Seriously, he's not that good. He isn't bad, and some of his stories I really quite like, but people seem to look at him as some kind of god, and cthulhu as the most incredible character ever, which I think is stupid. Here's why:
[b]Plots:[/b]
Although there are some exceptions, most of the stories are "I am a guy with a mysterious family history. One time I want to some creepy place and a saw some monster and then I woke up and it was all a dream, except I found some clue to say it wasn't, and it all ties in with my mysterious family history. Also I may or may not be insane". As I said earlier, there are ones that don't follow that, but about half of the ones I have read do, and even the ones that are differant aren't particularly good.
See: [url]http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Rats_in_the_Walls[/url]
[url]http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Tomb[/url]
[b]Monsters:[/b]
Some of the monster ideas are quite good; that invisible egg shaped tentacle monster was certainly inventive, but most of them aren't really that incredible. I mean, Cthulhu is a scaly giant with wings and a squid on his head. What's so incredible about that? Also, half the time he doesn't even bother to describe the creatures at all. It's all either "if I told you, you'd go insane" or "I caught a glimpse of something and then I fainted." or even, in one instance something that pretty much went "It was kind of winged thing, but it wasn't like a bird or a bat or a lizard". Yeah, I can just picture it; the imagery is so vivid.
[quote] I cannot even hint what it was like, for it was a compound of all that is unclean, uncanny, unwelcome, abnormal, and detestable. It was the ghoulish shade of decay, antiquity, and dissolution; the putrid, dripping eidolon of unwholesome revelation, the awful baring of that which the merciful earth should always hide. God knows it was not of this world - or no longer of this world - yet to my horror I saw in its eaten-away and bone-revealing outlines a leering, abhorrent travesty on the human shape; and in its mouldy, disintegrating apparel an unspeakable quality that chilled me even more.[/quote]
From The Outsider. Yes, you used a lot of words, but none of them really tell you what it actually looks like.
[b]Writing Style:[/b]
I don't know if it's just the time it was written or what, but he is incredibly verbose. I know some people are going to jump on me with "itz just coz u wont read anyfing wiv atmosfere and description cause u is stoopid an 6 yaers old", but I don't want to read a horror short story where the first 5 pages are descriptions of a boring trip to Egypt (see Imprisoned With The Pharaohs). It would be OK if he was actually particularly good at writing descriptions of things, but he's not; they aren't poetic or awe inspiring, just dull. tl;dr.
See: [url]http://gaslight.mtroyal.ca/imppharo.htm[/url]
I know he has changed the horror genre a lot, but the horror genre has changed a lot again in the years that have passed since. I am not questioning how much influence he had, and I can't tell you how they compared to other material of the same period as I haven't really read any, but as something to read today, his work is only slightly better than average, in my opinion.
that was a longer rant than I thought it was going to be.
bitch let's go
[QUOTE=JohnnyMo1;17064542]bitch let's go[/QUOTE]
I knew you would post here.
You're not supposed to picture it, because the very image of the things would make you kill yourself.
I don't know. I've never read any of his books.
Should I?
The stories are great, you just don't like them. He has millions of fans all over the world, and writers, even to this day, lend things from his books (ex. Stephen King).
[QUOTE=The Epidemic;17064569]I don't know. I've never read any of his books.
Should I?[/QUOTE]
Yes.
Don't listen to OP. Listen to me: font of Lovecraftian knowledge.
I'd say most of your points are invalid because that's just his writing style. Lovecraft is like marmite. You'll either love him or hate him, despite the obvious fact that you should love him.
[QUOTE=protoAuthor;17064558]You're not supposed to picture it, because the very image of the things would make you kill yourself.[/QUOTE]
Exactly. One of his books have a matter, and it's colour is something no human has ever seen before, and there's nothing like it on the whole plane to compare to.
How can you describe that?
I just noticed a while ago that the fetus harvester in the first matrix is a mechanical Shub-Niggurath.
Anybody who writes a Batman comic gets my respect.
[QUOTE=JohnnyMo1;17064580]Yes.
Don't listen to OP. Listen to me: font of Lovecrafian knowledge.[/QUOTE]
Yeah but it has all these strange names that I doubt I could remember
[QUOTE=The Epidemic;17064619]Yeah but it has all these strange names that I doubt I could remember[/QUOTE]
Most of the the gods show up in the works of writers who picked up the Mythos after Lovecraft and most of them can go suck a dick so it's not that much to remember.
[QUOTE=Deadollie;17064585]I'd say most of your points are invalid because that's just his writing style. Lovecraft is like marmite. You'll either love him or hate him, despite the obvious fact that you should love him.[/QUOTE]
You're not allowed to dislike authors because of their writing style now? Also I never said I hated him, he just isn't the mega powered uber writer and creator of all that is awesome some people make him out to be.
[QUOTE=Negrul1;17064641]You're not allowed to dislike authors because of their writing style now?[/QUOTE]
No. You are not.
[QUOTE=The Epidemic;17064569]I don't know. I've never read any of his books.
Should I?[/QUOTE]
Yes. You should.
Also (And there'll be spoilers if you haven't read The Call of Cthulhu):
[quote=H.P. Lovecraft]Johansen and his men landed at a sloping mud-bank on this monstrous Acroplis and clambered slipperily up over titan oozy blocks which could have been no mortal staircase. The very sun of heaven seemed distorted when viewed through the polarising miasma welling out from this sea-soaked perversion, and twisted menace and suspense lurked leeringly in those crazily elusive angels of carven rock where a second glance shewed concavity after first shewed convexity.[/quote]
How is that not mind-bendingly insane?
He's a better writer than you'll ever be.
Now I feel empty, because I havent read any of his books.
[I][B]PLEASE DONT HIT ME JOHNNYMO![/B][/I]
[QUOTE=Gallus;17064715]He's a better writer than you'll ever be.[/QUOTE]
That doesn't mean he can't criticize.
Lovecraft is great. He influenced a lot of today's horror writers, including Stephan King, who called Lovecraft "The twentieth-century horror story's dark and baroque prince."
I like his works, though I've only read Shadow over Innsmouth for a bit because I really liked the Call of Cthulhu PC game.
Also ITT: People can't dislike a racist writer.
[QUOTE=JohnnyMo1;17064736]That doesn't mean he can't criticize.[/QUOTE]
I was referring to the fact that his thread is crap
ah whatever
[QUOTE=LeonS;17064762]I like his works, though I've only read Shadow over Innsmouth for a bit because I really liked the Call of Cthulhu PC game.
Also ITT: People can't dislike a racist writer.[/QUOTE]
We all know how racist he was. But it doesn't make his writing bad now, does it?
[QUOTE=LeonS;17064762]I like his works, though I've only read Shadow over Innsmouth for a bit because I really liked the Call of Cthulhu PC game.
Also ITT: People can't dislike a racist writer.[/QUOTE]
He's pretty much the only racist out there whose racism I can just shrug off and go, "Oh, Howard," because everything else about him was so awesome.
Can someone recommend his best work? I really want to start reading his books.
[quote=Lovecraft]Johansen and his men landed at a sloping mud-bank on this monstrous Acroplis and clambered slipperily up over titan oozy blocks which could have been no mortal staircase. The very sun of heaven seemed distorted when viewed through the polarising miasma welling out from this sea-soaked perversion, and twisted menace and suspense lurked leeringly in those crazily elusive angels of carven rock where a second glance shewed concavity after first shewed convexity.[/quote]
The way he uses "complex" words reminds me of emo poetry.
ratings expected
If HP Lovecraft is that good, how come he's dead.
[QUOTE=drive_the_hive;17064953]If HP Lovecraft is that good, how come he's dead.[/QUOTE]
He's not actually dead he's living in an underground fortress with JFK and Elvis.
Troll.
[QUOTE=NATO.Caliber v2;17064978]Troll.[/QUOTE]
Having different opinions = trolling.
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