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August Derleth's "Posthumous Collaborations"
The Lurker at the Threshold
Mass-market paperback.
Paperback
First published January 1, 1945
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 143 reviews
October 31, 2022
This thing, 97% of which was not written by Lovecraft, but by August Derleth instead (screw you, misleading cover of my edition!), actually had a really engrossing first half, but then unfortunately got bogged down along the way by too many unnecessary, even repetitive details, and a general tendency toward long-windedness. Derleth’s writing style wasn’t as much to my taste as Lovecraft’s either. That said, it was quite similar in tone to Lovecraft’s stories, and overall it wasn’t really as bad as I was fearing it would be. The ending did feel pretty rushed, though. So, definitely a mixed bag, and not really recommended, unless you’re in the mood for what’s essentially some fairly high quality Lovecraft fan fiction.
May 21, 2023
Upon finding this in one of those little free libraries I was surprised to discover that there was a whole Lovecraft novel I'd never heard of, and one initially published so late as 1945. Well, of course, it's barely a Lovecraft novel: August Derleth constructed this from notes and fragments left by Lovecraft's death, over 90 percent of the text is his. Perhaps because of that, this has the merit of not being as shaded by Lovecraft's xenophobia and racism as some of the others (its abhorrence runs more classicist, towards "degenerate" hillbillies in western Massachusetts), but Derleth can't quite nail Lovecraft's tone, diminishing the unknowable qualities in a frenzy of over-connection and explanation (to the point of a show-don't-tell crisis of an academic third act). Derleth tries to draw so much of his predecessor's oeuvre together that I though for a while that this would turn into the source material for From Beyond, until realizing Lovecraft wrote a specific story with that exact title. But we do have plenty of horrifying unseen worlds separated only barely from our own and waiting to break through, century-spanning reincarnation plots, assorted cosmic horrors, so it's clearly not a wash as far as that goes. And it contains sentences like these (judge for yourself if this is authentic or imitation Lovecraft, or if it is asset or curse):
It was a godless sound; one of those low-keyed, insidious outrages of Nature which are not meant to be. To call it a dull wail, a doom-dragged whine, or a hopeless howl of chorused anguish and stricken flesh without mind would be to miss its most quintessential loathsomeness and soul-sickening overtones.
February 18, 2016
I'd heard some bad things about Derleth's posthumous collaborations with Lovecraft, how he had a tendency to over-categorise the Mythos and apply a simplistic Christian morality on creatures whose very power to chill stemmed from the fact that they were utterly beyond human notions of good or evil. Despite that, I found this quite an effective and well written work, and Derleth's vision, if not entirely in keeping with Lovecraft's own, was not wholly incompatible either. There's a lot of good, if derivative, stuff in here and a nice sense of sustained menace running throughout the piece. Derleth might not have "got" Lovecraft entirely, but he understood enough about what made him an effective horror writer as regards the basics of tone, imagery, characterisation, and plot not to drop the ball. Only the last act really lets the piece down, leaving the reader on a distinctly "that's it? moment. A pity considering all the good work leading up to it.
August 14, 2010
This book starts out well enough but runs too long through dull exposition to a formulaic finish. An experienced reader will suspect early on that this book wasn't written by Lovecraft but his publisher . Maybe the first give-away is the uncharacteristically heavy use of period and regional dialects, or maybe it is the 1945 copyright for August Derleth in the front matter. Whatever tipped me off, I then used the all-knowing Wiki to read up on and sure enough, less than 2.5% of the writing was Lovecraft's, comprising probably no more than sketches for a story. The other 97.5% came from the pen of the far-less-marketable Derleth. And it shows. The book begins well enough with the standard issue haunted Massachusetts town with its dark past, shadowy residents, and just returned prodigal scion of an occult dynasty. At some point the author trots out a comprehensive list of every single Big Name creature in the , and the reader suddenly feels that rather than reading a Lovecraft story with its eerie economy, they're taking in the written equivalent of , , or a commercial for the collector toys. The narrative then gets bogged down in tedious exposition about the systematic nature of the Cthulhu mythos and of the relation of the various Elder Gods and Great Old Ones to the elements and to the forces of good and evil. Apparently Derleth's Lovecraft project was to systematize the original "fragments," and in so doing, to suck out most of the juice. "Iah! Yog-Sothoth! Nyarlathotep! Azathoth!! F'nag'n R'lyh Bl'ah Bl'ah Bl'ah!"
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 26, 2014
Most of the reviews that have been posted so far seem to be from Lovecraft purists who object to Derleth's creation of a novella from a 1200-word sketch by HPL. We should maybe bear in mind the debt that Lovecraftians owe to Derleth. He founded Arkham House specifically to keep HPL's memory alive and to bring his work to a larger audience than the readers of Weird Tales Magazine.
So, let's try to approach Lurker from another angle. Of course Derleth is different. But he's good too. The character that holds much of the narrative together is Quamis. Derleth does a sound job of tracing his malignant influence. Derleth also makes good use of Lovecraft's literary apparatus - his cosmology, his imaginary New England landscape, the sights, sounds and even the smells of the Lovecraft landscape (gambrel roofs ... dereliction and decay ... you know all that stuff). If you don't like Derleth's treatment, you don't have to read the book. As for me, I am at present re-reading it for about the tenth time. I like it!
So, let's try to approach Lurker from another angle. Of course Derleth is different. But he's good too. The character that holds much of the narrative together is Quamis. Derleth does a sound job of tracing his malignant influence. Derleth also makes good use of Lovecraft's literary apparatus - his cosmology, his imaginary New England landscape, the sights, sounds and even the smells of the Lovecraft landscape (gambrel roofs ... dereliction and decay ... you know all that stuff). If you don't like Derleth's treatment, you don't have to read the book. As for me, I am at present re-reading it for about the tenth time. I like it!
August 5, 2014
-Desde un par de ideas del primero brota una obra del segundo.-
Género. Narrativa fantástica.
Lo que nos cuenta. Entre Arkham y Dunwich hay una gran zona de colinas boscosas que a comienzos de siglo XIX pertenecieron a Alijah Billington y que siempre ha generado rumores e inquietud entre los habitantes de la zona. En marzo de 1921 se hace público que Ambrose Dewart, descendiente de Alijah, va a comenzar los trabajos de rehabilitación y restauración de la casona Billington. Cuando los trabajos terminan, los rumores vuelven a comenzar en la zona, aunque Ambrose es totalmente ajeno a ellos y únicamente trata de mantener en orden el patrimonio familiar y seguir las extrañas instrucciones que su antepasado dejó por escrito. Escrita por Derleth ocho años después de la muerte de Lovecraft basándose en unos pequeños fragmentos de este último.
¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
Género. Narrativa fantástica.
Lo que nos cuenta. Entre Arkham y Dunwich hay una gran zona de colinas boscosas que a comienzos de siglo XIX pertenecieron a Alijah Billington y que siempre ha generado rumores e inquietud entre los habitantes de la zona. En marzo de 1921 se hace público que Ambrose Dewart, descendiente de Alijah, va a comenzar los trabajos de rehabilitación y restauración de la casona Billington. Cuando los trabajos terminan, los rumores vuelven a comenzar en la zona, aunque Ambrose es totalmente ajeno a ellos y únicamente trata de mantener en orden el patrimonio familiar y seguir las extrañas instrucciones que su antepasado dejó por escrito. Escrita por Derleth ocho años después de la muerte de Lovecraft basándose en unos pequeños fragmentos de este último.
¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
February 24, 2018
Overall, I enjoyed this more than my three-star rating would suggest, although not as much as my recent Lovecraft read . However, this is written in three sections from different points of view, and the final, shortest one from the suddenly-introduced professor's assistant is abrupt and have a pretty abrupt ending. A lot of slow build up and then not much.
January 4, 2011
There's nothing very bad about this book, other than it feels extremely familiar. I already felt like I'd read it before. Wiki states ST Joshi said of this novel's 50,000 words, only 1,200 were actually written by Lovecraft. This is probably why I didn't find it a very gripping or original read. Many ideas and even characters feel regurgitated from previous stories. I even feel that some previous lines of Lovecraft's have been paraphrased here.
So I guess my problem lies more in that Lovecraft's name is attached to this book as a co-author. It would have made more sense to have this as a fan novel written by Derleth. I guess having Lovecraft's name on it keeps the ripping off of previous ideas in ok territory? I do not feel like this had any of Lovecraft's voice to it. Frankly, I was bored reading this. This novel tends to ramble and I felt that many pages could have been cut from it.
This was the type of book I pick up, can only read 5 pages at a time before I start rereading the same paragraphs over and my mind wanders. I'm not usually that way if I am interested. Only the last 50 pages kept my attention for any length of time.
So I'd only recommend reading this if you're a HUGE Lovecraft fan or student/aspiring scholar in pulp literature.
So I guess my problem lies more in that Lovecraft's name is attached to this book as a co-author. It would have made more sense to have this as a fan novel written by Derleth. I guess having Lovecraft's name on it keeps the ripping off of previous ideas in ok territory? I do not feel like this had any of Lovecraft's voice to it. Frankly, I was bored reading this. This novel tends to ramble and I felt that many pages could have been cut from it.
This was the type of book I pick up, can only read 5 pages at a time before I start rereading the same paragraphs over and my mind wanders. I'm not usually that way if I am interested. Only the last 50 pages kept my attention for any length of time.
So I'd only recommend reading this if you're a HUGE Lovecraft fan or student/aspiring scholar in pulp literature.
September 26, 2020
Старий будинок у лісі біля Аркхема, який належить роду Біллінґтонів, переходить у спадок до Емброуза Дьюрта, який живе в Англії. Його предок за дивних обставин покинув цю місцевість у Массачусетсі і оселився за океаном, але залишив химерні інструкції: не продавати ділянку; не турбувати жаб і дрімлюг; не відчиняти "двері" і не впускати того, що причаїлося на порозі. Дьюарт приїздить до будинку, щоб відреставрувати його. Там він знаходить давні документи і книги, які належали одному з Біллінґтонів. Та до того, як йому вдається скласти прочитане докупи, він відчуває непоясненні зміни в собі самому.
На прохання Дьюарта до нього терміново приїздить його родич Стівен Бейтс. Однак, зустрічаючи Бейтса, Дьюарт уже не здається таким схвильованим, як у своєму листі із запрошенням. Протягом свого перебування у будинку Бейтс помічає, що частіше виглядає неприязним і приховує, що його дратує приїзд Бейтса. Однак він теж починає досліджувати давні записи, як його просив Дьюарт.
Бейтс майже знаходить відгадку цієї чудасії і звертається за допомогою до доктора Сенеки Лепема. Той радить йому якнайшвидше тікати з міста. Потім доктор Лепем разом зі своїм помічником Вінфілдом Філіпсом вивчають передані записи, а також звертаються до окультних текстів, які зберігаються в бібліотеці Міскатонікського університету. Воно доходять невтішного висновку: У тіло Дьюарта вселився давній дух, який намагається привести Іззовні лихих богів, які знищать все людство, крім своїх поплічників.
Лавкрафта, кажуть, тут лише два з невеликим відсотки. Все інше - це творіння Дерлета. Як на мене, це один з найґрунтовніше опрацьованих творів, які він дописував. Проте мене засмучує, що він аж аналізує міфи Ктулху. Про те, як найковці намагалися осмислити і боротися з надприродним, ми читали в таких творах, як "Барва з позамежжя світу" і особливо "Жахіття Данвіча", але Дерлет перетворює космічне майже на прозаїчне.
На прохання Дьюарта до нього терміново приїздить його родич Стівен Бейтс. Однак, зустрічаючи Бейтса, Дьюарт уже не здається таким схвильованим, як у своєму листі із запрошенням. Протягом свого перебування у будинку Бейтс помічає, що частіше виглядає неприязним і приховує, що його дратує приїзд Бейтса. Однак він теж починає досліджувати давні записи, як його просив Дьюарт.
Бейтс майже знаходить відгадку цієї чудасії і звертається за допомогою до доктора Сенеки Лепема. Той радить йому якнайшвидше тікати з міста. Потім доктор Лепем разом зі своїм помічником Вінфілдом Філіпсом вивчають передані записи, а також звертаються до окультних текстів, які зберігаються в бібліотеці Міскатонікського університету. Воно доходять невтішного висновку: У тіло Дьюарта вселився давній дух, який намагається привести Іззовні лихих богів, які знищать все людство, крім своїх поплічників.
Лавкрафта, кажуть, тут лише два з невеликим відсотки. Все інше - це творіння Дерлета. Як на мене, це один з найґрунтовніше опрацьованих творів, які він дописував. Проте мене засмучує, що він аж аналізує міфи Ктулху. Про те, як найковці намагалися осмислити і боротися з надприродним, ми читали в таких творах, як "Барва з позамежжя світу" і особливо "Жахіття Данвіча", але Дерлет перетворює космічне майже на прозаїчне.
December 12, 2019
Review: 3,5
Esta es una historia muy lovecraftiana, donde [SPOILER ALTERT] Cthulhu y varios Ancianos hacen nuevamente aparición.
En este caso, Ambrisio Billington, sucesor de una larga generación de Billingtons, decide mudarse a una casa que pertenecía a su tatarabuelo, ubicada en los Bosques de Billington; de los cuales se dicen que se escuchan ruidos y voces misteriosas. Sumado a eso, a lo largo de varias décadas, se han sucedido varias desapariciones seguidas de muerte de algunos lugareños.
Esto lleva a Ambrosio a iniciar una investigación sobre los sucesos y la relación que tiene con su familia; y descubre ritos secretos a deidades muy antiguas.
No hay más que aportar, ya que toda la historia gira en torno a esos eventos.
La novela es interesante pero por partes se hace bastante pesada, por eso la puntuación
Esta es una historia muy lovecraftiana, donde [SPOILER ALTERT] Cthulhu y varios Ancianos hacen nuevamente aparición.
En este caso, Ambrisio Billington, sucesor de una larga generación de Billingtons, decide mudarse a una casa que pertenecía a su tatarabuelo, ubicada en los Bosques de Billington; de los cuales se dicen que se escuchan ruidos y voces misteriosas. Sumado a eso, a lo largo de varias décadas, se han sucedido varias desapariciones seguidas de muerte de algunos lugareños.
Esto lleva a Ambrosio a iniciar una investigación sobre los sucesos y la relación que tiene con su familia; y descubre ritos secretos a deidades muy antiguas.
No hay más que aportar, ya que toda la historia gira en torno a esos eventos.
La novela es interesante pero por partes se hace bastante pesada, por eso la puntuación
December 3, 2008
Derleth took notes Lovecraft made, wrote this story himself, and put Lovecraft's name on it.
The theme begins Lovecraftian, but the whole binding of the Old Ones with elements begins here, and the last half of the book is a lovely example of Derleth driving Lovecraft's brilliant ideas into the ground.
In a later Derleth story, R'lyeh rises to the surface again, which is ridiculous since it rose in 1927 for the first time since it's sinking, which occurred before the advent of the Dinosaurs. Even more ridiculous, unimaginative and offensive, might I add, is the fact that they solve the problem by dropping an atom bomb on R'lyeh.
If you ask me, that wouldn't do a goddamn thing.
On a side note, Derleth claims to own the copyright to Lovecraft's work, but hasn't brought a suit against anyone publishing Lovecraft on the Web. Why? Because he has no case.
The theme begins Lovecraftian, but the whole binding of the Old Ones with elements begins here, and the last half of the book is a lovely example of Derleth driving Lovecraft's brilliant ideas into the ground.
In a later Derleth story, R'lyeh rises to the surface again, which is ridiculous since it rose in 1927 for the first time since it's sinking, which occurred before the advent of the Dinosaurs. Even more ridiculous, unimaginative and offensive, might I add, is the fact that they solve the problem by dropping an atom bomb on R'lyeh.
If you ask me, that wouldn't do a goddamn thing.
On a side note, Derleth claims to own the copyright to Lovecraft's work, but hasn't brought a suit against anyone publishing Lovecraft on the Web. Why? Because he has no case.
November 23, 2015
Ambrose Dewart inherits an old mansion in rural Massachusetts and as he investigates his family history, the sinister estate begins to take hold on him...
This novel is actually mostly written by August Derleth from a few fragments left by Lovecraft after his death. As a result, the prose is somewhat less...impenetrable (apart from a few passages written in olde English)...and, there's dialogue! But if you've read much Lovecraft already, the story and content is going feel like more of the same. If you're new to his work and his world, it may serve as a decent introduction.
This novel is actually mostly written by August Derleth from a few fragments left by Lovecraft after his death. As a result, the prose is somewhat less...impenetrable (apart from a few passages written in olde English)...and, there's dialogue! But if you've read much Lovecraft already, the story and content is going feel like more of the same. If you're new to his work and his world, it may serve as a decent introduction.
April 20, 2018
This novel, though sometimes billed as being written by H.P. Lovecraft, is really instead almost entirely authored by August Derleth, working from notes and story fragments left by Lovecraft. It does have the feel of Lovecraft for the most part, though with maybe a little less of his sometimes purple prose and also included actual dialogue, something Lovecraft wasn’t known for, but did indeed include other Lovecraftian tropes, such as characters reading historical records of mysterious happenings, of people in the book perusing rare tomes of occult knowledge, of the reader being presented accounts left behind by people who met bad ends from Things Not Of This World, of encounters with strange townsfolk who while they appear poor, illiterate, and “degenerate� have vast knowledge again of Things Not Of This World, of much of the horror hinted at, coming from a rational, 20th century mind coming to terms with creatures that should be physically impossible, maybe only seeing this horror at the very end, of strange cults and rituals in the middle of the night among weird ruins, of the characters not believing what they saw, of the stakes being quite high if the protagonists fail to stop the Things Not Of This World entering ours, of not every main character surviving the narrative, of deeply alien creatures that just reek of evil so much that even things associated with them seem to put off a nearly tangible fog of sinister thoughts and intentions.
Indeed at times the book sort of read like a greatest hits of Lovecraft, or maybe more charitably an introduction to the Cthulhu mythos, with appearances (mostly mentions or brief discussions) of the Necronomicon, Miskatonic University, the Elder Sign, Cthulhu, the Elder Gods, the Great Old Ones, Yog-Sothoth, Nyarlathotep, Abdul Alhazred, Dunwich, Azathoth…all of that is there, often named dropped, sometimes figuring into the story to varying degrees. This book was published in 1945, and I wonder if this was in part a way to cement together the various stories of Lovecraft, of part of a way to establish what Cthulhu mythos canon would be, of setting this particular work in the context of the larger universe, and/or if it was just interesting backstory and use of at this point shared worldbuilding. It didn’t bother me until the very end, when it felt like list making by one of the characters. Not a huge problem I suppose, but I would have liked the overall story to be more tightly confined to one or maybe two of the Lovecraftian entities.
The novel’s structure was a division into three somewhat unequal parts. The first third was titled “Billington’s Wood� and presented in the third person the story of Ambrose Dewart, described later in the book as fifty-something years in age, “a pottering gentleman, a country squire lazily in search of something to occupy his time,� unfortunately that vocation being refurbishing an old, isolated home out in the wilds of Massachusetts. This home, a family home, he decides to refurbish in 1921, the home having been abandoned for nearly a century. This place also has a history of strange noises at night and even stranger disappearances, a home filled with an occult library and strange instructions about not molesting an odd and seemingly purposeless stone tower on the property or to disturb a marsh and its multitude of fireflies, frogs, and whippoorwills.
While examining the strange grounds and house he inherits, its odd library, and the local history, Dewart falls under the influence of some malevolent entities, though this isn’t explicit in this section of the novel. His reading and recounting of the previous owners and what they saw (as well as other locals) felt the most Lovecraftian part of the novel to me, with for a time the horror sort of between the lines as it were, in the events not talked about, perhaps recounted in missing journal references, of accounts of people avoiding the place but not quite saying why they were avoiding it. It was a slow build and probably wouldn’t do well with most modern readers I would think unless they were Lovecraft fans but I read through it fairly fast (though the 2005 novel _The Historian_ by Elizabeth Kostova certainly relied a lot on the use of historical research of books and especially correspondence).
The following middle third is titled the “Manuscript of Stephen Bates� and unlike the first third, is told from the first-person point of view. Bates is the cousin of Dewart, summoned from Boston by a frantic note from Dewart, who as Bates describes in the book was from “a man who sincerely asked and needed some assistance toward an explanation in which he found himself caught, however inexplicably,� though upon arrival at the house in Billington’s Wood Bates finds his cousin instead “cool, cautious, and very much self-contained,� no longer quite as needful of his assistance, but guardedly friendly to a point. This middle third of the novel covers Bates investigation on what appears to be at times a schizophrenic state of mind in his cousin (alternating between being frantic, friendly, hostile, guarded, or affable) as well as the numerous odd papers and books in the house, the strange structures in the ground, and increasingly the odd sights and sounds as well. Though it covered quite literally much of the same ground as the first third, it felt more immediate and fresher than one could expect, in part because it was in the first person and also because Bates felt a bit more identifiable, perhaps because while at some point in the first third Dewart fell under control to an extent from malevolent entities, Bates (sorry if this is a spoiler) kept his wits about him.
The final third was titled the “Narrative of Winfield Phillips,� another section presented in the first-person and had the most dialogue in the book. The title character, along with the other main character in this section, Dr. Seneca Lapham, a professor of anthropology at Miskatonic Universe, are individuals who Stephen Bates comes seeking advice and help from on the matter of his cousin Ambrose Dewart and the strange happenings in his home. Again, some recounting of past events that both Dewart and Bates uncovered (here is where I would have seriously edited the book) and the aforementioned list making/name dropping of the various elements of the Cthulhu Mythos, though this section did place the danger at Billington’s Wood in a larger context, provided information that Dewart and later Bates simply did not have, and most importantly had the resolution to both Dewart’s and Bates� plot lines.
In general, I thought the book just ok. Despite it being a very, very slow build it still read fairly fast. I didn’t trip over as many words as I sometimes do with Lovecraft, it was nice to see the book avoid the veers into racism that Lovecraft very sadly made (I only recall one passage that I might call racist � “…this has been equally true of the American Indian as of the African Negro who had in many places set up the phonograph as an object of worship because it was completely beyond his comprehension� � although the people of Dunwich were sort of stereotyped they were in the book deeply odd people so I will give that one a pass), and there were some horror elements I liked (the aforementioned frogs, fireflies, and whippoorwills were effectively used to build tension, as was the Elder Sign). I don’t think the book really broke new ground in the mythos or introduced any notable new elements. It basically read to me like “half way decent story set in the world of the Cthulhu mythos.�
Indeed at times the book sort of read like a greatest hits of Lovecraft, or maybe more charitably an introduction to the Cthulhu mythos, with appearances (mostly mentions or brief discussions) of the Necronomicon, Miskatonic University, the Elder Sign, Cthulhu, the Elder Gods, the Great Old Ones, Yog-Sothoth, Nyarlathotep, Abdul Alhazred, Dunwich, Azathoth…all of that is there, often named dropped, sometimes figuring into the story to varying degrees. This book was published in 1945, and I wonder if this was in part a way to cement together the various stories of Lovecraft, of part of a way to establish what Cthulhu mythos canon would be, of setting this particular work in the context of the larger universe, and/or if it was just interesting backstory and use of at this point shared worldbuilding. It didn’t bother me until the very end, when it felt like list making by one of the characters. Not a huge problem I suppose, but I would have liked the overall story to be more tightly confined to one or maybe two of the Lovecraftian entities.
The novel’s structure was a division into three somewhat unequal parts. The first third was titled “Billington’s Wood� and presented in the third person the story of Ambrose Dewart, described later in the book as fifty-something years in age, “a pottering gentleman, a country squire lazily in search of something to occupy his time,� unfortunately that vocation being refurbishing an old, isolated home out in the wilds of Massachusetts. This home, a family home, he decides to refurbish in 1921, the home having been abandoned for nearly a century. This place also has a history of strange noises at night and even stranger disappearances, a home filled with an occult library and strange instructions about not molesting an odd and seemingly purposeless stone tower on the property or to disturb a marsh and its multitude of fireflies, frogs, and whippoorwills.
While examining the strange grounds and house he inherits, its odd library, and the local history, Dewart falls under the influence of some malevolent entities, though this isn’t explicit in this section of the novel. His reading and recounting of the previous owners and what they saw (as well as other locals) felt the most Lovecraftian part of the novel to me, with for a time the horror sort of between the lines as it were, in the events not talked about, perhaps recounted in missing journal references, of accounts of people avoiding the place but not quite saying why they were avoiding it. It was a slow build and probably wouldn’t do well with most modern readers I would think unless they were Lovecraft fans but I read through it fairly fast (though the 2005 novel _The Historian_ by Elizabeth Kostova certainly relied a lot on the use of historical research of books and especially correspondence).
The following middle third is titled the “Manuscript of Stephen Bates� and unlike the first third, is told from the first-person point of view. Bates is the cousin of Dewart, summoned from Boston by a frantic note from Dewart, who as Bates describes in the book was from “a man who sincerely asked and needed some assistance toward an explanation in which he found himself caught, however inexplicably,� though upon arrival at the house in Billington’s Wood Bates finds his cousin instead “cool, cautious, and very much self-contained,� no longer quite as needful of his assistance, but guardedly friendly to a point. This middle third of the novel covers Bates investigation on what appears to be at times a schizophrenic state of mind in his cousin (alternating between being frantic, friendly, hostile, guarded, or affable) as well as the numerous odd papers and books in the house, the strange structures in the ground, and increasingly the odd sights and sounds as well. Though it covered quite literally much of the same ground as the first third, it felt more immediate and fresher than one could expect, in part because it was in the first person and also because Bates felt a bit more identifiable, perhaps because while at some point in the first third Dewart fell under control to an extent from malevolent entities, Bates (sorry if this is a spoiler) kept his wits about him.
The final third was titled the “Narrative of Winfield Phillips,� another section presented in the first-person and had the most dialogue in the book. The title character, along with the other main character in this section, Dr. Seneca Lapham, a professor of anthropology at Miskatonic Universe, are individuals who Stephen Bates comes seeking advice and help from on the matter of his cousin Ambrose Dewart and the strange happenings in his home. Again, some recounting of past events that both Dewart and Bates uncovered (here is where I would have seriously edited the book) and the aforementioned list making/name dropping of the various elements of the Cthulhu Mythos, though this section did place the danger at Billington’s Wood in a larger context, provided information that Dewart and later Bates simply did not have, and most importantly had the resolution to both Dewart’s and Bates� plot lines.
In general, I thought the book just ok. Despite it being a very, very slow build it still read fairly fast. I didn’t trip over as many words as I sometimes do with Lovecraft, it was nice to see the book avoid the veers into racism that Lovecraft very sadly made (I only recall one passage that I might call racist � “…this has been equally true of the American Indian as of the African Negro who had in many places set up the phonograph as an object of worship because it was completely beyond his comprehension� � although the people of Dunwich were sort of stereotyped they were in the book deeply odd people so I will give that one a pass), and there were some horror elements I liked (the aforementioned frogs, fireflies, and whippoorwills were effectively used to build tension, as was the Elder Sign). I don’t think the book really broke new ground in the mythos or introduced any notable new elements. It basically read to me like “half way decent story set in the world of the Cthulhu mythos.�
March 28, 2021
si tuviera que elegir una novela corta con la cual introducir a un lector al mundo Lovecraftniano y además convencerlo de que este rico imaginario y su terror cósmico no moría junto con el autor de Providence sino que era dignamente continuado, esta sería mi recomendación. Lo dije prematuramente cuando aún estaba a unos capítulos de terminar y por fortuna se mantuvo hasta el final, podría ser la mejor historia Lovecraftniana que haya leído hasta ahora. Es atrapante desde el inicio y te deja bien claro el mensaje que su fundador quería transmitir con su mitología en historias como El Diario de Alonzo Typer y Dagón o incluso poemas como Memoria.
La novela es sobradamente rica en cantidad de referencias a lugares y nombres que dadas las limitaciones de su historia no cabe posibilidad de profundizar aquí pero que cuentan con sus propios relatos tales como: Dunwich, Sarnath, R'lyeh , Universidad de Miskatonic, Cthulhu ( y su problemática vigilia); Azathoc, Innsmouth etc . En tan poca extensión , August Derleth, con apenas dos fragmentos inconclusos dejados por Lovecraft como base, logra ofrecer una historia de decadencia en la locura y un miedo difícil de definir apropiadamente hacia los terrores del universo y sus ancianos pobladores para los cuales somos una mera herramienta facilitadora de su hegemonía. Siendo ésta una dinámica rastreable hasta los más primitivos inicios de la humanidad. Desde los puritanos de Massasuchets hasta los adoradores precolombinos de Quetzalcóatl; desde el moderno siglo XX hasta los tiempos de Pablo I de Rusia (y muchísimo más atrás). Muy recomendada.
La novela es sobradamente rica en cantidad de referencias a lugares y nombres que dadas las limitaciones de su historia no cabe posibilidad de profundizar aquí pero que cuentan con sus propios relatos tales como: Dunwich, Sarnath, R'lyeh , Universidad de Miskatonic, Cthulhu ( y su problemática vigilia); Azathoc, Innsmouth etc . En tan poca extensión , August Derleth, con apenas dos fragmentos inconclusos dejados por Lovecraft como base, logra ofrecer una historia de decadencia en la locura y un miedo difícil de definir apropiadamente hacia los terrores del universo y sus ancianos pobladores para los cuales somos una mera herramienta facilitadora de su hegemonía. Siendo ésta una dinámica rastreable hasta los más primitivos inicios de la humanidad. Desde los puritanos de Massasuchets hasta los adoradores precolombinos de Quetzalcóatl; desde el moderno siglo XX hasta los tiempos de Pablo I de Rusia (y muchísimo más atrás). Muy recomendada.
October 24, 2019
This novel was published posthumously, and, according to rumor, written more by August Derleth than Lovecraft himself. Some see it as a watered down version of classic Lovecraft horror. I don't think it's that bad, but it's not the best of the books.
Just outside Arkham Massachusetts lies Billingtons' Woods, where many strange sounds come at night. In the middle of the woods lie a great old house, a mysterious stone tower, and a circle of stones like Stonehenge, but not quite. Many tales of horror come from these woods, and those who look too closely disappear, coming back months later, very dead and with curious wounds and injuries.
This book is in three sections, each a manuscript written by a character in the series. There is madness, magic of the darkest kind, and mortals striving to prevent the coming of Those From Beyond. A good enough horror tale to give you a taste of what like Lovecraft is like.
Just outside Arkham Massachusetts lies Billingtons' Woods, where many strange sounds come at night. In the middle of the woods lie a great old house, a mysterious stone tower, and a circle of stones like Stonehenge, but not quite. Many tales of horror come from these woods, and those who look too closely disappear, coming back months later, very dead and with curious wounds and injuries.
This book is in three sections, each a manuscript written by a character in the series. There is madness, magic of the darkest kind, and mortals striving to prevent the coming of Those From Beyond. A good enough horror tale to give you a taste of what like Lovecraft is like.
January 27, 2025
duraría 100 paginas menos si este paisano no te narrase hasta el color de bragas de la tia del protagonista
October 26, 2018
I tend to defend Dereleth but this was disappointing. A rushed ending that comes in the final 2 pages, and not a terribly original one.
November 29, 2018
This is a special book. I started reading it when my daughter was born. I remember sitting in our family room in Santa Fe, the snow falling outside, holding this new baby wrapped in a warm blanket, way too early in the morning, while reading a page or two at a time. Over the last few years I would - every once in a while - pick up this book and read a few pages. It’s not particularly great... it’s a fun read for a cold winter’s night that captures the sense of mystery and investigation inherent to so many of Lovecraft’s stories. But without any good reason, this book is special to me because of the memories that have attached themselves to it, and I read it like a treasured, aged, rare bottle of expensive scotch.
May 15, 2021
I get why Lovecraft fans are critical of these faux collaborations, but I personally enjoyed this starting point for them. No, it doesn't have the grandeur and intensity of Lovecraft's writing, and I feel unifying the creatures of the Cthulhu mythos into a shared family of element based horrors who shift in appearance as you view them through a dimensional barrier showed a deep misunderstanding of the cosmology HP created, where all these beings are separate individuals from different worlds and dimensions, caught in their own clashes and drives, with humanity often caught in the middle. It doesn't have the madness and chaos that HP made so weirdly compelling.
That said, as his own interpretation for his own line of "inspired by" stories, Derleth still does a fine job of setting his stage with a giant info dump framed against a quiet story of two cousins being pulled into forces they don't understand. Derleth is himself a fine writer, with a quieter prose boosted by his lush naturalism and the intimate friendship being torn apart. It's jarring when the final third suddenly leaps to a new outside perspective, but I like what it builds to, giving this universe its own Van Helsing character who, instead of being shocked by the horrors he's uncovering, knows how to parse the pieces, and what threads need to be cut to make the entire web collapse as he starts battling the forces of the cosmos. It's a contradiction to have an active player against a mythology conceived for reactive horror, but that's what I like about it, that it's shifting the angle in a way I find refreshing.
No, this absolutely isn't a grand continuation of the Lovecraft cycle, and I do agree with critics that August shouldn't have branded it as such. But as Derleth's own work, twining the threads in his own interpretation, I'm fine with it and intrigued for more. And for how dry and awkward it can be, the lush and absorbing qualities also make me curious to read some of Derleth's broader, more grounded stories.
That said, as his own interpretation for his own line of "inspired by" stories, Derleth still does a fine job of setting his stage with a giant info dump framed against a quiet story of two cousins being pulled into forces they don't understand. Derleth is himself a fine writer, with a quieter prose boosted by his lush naturalism and the intimate friendship being torn apart. It's jarring when the final third suddenly leaps to a new outside perspective, but I like what it builds to, giving this universe its own Van Helsing character who, instead of being shocked by the horrors he's uncovering, knows how to parse the pieces, and what threads need to be cut to make the entire web collapse as he starts battling the forces of the cosmos. It's a contradiction to have an active player against a mythology conceived for reactive horror, but that's what I like about it, that it's shifting the angle in a way I find refreshing.
No, this absolutely isn't a grand continuation of the Lovecraft cycle, and I do agree with critics that August shouldn't have branded it as such. But as Derleth's own work, twining the threads in his own interpretation, I'm fine with it and intrigued for more. And for how dry and awkward it can be, the lush and absorbing qualities also make me curious to read some of Derleth's broader, more grounded stories.
September 30, 2018
Прошло почти два года с тех пор как я дала себе обещание не читать Лавкрафта, ибо сие написание напоминает разум больного человека , с параноидальными отклонениями. Но, к моему большому сожалению, я решила дать ещё один шанс его творчеству. Мне по прежнему кажется , что Лавкрафт писав свои рассказы пытался избавиться от каких-то своих переживаний, возможно кошмаров, возможно это была определенного рода борьба со своим прошлым, способ уйти от боли, вылился вот таким вот , совсем не интересным для меня образом. Хотя я, на секундочку, огромный почитатель ужасов и триллеров.
Но, такая всеобъемлющая любовь к рептилиям, в каждом рассказы, ну прям в каждом, под конец-все смешалось, нет ни единого рассказа который бы запомнился или не напоминал другие .
Кому читать? Почитателям Лавкрафта и только .
It's been almost two years since I made a promise not to read Lovecraft, because this writing reminds the mind of a sick person, with paranoid abnormalities. But, to my great regret, I decided to give one more chance to his work. It still seems to me that Lovecraft written his stories tried to get rid of some of his experiences, perhaps nightmares, perhaps it was definitely a kind of struggle with his past, a way to escape the pain, poured out like this, not at all interesting to me. Although I, for a second, a huge admirer of horror and thrillers.
But, such a comprehensive love for reptiles, in every story, well, straight in everyone, in the end, everything is mixed, there is not a single story that would be remembered or did not remind others.
To whom to read? Lovecraft's admirers and only.
May 19, 2020
While I enjoyed this book, it does have a bit of a "August Derleth writes Lovecraft fanfic" vibe to it. Very little of this novel was actually written by HPL and it has a number of the issues that you see in AD/HPL "collaborations" - the Elder Gods as (absent) "white hats" and less of a feeling of hopelessness than you get in pure HPL stories; also, Derleth seems to have thrown in every aspect of HPL's Mythos, including the tentacled, other-worldly kitchen sink. The story is split into three sections, each from a different perspective - the last seemed to be both the weakest (too much expostulation) and also the most rushed (like he was trying to wrap up the story quickly). A fun read but not great.
January 3, 2022
Je mets un 4/5 pour les deux premières parties du livre. L'histoire est géniale, bien travaillée, les personnages sont intéressants et on sent la folie s'emparer d'eux, j'ai adoré. En revanche, j'ai rarement lu une fin aussi bâclée. On nous introduit deux personnages inconnus qui vont nous dévoiler toute la vérité dans un mauvais dialogue de 20 pages, et l'histoire est réglée facilement dans les 5 dernières pages. C'est vraiment dommage, l'histoire originale de Lovecraft était si parfaite, mais la fin qui en a été déduite est franchement mauvaise à mon goût.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 19, 2023
This was my first HP Lovecraft.
Except, apparently it wasn’t, it’s basically fanfic. This Derleth person, who founded a publishing house to keep Lovecraft’s works in print, finished off this unfinished work.
How much of the story belongs to each? If you read closely, there seems to be more disconnect from the original style. And there’s also the highly anticlimactic ending. Both seem to point to a different writer.
It was creepy and confusing and reminded me of a game I played as a teenager, Phantasmagoria.
Except, apparently it wasn’t, it’s basically fanfic. This Derleth person, who founded a publishing house to keep Lovecraft’s works in print, finished off this unfinished work.
How much of the story belongs to each? If you read closely, there seems to be more disconnect from the original style. And there’s also the highly anticlimactic ending. Both seem to point to a different writer.
It was creepy and confusing and reminded me of a game I played as a teenager, Phantasmagoria.
March 21, 2024
Two stars just because it's a wholesome idea for a tribute. August Derleth was friends with Lovecraft and did a lot to publicize Lovecraft's works. However, this book is terrible. It's not cosmic horror at all and it reduces cthulhu mythos to Bible retelling, the eternal conflict between good and evil. It's bad.
My copy had all the "posthumous collaboration" stories and none of them is cosmic horror.
My copy had all the "posthumous collaboration" stories and none of them is cosmic horror.
October 21, 2020
This is a decent story if you can refrain from comparing it to Lovecraft(which I can't entirely) but it seems like a short story stretched to novel length. Most of the third part is a long boring imaginary academic lecture.
August 31, 2024
Surprisingly pleasant after I had a had time getting into it in the beginning
October 1, 2021
Un livre comme je les aimes rempli d'incompréhensions et de mystères jusqu'au 30 dernières pages où tous s'éclaire grace à des révélations terrifiantes sur les grands anciens. De plus, Lovecraft a un phrasé vraiment magnifique qui reflète à lui tous seul tous l'effroi véhiculé par le mythe des grands anciens.
June 20, 2013
First of all, let's be clear -- this book is about 99% August Derleth, 1% H P Lovecraft. That said, I enjoyed this book, it's atmosphere, setting, creepy touches here and there. But this isn't a book I could highly recommend to others who aren't into Lovecraft in particular. I've read Derleth's short story collection "The Watchers Out of Time" (also falsely marketed as being by Lovecraft) and the majority of stories there follow the following plotline -- A man inherits a long-abandoned house of his ancestors, he moves in, discovers a dark history of cultism, bad stuff happens. I actually enjoyed the majority of the stories, even if they felt a bit cookie-cutter. This novel is like an expanded version of that plotline.
It's about Ambrose Dewart who comes to America from England to settle into his long-abandoned family estate in Billington's Woods. He discovers a strange tower on the property which his ancestor Alijah Billington mentions in his will and unwittingly releases a violent alien force that had been trapped in the tower. Ambrose uncovers documents and old newspapers which reveal a darkly-hinted at past of devil worship and invocation, people who go missing only to be found dead months later often far away and oddly they're found to have died only recently. The degenerated people of Dunwich fear Ambrose, because they can see he has the "Billington look," an old woman there who seems to know all about the case warns him against releasing "It" from the tower. There's other odd things too -- a stained glass window that reveals horrific pictures at times, a string of murders start up like in times past, and strangely Ambrose begins walking to the tower in his sleep.
The story is told in three successive narratives, the first by Ambrose, the second by his Boston cousin Stephen Bates and the final one is by a Miskatonic University professor Winfield Phillips. Ambrose stays with Stephen for a time to get away from the creepy old house in Billington Woods, and when he returns Stephen comes along and can tell Ambrose now has a dual personality and something is taking over Ambrose's mind.
It's about Ambrose Dewart who comes to America from England to settle into his long-abandoned family estate in Billington's Woods. He discovers a strange tower on the property which his ancestor Alijah Billington mentions in his will and unwittingly releases a violent alien force that had been trapped in the tower. Ambrose uncovers documents and old newspapers which reveal a darkly-hinted at past of devil worship and invocation, people who go missing only to be found dead months later often far away and oddly they're found to have died only recently. The degenerated people of Dunwich fear Ambrose, because they can see he has the "Billington look," an old woman there who seems to know all about the case warns him against releasing "It" from the tower. There's other odd things too -- a stained glass window that reveals horrific pictures at times, a string of murders start up like in times past, and strangely Ambrose begins walking to the tower in his sleep.
The story is told in three successive narratives, the first by Ambrose, the second by his Boston cousin Stephen Bates and the final one is by a Miskatonic University professor Winfield Phillips. Ambrose stays with Stephen for a time to get away from the creepy old house in Billington Woods, and when he returns Stephen comes along and can tell Ambrose now has a dual personality and something is taking over Ambrose's mind.
November 8, 2012
I have an ambivalent attitude towards Lovecraft. His imagination was extraordinary, his concepts highly influential and occasionally he wrote beautifully - though more often than not, stodgily and pretentiously. The Lurker at the Threshold owes as much to August Derleth as it does to Lovecraft and is the only original full-length novel after Charles Dexter Ward. I tried to read it many years ago and quickly gave up: I guess I just wasn't in the mood because this time I got into it. It's rather old-fashioned, written as a series of personal narratives (all lacking in personality) and has the usual faults of overwrought language, scattergun adjectives and absurd hyperbole. Nonetheless, the book has a cumuluative power thanks to authentic and atmospheric scene-setting among the backwoods of rustic America and the convincing cod-scholarship which was Lovecraft's trademark. There's more than a hint of urbanoia about the inbred - and partly non-human - folk of Dunwich with their occult secrets and strongly reminded me of the farmers in one of my favourite films, 'Night of the Demon', which also features people being pursued by odd lights and horrible things rushing like wind through the trees,leaving their horrible ripped and mangled bodies behind (Lovecraft's influence turning up again in a place I hadn't expected). Overall Lovecraft/Derleth conjure up a genuine atmosphere of unease. It's a little bit let down by the final instalment, though, which consists of little more than lengthy exposition by an anthroplogist about the cults of Cthulhu, Yog-Sothothe etc with lots of over-explanation of incidents I'm sure every reader would have worked out on their own, finally ending with a rather thrown-away climax. Personally, I found this a handy resume of the Lovecraft universe and might even make 'Lurker' a good starting point for non-Lovecraft afficionadoes. Or it might just put them off - he's definitely an acquired taste!
June 27, 2016
«El viento susurra con Sus voces, y la tierra murmura con Su sentido»
Uno de los textos principales de los Mitos de Cthulhu, ya me lo debía a mi mismo, exquisito, desolador, macabro, lleno de referencias cruzadas, sobre todo por que se desarrolla en el medio de tierras lovecraftianas míticas, Dunwich, Arkham incluso Innsmouth, lo cual lo hace especialmente disfrutable.
4 estrellas que son 4.5, sólo le reprocho un poco la falta de acción presente en otros relatos como la Sombra sobre Innsmouth o símiles, sin embargo este detalle no deja de ser algo totalmente de gustos. Sublime la mancuerna con el conde.
Uno de los textos principales de los Mitos de Cthulhu, ya me lo debía a mi mismo, exquisito, desolador, macabro, lleno de referencias cruzadas, sobre todo por que se desarrolla en el medio de tierras lovecraftianas míticas, Dunwich, Arkham incluso Innsmouth, lo cual lo hace especialmente disfrutable.
4 estrellas que son 4.5, sólo le reprocho un poco la falta de acción presente en otros relatos como la Sombra sobre Innsmouth o símiles, sin embargo este detalle no deja de ser algo totalmente de gustos. Sublime la mancuerna con el conde.
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