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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.0873808
EAN num: 9780345422040
ISBN number: 034542204X
Label: Del Rey
Manufacturer: Del Rey
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 480
Printing Date: September 14, 1998
Publishing house: Del Rey
Release Date: September 14, 1998
Sale Popularity Level: 23435
Studio: Del Rey
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'The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.'
--H. P. LOVECRAFT, 'Supernatural Horror in Literature'
Howard Phillips Lovecraft forever changed the face of horror, fantasy, and science fiction with a remarkable series of stories as influential as the works of Poe, Tolkien, and Edgar Rice Burroughs. His chilling mythology established a gateway between the known universe and an ancient dimension of otherworldly terror, whose unspeakable denizens and monstrous landscapes--dread Cthulhu, Yog-Sothoth, the Plateau of Leng, the Mountains of Madness--have earned him a permanent place in the history of the macabre.
In Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos, a pantheon of horror and fantasy's finest authors pay tribute to the master of the macabre with a collection of original stories set in the fearsome Lovecraft tradition:
¸ The Call of Cthulhu by H. P. Lovecraft: The slumbering monster-gods return to the world of mortals.
¸ Notebook Found in a Deserted House by Robert Bloch: A lone farmboy chronicles his last stand against a hungering backwoods evil.
¸ Cold Print by Ramsey Campbell: An avid reader of forbidden books finds a treasure trove of deadly volumes--available for a bloodcurdling price.
¸ The Freshman by Philip José Farmer: A student of the grey arts receives an education in horror at notorious Miskatonic University.
PLUS EIGHTEEN MORE SPINE-TINGLING TALES!
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Rated by buyers 
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If you are a fan of the classic fantasy/horror based upon times when science just began to mix with day to day life, then this is a good choice for you. Lovecraft does a great job making you think a little as well if that is something that you enjoy. Other writters that I would liken him to include: Howard and E. R. B.
Rated by buyers 
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Lovercraftian stories seem to be hit or miss. They either conclude in a clever or chilling twist that leaves you wondering or in an underwhelming way that makes you shrug and move on to the subsequent one. Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos deliver both and generally more hits than misses. Many of the stories are not Lovecraft's own but they certainly match the spirit of their friend and inspiration.
Among the best and most suspenseful stories are Notebook Found in the Deserted House, The Black Stone, Sticks and The Salem Horror. On the other hand, the last story of the collection is not simply bizarre and poorly thought out but nonsensical. As long as you don't mind a dud or two and you're a fan of the genre, this collection is definitely worth your attention.
Rated by buyers -
This was an excellent introduction into the Cthulhu Mythos. As others have noted, this is not all Lovecraft. Regardless, the stories are core to the mythos and very enjoyable. As someone that is very new to the Cthulhu Mythos, I found the book to be great in the story selection.
Rated by buyers -
Well done thou good and faithful servants. Especially you J.K. Potter! Much has been said about the stories and deservedly so, but Potter's "photos" of Lovecraftian creatures are also well worth mentioning.
Rated by buyers -
I'm currently writing a novel that draws on the Cthulhu mythos as background material, so it made sense for me to read where others have gone before. James Turner, the editor, has done his job, too: each short story smoothly flows from one to the next; creating a narrative you can actually follow that makes it a pleasure to read the collection. Anyone who has read The Hastur Cycle knows that a good organizer is a rare thing amongst short story compilations, particularly H.P. Lovecraft's, where the ego of the editor often takes precedence over the purpose of the compilation.
H.P. Lovecraft stories hew to a particular formula. Each story begins with a quote, usually fictional, from a deceased protagonist hinting at something awful. Then the story begins in very first person; perhaps as a dialogue between the author and the reader, sometimes in an imagined conversation and at other times in narrative format, be it a diary, collection of notes, newspaper clippings, etc. There are many adjectives applied to nouns that aren't normally used in everyday speech; rocks and walls and houses become blasphemous and corrupt. This is only appropriate, since ninety percent of the protagonists are failed horror authors, scoffing at the mundanity of vampires and werewolves. The author explains how he came upon the reality-shredding horrors, often scoffs at his naiveté, and then ultimately reveals a terrible truth at the end of the story. Sometimes the author himself reveals this mind blasting madness, at other times a short footnote indicates what happened to the author (if he died/disappeared as a result of the conclusion). And almost always, there is a statement in the conclusion, highlighted in italics, that reveals the OOGA-BOOGA moment. Some examples:
"...what nameless shapes may even now lurk in the dark places of the world?"
"...the revolting and bestial stone miniature of a hellish monstrosity walking on the winds above the earth!"
"What they really are is fingerprints!"
You get the idea.
Ironically, there's little evidence that Lovecraft himself wrote this way. In fact, the italicized declaration is nowhere in evidence in his own two contributions ("The Call of Cthulhu" and "The Haunter of the Dark"). Which is interesting, because one of the sanity-wrenching insights from this compilation is this: Lovecraft birthed his own style of horror by collaborating. Appending his name to the mythos is missing the point of the whole series.
The very first story, The Call of Cthulhu, lays out Lovecraft's style and beliefs (including references to Theosophy). The encounter with Cthluhu is a bit anticlimactic (poor thing gets a boat rammed into his forehead), but certainly there's enough dread and action to make the story interesting. The Return of the Sorcerer, by Clark Ashton Smith, is by far the best of the lot. Smith conveys dread and terror on a very small stage (a house). This short story was also clearly the inspiration for Sam Raimi's Evil Dead, including a headless corpse with a saw and hands that move of their own volition. Ubbo-Sathla, on the other hand, is more of a historical piece that's not very interesting. The Black Stone, by Robert E. Howard (he of Conan fame) makes an admirable endeavor at imitating Lovecraft but ultimately falls back on rote scare tactics: cultists sacrificing newborns.
The Hounds of Tindalos, by Frank Belknap Long, is a foray into time travel through drugs. Or a drug trip where someone thinks they're time traveling. Whatever the case, it introduces said Hounds and the concepts of extradimensional spaces. His take on the concept is interesting. Long also contributes The Space-Eaters, about weird tentacled beings that draw out people's brains through their skulls. While the story is fascinating, he seems to have completely missed the point of Lovecraft's uncaring, alien universe: The protagonists make the sign of the cross to ward off the alien monsters. Alien beings neither care nor even perceive human religions, and to prominently place Christianity as being "right" about the nature of the alien threat really saps the spirit of Lovecraft's isolation and madness.
The Dweller in Darkness and Beyond the Threshold, by August Derleth, are suitably creepy and a little wordy, burdened by Derleth's constant struggle to make the Cthulhu Mythos make sense. As usual, Derleth believes that every elemental being has a counterpart, and that by summoning one you defeat the other. All of which is a little too trite and neat for the unknowable horrors of a universe that conforms to no human logic.
Then we have the Robert Blake collection. Blake fawns incessantly over Lovecraft; if there's an overarching flaw amongst these short stories, it's his imitators' insistence that "Lovecraft was right." And not in a subtle way either. Such declarations are usually exclaimed with hysterical ... Read More
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