Cthuhlu reading

[Quasqueton]

Yeah, I know I probably spelled it wrong.

I've never read any H.P. Lovecraft work, but I want to. Where should I start? I want to experience the Cthuhlu thing for myself. Please name about 4 (definitive) titles for me to pick up and read.

Thanks.

Quasqueton

 

[Desdichado]

First, go to http://www.gizmology.net/lovecraft/ for all the free Lovecraft you could ever want.

Then, I'd go for a few classics. At the Mountains of Madness has always been the definitive mythos story to me, but it's a bit on the longish side. Call of Cthulhu is shorter, and written earlier. The Case of Charles Dexter Ward has always been my favorite Lovecraft story, although it's only tangentially related to the mythos proper, I'd guess. Same is true for The DreamQuest of Unknown Kadath.

 

[Kugar]

How about all of them

The Works of H.P. Lovecraft

I like
Rats in the Walls
The Colour Out of Space
and of course The Call of Cthulhu
among the others

Edit: Joshua Dyal beat me to it - aarrgh!

 

[Cthulhu's Librarian]

My 3 favorites are:
The Rats in the Walls
Colour out of Space
At the Mountains of Madness

All three of these stories, as well as The Dunwich Horror, are collected in The Annotated H.P. Lovecraft , which has lots of fascinating background info in the annotations.

If you are just looking for a book with lots of Lovecrafts stories, take a look at either The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories (Penguin Twentieth-Century Classics) or The Thing on the Doorstep and Other Weird Stories (Penguin Classics) . Whatever you do, look for the Lovecraft collections edited by S.T. Joshi, who is recognized as the difinitive Lovecraft scholar and editor. He has done more work than anyone else to make textual corrections and fix long reprinted errors to all of HPLs works. Most bookstores have the Del Rey paperback editions of HPL, and while they are decent (they are where I got my first taste of Lovecraft), they do contain many misprints, incorrect edits, and even dropped lines and passages which have been corrected in the editions edited by Joshi.

Maybe I'm being a bit too picky for someone who is just looking to get a taste of HPL, but thats just me.

 

[Aulayan]

Call of Cthulhu first, obviously.

One thing you won't see recommended is The Mound. It's a longish (not as long as At the Mountains of Madness) Cthulhu Mythos story that has only appeared in two small press publications that I know of. The Horror in the Museum and Other Revisions was the first book it appeared in, and recently was reprinted in Black Seas of Infinity from the Science Fiction Book Club.

While I agree with Librarian, the books he mentioned are the best, I'd have to recommend finding Black Seas of Infinity just for The Mound (It has a total of 19 Lovecraft stories in it, but almost all the rest are in one of the three books Librarian mentioned)

 

[haiiro]

All three of these stories, as well as The Dunwich Horror, are collected in The Annotated H.P. Lovecraft , which has lots of fascinating background info in the annotations.

I'll second this one -- the two Annotated volumes are a great way to get the correct editions of the stories (edited by S.T. Joshi, as CL points out) with lots of little notes and tidbits, but without paying for the Arkham House hardcover editions (also edited by Joshi) before you're sure that you want them.

The second Annotated volume is called <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0613529847/qid=1057243591/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_1/002-1696619-7154424?v=glance&s=books&n=507846">More Annotated H.P. Lovecraft</a>.

 

[Barendd Nobeard]

longer fiction:
Shadow Over Innsmouth - my favorite HPL story
The Shadow Out of Time - a different portion of the mythos

shorter fiction:
The Call of Cthulhu - the big guy himself
Pickman's Model - creepy



A few honorable mentions (in case you want more):

The Dunwich Horror - classic HPL
The Case of Charles Dexter Ward - novella set in Providence, Rhode Island
The Statement of Randolph Carter - very short; a fun read
Herbert West--Reanimator - almost as much fun as the film

 

[Barendd Nobeard]

Maybe I'm being a bit too picky for someone who is just looking to get a taste of HPL, but thats just me.

Well, you are Cthulhu's Librarian; you're just doing your job.

Given your qualifications, I must now go read your HPL favorites this holiday weekend. I haven't read those in about 20 years, and I have the Joshi versions waiting for me.

 

[Cthulhu's Librarian]

While I agree with Librarian, the books he mentioned are the best, I'd have to recommend finding Black Seas of Infinity just for The Mound (It has a total of 19 Lovecraft stories in it, but almost all the rest are in one of the three books Librarian mentioned)

Yes, Black Seas of Infinity is a good choice to start with as well, although I don't remember if it uses the Joshi edited versions of the stories. It does have a very good selection of stories, compiled for new readers of HPL, but you'll have to belong to the SFBC to get it (not that the SFBC is a bad thing. I've belonged to it for years.)

 

[Kesh]

I picked up the Annotated book, but haven't chanced to read it yet. Should be good.

If you want one of the most affordable ways to start collecting Lovecraft, pick up the Del Rey paperbacks. There are three Lovecraft collections, and one 'inspired by Lovecraft' collection.

Best of H.P. Lovecraft : Bloodcurdling Tales of Horror and the Macabre
The Dream Cycle of H.P. Lovecraft: Dreams of Terror and Death
The Transition of H. P. Lovecraft: The Road to Madness

&

Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos

As an aside, my favorite tales are The Shadow over Innsmouth, The Rats in the Walls, The Colour Out of Space and The Cats of Ulthar.