2026-06 - Cosmic - AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS - Live ⚡ > Likes and Comments
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I read At the Mountains of Madness not very long ago courtesy of Project Gutenberg. For anyone interested this is the link to my review at the time: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show.... I don't think I have changed my mind since.
I'm going to add this to my TBR for this month. I have a H.P. Lovecraft anthology in my to read pile on my desk that's been there for a while. So, I'll make it my goal to get to all this!
Len wrote: "I read At the Mountains of Madness not very long ago courtesy of Project Gutenberg. For anyone interested this is the link to my review at the time: https://www.goodreads.com/review/sh..."Interesting review, Len.
I liked the book but have enjoyed other HPL tales more.
I'm a fan of Lovecraft's writings and several years ago decided to read a story a day to get through all of his works. This one is a classic. I'm not planning on a re-read, but I will definitely be watching this thread!
This is one Lovecraft I haven't read.
Agreeing with Richard Alex above, I like other HPL stories better than this one.But I want to give this another shot, so I'm re-reading with the group this month. It often takes me a while to "get into" Lovecraft.
There seems to be a lot of interest in this thread, which is great.I feel the same way about HPL as I do about EAP - a shout out to the amazing work Nicolai does in the Short Story Marathon section - love them or hate them, these are two authors anyone remotely interested in horror should read.
It's amazing how underwhelming HPL stories are on first read or when you first start reading his canon, but how, over time, they seep into your psyche.
Elizabeth wrote: "I'm going to add this to my TBR for this month. I have a H.P. Lovecraft anthology in my to read pile on my desk that's been there for a while. So, I'll make it my goal to get to all this!"
The good thing about HPL stories is their short length - I don't think I could handle a full-length novel.
I've got stacks of HPL still to read and go at my own pace as and when I see fit 😁.
Richard Alex wrote: "It's amazing how underwhelming HPL stories are on first read or when you first start reading his canon, but how, over time, they seep into your psyche."yeah......I few weekends ago I had a Dagon moment. I was on a little hike on the Rhode Island coast and went to a pretty desolate beach that is like a peninsula out into the ocean. It was low tide, my god the smell! Dead things. There was a pillar on an island a short distance away. (which reminds me, I have figure out what that was!)
One of my favorite Lovecraft works. I’m looking forward to rereading this one in a week or so.
Elizabeth wrote: "There was a pillar on an island a short distance away. (which reminds me, I have to figure out what that was!)"You're giving me creepy The Shadow over Innsmouth vibes.
Richard Alex wrote: "I feel the same way about HPL as I do about EAP.....love them or hate them, these are two authors anyone remotely interested in horror should read"I totally agree: even their not-so-great works are still pretty good. I couldn't wait until this month to read Mountains of Madness, so I re-read it back in April. I'm tempted to get his collected works and just plow through them this summer.
Jim wrote: "I totally agree: even their not-so-great works are still pretty good. I couldn't wait until this month to read Mountains of Madness, so I re-read it back in April. I'm tempted to get his collected works and just plow through them this summer."I'm not sure his works are Gutenberg free, but you can get them for next to nothing, same goes for Edgar Allan Poe - it's incredible.
I don't know about Gutenberg, but anyone wanting to read them on line for free can find them here at https://www.hplovecraft.com/writings/...
Yes, the collected output of both Edgar Allan Poe and H.P. Lovecraft are available online. I have a collection organised in chronological order, which is perhaps not the best first approach but becomes useful in tracking his development. Jim wrote: I totally agree: even their not-so-great works are still pretty good."
I feel there are exceptions. Something like "The Street" (an early story) is just unmitigated racism with no redeeming qualities.
Richard Alex wrote: "The good thing about HPL stories is their short length - I don't think I could handle a full-length novel."
At the Mountains of Madness is one of his novellas, over a hundred pages. The default edition on GR actually lists nearly two hundred.
👆 Imagine if Stephen King went all HPL on us and edited his great works:> The Cosmic Stand
or
> Indifferent Nature IT
1000 pages of intolerable nonsense 😂.
Has anyone read Ulysses by James Joyce?
Now that is a cosmic nightmare 😂.
Richard Alex wrote: "It's amazing how underwhelming HPL stories are on first read or when you first start reading his canon, but how, over time, they seep into your psyche."Yes, the power of his imagination surpasses his sometimes limited craft.
Which is part of the reason why there's a subculture of role playing and boardgames inspired by his creations.
(personally I'm very partial to Eldritch Horror; it even has an At the Mountain of Madness expansion, which isn't the most practical to play though, as reaching Antarctica takes forever in the gameplay!)
Long time reader of EAP here; I only discovered the works of Lovecraft last year. Love, love, love his Weird Cosmic Fiction, much of which takes place in and around my local area and surrounding environs! Glad to see so many fans here for the read/reread! I have the collection titled Great Tales of Horror which contains our Cosmic BOTM 😃. Am just finishing up a reread of last month's King Korner, Pet Sematary, then will start to climb this mad mountain🧗🏔️.
I've got this book. I'll jump in to read it for the first time.
Richard Alex wrote: "There seems to be a lot of interest in this thread, which is great.I feel the same way about HPL as I do about EAP - a shout out to the amazing work Nicolai does in the Short Story Marathon secti..."
Thanks so much, Richard! :)
And "At the Mountains of Madness" is over 40 000 words, so it IS actually novel length! :D
I haven't read it myself yet, actually, so maybe I should take this opportunity to finally read it. I just want to read more of "The Picture of Dorian Gray" first. Preferably finishing it, hehe. I just started it and love it so far!
Anyways, I'll keep reading everyone's comments and join in when I can.
The Picture of Dorian Gray, eh, Nicolai?It's pretty cosmic in itself!
Graeme wrote: "I've got this book. I'll jump in to read it for the first time."
Interested to hear your views!
Finished this a few days ago; It’s a short novel. This was my third time reading it, the first time outside of a Lovecraft collection.I did struggle a bit, as often Lovecraft used characters as a delivery device for long passages of visual description. Pretty fantastic visual description but, I had to work harder to stay focused.
But I enjoyed the adventure elements and seeing the full story come together.
Bronwyn wrote: "Finished this a few days ago; It’s a short novel. This was my third time reading it, the first time outside of a Lovecraft collection.I did struggle a bit, as often Lovecraft used characters as a..."
Surprised you gave it 4 stars.
Is HPL gradually wearing you down over the years?
😂
I haven’t read this one in more than 20 years.Always wondered why there wasn’t a good movie/tv adaptation of it - reads and feels very cinematic.
I am behind on my King reads, but will join this one too.
Imposible to skip it in this awesome group.
Igor wrote: "Impossible to skip it in this awesome group."That's because of you guys, I think.
I'd like to hear your comments on this - I've read it once, thought it was OK but prefer other HPL stories - after you finish your current SK read.
At the Mountains of Madness by H.P. Lovecraft
Classic Cosmic Horror that deserves to be read and reread. Mental images from the last time I read this book are flashing into my mind's eye as I write this. Great story telling and chilling scene setting!