In the title story, a Arctic expedition discovers unspeakable, unimaginably ancient horrors in previously unexplored regions—remnants of an alien civilization that was already ancient when dinosaurs roamed the earth. The horror lies not so much in what is actually there, but in how the author renders it; not with admiration of human pluck and faith in our abilities, not with Star Trek-like courageous curiosity, but with reticence, expressed in elevated language; with a sense of humanity’s smallness and vulnerability; and with a sense that humans may move with safety only in a limited sphere, for the universe is an awful and hostile place. There are parallels with The Lord of the Rings, especially in the breeding and enslavement of evil creatures, the unwise exploration of the deep, and the relative fragility of humankind. The narrator advises: “It is absolutely necessary, for the peace and safety of mankind, that some of earth’s dark, dead corners and unplumbed depths be let alone; lest sleeping abnormalities wake to resurgent life, and blasphemously surviving nightmares squirm and splash out of their black lairs to newer and wider conquests.” ( )

I came across H.P. Lovecraft’s short story collection about four years ago and I found them to be very intriguing and extremely creepy – not creepy like Stephen-King-creepy but creepy in a very – I would even say extremely – weird way (IMHO more scary than the mentioned works of Stephen King because everything takes part in minds of people and everything is only hinted – very rarely you see actual monsters roaming around – so at the end you do not know if there truly is anything strange going around or everything is just a product of a very deranged mind). Not being fan of horror genre I moved on to other genres I like and never came across Lovecraft’s work again.
Well, until last Friday when I found this gem on a local book fair. Being fan of “lost-civilization” kind of stories I got hooked up immediately after reading summary on the back of the book.
Story is rather short (some 200 pages) but reader is very fast immersed into it (and to be honest entire feeling is like the story itself was written just a few years ago – just one of the proofs of Lovecraft’s qualities as a writer). Story is being told by one of the survivors of Antarctica expedition as a warning that no man should be sent to that distant region again (another expedition is being planned as the survivor begins his story). As a proof survivor discloses events and findings previously kept secret – for fear of all surviving members of the original expedition that they may be declared lunatics if they publish them. After finding out that new expedition is planned they decide that humanity would be endangered if whatever lurks the Antarctica wastelands is set free (as it surely would be if new expedition continues the research), so they put aside their personal fears and start campaign to warn the public.
This one you’ll read in one breath.

Recommended. ( )

(Review Specifically for At the Mountains of Madness)

There are some things that human beings are meant to see and know, and then there are the things that H.P. Lovecraft writes about. Up until recently I had only heard of this horror author, thinking that horror, even if it has some sci fi in it, isn’t for me. My mind was irrevocably changed after reading this suspenseful novella. H.P. Lovecraft’s brand of horror is best described as that feeling when you know you’ve reached the edge of a cliff and you tell yourself not to look down, and then you look down. It’s thrilling and memorable.

When a group of explorers decides to tackle the wintry continent of Antarctica, some of the members of the expedition get way more than they bargained for. While some got off lucky with a premature death, two men, William Dyer and Danforth, saw more than any human was ever meant to see. They may have made it over the mysterious mountain range in Antarctica and back with their lives, but Danforth left his sanity behind with a forbidden glimpse of something from before the time of man. Read More ( )

Not a specialist or a fan of horror, but as a phycisists, this was most of all a hilarious experience. I just have to admire Lovecraft's imagination and most of all his interest and knowledge (not necessarily understanding) of all scientific theories of the era - starting with Einstein and forth dimensions. Personally I found the name story the dullest, it was way too repetitive and could be written as short as the other two stories. ( )

Very disappointing. Virtually no dialogue, overly detailed landscape descriptions...and...oversized albino penguins?!?! “Bone-chilling” MY A*S! ( )