Necronomicon: The Best Weird Tales of H.P. Lovecraft (GOLLANCZ S.F.)
£25.50£28.50 (-11%)
WIKIPEDIA says: ‘H.P. Lovecraft’s reputation has grown tremendously over the decades, and he is now commonly regarded as one of the most important horror writers of the 20th century, exerting an influence that is widespread, though often indirect.’
H.P. Lovecraft’s tales of the tentacled Elder God Cthulhu and his pantheon of alien deities were initially written for the pulp magazines of the 1920s and ’30s. These astonishing tales blend elements of horror, science fiction and cosmic terror that are as powerful today as they were when they were first published.
This handsome leatherbound tome collects together the very best of Lovecraft’s tales of terror, including the complete Cthulhu Mythos cycle, just the way they were originally published. It will introduce a whole new generation of readers to Lovecraft’s fiction, as well as being a must-buy for those fans who want all his work in a single, definitive, highly attractive volume.
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Additional information
| Publisher | Gollancz, Commemorative ed. edition (27 Mar. 2008) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Hardcover | 895 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 0575081562 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-0575081567 |
| Dimensions | 16.51 x 5.72 x 24.13 cm |
by Adam Sintai
Not much to add, it’s a great collection of Lovecraft’s work. Only thing I noticed is that it doesn’t come with any protective plastic cover, only the amazon cardboard box, which made it exposed to a tiny bit of water damage, nothing drastic though.
by TC
Since Lovecraft’s work is widely known and certainly does not need me trying to explain it, I shall focus on this particular print instead. This is a beautiful, black and golden hardcover leather edition that could’ve however been dealt with differently. I struggled to rate and more often than not considered giving it 3 stars instead, but the more I look at it on my bookshelf the more I feel drawn to it. It is no doubt mesmerizing. The problems I had with it were, as mentioned by quite a few other reviewers already, the sticker at the back and the faulty proof-reading. The latter doesn’t necessarily show THAT often, and most of the errors / misspellings are quite common and easy to work around (I’m sure Lovecraft himself would have a much bigger problem with this, though). The sticker really annoyed me, there was no need for this especially in an edition that clearly attempts to please the eye. I found that, after removing it, some gentle wiping with an alcohol-free baby wipe will get rid of the sticker residue without damaging the cover, so that might be something you might want to try yourself. In the meantime though, as it’s already been quite a few years since I bought it, I hope they have stopped doing this.
All in all though, no major harm done, and considering it’s not only a collection of Lovecraft’s seminal work but that it also looks it, you will do well do look past these misdemeanors and but this edition if you’re a fan of his writings.
by Mr. R. J. Maslen
Until I read the other reviews I must confess I hadn’t noticed how many typographical errors were in the text, I don’t think it affected my enjoyment but upon reflection there are a lot. Likewise the sticker on the back not removing cleanly was annoying but not a major issue for me.
Despite owning this a while now I am still less than half-way through, and so my comment may not be reflective of the entire book, but for some reason I find it a slightly hard read. The quality of the writing and the groundbreaking nature of Lovecraft’s work is undeniable but I don’t think it will be entirely to everyone’s taste. The stories tend to build slowly and have a relatively short final act. It may be a case of having had overly high expectations but I bought the book thinking that I would love every word and rip through it in no time but it hasn’t turned out that way. I find many of the stories a little similar in both their structure and subject matter, and due to the short nature of each one this was a problem for me. If I read two or more stories in the same sitting I definitely lost some of the pleasure. I am now reading it slowly, perhaps one short story a week or even less, and finding it much more enjoyable to do that and spend a bit more of the time that I would have normally spent reading reflecting on the story. I suppose that is not really a problem and in a way it is merely me trying to prolong a good experience, but I am more used to reading large chunks (200+ pages) of books at a time and the time flying by. That wasn’t how I found this at all. I would still highly recommend it though.
I did also appreciate the included biography which overall made this a really comprehensive experience of an essential part of horror fiction history. I usually find them superfluous and often fawning, but I really enjoyed this one and recommend skipping to the end to read it before the main text. I found it particularly interesting that contemporary readers of Lovecraft’s stories would probably have been exposed to his works the way I ended up reading this compilation, i.e. in installments.
by wilf.nelson
This is very good and everything Lovecraftian is here. The stories are well written and keep me interested. They are also very short which is nice if you want something to read before bed but hate leaving a story half finished.
I have only three complaints and they are all very minor.
1. Lovecraftian stories are very similar. A man goes to a place, finds an unspeakable evil and goes mad. It can get rather boring in such a long volume but I am overgeneralising and this really does simplify it. Just be aware that every story isn’t radically different from the next, but that isn’t always a bad thing.
2. The drawings don’t always seem connected to the story. I know it seems a weird gripe but with such wonderful art and excellently written drama it would put the icing on the cake to have an artistic impression of the scene I just read.
3. There are errors. This is a very large book clearly written over decades of Lovecraft’s career and edited by multiple editors and brought together from lots of places. There are minor typos here and there which can be irritating but it is rarely more than two per story (that being a word with a letter missing at most) and never are you unable to understand what Lovecraft is saying.
This is an excellent tome of Lovecraft’s works and very much worth getting for the price.
by Limorkil
Definitely 5 stars. Best book ever. Read it in a 72 hour frenzy without sleep. Lost 2d12 SAN. A suspicious man with boggly eyes and an apron in the market, who smelled strongly of fish, said something to me about salmon steaks, and now I think I am being followed by cult members. As I walked in the park the other day, I heard birds shrieking in the trees and saw ice cream of sinister colors. A figure with a multi-colored woolen octopus-head was playing the saxophone outside the station. In a hoarse tongue he cried: G’rl ugot mi R’lyeh go’in. The man in the picture in my hallway seemed to be getting older, but then I remembered that was Oscar Wilde, so it was probably my imagination. But they are coming for me, I can hear the rats whispering in the walls and there are angles (not a typo) everywhere. Good value. Would recommend to a friend.
by Ingrid
Old fashioned language & somewhat repetitive, but definitely true to the title;death & weirdness predominate.