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Loading... The Shadow Over Innsmouth and Other Stories of Horror (1931)by H.P. Lovecraft
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. A collection of six short stories and one novella, some of which I'd read before and some I hadn't. My general opinion of H.P. Lovecraft, based on what I'd previously read, is that at his best he had a keen ability to tap into the overwhelmed and overwhelming feelings that humans can sometimes experience when confronted with the incomprehensibly unfamiliar and the inconceivably immense. And his mythology, full of sleeping ancient gods and mad cultists, is a lot of fun to play around with, as a great many talented folks have done. On the other hand, my impression was that his writing could be somewhat tedious and his style overwrought to the point that it not only is it far too easily parodied, but it almost manages to do the job itself. This particular collection did cause me to revise my opinion of his writing abilities upward a bit, though. And I think he only uses the word "cyclopean" twice in the first six stories (before "Innsmouth" comes along and doubles the count). A breakdown on the stories: "The Colour Out of Space": This was the first Lovecraft story I ever read, by a couple of decades, and I remembered being pretty disturbed by it back in the day. I'm pleased to be able to report that, unlike a lot of stuff I read when I was a teenager, it holds up extremely well. It's a compelling, seriously creepy story that thoroughly captures the uneasy, uncanny feeling of ordinary, familiar things slowly growing twisted and strange. It also illustrates quite nicely the fact, often forgotten today, that sometimes saying "It was too horrible to describe" really is more effective than actually describing whatever-it-is. "The Outsider": A strange little piece -- well, strange in slightly different ways than Lovecraft usually is, I guess -- that culminates in a twist that might have been chilling if it weren't obvious a mile away. Mostly it left me wondering what the heck the backstory was, since it's never really explained. "Imprisoned with the Pharaohs": This one was ghost-written for Harry Houdini, who is also the main character. Which fact is, I think, more interesting than the story itself. There's way too much set-up for too little payoff, and the whole thing relies a bit too much on a sort of "Ooh, isn't Egypt ancient and mysterious and exotic?" vibe that seems a little quaint today. "The Transition of Juan Romero": Short and very slight story about miners who disturb... something. OK, this one could have done with a little less "I dare not tell you" and a little more description; I actually had to flip back and check to see if I'd missed something. "In the Walls of Eryx": A science fiction story about a man trapped in an invisible labyrinth in the jungles of Venus. It's better written than most SF of the time, and the scenario struck a particularly nightmarish chord for me, completely lacking in a sense of direction as I am. I'd actually read this one before, too, and the story had stuck with me, but I'd completely forgotten that Lovecraft had written it, so I was pleasantly surprised to encounter it here. "The Festival": A Christmas story! Sort of. This one didn't make much of an impression, which is too bad, because a Lovecraft Christmas story sounds like it ought to be a particularly demented kind of wonderful. But mostly it's just one of those pieces where he reads like he's swallowed a particularly morbid thesaurus. "The Shadow over Innsmouth": This tale of a decaying New England town that brings whole new levels of meaning to the word "fishy" is undoubtedly one of Lovecraft's best known works. There's probably good reason for that. It's an interesting story, with a moderately creepy premise and a lot of great attention to detail. Unfortunately, much of the most important exposition is written in a really annoying example of phonetic dialect, and there's a faint whiff of xenophobia to the whole thing that makes me mildly uncomfortable in ways the author never intended. Rating: 4/5, mostly on the strength of "The Colour Out of Space" and "In the Walls of Eryx." This contains the title story that is probably the best short story of the 20th century; certainly it is one of the best Lovecraft stories. A fellow goes travelling to Arkam, and is drawn into Innsmouth through some inner attraction. The place smells badly of fish and he finds a drunk who tells him a weird story. The story comes true as he is forced to stay in town that night.. Fortunately, he is aware of danger enouigh to put a throw lock on his door (where it had just VERY recently been taken off). The description of the events through to the end of the book are most excellent and one can see the horror in his mind. Many think "The Colour Out of Space" is Lovecraft's best story, and it IS excellent, too, but it lacks the immediacy and pacing of the "Shadonw" story. no reviews | add a review
ContainsInspired
Un thriller fantastique sous forme de descente aux enfers au coeur d'une ville portuaire pleine de mystère et de légendes effroyables portant le nom maudit d'Innsmouth.Résumé :Un jeune homme passionné d'antiquités et de généalogie entame une visite de la Nouvelle-Angleterre lorsque son attention se porte sur une mystérieuse ville sinistrée et lugubre répondant au nom d'Innsmouth. Inexorablement attiré par elle, il ignore les nombreuses mises en garde, les glaçantes rumeurs et les effroyables légendes à son sujet et décide de s'y rendre. Quelle est cette mystérieuse maladie qui semble affecter les habitants d'Innsmouth ? Que se passe-t-il sur le récif du diable au large du port les nuits de pleine lune ? Autant de questions qui trouveront leurs réponses dans une expérience qui va s'avérer bien plus profonde que le narrateur n'aurait pu l'imaginer.- LE CULTE DE CTHULHU : TOME 1 -Le Cauchemar D'Innsmouth représente le premier tome de la collection "Le Culte de Cthulhu" dirigée par Chambre Noire.TOME 2 : L'Appel de Cthulhu (H.P. Lovecraft)TOME 3 : L'Abomination de Dunwich (H.P. Lovecraft)TOME 4 : Dagon (H.P. Lovecraft)TOME 5 : Les Montagnes Hallucinées (H.P. Lovecraft) - À PROPOS DU TRADUCTEUR -Fervent adorateur des écrits de Howard Phillips Lovecraft depuis qu'il est en âge de lire, Florian P. Dennisson s'évertue depuis plus de 25 ans à perpétuer l'héritage laissé par l'écrivain américain, toujours en quête du mot juste et cherchant à coller au plus près à l'essence même de ce que l'auteur a voulu nous livrer. Quelque peu dérouté voire déçu par les traductions françaises proposées, il a utilisé sa connaissance poussée de la langue anglo-saxonne dans un projet de remise au goût du jour de l'ensemble de l'oeuvre du pionnier de la littérature d'horreur. C'est selon cette approche que Florian Dennisson a proposé ses traductions à Chambre Noire qui publiera Le Cauchemar d'Innsmouth, L'Appel de Cthulhu, L'Abomination de Dunwich, Les Montagnes Hallucinées et Dagon, cinq oeuvres majeures de Lovecraft qui ont nécessairement marqué les aficionados et qui éveilleront sans aucun doute la curiosité de futurs lecteurs. No library descriptions found. |
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While entertaining, I don't actually feel very terrified while reading these stories. Sorry, dude. ( )