tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7294499213897153104.post4001140744316470008..comments2024-03-27T09:00:32.195-05:00Comments on The Signal Watch: October Read: At the Mountains of Madness (1930's)The Leaguehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04836241071795980225noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7294499213897153104.post-89175380800791785382013-01-11T05:43:42.925-06:002013-01-11T05:43:42.925-06:00I was googling for images of "At The Mountain...I was googling for images of "At The Mountains of Madness" and I stumbled upon this Tintin cover and being a huge Tintin fan I was rather shocked that there might have been a Tintin-Lovecraft mashup that I have missed out on :D Mos-ahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15894774918769116994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7294499213897153104.post-46290233366736657742012-10-30T01:57:21.810-05:002012-10-30T01:57:21.810-05:00JS, you should definitely read Call of Cthulu, sin...JS, you should definitely read Call of Cthulu, since it's short and you will know immediately whether you should read more.<br /><br />Also, there was a silent film of it done recently, but in the style of films of the 30s, as though it was done at the time of publication. It's really fun!Fantomenoshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02943650057872740425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7294499213897153104.post-54863380232953160762012-10-29T16:58:50.350-05:002012-10-29T16:58:50.350-05:00The security guard in my building is a huge Lovecr...The security guard in my building is a huge Lovecraft fan, so I actually read this on Shay's rec as much as anything. I have been told "Call of Chtulu" is good stuff enough times that I'm looking into that. I also have a collection of Lovecraft I'm going to sample this winter and get into other short stories, where I think his talent may really soar.<br /><br />I did enjoy the book, but the structure is going to take some getting used to. Now I know, and knowing is half the battle.<br /><br />And I can take purple prose. I grew up on Chris Claremont's X-Men.The Leaguehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04836241071795980225noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7294499213897153104.post-66553466075264563362012-10-29T10:33:43.860-05:002012-10-29T10:33:43.860-05:00Huh. I've never read any Lovecraft, but I sup...Huh. I've never read any Lovecraft, but I suppose I should read at least one of his books...<br />So is this the one to read?J.S.https://www.blogger.com/profile/03903186469796595837noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7294499213897153104.post-84994484744898527632012-10-29T03:15:54.425-05:002012-10-29T03:15:54.425-05:00I'm a big fan of Lovecraft and his contemporar...I'm a big fan of Lovecraft and his contemporaries Robert E. Howard and Clark Ashton Smith. I would suggest "Rats in the Walls." It's short and has the typical Lovecraft plot wherein the protagonist, who stands for modernity and reason, looks directly into the face of chaos and ancient evil, and promptly loses his mind. I would also recommend reading a Robert E. Howard Cthulhu story. His follow the same basic structure as Lovecraft, except the protagonist, instead of going insane, looks in the face of evil and chaos, and punches it in the nose.<br /><br />There's a collection of short stories called "Shadows of Baker Street," which tries to combine Sherlock Holmes and Lovecraft. The stories are little more than fan fiction, because they don't get Sherlock Holmes or Lovecraft, except for one: "A Study in Emerald" by Neil Gaiman, which is brilliant. If you can't find it online, get a copy of his short story collection, "Fragile Things." Jake Shorehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00124378230594689452noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7294499213897153104.post-86401139612531810802012-10-29T01:53:27.168-05:002012-10-29T01:53:27.168-05:00You know, I was having this conversation with a fr...You know, I was having this conversation with a friend who just picked up Lovecraft and found it intolerable, just unreadable, and couldn't understand the hype.<br /><br />What I managed to get across is that the appeal of Lovecraft, to some of us, is that he writes with a very classical style, clearly indebted to Poe, but has a very modern vision of existential horror. The monsters in Lovecraft are so massive that we are beneath their notice, and their existence will drive us totally insane. It's no wonder his amazingly developed mythos is referenced in metal so consistently.<br /><br />That said, I'm currently reading a collection of Cthulu tales with only 2 by Lovecraft, and yeah, some of the other writers are refreshing. Robert E Howard has a great little pulpy story in there, and he's just a smoother read...Fantomenoshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02943650057872740425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7294499213897153104.post-20396919105511153862012-10-29T01:52:27.911-05:002012-10-29T01:52:27.911-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Fantomenoshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02943650057872740425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7294499213897153104.post-4812440794547482922012-10-29T01:42:04.274-05:002012-10-29T01:42:04.274-05:00I downloaded the complete works of Lovecraft on th...I downloaded the complete works of Lovecraft on the Kindle for $.99 and read it all (except for some of his dreamworld stuff, which is brutal). My biggest issue with him is the time he spends "world building." At the Mountains of Madness is and amazing and tense tale until the narrator starts investigating. I love everything up to that point, then it takes a while for it to build up again, which can be fine, but I wasn't interested in the observations.<br /><br />On another note, if you read more Lovecraft, you will find he has many go-to words in his back pocket, though I can't remember any off-hand. You could probably devise a drinking game, though.ncapphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08150591487149569982noreply@blogger.com