At the Mountains of Madness [novella]

One of the most complete feeling Lovecraft stories, but still falls into the trap of being a post-event narration which although a common contemporary format to Lovecraft, serves to diffuse most of the tension of the story itself. The cosmic horror is supposed to come from the revelations of powerful forces beyond our comprehension hiding beneath a thin veil of ignorance, ready to reclaim the earth and level mankind's petty accomplishments. Unfortunately for the horror, the eldritch horror at the core of this story is sympathetic, and even the narrator points this out.

"At the Mountains of Acute Boredom" wäre der passendere Titel gewesen. Ich liebe die mir bekannten Kurzgeschichten Lovecrafts, aber das hier ist ein Desaster durch und durch. Ich hatte stellenweise den Eindruck, die Broschüre eines Maklers für Wohnungen in Monsterhausen zu lesen, dermaßen geschwätzig überdetailliert habe ich die Beschreibungen (die sich in ständigen Wiederholungen ergehen) der Stadt in den Bergen empfunden (die Passagen zu Beginn der Expedition waren auch nicht viel besser). Auf soetwas wie Atmosphäre, interessante Handlung etc. habe ich dagegen leider vergeblich gewartet, vor lauter Innenarchitektur wurden diese Aspekte der Geschichte wohl total vergessen. Den Abbruch hab ich mir nur verkniffen, weil ich ob des show more großen Autors bis kurz vor Schluß auf einen Moment gehofft habe, für den die Quälerei sich gelohnt hätte. Vergeblich, wie ich feststellen musste. show less

A fellow DEEP ONES reader suggested "At the Mountains of Madness" is the central Mythos tale, providing the most consistent and comprehensive alternative history of Earth as envisioned by HPL. After reading, I admit to a more favourable impression with the "deep time" history than with the tale itself, though I did enjoy acquainting myself with a classic of the genre. The expedition's visit to the austral plateau, not to mention the tomb-like ruined city, did have its share of memorable moments. The strongest impression was less of horror than of pathos from watching a fellow human driven insane.

A central point of tension operating in the story: Dyer must provide sufficient detail and force of argument to persuade other expeditions that show more further investigation is too dangerous. Yet the better he meets this objective, the more he contradicts his purpose in that the threat becomes that much more alluring a mystery! All of this telegraphs an insidious message to the reader: of course humanity won't be able to resist, of course we will unleash this horror upon all of us, we're all doomed. I think that's quite clever of HPL, actually, another layer of horror behind the "splashy" horror of direct description, and more effective.

I was unfamiliar with Nicholas Roerich, whose paintings HPL remarks several times in the story. They do have a suggestion of the sublime about them, conveyed even through online images. show less

As with every book in the category A Book That Scares You: no, it didn't. Plenty of movies have made me jump and kept me awake at night; I've yet to experience the same level of fear from a book.

It may just be me, because At the Mountains of Madness is a well-written story filled with mythological creatures and darkly hinted at dangers. Tension builds through deliberate pacing and rich details which divert attention from the unfolding horror. H.P. Lovecraft builds a fantastical world at the South Pole and sends a naive team of university scientists there on a geological survey in 1930. Their ensuing disaster is recounted by Dr. William Dyer, one of the survivors, and takes the form of a plea against subsequent trips.

Dr. Dyer provides show more many of the facts hidden from the public when the team's discovery of an ancient civilization was first broadcast to the world. His account conveys first the excitement, then the terror, as most of the team is mysteriously killed at a remote site. He and the survivors fly to the scene of the tragedy to investigate what is at first described as a windstorm of horrific destructive power. Leaving part of the team there, Dyer and a graduate student named Danforth fly further into the mountains, where they spend sixteen harrowing hours in what they believe to be a deserted city of rock. As they descend into the underground labyrinth, they interpret the murals which both decorate the city and tell its history. Despite the revelation of the dangers ahead, the men push on, driven by morbid curiosity. Danforth is so traumatized by their final encounter that he suffers a nervous breakdown and leaves us maddeningly ignorant of what he saw.

Despite its novella length, At the Mountains of Madness is rich in details and ideas and better written than much of the science fiction I've read. show less

Up to now, I had avoided reading (or in this case, listening to) Lovecraft, mainly because I thought he probably fell into the 'cheesy' &/or grisly horror genre. True, he writes horror, but I was very pleasantly surprised at how erudite his writing is. I know he is traditionally well-loved among geeky circles & now I see why -- his writing is smart, filled with scientific references (making the horror of his stories seem scientifically-authenticated), & quite compelling. I thoroughly enjoyed his extension of Poe's Pym novel (to which he makes direct reference) & thought he brought the story through a very satisfying arc & ending. Definitely recommended, esp. if you've read Poe's Pym or are looking for a sort-of 1920s/1930s throwback show more story of adventure/science/horror. I plan to read more of Lovecraft's work. show less

Having now read this, I can see the inspiration for at least two horror films. The first is The Thing which, in terms of its Antarctic setting, terror of the inexplicable and decimation of an expedition, is a simple copy of the book. The second is Alien with its terrifying depiction of another world which, to the detriment of those who discover it, is not quite as dead as it first appears. For such a short book, it wields some weight.

The narrator is attempting to warn a forthcoming Antarctic expedition of the annihilation that almost certainly awaits them should they venture where he himself has gone before. He has not spoken in detail of his horrifying experiences before out of fear, doubt and sheer unspeakability. But now, with his show more fellow explorers preparing for a trek to their doom, he feels he has to speak out and tell what befell all but a few of those who explored the Mountains of Madness.

Had this been written 50 years earlier than its 1931 publication, it would have been less convincing. But by the time Lovecraft wrote it, not only had the South Pole been reached, horror literature had shed a little more of its Gothic trappings. Of course, H.G. Wells should be credited with inspiring almost an entire body of literature with his superb canon, but Lovecraft writes with a lucid reality that evokes the very real terror you can feel in later horror writers with Stephen King’s The Shining a prime example.

Discovering inadvertently frozen alien beings and a mountain range surpassing anything hitherto known on earth, a forward party of the narrator’s expedition retires for the night. They are never heard from again. The narrator journeys to discover the truth: all have perished in mysterious circumstances. Exploring the mountains themselves, the narrator manages to cross the range via a pass in his aircraft. This brings him to what appears to be a deserted city the like of which he can barely describe. Exploring this brings him and his companion face to face with their worst nightmares…

I was prepared for something much more drearily verbose and mundane and was pleased to find that this was just about the right length and that Lovecraft had done an excellent job at telling just enough of the detail to keep me turning page after page. Very influential and highly readable. What’s more, it provided me with one of the most esoteric quotes I think I’ve ever collected: “The penguins alone could not have saved us…” show less

I got about a 1/3rd of the way through this before I lost my mind. Not because of cthulhu horrors, but because the way its written drove me crazy. I swear HP spent 3-4 pages describing a building, and like he just used a thesaurus for every neat word he could think of and crammed it into the sentence. It was mind numbingly bored. I was too confused, bored, and distracted to be scared. I do not recommend this, sadly. I read that some people love it, I am not one of those people.