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<blockquote data-quote="Alhazred" data-source="post: 2000232" data-attributes="member: 19335">Someone made the comment that HLP was a writer's writer, which is very true.&nbsp; His literary criticisms were excellent and his skill as an editor meant that many writers and would-be writers sought his advice (August Derleth, Robert Bloch, etc).&nbsp; However, these skills were never successfully transferred to his own writing ( such as his tendency toward flowery descriptive passages).&nbsp; He was a fair writer and, like most fair writers, muddled through with only a modicum of recognition.&nbsp; (Frankly, I would say the same situation applies to most contemporary writers of fantasy - sword and sorcery, sci-fi, horror, etc).&nbsp; So no, I wouldn't say that he was a hack, but he wasn't exceptional.Writing abilities aside, his ideas were, in my humble (and non-English major) opinion tremendous.&nbsp; His writing evokes the bewilderment, despair and uncertainty toward the future which consumed many people subsequent to the Great War, through the decadence of the Roarin' Twenties (Prohibition and the rise of organised crime, the early days of fascism and the growth of the Soviet Union, corruption in government, accusations of rampant corporate greed) and the collapse of the stock market in October 1929.&nbsp; The Cthulhu Mythos reflects and even magnifies these fears and feelings - humanity is irrelevant and headed toward eventual extinction, whether through its own ineptness or the machinations of alien entities which barely notice our existence.Ultimately, I think that Lovecraft was a genius (although I think 'genius' is perhaps too strong), but his genius was hampered by his writing.&nbsp; Which is too bad, but I love his stories nonetheless.PS: I didn't read the original article, the link to which was posted in the first post.&nbsp; I do, however, intend to read it - after supper.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Alhazred, post: 2000232, member: 19335"] Someone made the comment that HLP was a writer's writer, which is very true. His literary criticisms were excellent and his skill as an editor meant that many writers and would-be writers sought his advice (August Derleth, Robert Bloch, etc). However, these skills were never successfully transferred to his own writing ( such as his tendency toward flowery descriptive passages). He was a fair writer and, like most fair writers, muddled through with only a modicum of recognition. (Frankly, I would say the same situation applies to most contemporary writers of fantasy - sword and sorcery, sci-fi, horror, etc). So no, I wouldn't say that he was a hack, but he wasn't exceptional. Writing abilities aside, his ideas were, in my humble (and non-English major) opinion tremendous. His writing evokes the bewilderment, despair and uncertainty toward the future which consumed many people subsequent to the Great War, through the decadence of the Roarin' Twenties (Prohibition and the rise of organised crime, the early days of fascism and the growth of the Soviet Union, corruption in government, accusations of rampant corporate greed) and the collapse of the stock market in October 1929. The Cthulhu Mythos reflects and even magnifies these fears and feelings - humanity is irrelevant and headed toward eventual extinction, whether through its own ineptness or the machinations of alien entities which barely notice our existence. Ultimately, I think that Lovecraft was a genius (although I think 'genius' is perhaps too strong), but his genius was hampered by his writing. Which is too bad, but I love his stories nonetheless. PS: I didn't read the original article, the link to which was posted in the first post. I do, however, intend to read it - after supper. [/QUOTE]

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