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/lit/ - Literature

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986058 No.986058 [Reply] [Original]

I finished "At the Mountains of Madness" earlier today.

So basically the Shoggoth is a fetid Ditto who eats aliens and giant penguins?

Even by Lovecraft standards, that shit is wack.

>> No.986072

All I remember is that it was shit. Is that the one about the arctic expedition?

Lovecraft was a huge fucking disappointment. His epithet gave me false hope in his work.

>> No.986074

>>986072
That's the one. I fucking love Lovecraft, so this story definitely got my sci-fi/horror rocks off, but I couldn't help but stare at a wall after reading it and thinking, "Giant penguins? Really?"

>> No.986079

Haven't ready any Lovecraft work because I've heard it's purple. Should I?

>> No.986081

I'm reading it right now! I like it at the moment, it can fix the Poe's ending.

>> No.986082

>>986079

I am: >>986072

I think you can read a couple of his stories just so you know what Lovecraft is and whom Stephen King ripped his material off. Btw, Stephen King is also utter shit. And god, their utter obsession with rats and rodents and scratching in the walls.

Imo, Clive Barker is the only one who does horror books right. Still, like the two others, he has very discernible obsessions which get annoying over time.

>> No.986084

>>986082

Oh and Poe, Poe is infinitely better than both King and Lovecraft combined. Honest opinion, not even trying to hate/be overly dramatic.

>> No.986090

Lovecraft shot story are good.

>> No.986091

>>986090

true, his short shit is way better. Then again - that one about the fucking rat, and the old hag, and some ritual shit. I was bored out of my mind.

>> No.986092

>>986082
You're right about those writers having obsessions and idiosyncracies (Lovecraft, for instance, constantly over-dramatizes his characters, so that every discovery elicits their most impassioned responses), but at the same time, I can't help but feel that those same idiosyncracies find a way of burrowing into our own subconscious at times, which is the point, isn't it? To instill those same fears in your reader that you as a writer possess? Obviously it doesn't work for everyone, but still.

>> No.986100

Lovecraft is awesome. He's not a great prose stylist, but he creates feelings of cosmic terror better than any other author.

I wouldn't say he was better than Poe (his literary hero) but he did more to modernise horror fiction than anyone.

His incorporation the very new ideas of particle physics and extra-dimensional space into the gothic was revolutionary - something you don't get too much of in 'At the Mountains of Madness'. Try 'The Dreams in the Witch House'.

>> No.986101

>>986092

I agree with what you said, just sharing my personal experience. I think a lot of us are desensitized as hell too. I have a hard time putting this into words - but it's just a desensitization to media, but most would absolutely shit their parents to even the most minor things irl. Basically, you know how many people on /b/ laugh at the most grotesque shit but have never been out of the suburbs their entire life?

>> No.986104

>>986101
There's a line from Journey to the End of Night that applies to this:
"A man can be a virgin in terror just as he can be a virgin in sex. I lost my virginity that day."

>> No.986103

>>986091
>>986100

Are you sure that's not what I am talking about? The math dude, the rat, the old hag, the walking somewhere at night, and the wall finally opening. I think I read basically all of his work, but it bored me so much I don't remember any of it clearly.

>> No.986130

HOW ABOUT YOU DON'T FUCKING SPOIL SHIT NEXT TIME, YOU DUMB FUCK?

THAT'S CAPSGUY ANGRY (LIKE NOW)

>> No.986139

>>986130
If you think that's actually spoiler material, then you pretty much deserved the spoiling.

>> No.986217

I'm interested in starting up on the Cthulhu mythos, but I'm not quite sure what order to read the stories in to get the full effect and well, the whole mythos. I've recently started reading At The Mountains of Madness (I should finish later today), and I was just wondering if you guys could help. Thanks.

Was gonna start a thread, but it didn't let me. I guess I'll just try here and hope for the best.

>> No.986249

>>986217
Might as well start with the Call of Cthulhu to see if the whole idea appeals to you.

By the way, HPL is my favorite author and biggest literary inspiration, and I don't think the Cthulhu Mythos is his best work. The best story he ever wrote was "The Statement of Randolph Carter".

>> No.986274

>>986249
Thanks man. I'll look into both stories like, later tonight. I've been going through a drought of reading the past few months, and his work in general caught my eye. Thanks again.

>> No.986285

>>986274
>I'll look into both stories like, later tonight
>both stories like, later
>like

Underage b& detected, possibility for age under 16 is 80%.

>> No.986344

>>986274
Any time. Just get a good compilation of his works (B&N published a hardcover volume of his fiction; I paid $13 for it) and read through. You'll enjoy it.

>> No.986369

>>986104
As applicable as that might be, that is such a terrible line.

>> No.986395

>>986249
>HPL is my favorite author

Sorry, but there is no reaction image that would illustrate my horror at this statement. The clumsy, un-lifelike Machen imitation that HP wrote in is the best you've ever read? :O

>> No.986422

>>986395

Personal taste from the Lovecraft fan.
I've seen films WAY better than my favorite film, but my favorite film is still my favorite for some reason. I understand that it isn't the best.
The same can apply to stories.

>> No.986727

HPL and Kathy Andrews are my favorite authors... But I obviously like crap.