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"One is drawn into Lovecraft by the very air of plausibility and characteristic understatement of the prose, the question being When will the weirdness strike?" writes Joyce Carol Oates in The New York Review of Books. Del Rey has reprinted Lovecraft's stories in three large-format paperbacks. This second volume, 25 tales in all, collects the classic "Case of Charles Dexter Ward," the phantasmagoric novel "The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath," several fantasies inspired by Lord Dunsany and other stories. Introduction by Neil Gaiman (author of the Sandman comics).
From Publishers Weekly
Horror master Lovecraft (1890-1937) frequently used dreams in his tales of the supernatural to evoke fantastic worlds inconceivable to the conscious mind. This repackaging of 25 stories and fragments calls attention to that aspect of Lovecraft's work, but it won't convince anyone that the selections form a coherent cycle. In the light fantasies "Celephais," "The Silver Key" and "The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath," dreams are vehicles for travel to lands of enchantment in which men rub shoulders with gods and imaginary creatures. In the terror tales "The Dreams in the Witch-House," "Hypnos" and "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward," dreams intrude upon reality and serve as portents for horrors too terrible to engage directly. Both "The Statement of Randolph Carter" and the prose-poem "Nyarlathotep" are based on actual dreams of Lovecraft's, but a number of the other stories, good though they are, have no dream association whatsoever. Comics virtuoso Neil Gaiman (Sandman) supplies a respectful introduction that gives no clue to the selection criteria and, in several places, is factually incorrect. (Lovecraft placed two tales, not one, in the magazine Astounding Stories before its name was changed to Astounding Science Fiction, and before the tenure of editor John W. Campbell.) Its failed agenda notwithstanding, this book is a welcome tribute to a writer whose dreams inspired some of this century's finest literary nightmares.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Most helpful customer reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
nice selection,
This review is from: Dreams of Terror and Death: The Dream Cycle of H. P. Lovecraft (Paperback)
It's a quite good selection of Lovecraft's stories, although some of them are merely projects that lasts only 2-3 pages, the other stories are great and can be considered rare, since most story selection are the one in the Cthulhu cycle, including only the most famous. In this one you can find some of his early writting and some miscellanious stuff. I sincerely think that it's a must have for any fan of Lovecraft, for those who are discovering him I would say to start with the Call of Cthulhu selection because they give an accurate idea of Lovecraft's work, but the stories in this book are great, such as The Statement of Randolph Carter, The Case of Charles Dexter Ward or Beyond the Wall of Sleep. This is definitely a great selection of Lovecraft's stories.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Decent,
By A Customer
This review is from: Dreams of Terror and Death: The Dream Cycle of H. P. Lovecraft (Paperback)
If you are not a fan of poetic or desrciptive writing you probably will not enjoy this book. There is almost no dialogue and can be draining at times. Quite a few stories were deeply entertaining but others were slow and when they finally reached their climax I was left with, "oh, thats it?" Overall it is easy to see how much influence Lovecraft had on other writers. Though I wasnt thrilled with each story I was definetely brought into the atmoshphere Lovecraft created.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Unbelievable,
By Crypt "thecrypt777" (Arkham) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Dreams of Terror and Death: The Dream Cycle of H. P. Lovecraft (Paperback)
Undoubtably one of my favorite authors' most mind blowing stories are compiled here. If you haven't experienced Lovecraft's genious you're really missing out. The imagination this man possessed was incomparable. He created alternate universes and forces, creatures and powers, an entire mythological cycle by the power of pure imagination. These stories will transport you to other worlds. The words will suck you in and leave you feeling like you've experienced an apocalypse rather than simply read a story. Unfortunately some folks seem to think that it wasn't pure imagination that created such memorable texts. This fairly common myth was perpetuated by the "Simon" edition of the "Necronomicon" which borrows from Lovecraft and combines this with ancient sumerian mysticism. For some reason "Simon" made up an elaborate story about how Lovecraft had occult ties. Not true. He may have been inspired by ancient lore and beliefs and used that to spark his imagination, however the truth is that the Necronomicon, Cthulhu, the Mad Arab etc... are PURE FICTION. The product of an incredible imagination. Anyone who has really read Lovecraft will find nothing in common with his Al Azif and the hoax "Necronomicon" that you can find in any occult bookstore. Anyone who knows Sumerian mythology and mysticism will find little in common with this book as well. Lovecraft possessed an imagination like no other. Just read "The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath" if you don't believe me. It's one of the most stimulating and mind bending works of surreal fantasy I've ever read. I dare you to find something that even comes close to being similar. Check it out.
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