/lit/ - Literature

[Anonymous No.16414589]

I’ve read 4 of his stories now, it’s just not doing anything for me. When it’s more grounded and being subtle, it’s spooky for sure. But when the fish-people cults nd the “blasphemous” monsters start appearing, I lose interest rapidly. Stephen King’s short fiction was scarier.

Anyone here like Lovecraft and can give their insight?

[Anonymous No.16414620]

>>16414589

the fish people are the best part man

[Anonymous No.16414624]

N

[Anonymous No.16415243]

>>16414589
Think about the fish people more. Let yourself get lost in the story.

[Anonymous No.16415267]

N

[Anonymous No.16415319]

>>16414620
>the fish people are the best part man
yeah just stop reading him if you didn't like that story

[Anonymous No.16415335]

>>16414589
Like others have said, if you didnt like the fish people than you arent going to like Lovecraft.

He is not a great writer. He built an interesting world and sometimes did a great job on slowly letting the world show up in the stories. He however was never really good at letting monsters show up. 4 out of 5 times he will just say, it was too hideous to describe, and thats all there is to it. No tricks, just saying that and then running away. At the very least that means we dont have to deal with poor descriptions of monsters and we have to focus instead on his world, which is better

[Anonymous No.16415375]

>>16414620
>>16415243
>>16415319
The last one I read was the Innsmouth one. When he was investigating the rumors, talking to the residents, I could feel the horror mounting up. It peaked at the knocking and the attempts to get inside his hotel room. But when he gave a face to the horror, it just dropped off completely. There's nothing scary about frog-fish people and underground sea monsters. I think it's not for me.

But I do like his writing style. Any recommendations where the horror is not based on monstrosities and beasts?

[Anonymous No.16415383]

>>16414624
>>16415267

>>16415270

[Anonymous No.16415394]

>>16415335
Yeah that bothered me. It was always "too hideous" "too alien" "too blasphemous", it got a bit tiring after the last story.

[Anonymous No.16416244]

>>16414589
He is not good.

[Anonymous No.16417742]

>>16416244
Elaborate

[Anonymous No.16418531]

>>16414589
then read the case of charles dexter ward, it's his best i believe

[Anonymous No.16418625]

>>16415335
>He is not a great writer. He built an interesting world
Lovecraft in a nutshell. Cool settings and ideas, terrible writing. Technically competent, sure, but just a bore to read. Slow, repetitive, not particularly engaging.
>At the very least that means we dont have to deal with poor descriptions of monsters
Yeah maybe dont read at the mountains of madness. It's one of his more famous works and I have no idea why. It's incredibly slow and boring and repetitive in its descriptions. I think he just discovered the word opalescent around the time he wrote it and was excited to use it, because he describes the snow as opalescent about every other page. The story itself was really uneventful and, like all his stories, the ending was very anti climatic.

I picked up his barnes and nobles collection because I'd heard good things and never read his work. Now I realize I wasn't missing out on anything. Even stephen king, as insufferable of a person as he is, and as hit and miss as his writing can be at times, is a far better writer.

[Anonymous No.16418715]

>>16418625
Is that the big black book called the Necrocomicon? I got it for $30, it's around 800 pages. Not sure if its complete works

[Anonymous No.16418732]

>>16415375
Nyralathotep

[Anonymous No.16418884]

>>16415375
Dreams in the Witch House draws more on traditional witch folklore, so it's not "LMAO fish people" horror. You might like that more. The Horror at Red Hook has some of the blasphemous monsters at the end but it's mostly about evil foreigners, so you might find it more tolerable.

[Anonymous No.16419264]

>>16418715
No, it's this one.

[Anonymous No.16419292]

>>16419264
I have that, it's an awfully pretty book

[Anonymous No.16419300]

>>16419292
I know, unfortunately that's all it is lol.

[Anonymous No.16419662]

>>16419264
This is the copy I have. See, editors aren't stupid; when reading a complete-works, you generally have to wade through some guff. But a selected-works, now you get a highlight reel.

[Anonymous No.16419831]

>>16414589
I have very nostalgic memories of Lovecraft myself. I first started reading his stories when I was like 16 and had my first drug experiences with hashish. So I kind of associate his stories by default to a feverish drug dreams.

Now that I am older in my late 20s (and haven't used any drugs) I have had hard time to enjoy his stories anymore, not that they are bad or childish or anything like that, but I cannot get into the "mood" anymore. I remember getting proper chills when reading The Whisperer in Darkness and Akeley's hollow corpse was replaced by some Mi-Go "whisperer".

It is harder to appreciate Lovecraft in more rational mood and state of mind..

[Anonymous No.16421184]

>>16414589

>fish-people cults

Shadow over Innsmouth is about race-mixing; it's not about fish monsters you pea-brained idiot.

[Anonymous No.16421228]

>>16414589
I dunno, I never read Lovecraft to feel scared, I always found his stories awe-inspiring more than anything.

[Anonymous No.16421255]

>>16419662
I have a poster of the piece on the cover. Got it at the STL art museum. Nice place.

[Anonymous No.16422277]

>>16421184
ok maybe that is a little more scary but still not enough

[Anonymous No.16424111]

Read Houellebecq's essay on him.

[Anonymous No.16424983]

>>16414589
>scarier
>graphs in paper

nigger get out

[Anonymous No.16425027]

>>16418625
>Yeah maybe dont read at the mountains of madness. It's one of his more famous works and I have no idea why. It's incredibly slow and boring and repetitive in its descriptions... The story itself was really uneventful and, like all his stories, the ending was very anti climatic.

This pretty much summarizes my reaction to that story. I really don't understand the love it gets from so many readers. I guess some people are just hypnotized by/drawn into the atmospherics/mood, despite the fact nothing is happening?

[Anonymous No.16425061]

>>16414624
>>16415267
N

[Anonymous No.16425108]

>>16417742
Good he is not.

[Anonymous No.16425580]

IMO Lovecraft's best work was the Shadow Out of Time and Colour Out of Space.

Try Clark Ashton Smith if you want less purpley weird fiction.