Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn
A rare book review that i felt i must make.
As I think is well documented i am very particular about what i will and will not read. PArt of this is due to an admitted closed mindedness but most of this is due to the fact that what most people use for "reading time" i am pretty much assured to use as "reading music time".
A few days ago i was playing around on my iphone and decided to play around by downloading an ebook app. I downloaded one called "Stanza" While wanting to test it out i decided to look for free books in its "bookstore" function that i might want to read.. or at least test it out. So limited to public domain it occurred to me to try Lovecraft. I have never read anything by him but i am acutely aware of his influence on sci-fi things i like.
It is a RARE occurrence when i get sucked into a book so much that i REALLY don't want to put it down. I recently slogged though (but thoroughly enjoyed) the Dark Tower series and of course i have carved my way through every book ever written by Terry Pratchett. Prior to downloading this ebook i was planning on reading the complete Hitchhiker's guide and then making my way through some of the Warcraft books. Well thats all screwed now cause of how much i liked Call of Cthulu.
I am stunned at how simple this book was to read yet so artfully crafted. There is one point in which the narrator of the story is retelling the account of a cultist to a policemen who then told the narrator's uncle in a archaeology forum about the conversation which the narrator was reading from his uncle's journal. I CANT EVEN DESCRIBE THAT WITHOUT BEING CONFUSING!! and yet somehow Lovecraft navigated that in a way that was not only easily readable... but due to the "telephone-game" nature of the retelling allowed for the complete ambiguity in the narrator and the reader's mind.. so freaking cool. The intro by Lovecraft summarizes something i have thought about for a long time. Im not arachnophobic, or agoraphobic or claustrophobic I am Cosmophobic... Its a concept that isnt really touched on much in pop culture.. (Donnie Darko comes close) The idea that the scariest things are those you cant conceptualize... that the larger you think the scarier things become is something i have thought about since i was a young child. SOunds pretentious.. but true
Its extremely unfortunate that Lovecraft was apparently a complete racist asshole. But i enjoy Wagner.. so i guess i can create a disconnect there.
Anyways.. anyone out there seasoned in the ways of Lovecraft?.. Any suggestions for what to read next?
As I think is well documented i am very particular about what i will and will not read. PArt of this is due to an admitted closed mindedness but most of this is due to the fact that what most people use for "reading time" i am pretty much assured to use as "reading music time".
A few days ago i was playing around on my iphone and decided to play around by downloading an ebook app. I downloaded one called "Stanza" While wanting to test it out i decided to look for free books in its "bookstore" function that i might want to read.. or at least test it out. So limited to public domain it occurred to me to try Lovecraft. I have never read anything by him but i am acutely aware of his influence on sci-fi things i like.
It is a RARE occurrence when i get sucked into a book so much that i REALLY don't want to put it down. I recently slogged though (but thoroughly enjoyed) the Dark Tower series and of course i have carved my way through every book ever written by Terry Pratchett. Prior to downloading this ebook i was planning on reading the complete Hitchhiker's guide and then making my way through some of the Warcraft books. Well thats all screwed now cause of how much i liked Call of Cthulu.
I am stunned at how simple this book was to read yet so artfully crafted. There is one point in which the narrator of the story is retelling the account of a cultist to a policemen who then told the narrator's uncle in a archaeology forum about the conversation which the narrator was reading from his uncle's journal. I CANT EVEN DESCRIBE THAT WITHOUT BEING CONFUSING!! and yet somehow Lovecraft navigated that in a way that was not only easily readable... but due to the "telephone-game" nature of the retelling allowed for the complete ambiguity in the narrator and the reader's mind.. so freaking cool. The intro by Lovecraft summarizes something i have thought about for a long time. Im not arachnophobic, or agoraphobic or claustrophobic I am Cosmophobic... Its a concept that isnt really touched on much in pop culture.. (Donnie Darko comes close) The idea that the scariest things are those you cant conceptualize... that the larger you think the scarier things become is something i have thought about since i was a young child. SOunds pretentious.. but true
Its extremely unfortunate that Lovecraft was apparently a complete racist asshole. But i enjoy Wagner.. so i guess i can create a disconnect there.
Anyways.. anyone out there seasoned in the ways of Lovecraft?.. Any suggestions for what to read next?