Review: At the Mountains of Madness

At the Mountains of Madness by H. P. Lovecraft

I’m not sure when I became aware of the word “Lovecraft”—I thought it was a word long before I became aware it was a name. The phrase “Lovecraftian horror” has long been a favorite of mine, simply because “Lovecraftian” sounds so angular and odd. But let us just say it was an embarrassing long time before I realized H. P. Lovecraft was a writer of horror fiction, and that it was important for me to read him. I chose At the Mountains of Madness over a short story collection because I’d heard it was a little more science fiction than horror, and I’m a big baby when it comes to horror, but I’m not quite sure it worked…

The Literary Horizon: At the Mountains of Madness, Pride & Prejudice & Zombies

Horror! Not a genre I’m particularly well-read in. You see, I’m squeamish. It’s the reason that despite my love for Peter Jackson as a director, I’ve yet to see his earlier stuff. (Heavenly Creatures flirts with horror, but doesn’t ultimately go there. That’s quite a good film, by the way, I recommend it.) But there’s still horror on my reading list, because why read if you’re not going to challenge yourself?