
H.P. Lovecraft – Against the World, Against Life (2004) [pdf] - networked
https://web.archive.org/web/20060507063256/http://blog.urbanomic.com/dread/archives/houellebecq-lovecraft.pdf
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cstross
Strong rec: if you've ever wondered about H. P. Lovecraft but lacked the time
to read your way through his writings (and all six volumes of his letters),
this is Houellebecq giving you the Cliff's Notes version. (Lovecraft is
considered a major literary figure in France, hence the interest among
academics.)

(Disclaimer: I might have written the odd piece of Lovecraft-influenced
fiction in the past ...)

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Immortalin
Laundry files?

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cstross
Yup.

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qrendel
Odd coincidence that I literally just finished reading _The Atrocity Archives_
about ten minutes ago. Great book, loved it. Thought the series might have
been the inspiration for the movie _Cabin in the Woods_ , but seems not.

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Amezarak
I've always been disappointed in the lack of recognition Dream Quest of
Unknown Kadath gets. Several years ago, I read all of Lovecraft's works in a
stretch, and while I enjoyed them all, Dream Quest really stood about. By the
end my heart was racing and I was reading as fast as I could to find out what
happened next. It's _very_ rare for me to have any reaction to a story beyond
the pleasure of reading or the appreciation of good prose.

But Dream Quest is consistently absent from lists of favorites or of
Lovecraft's best writings. Maybe I just have bad taste. :) To be fair, it is a
little different in theme than Lovecraft's later writings: less scientific
horror and more fantastical horror.

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superskierpat
Dream Quest felt really different from the rest, but I really liked it as
well. I was reading a collection of all his short stories at the time and it's
pretty cool to see little stories that tie in to this storie's dreamverse from
time to time.

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nailer
I feel Kadath would be an excellent television series for boys aged 10-12. It
has bravery and adventure and imagination and virtue, and horror but not
blindingly so.

~~~
superskierpat
That or a video game. Could easily be a mix of adventure / puzzle with some
action thrown in (Places like the forest, the moon, the underdream and kadath)

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YeGoblynQueenne
I'm a bit shocked to read about the extent of Lovecraft's racism. I had
noticed it in his writings, but I thought it was the voice of his characters.

I never think much about the creators of the stories or the music I enjoy,
exactly because I'm worried I might find something unpleasant, like
Lovecraft's racism. Frex, I'm happy I don't understand a word of what many of
the bands I listen to sing, otherwise I'm pretty sure I'd never listen to them
again. [1] I was lucky not to know all this about Lovecraft, as I didn't know
stuff about other writers I enjoyed when I was younger, otherwise I don't
think I'd have managed to enjoy them in the same way.

And I was really, really into Lovecraft's stuff as a teenager. I think I've
read pretty much everything he's published, plus a whole lot of his disciples'
stories. A couple of shorts have escaped me, by happy coincidence (The Colour
out of Space and The Shadow out of Time) and I'm keeping them for a special
moment.

[1]
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvGPAVTYfXI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvGPAVTYfXI)

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cenazoic
This is an interesting companion piece to ST Joshi's 2-volume biography of
Lovecraft: I am Providence.

Joshi, while somewhat controversial due to his alleged whitewashing of
Lovecraft's racial views (as well as some obvious editorializing in IaP), is
currently THE Lovecraft authority. I am Providence is the best resource out
there right now for insight into HPL views, life, and publishing history.

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nkg
I've read one of his books (Call of Chtulu) for the 1st time recently. I had
not been warned about the high amount of racism that is to be found in his
writing. It felt awkward until the last page!

The only time I have been that disturbed by a book, it was novel from
Houellebecq...

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rpgmaker
Which one?

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nkg
"Whatever" (in French :"L'extension du domaine de la lutte")

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rpgmaker
It's weird that I had not read about it on HN, given the wikipedia
description: " _The novel tells the story of a depressed and isolated man
stuck in a tedious but well-paying programming job._ "

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rpgmaker
I can't find this on archive.org. I want the epub download (if available),
does anyone have it?

