recommend to anyone are:
"The Shambler From the Stars" by Robert Bloch
An author of weird fiction reads from the cursed "Des Vermiis Mysteris" and unleashes a vampiric being from another world.
"Notebook Found in a Deserted House" also by Bloch
The chronicles of a farmboy who is terrorized by an ancient evil in the woods near his home.
"The Salem Horror" by Henry Kuttner
Strange things begin to occur after a writer discovers an underground chamber of a witch hanged in the Salem Witch Trials.
"Sticks" by Karl Edward Wagner
An artist is haunted by memory of mysterious figures made from sticks in the woods and gains the attention of an evil cult.
"Jerusalem's Lot" by Stephen King
Two men explore the deserted village of Jerusalem's Lot and discover that an ancient evil slumbers beneath it.
Book Review: Sharing the Wealth
Summary: 5 Stars
This is an excellent update of this volume (I have the 70s Ballantine 2-volume edition), and is recommended to fans of horror in general and of the Cthulhu Mythos in particular. Most of the stories contained herein would be familiar to even a casual HPL fan, though there are surprises like Joanna Russ' fine tale from the pages of F&SF, a Philip Jose Farmer tale, and Lupoff's sf reinvention. There isn't a clinker in the bunch! My personal favorite is Cold Print, but you can't go wrong with any one of these stories, in a variety of styles and settings neatly encompassing the range of the Mythos. A great book to introduce to those who aren't familiar with this unique shared universe.Book Review: A perfect start for reading Cthulhu stories
Summary: 5 Stars
Here is raw horror as only Lovecraft can write it!As much as I have enjoyed the Cthulhu mythos over my 50 years, I often wondered why Lovecraft never wrote in his stories about science and romance. I have discovered a new full length book all about Cthulhu's evil doings, the Necronomican of Abdul Al-Hazred and the Yog-Sothoth. This book, "The Riddle of Cthulhu", has all the Lovecraftian horror plus science fiction and romance! If after reading "Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos," you want to read a well rounded modern adventure with more of evil Cthulhu; then, this is a perfect next book for you!