The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories (Penguin Twentieth-Century Classics) Paperback – October 1, 1999

As a longtime Lovecraft reader, I have several editions of his works, such as a couple of the Del Rey paperbacks and The Annotated Lovecraft and More Annotated Lovecraft (the last two also edited by preeminent Lovecraft scholar S. T. Joshi). These Penguin collections (Call, The Thing on the Doorstep and Other Weird Stories, and The Dreams in the Witch House and Other Weird Stories) are my favorites. While they don’t include all his work, they do represent his best and most influential works, as well as some earlier, lesser known tales. Each volume samples texts from his entire publishing career, from the late 1910s to the mid-1930s.I’m not entirely sure if Joshi had a particular theme in mind for each volume. The Call of Cthulhu may represent some of the most notable horror-oriented stories that are loosely connected through mythos elements, even if not always in terms of tone and plot. For example, both “The Picture in the House” and “The Call of Cthulhu” incorporate the Necronomicon, but “Picture” is an early schlocky cannibal story, while “Call” is a way more expansive tale of cosmic horror.The last five entries—“Call,” “The Colour Out of Space,” The Whisperer in Darkness, The Shadow Over Innsmouth, and “The Haunter of the Dark”—are among my favorite Lovecraft stories, as well as my favorite horror short stories in general. They all blend gothic horror with sci-fi and detective fiction elements. His atmosphere of dread at the realization of human powerlessness in the face of nonhuman forces reaches its pinnacle here.Also included is another of Lovecraft’s greatest works that stands on its own, “The Outsider,” perhaps the best of his early gothic period. It’s an allegorical tale about confronting one’s feelings of alienation from society, and overcoming self-alienation.Early works such as “Herbert West—Reanimator,” ”The Hound,” ”The Rats in the Walls,” and “Cool Air” are campy romps of curses and the dead returning to life. The influences of Frankenstein, Poe, and Arthur Machen shine through. They suggest a confluence of alchemy or magic with science and archaeology. “Rats” in particular goes to some dark places. “Reanimator” essentially reimagines Frankenstein with the mad doctor reviving not one but several zombies. His creatures are also more animalistic than Shelley’s Creature.The other stories—”Dagon,” ”The Statement of Randolph Carter,” “Facts Concerning the Late Arthur Jermyn and His Family,” ”Celephais,” “Nyarlathotep,” ”The Picture in the House,” ”The Festival,” and ”He”—are shorter and less developed works that explore horrible discoveries, dreamlands, and hereditary degeneracy. They have interesting moments but overall are fragmentary or formulaic.What also recommends these Penguin versions is Joshi’s annotated endnotes, which provide historical background, literary, historical, and autobiographical influences. They are also corrected texts, meaning they are as close to the original texts as possible with some minor errors fixed.The font in my version is a decent size and margins have room, although in the other two volumes, both text and margins are much smaller.Full list of stories with year written/year published.1. Dagon (1919/17)2. The Statement of Randolph Carter (1919/20)3. Facts Concerning the Late Arthur Jermyn and His Family (1920/21)4. Celephais (1920/22)5. Nyarlathotep (1920)6. The Picture in the House (1920/21)7. The Outsider (1921/26)8. Herbert West—Reanimator (1922)9. The Hound (1922/24)10. The Rats in the Walls (1923/24)11. The Festival (1923/25)12. He (1925/26)13. Cool Air (1926/28)14. The Call of Cthulhu (1926/28)15. The Colour Out of Space (1927)16. The Whisperer in Darkness (1930/31)17. The Shadow Over Innsmouth (1931/36)18. The Haunter of the Dark (1935/36)

The concept of H.P Lovecraft's work is that of the early 20th century in America, although some aspects of it are outdated..it''s well more than 100 years old in some references in the short stories. It's a beautiful reminder of what British Victorian or Guilded Age American times were like. I had heard of Lovecraft for countless years before I decided to finally buy the volume and read for myself.The dialogue is extremely complex, which is why I've heard of some people not being really able to understand the stories because Lovecraft himself was very well educated. It has been argued that the works of his are reserved for people of similar social standing. But if you consider yourself a fan of horror, original horror then it's something to definitely look into.I was surprised many times at how some of the stories ended up, it's not a typical horror story and how they end. Due to Lovecraft's own experiences in life he had to make his stories very unique in order for people to want to read them and for him to find work in the writing field in the early 20th century.This is one of the best books I have ever, or will ever buy and read.

Awesome stuff! Really! I work a grave-yard shift and I have trouble actually finishing any given book. Loss of interest or distraction, what have you... But this little volume kept my focus the whole way thru. Really, folks, thats kinda a big deal! There weren't even any pictures in it(we boys are visual learners). So imaginative, the descriptive imagery. This is food for a day dream. Just the places that this book can take you? Some scary, some beautiful, all very cool...If can, spend the cash, it's worth every penny. Only thing is the very thorough use of proper English vocabulary. A bit thick at times and difficult to wade through (my generations lack of good word usage). But hell! Its good linguistic exercise!Still yet. Great reading from an amazing imagination!

Not going to comment on political stuff surrounding the author. I find the prose to be very well-written and detailed. I haven't read much Lovecraft, but a lot of these stories are emotive and creepy in a good way. None of them really overstay their welcome, and sometimes you almost want a full novel from some of the better tales. I have no issues here. The writings speak for themselves. I guess some people don't like the style. But to me it has a high standard and good vocabulary while keeping the tales concise and mysterious.This new edition feels fantastic with rough-edged pages and a great typeface. Easy to read and hold in the hand. For simply reading the stories, it is the best edition available. Penguin cut all the explanatory notes about the stories that the editor included, which is a bit of a bummer as those notes were very interesting and added to the book. But I guess for a text it can get annoying with superscript numbers all over the pages. I know it kind of takes me out of the story when I see a superscript number in a text every 20 sentences. I like the 1999 edition as well, but for purely reading purposes this one is superior. If you want to know more about the notes behind some of the stories you will want to select the 1999 Penguin edition.

This book is part of the Penguin Orange Collection. It has no introduction or notes. Just 18 glorious stories written by Lovecraft. The print is a good size and not a strain on the eyes. Book is not heavy and pages are solid. Great read for any Lovecraft enthusiast.

I hoped I would like the stories more than I do. Not much bad to say, just got a bit boring after 10 or so tales.