At the Mountains of Madness in Beyond Reality

Sep 16, 2008 Stephen rated it it was amazing

Shelves: all-time-favorites, love-those-words, horror-classic, cthulhu-worship, horror, 6-star-books, novellas, easton-press, science-fiction, 1930-1953

6.0 stars. As I was experiencing Lovecraft’s supremely awesome, nightmarish masterpiece, At the Mountains of Madness (ATMOM), it really struck me for the first time that he was a tremendously literate writer. I have been a fan of Lovecraft for a long time and have always been gaga for his bizarre imaginative stories. However, what jumped out at me on this reading of ATMOM was how impressively Lovecraft enhances the sense of dread that hangs over his stories through the colorful, melodramatic ...more

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May 21, 2015 mark monday rated it it was amazing

Shelves: unicorn, alpha-team, rain-man-reviews, cthulhu-knows-best

A TRAGIC HOMECOMING

And so we slept for a million millennia, on the edge of our great city. So close and yet so far! Why were we outside of our fair city, our families and companions mere steps away? The reasons are lost in time. And as we slumbered, our tropical paradise became a land of neverending winter, a polar graveyard.

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We were woken, those of us who still lived. Four lived and four were lost. We woke in confusion and terror, our tropic city gone, the snow and wind howling around us. S ...more

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Jan 13, 2014 Banner rated it really liked it

Shelves: sci-fi, horror

This was my first Lovecraft. (That I remember). It seems highly improbable that as much pulp and science fiction that I read as a kid that I have not read one of his stories. However I enjoyed this and plan to read more. His style has that Victoria feel without all the emotional drama (a little drama). He does remind me of the masters of the past and rightly belongs on the same shelve.

After the briefest introduction with a promise of horror to come this read like a scientific travel journal thro ...more

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Sep 24, 2012 Kerry rated it it was ok

Shelves: sf, 5-out-of-10, 2004

I first really encountered the whole concept of Lovecraft's Mythos (something I remain unclear on, so please excuse any mistakes) while reading a BBC Eight Doctor Doctor Who novel, which I guess is kind of backwards. From there I was interested in finding about a bit more about it, but it all seemed to be very confusing and I didn't know where to begin or how much I really wanted to do so. When this was one of [BeyondReality]'s October selections, it seemed providential. It took me while to get I first really encountered the whole concept of Lovecraft's Mythos (something I remain unclear on, so please excuse any mistakes) while reading a BBC Eight Doctor Doctor Who novel, which I guess is kind of backwards. From there I was interested in finding about a bit more about it, but it all seemed to be very confusing and I didn't know where to begin or how much I really wanted to do so. When this was one of [BeyondReality]'s October selections, it seemed providential. It took me while to get hold of the book, eventually finding a copy online.

The story itself is fairly basic. A geologist, one of a small number of survivors of an ill-fated expedition to Antartica in 1930, finally reveals the true horrors discovered there in order to dissuade a new expedition from following in his footsteps.

So what did I think of it?

Well, in all honesty the writing is pretty mediocre. It's lurid and rambling and the vague hints that are supposed to build suspense, I found annoying. For all that though, I keep reading. I kept thinking of giving up, but there was something compelling about the story that kept me going. I found the beginning very slow, but it smoothed out and picked up in the second half before petering out into a somewhat unsatisfying ending.

I have to say that I didn't find this in the least scary; the writing was too clinical for that as it didn't stir any emotions. Also, especially in the first half, there was lots and lots of description, especially through Lake's reports. I am not at all a visual person, so it was just words to me and I wasn't building up any picture of these creastures. That may have diminished the impact. Where I did feel my emotions was being tugged was as the narrator makes his conclusions about what must have happened to the Old Ones who believed they were returning home and his guesses at their feelings about that.

All in all, this is very much a "tell, don't show" story, and as a modern reader, I tend to prefer the opposite. I often feel when things are hinted at and events described obliquely that I've missed a lot, but in this case I did feel I'd got most of the details I was supposed to by the end. Although I'm still not clear about what kind of creature was chasing Danforth and the narrator as their fled back up the tunnels from the abyss. If anyone can enlighten me, I'd be grateful.

If you want a taste of Lovecraft to see what all the fuss is about - as I did - I do think this is a good story to try. It turned out not to be my thing, but it might be yours.

[Copied across from Library Thing; 25 September 2012] ...more

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