This book is a collection of stories about the adventures of Randolph Carter in the dream world and parts of the waking world. The thing I particularly enjoyed about the stories is the way Lovecraft shapes his dream world, with elements of nightmares strongly mixed in. I just find the concept fascinating-for dreams to hold an actual reality. Some of the scenarios are a bit creepy but still interesting. I would recommend this book to others who also enjoy reading weird fiction, fantasy, or horror stories. ( )

I'm not really a big fan of Lovecraft, but I have to include this one as a favorite for purely sentimental reasons. I first purchased the Ballantine edition in 1970 with this cover -- long since lost. Have since purchased a new edition and re read the story. 30+ years later it's not exactly the same, but I still fondly remember it as the one that got me started. Thanks to the Ballantine's for bringing Morris, Dunsany, McDonald, etc. to a new audience! 'At the Mountains of Maddness' is a better story, but I like Dream Quest for it's less bone-chilling-horror and more fantasy-like character. ( )

http://fireandsword.blogspot.com/2007...

Lovecraft’s fantasy is, in my opinion, a greatly underestimated area of his work. Surely if one were listing the best American fantasy stories, Lovecraft’s novelette, The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath would surely rank high. Lovecraft’s fantasy was indebted to the work of Lord Dunsany, but Lovecraft sculpted his own vision of wonder and fear.

Huh. For a raving nutjob, Lovecraft is a skilled writer of short stories. Not Borges skilled, but still. However, I've always had trouble finishing "Dream Quest," because it simply isn't a short story. It's a book, and it's not that great a book. It has some self-cannabilizing plot issues, and the ending is really, really annoying. Especially from a guy like Lovecraft. If I wanted to read "Foucault's Pendulum," I'd read "Foucault's Pendulum." Fortunately for me, that problem almost never arises... ( )