H.P. Lovecraft's 1936 novel personifies the horrors of the unknown.
Lovecraft plays with the concept of undefined horrors, preferring the reader's imagination to fill in the blanks. But within this book, he also weaves a tale located in the then barely known Antarctic landscape. It is the terror of an ignorant man not knowing what could be in the depths of the yet explored. This was the reality of early 20th-century people. The world still held the possibility of grand discoveries or horrifying ones.
Author: Howard Phillips Lovecraft
Released: 1936
Genre: Horror, Fiction
Pages: 186
Audiobook Length: 5 hours (approx.)
Book Review
I was bored out of my mind, but keep reading. You should at least know about this book and its impact on culture and entertainment, which I will cover further down.
There are aspects of this book that are genius. Lovecraft imaginatively creates an entire mythos within the pages. But, it lacked so much in believability and was mind-numbing. It felt like the endless monologue of an uninteresting psych patient. Whether that patient's ramblings are true or merely the words of a delusional man can be left to the reader.
I had another big issue outside of the ones listed above. The narrator, Professor Dyer, is able to miraculously determine vast in-depth histories of beings based on discovered murals. It felt like the equivalent of rolling up on the Pyramids of Giza and instantly knowing the complete story of the pyramids, the people who built them, and every detail of the lifestyle of those who inhabited the area.
I simply did not enjoy this audiobook, but I am glad I finished it. H.P. Lovecraft has had an outsized impact on today's culture. I am now informed about one of Lovecraft's works, even if I've had more fun folding laundry than I had listening to this story.
Plot
Professor Dyer learns of an upcoming antarctic expedition. Upon hearing this, he begins telling the entire story of his previous expedition to dissuade any further exploration. He had traversed areas of the continent only a few years before with many of his team not returning. Only Dyer and a man named Danforth make it back to tell the tale. But, they had previously omitted much of the story, fearing people would think them mad.
Now Dyer is faced with a new team leaving for the frozen continent. He reluctantly recounts what actually happened in those mountains of madness, what was discovered, and what lays in waiting.
Additional Comments
The prevailing theme through my research is that a number of industry titans within the entertainment industry throughout the past few decades have been Lovecraft fans. Often we experience Lovecraft's works disseminated to us through the works of others.
Alien, The Thing, and Prometheus are all examples of films that take varying levels of inspiration from At The Mountains of Madness.
Additionally, Guillermo del Toro has tried and, thus far, failed to get his own movie adaptation of At The Mountains of Madness off the ground for a good number of years.
There were reports recently that del Torro was in talks with a new production team about creating the movie using stop-motion animation, but that sadly seems only to be conjecture.
Time will tell if we finally get a Guillermo del Toro adaptation.
Oh, and there is even a board game! I haven't played it nor do I know if I would. But, it illustrates the never-ending power that Lovecraft has on modern pop culture.
About the Author
H.P Lovecraft (1890 –1937) was an American writer of weird, science, fantasy, and horror fiction. He is best known for his creation of the Cthulhu Mythos.
Lovecraft produced well over 50 stories during his career but only found renowned success posthumously.
You can listen to W. Scott Poole discuss Lovecraft in this Monster Talk podcast. Poole wrote a biography on Lovecraft and goes into a deeper dive of Lovecraft and his literary achievements.
Verdict
Score: 6.5/10
I was bored to tears. However, At The Mountains of Madness holds a place in our culture over 85 years after its release. It is a short read and perhaps worth the pain to understand a cornerstone of the horror genre.
Read it for free or pick it up at your library, local bookstore, or favorite online retailer.
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