Lovecraft....which books to start with?

[Relic]

I've heard nothing but great things about Lovecraft's works, yet I've never read a single book of his. I'm planning on ordering two from Amazon. To those who are fans of his works - which two should I start with?

[MakiSupaStar]

Dreamquest of the Unknown Kadath. You'll see a lot of where the 'dream within a dream' stuff came from with Inception.

[chondro776]

I read Call of Cthulu (or however it is spelled...), but only because of the metallica song.
My general impression was: 'meh'

[Deluge Of Sound]

I wouldn't start with one of his novels. Full disclosure: I think he functions much better as an author of short stories.

The Thing At The Doorstep is a killer collection of his short stories, and a great key to understanding his appeal--the creepy atmospherics, the hallucinatory imagery, etc.

edited for link:
http://www.amazon.com/Thing-Doorstep...5179906&sr=1-1

[UncleFluffy]

There's a 3-volume omnibus set that came out in paperback some time ago. Might as well start with #1.

http://www.amazon.com/H-P-Lovecraft-...5179518&sr=8-1

"At the Mountains of Madness" is a good starting point, IMO.

[MatticusMania]

Originally Posted by UncleFluffy

"At the Mountains of Madness" is a good starting point, IMO.

AAAAHHHHHHH! Double Deja Vu.

I sense a disturbance in the Matrix. I think something big might be going down today.

[Auzzie-Phoenix]

Can't go wrong with either Bloodcurdling tales of horror and the macabre, or dreamscapes and nightmares. They're both collections of short stories. One of my personal favorites is the story titled "The Rats In the Walls". Haven't read any of my books in a while, maybe it's time to dig them out and give them a read.

[Relic]

OK, I just ordered 3 - At the Mountains of Madness, The Thing At the Doorstep, and Call of Cthulu. They were dirt cheap. (got 'em used)

I remember a low budget movie back in the 70's called the Dunwich horror, I had actually loved the storyline though the movie was kind of lame. I never knew it was Lovecraft until recently.

[Auzzie-Phoenix]

Oh there are plenty of movies based on lovecraft stories. Sci-Fi showed one of them a while back, but can't remember the name of it. There's also a survival horror pc game out called Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth you have sanity points, and when you're injured and such, you lose sanity and the game starts messing with you.

[MatticusMania]

Originally Posted by Relic

They were dirt cheap. (got 'em used)

Amazon? I love buying books for $0.01 and shipping.

[Phalex]

The Case Of Charles Dexter Ward is one I read again and again. In fact, I think it's still in the pocket of my hunting jacket........ I think I know what I'll be reading in teh woods this November.

There are some unfinished stories that have been released as compilations, and August Derleth (sp?) is just as good as Lovecraft IMHO. So when you work your way through the Lovecraft stuff, there's more stuff......

[Phalex]

Originally Posted by Auzzie-Phoenix

Oh there are plenty of movies based on lovecraft stories. Sci-Fi showed one of them a while back, but can't remember the name of it. There's also a survival horror pc game out called Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth you have sanity points, and when you're injured and such, you lose sanity and the game starts messing with you.

There were a whole bunch of movies based on Lovecraft starring Bruce Campbell back in the 80's. Kinda campy, but still freaking awesome!

[Deluge Of Sound]

Campy? Bruce Campbell?

Say it ain't so!

[Deluge Of Sound]

Since I couldn't find it anywhere else (Not even in the book itself!) here's the contents of Thing On the doorstep.
Thing on the Doorstep : The Tomb - H. P. Lovecraft
Thing on the Doorstep : Beyond the Wall of Sleep - H. P. Lovecraft
Thing on the Doorstep : The White Ship - H. P. Lovecraft
Thing on the Doorstep : The Temple - H. P. Lovecraft
Thing on the Doorstep : The Quest of Iranon - H. P. Lovecraft
Thing on the Doorstep : The Music of Erich Zann - H. P. Lovecraft
Thing on the Doorstep : Under the Pyramids
Thing on the Doorstep : Pickman's Model - H. P. Lovecraft
Thing on the Doorstep : The Case of Charles Dexter Ward - H. P. Lovecraft
Thing on the Doorstep : The Dunwich Horror - H. P. Lovecraft
Thing on the Doorstep : At the Mountains of Madness - H. P. Lovecraft
Thing on the Doorstep : The Thing on the Doorstep - H. P. Lovecraft

[MakiSupaStar]

Dreamquest is a collection of short stories too

[Spraeg]

Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos is a good collection of all things dealing with Elder Gods and other things that will drive you nuts. It includes Call of Cthulhu and a bunch of others that I can't remember off the top of my head.