Lovecraft's descriptive passages in 'Necronomicon' will twist your mind with their sheer brilliance. He truly proves himself to be a language virtuoso.
The reason for the lower rating on the story stems from the fact that I'm not particularly fond of this genre.
All the narrators delivered performances that were more than satisfactory.
I'm not gonna lie, some books just don't hold up over time. Look, HP Lovecraft is like the OG of horror, but a lot of the stories in this collection were a total drag to listen to. I mean, I actually found myself fast-forwarding through entire chapters. There were a couple that still held their own, but honestly, I can only really suggest this to hardcore Lovecraft enthusiasts.
I've been hearing a lot of hype about the Lovecraft tales, but this collection left me somewhat underwhelmed. While the standout stories were truly fantastic, a majority of them seemed to rely heavily on the reader's imagination to conjure up the terrifying elements from the otherworldly descriptions. It's definitely worth giving it a read, but it's not something you absolutely have to do.
I reckon this audiobook didn't really resonate with me. I was anticipating some spine-chilling horror, but instead, I got a dose of inexplicable and bizarre tales. Most of the stories followed a similar pattern: a self-proclaimed intellectual narrating events that they swear are real, while dismissing anyone who believes them as foolish. The unexplained occurrences, which the narrator conveniently chooses not to describe, played out for a varying duration, ranging from one to sixty minutes. And of course, there's always the inevitable tragic demise of a friend, accompanied by the narrator's insistence on their own fear. Although I managed to listen to the entire audiobook, I found it quite challenging. One positive aspect, though, was the presence of talented narrators.
The individual stories in the early 20th century can definitely be seen as "classic." However, reading them one after another, the constant repetition of story structure and vocabulary like 'cyclopean,' 'demoniac,' and 'horror' can become monotonous and fail to stimulate the imagination. What's disheartening is the reliance on xenophobic and racist tropes to create fear, which makes the stories feel formulaic. While some readers may still find this style effective, it shattered my suspension of disbelief when the essence of terror hinged on instilling fear of foreigners and minorities, perpetuating the belief that they're inclined towards malevolence and ignorance, and implying their culture and genes are inferior or primitive. These stories clearly reflect the era they were written in, and unfortunately, they haven't aged well.
Being a huge fan of horror and the gothic genre, I was excited to delve into H.P. Lovecraft's 'Necronomicon'. I anticipated that some of the tropes may come off as clichéd in the present day, considering Lovecraft's pioneering role in the genre, but I was still hoping to enjoy it. However, I found that Lovecraft's bombastic style and repetitive use of the same adjectives became stale quite quickly. The format, featuring multiple narrators with inconsistent pronunciations of certain words, further exacerbated the issue. It was unintentionally hilarious to hear three different interpretations of the word "demoniac," but it also highlighted the excessive repetition of certain words throughout the book.
One major problem that I encountered while listening to this audiobook was the shocking racism present in Lovecraft's stories. I believe it would have been appropriate for the title to come with a warning about this. For instance, there was a story featuring a black cat named N***** Man, which made me feel uncomfortable even in the privacy of my car due to the repeated use of a racial slur. Even more distressing were the stories that depicted certain characters as barely human, devolved, and monstrous, with racially offensive descriptions such as "mongoloid" or "negroid," accompanied by stereotypical features like "slanted eyes" and "thick lips." I was truly horrified, but not in a positive way. While I understand that Lovecraft wrote during a different era, it was a conscious decision to create modern recordings of these stories, including racially disturbing ideas that are absolutely unacceptable today.
I recognize that die-hard Lovecraft fans may not share the same concerns that I have raised here, but I wanted to share my thoughts for those who, like me, were casually interested in exploring this material. It certainly wasn't what I had expected, and it's disheartening to dislike something that I had initially hoped to love.
After procrastinating for way too long, I finally gave in and gave the audiobook 'Necronomicon' a listen. Let me tell you, it was worth the wait. This collection features H. P. Lovecraft's most gripping stories, and it doesn't hold back on the scare factor. Prepare yourself for a relentless onslaught of fear as it drags you into an abyss of the unknown. It's like stepping out of the realm of sanity, reason, and normalcy, and plunging headfirst into a never-ending nightmare.
I made the mistake of diving into this book late at night, and boy, was that an experience. I highly recommend doing the same, but be warned, you might want to keep your blinds open while ensuring your windows are tightly shut. You never know when your mind will start playing cruel tricks on you.
I found it really irritating that there wasn't a proper table of contents. Hopefully, this list will be helpful for you:
Chapter 1 - Dagon
Chapter 2 - Herbert West - Reanimator
Chapter 8 - The Lurking Fear
Chapter 9 - The Rats in the Walls
Chapter 10 - The Whisperer in the Darkness
Chapter 18 - Cool Air
Chapter 19 - In the Vault
Chapter 20 - The Call of Cthulu
Chapter 23 - The Color Out of Space
Chapter 24 - The Horror at Red Hook
Chapter 31 - The Music of Erich Zann
Chapter 32 - The Shadow Out of Time
Chapter 40 - The Dunwich Horror
Chapter 50 - The Haunter of the Dark
Chapter 51 - The Outsider
Chapter 52 - The Shunned House
Chapter 57 - The Unnameable
Chapter 58 - The Thing on the Doorstep
Chapter 63 - Under the Pyramids
Damn, 21 hours feels like forever. Especially when you're dealing with all the stuff and everyone involved. Some of the tales are downright mesmerizing and overall, the book is a pretty solid experience. But I gotta be honest, a handful of stories were a bit of a struggle to get through.
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