Which lovecraft book should i read first

Mithical Mark Rogers Mark Rogers To be picky, three novels, not particularly connected. David Thornley - " At the Mountains of Madness " is technically a novella rather than a novel. Kevin That list seems to just be in chronological order. On her blog, she does actually provide a recommended order, here: cthulhuchick. Let me shed a little light on this discussion thread.

Hope this helps. You could read the stories in their fictional chronological order. Golding M. Golding Since you are specifically interested in Cthulhu, then start with The Call of Cthulhu. Lynn Fredricks Lynn Fredricks 1, 8 8 silver badges 6 6 bronze badges.

Aegon Frank Frank 1. Sign up or log in Sign up using Google. Sign up using Facebook. Sign up using Email and Password. Post as a guest Name. Email Required, but never shown. Upcoming Events. November Topic Challenge: Samuel R. Piecing together increasingly ominous pieces of the story, Francis finds himself entangled in the affairs of a murderous cult. The worship creatures known as the Great Old Ones and are eager for the return of their most terrible god, Cthulhu.

It was written in the winter of and is the only story Lovecraft wrote that was published in his lifetime. It tells the story of an unnamed traveller who returns to a town called Innsmouth that he once visited on a tour of New England.

Plagued by the superstitions of the surrounding town, Innsmouth is largely deserted and the few people that remain are peculiar, to say the least. Outsiders, traditionally, are not welcome. He explains that a race of fish-like creatures live in the ocean near Innsmouth known as the Deep Ones. In exchange for human sacrifices, the Deep Ones gave the people of Innsmouth wealth and riches. But the relationship between the people and the monsters blurred. The Deeps Ones grew violent when human sacrifices were not forthcoming.

The people were made to breed with them until the townsfolk consisted more of hybrids than humans. The young man dismisses the story as the ramblings of a drunk old fool, but Innsmouth is determined not to let him forget about it.

Leaving it be is not an option. It is ideal for anyone looking for a more optimistic story than Lovecraft typically wrote. Only one step is necessary: purchasing or borrowing a collection of Lovecraft stories and reading through them.

Doing any sort of online research in advance of reading the stories, will do the reader a major disservice. Why approach Lovecraft with already formed ideas about his themes and motivations? Why filter the experience through third-party interpretations and why imprint on your retina all the Cthulhu mythos related iconography that exists on line?

Lovecraft is one of the brightest stars in my personal pantheon. I firmly believe that an author must have a chance to introduce himself, warts and all. Take my respect for putting up such indepth and well researched article about Lovecraft pantheon.

Hails from Bangladesh. Your email address will not be published. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed. Any number of books and articles can serve this purpose, but you can gain the same effect entirely online by following this brief viewing and reading plan: 1.

Music of Erich Zahn is as good a start as any. I really like Nyarlathotep. This is an author who can write.. Skip over the mouth of Hell, within a Haiku. Where does he get this stuff where does it come from. Pingback: How to read Lovecraft Shining Trapezohedron.

Pingback: An introduction to Lovecraft, in four easy steps The Scrawl of Cthulhu. Hello, Matt, this is Paulo from Brazil, long time lurker here. Also, no love for The Whisperer in the Darkness? Another classic Lovecraft novella, and probably his best-known work after Cthulhu , At the Mountains of Madness describes a failed to put it lightly Antarctic expedition as recounted by Professor William Dyer.

Upon arriving at their base, Dyer and his colleagues are thrilled to unearth the remains of a previously undiscovered prehistoric species — some specimens of which are in perfect condition. For instance, Dyer and another colleague discover the remains of massive, inhuman architecture, along with etchings that explain the evolution of the Elder Things and imply their eventual migration into the ocean. Carter must navigate the uncharted terrain and interact with the many strange inhabitants of the Dreamlands, never quite sure who wants to help and who would rather hurt him.

From the feline-filled city of Ulthar where the only law is that no one may kill a cat to the onyx nation of Inganok, Kadath truly does mimic the atmosphere of our most random dreams. Carter is desperate to regain his dreaming abilities, leading him to search for an actual ornate silver key that he believes will unlock the gate of dreams. In Through the Gates of the Silver Key, Carter has disappeared, and his family and friends gather to handle his estate.

The whole Dream Cycle sequence signifies yet another genre shift for H. This novella sees Lovecraft return to writing about strange creatures, namely the Great Race of Yith, aliens who can travel through space and time.

The main human character of the story is Professor Nathaniel Wingate Peaslee, who unexpectedly finds his own consciousness linked to that of a Yithian. The Shadow Out of Time is most notable for delving so thoroughly into Yithian culture and history, explaining their original cosmic purpose: to study all forms of civilization throughout space and time.

The Mound is another classic Lovecraft novella detailing a rich but much less benign non-human culture. Zamacona happened upon the K'n-yanians during an expedition nearly years prior, when they welcomed him as one of their own. However, as Zamacona learned more about their history and barbaric cultural practices, he became more and more terrified of what they might do to him.

The story on the scroll ends hastily, unclear whether Zamacona was able to escape or not; the narrator dismisses it as an elaborate hoax.