That said, there are a lot of great stories here to showcase Lovecraft's talent. Cool Air is a particularly creepy story inspired by the fledgling science of cryogenics which was first talked about in the early 20th century. From this first story, the reader is introduced to one of Lovecraft's signature techniques: using the last line of the story as the climax. Though he did not use it in every story, it proved devastatingly effective in so many of his works such as The Lurking Fear and Pickman's Model.
Herbert West- Reanimator gave me chills the first time I read it. It really is quite a brilliant story, taking the concepts in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and putting a darker, more horrible bite to them. Written in chapters, each one but the last uses the previously stated technique. And each one is more bone-chilling than the last.
The Shadow Over Innsmouth, one of the few stories in this book that officially contributes to the Cthulhu Mythos itself, has a few low points, but is overall a very creepy story with an ending that never ceases to entertain no matter how many times I read it. This is one of the stories I highly recommend to those new to Lovecraft and the Mythos, as it gives one a very good idea of what goes on in this universe of horrors beyond the stars.
Lovecraft also wrote extensively of a world of dreams where the journeys of the mind were made manifest in a land so strange and exotic, it would be impossible to describe it all. The book includes several such stories such as Beyond the Wall of Sleep which introduces the reader to this dreamland. Sadly, The Dream Quest of Unknown Kaddath is not in here. Though a fairly long story, it was one of the best. I can understand it being left out for the sake of brevity however. The same with At the Mountains of Madness.
The Case of Charles Dexter Ward is one of the best stories Lovecraft ever wrote in my opinion. I won't give anything away, suffice to say that it really showcases how well he could bring out the darkest depths of your fears. In Lovecraft's stories, there really are things that man was not meant to know.
Anyway, there are a few low points to the book. Dagon, though a nice little story, wasn't really one of Lovecraft's best. Something just seemed to be missing. The Terrible Old Man is a similar case. Though creepy, it's not up to the writer's usual standards.
I do have to say I'm a little irritated with the back cover. It totally gives away the plots and major dramatic points of several stories! The Lurking Fear is supposed to have a shocking ending when you realize where the monsters came from, but the cover just tells you right there! What fun is that? It does the same for The Terrible Old Man and The Shadow Over Innsmouth.
Overall, this is a four-and-a-half star book. Though it showcases a lot of Lovecraft's finer works, there are a few stories that could have been cut to make room for better ones such as Pickman's Model and The Colour Out of Space. I still highly recommend this to anyone who is a fan of classic horror literature.
Well, within days I was pouring page over page of "Herbert West: Re-Animator" like I had never done with a full novel! I went on to read "Cool Air" and "A Shadow Over Innsmouth" and eventually to the entire book. H.P. Lovecraft is truly a remarkable author, and while I wouldn't call his plotlines ingenious or on par with Charles Dickens, this man can certainly write! His narrations get into my mind like they're my own and stay there.
He's kind of humorous too, in his own manner. Want to know what I mean? Well all right, I'm going to teach you how to use his sense of description. First, start your own horro story. Now, when you get to the scary part, this is how to describe your monster:
"What I saw before me I cannot describe in words, for it is too horrible to recollect..."
OK, those aren't Lovecraft's exact words, but I couldn't help notice a pattern. Don't get me wrong, there was nothing wrong with that pattern. I was scared during the "Innsmouth" story with its tale of fish-people, and some parts of "Re-Animator" gave me some nice goosebumps. I have to add that the latter also had one of the most humorous twist endings ever. I won't ruin it for those reading the review but...trust me its worth a read.
In fact, this whole book is worth a read. Trust me. Make a postumously famous author happy.