Lovecraft became a better stylist and craftsman as time went on, however, even his crudely done early stories often have a certain power to them that is lacking in supposedly better writers. It's interesting that he never lost that as he became a more refined writer.
I am a mathematician. When I read Dreams in the Witch House, I was simultaneously surprised and endlessly delighted that the main character was a mathematician, and that all the magic was given grounding in math! What made it even better was that I have studied some of the specific mathematics which are alluded to in the story, and this made it very fun to read.
@@michaelk.vaughan8617 Indeed! I hope that the equations I produce never lead to such encounters, but in case they do, I already know to promptly step on the beast!
Thank you for this deeply respectful video on Lovecraft's work. What a pity that one of the greatest horror/fantasy writers of all time died in poverty, never knowing how his genius would heavily influence so MANY writers and film producers many decades after his death.
Hooray for making clear that his writing is not all purple prose, and that he grew into mastery of his style, which is his own and no one else's. How many "pulp" writers achieved that? Bravo, sir.
I'm filling in a lot of gaps in my Lovecraft reading. I used to find that over wrought style a real barrier but I'm coming to realise there is some really great writing there too. I may well do this chronological read through one day if I find myself in an abandoned shack in a cursed wood.
Simply put Michael one if not the best master of the weird fiction genre along obviously with RE Howard & Clarke Ashton Smith thanks again for posting his tragic early death along with Howard's tragic early death in my personal opinion robbed the world of what I believe would have been fabulous writers well into the middle of the 20th century his imagination along with the authors mentioned above as with Machen Blackwood was astonishing and since childhood I've been a huge fan 🥰👍
I have this particular edition! It's been a fixture of my nightstand for seemingly an endless amount of time. I love cracking that thing open to read when I wanna shut the rest of the world out.
I never could get in to Lovecraft. Back in the day when I was into reading Horror Lovecraft was almost impossible to get hold of. He wasn't alone in that regard M.R. James was another. Ditto Machen and others. I was also put off by names like Chthulu. Chthulu ??? But a man who loved E.A. Poe and especially Lord Dunsany (one of my favorites) can't be all bad. BTW, speaking of E.A. Poe, I worked for a year in Baltimore and used to go by Poe's burial site where mysterious bouquets of flowers used to appear on his tomb. I don't think anyone ever found out who put them there. Nice introduction, as always, Michael.
Very good overview of HPL's stories Michael. His skill as a writer definitely evolved, especially his ability to communicate the inescapability of one's doom whether as punishment for hubris or, worse in my view, when the protagonist is the target of an incomprehensible and inexorable power. When I received that Barnes and Noble volume as a gift I was able to replace a number of very tatty paperbacks with it - a lovely volume with a cover that, disturbingly, calls to me to stare into its depths..... As to your question about reading HPL all the way through, I did but with breaks between groups of stories: half a dozen short stories or a couple of longer ones, then an SF anthology or novel before returning for the next bracket of HPL tales.
@@Dalekzilla you know, I don’t think he was ahead of his time, because I don’t think any one else could have done what he did. Same thing with EAP for example, but he was more of a modern writer in the sense that he wrote a wide range of stuff. That’s the thing with HPL too, 90+% of his fiction feels cohesive, and it just keeps building up to something.
I really love Lovecraft and recently started reading his complete works in e-book form published by Delphi Classics which does contain his collaborations with other authors, poetry and essays. You can really feel Poe's influence in Howard's early stories and all of his poems.
lovecrafts complete works is the kind of mythos you need to read through at least twice from the start. how he seeds places, events, people and mythos that come together to form both the dreamlands and Eldritch earth is amazing. he crafted a fantastic world and it would of been amazing to see what he would of done to continue it
you're often left wondering exactly what kind of stories he might have written had he had the chance...... Weird Tales & the SF mags continued for a fair while and of course WW2 was just round the corner when he died.... we'll never know of course ! we can merely rejoice in what we have......
Excellent video, Michael! And just in keeping with the spirit of Christmas! Cthulhu in Christmas!!! ♫♪♪ For even death may die my dear, for even death my die! Alhazred said 'that is not dead, which can eternal lie!' ♫♪♪ (Sung in parody of Auld Lang Syne) Here's hoping you'll put out some more eldritch festivities! Tis the season! Iä iä! And I must also wonder about Edgar? Did he run off somewhere? Please tell me he hasn't come under the nasty influence of that old khemite Pharoah, Nephren-Ka. He's always up to some nasty business.
I‘m a huge Lovecraft fan since I first read him as a child. I appreciate the impact Poe had - not only on Lovecraft. But unlike with Lovecraft, I always found Poe‘s work to be somewhat boring.
I started HPL chronologically; I'm still in his early period at 1919's the White Ship - though I need to go back to Samuel Johnson and Sweet Ermengarde (which I skipped because they aren't horror and it was October) - though "not the best", I've found them all very enjoyable, even his juvenalia written when he was 7 showed the great promise awakening, so long as you take them for what they are (kind of adorable). Maybe only "Beast in the Cave" was a bit too basic, but it already showed a fine mastery of language at 15. They are all short anyway, so it's no great time sink to try one, then another, if one wants a holistic view of his work.
I read through this edition last year. I like Lovecraft a lot but I do reach a saturation point with his stories. I'm glad I did it but I think I'll space it out next time.
Hey Michael, thanks for the vid! I’m glad you mentioned that Lovecraft’s views changed as he got older. That’s something that people on the internet seem to either forget or gloss over. BTW, there’s a graphic novel called Lovecraft by Hans Rodionoff. The artwork is very interesting and is all done in watercolour and ink. Not too sure about the story but the art looks great. Just thought I’d let you know 😅 Cheers!
@@michaelk.vaughan8617 No worries! I forgot that you aren’t buying any books right now. But just for future reference…In case you need a suggestion for epic comic book Wednesday. 👍
When I was in Providence earlier this year I bought a hardcover collection of the Complete Tales of H.P. Lovecraft. It has a green cover with Cthulhu on both covers.
Thanks for the great video. About what point do you think Lovecraft finally became his best (what story was it)? Was it Call of Cthulu? Or was it somewhere else in his bibliography? Have a great night and have a great reading experience.
I have the commemorative edition of Necronomicon by Victor Gollancz. Where does this volume sit in amongst others? Is it missing works from the Barnes and Noble edition you are holding in this video?
Every year at this time before Christmas, BJs whole sale club sells off copyright material. Lovecraft is always there. The books are printed with copious colored gilt, and fake black leather. There is ribbions to use as book marks. The price is hard to beat, but sadly the paper quality has gone done, but that does vary depending on the year. I'm not an expert on Lovecraft, so don't know how the stories are aranged. Still it's hard to beat a black book with tentacles in gold and red gilt.
I haven’t read everything by Lovecraft, but I have read most, excluding the revisions. I have the four Arkham hardcovers and a complete works on Kindle. I have an ebook of the revisions but it excluded the Loved Dead.
Hey!!! Michael, when are you going to read and review "A means to Freedom the letters of HP Lovecraft and Robert E Howard" Volumes 1 and 2? Being a fan of both authors, it seems a no brainer.
And now people want his works taken away and destroyed because the way he acted man this world is going downhill real f****** quick long live ake p love craft
