The Complete Cthulhu Mythos Tales Book Review
Summary: The Complete Cthulhu Mythos Tales is the perfect introduction into the twisted world of H.P. Lovecraft and his elder gods!
5
Legendary
Welcome back to the mastermind of horror and the elder gods with The Complete Cthulhu Mythos Tales by H.P. Lovecraft from Barnes & Noble that is distributed in Australia by New South Books and is also a title that should be on your reading bucket list. It’s scary, original and really makes you jump when you hear things that go bump in the night.
However before we jump into the review, the first thing that you notice about this amazing hardcover tome is its presentation that boasts a leather bound cover with engraved gold text and one of the beasts from Cthulhu looking like it is about to jump out of the cover. Adding to the beautiful (yet creepy) aesthetics of the book is a poster by John Coulthart 40 x 50cm entitled Cthulhu Rising, including additional illustrations inside.
At almost 600-pages in length (594 to be precise), The Complete Cthulhu Mythos Tales boasts a wealth of content, including an introduction by S. T. Joshi who puts a modern perspective on the writings of this legendary author. Adding to this, he explains some of the origins of these stories and how Lovecraft brought them to life in his own unique ways.
The Complete Cthulhu Mythos Tales Table of Contents
- Introduction by S. T. Joshi
- Dagon
- Nyarlathotep
- The Nameless City
- Azathoth
- The Hound
- The Festival
- The Call of Cthulhu
- The Colour out of Space
- History of the Necronomicon
- The Curse of Yig
- The Dinwich Horror
- The Whisperer in Darkness
- The Mound
- At the Mountains of Madness
- The Shadow over Innsmouth
- The Dreams in the Witch House
- The Man of Stone
- The Horror in the Museum
- The Thing on the Doorstep
- Out of the Aeons
- The Tree on the Hill
- The Shadow out of Time
- The Haunter of the Dark
- Original Dates of Publication
As this book collects all the tales from the Cthulhu universe, there is also rare revisions and collaborations with other authors that have been successfully collected in this definitive edition of the works of H.P. Lovecraft.
While the content deals with ancient beings who once and some still who walk the Earth today, Lovecraft really ramps up the horror, so while it is not like the sometimes violent horror films of today, it focuses on a different mindset by sparking your imagination with innuendo and literally keeps you on the edge of your seat as it takes you on an unforgettable journey.
Tales such as Dagon, The Curse of Yig and the Haunter of the Dark were not only engaging stories and while they were my favourite three in this book, I did become a little paranoid at night when the light went out which is where Lovecraft succeeds. I also like how Lovecraft incorporates these creatures into his modern world such as Dagon, the Fish God which focuses on an officer from World War I and while he witnessed unimaginable scenes as a soldier, he observes something even more sinister which now haunts him day and night. The Curse of Yig is another clever twist as a man who is afraid of snakes suffers the unthinkable when his wife believes he is the Snake God called Yig.
With that said, most of the stories flow well and Lovecraft does an excellent job at bringing these concepts to life, even though at times the dialogue can be a little heavy and clichéd. However for the majority of stories, they are well-written, engaging with plenty of frightful moments as you explore the Call of Cthulhu!
Final Thoughts?
If you’re looking to explore the diverse and horrifying stories of H.P. Lovecraft, then this beautiful leatherbound hardcover, The Complete Cthulhu Mythos Tales is the perfect panacea for your reading delight… especially if you want to get scared!
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