The New Annotated H. P. Lovecraft (Annotated Books)

Like all of Klinger's annotated editions, the book looks gorgeous. It's huge and lavishly illustrated. But many of the notations are obvious/superficial and don't show a lot of insight into the author. For example, In footnote #4 to "Haunter of the Dark," it is pointed out that, regarding the death of the writer and painter: "These events were never recorded by Lovecraft." True. BUT they were recorded by Robert Bloch in "The Shambler from the Stars," the prequel to this story. Incredibly, this isn't mentioned! This is pretty much a dead giveaway that Klinger isn't a Lovecraft scholar.

Lovecraft wrote some good stuff. I bought this for my wife as she's a huge fan and it's annotated.

Welllll, let's just say that the guy doing the annotation should have done some fact checking and used his noodle a bit. Some factoids he has are quite impressive. Other observations are blithely ignorant or curiously missing what's right in print.

I received this book as a present a few months back and finally got around to reading it.

On the upside, there is a lot of useful and interesting information: “Ah, so that’s what the building looks like . I can see why a man like Lovecraft would call it ‘hideous.’” Or even “Oh, hey! That’s what a snow cylinder rolling across the landscape is. Cool.” Even more interesting to me were some of the pictures of Lovecraft’s original manuscript pages (one page is written on the back of an envelope, which I think is nifty to see).
Some of the annotations were tedious, but informative. However, when a dilettante like myself is repeatedly jarred out of an enjoyable read by hugely incorrect annotations, it’s more than a little disappointing. Such as in “At the Mountains of Madness” a specific sentence in the Lovecraft text reads: “It reproduced like the vegetable cryptograms, especially the pteridophytes; having spore-cases at the tips of the wings and evidently developing from a thallus or prothallus.” The annotation to this sentence reads (35, pg 483): “The narrator here confuses the terminology; although “pterodactyls” have wings, “pteridophytes” are ferns with roots, stems and leaves (but no flowers or seeds). The name has nothing to do with wings.”

No. The annotation is incorrect. Lovecraft did use “pteridophytes” correctly – wings were only mentioned because they were the *location* of the reproductive material that would ordinarily be seen in that kind of plant (a fern).

The Case of Charles Dexter Ward has similar problems. An annotations reads in part (109, pg 208): “In a letter dated 1928, Hutchinson states that he has had 150 more years than Curwen to study occult matters, so it may well be that Hutchinson had lived in Salem for many years prior to this period of Curwen’s life.”

Except that “letter” reads in the story as “…O. and I have had THESE 150 years more than you…” (pg. 271) - read in context it indicates that Hutchinson is referencing the 157 years Curwen’s been dead.

In “The Dunwich Horror,” an annotation, as an example, attributes “The Esoteric Order of Dagon” to the story “The Call of Cthulhu” when it is in fact found in the tale “The Shadow Over Innsmouth” and nowhere in “The Call of Cthulhu.”

In “The Colour Out of Space” commentary is made that “no murder weapon is mentioned,” (9, pg. 328) and yet the VERY NEXT PAGE details “Ammi ‘s grip tightened on a heavy stick he had picked up in the attic for some purpose.” Read in context, it’s pretty obvious what the murder weapon is.

The list goes on.

As I stated before, I felt there are a great number of “Oh, that’s neat,” annotations that are correct. But the number of incorrect annotations are so jarring and irritating in what should be a pleasant read, I am forced to wonder if Mr. Klinger actually read the Lovecraft stories he annotated, or if he just skimmed once and called it good, despite his introductory statements to the contrary.

This is a great collection, however I have to agree with many of the other reviewers that I wish it was complete. The book is already so huge and unwieldy, it wouldn't have made a major difference to have included the rest. Also, I would have preferred less of a focus on Lovecraft's life in the annotations, and more focus on his early publishings. They could have included tons of full colour paintings and illustrations inspired by his work, but instead they focus primarily on photographs of places where he lived. To me, the life of the whiny little racist is far less interesting than the worlds he created and how they connect to other works. Still, I've enjoyed reading it.

I cannot praise this enormous book too highly--it is a spectacular celebration of a writer who is now acknowledged as a Classic of American Literature. H. P. Lovecraft was an excellent writer, profoundly original even when he was writing a tale that may, on the surface, seem typical Gothic horror. Those who complain of Lovecraft's prose style, or who are so clueless as to call him a "terrible wordsmith" or "bad writer," are wrong and wretchedly ignorant. Happily, we now have books such as H. P. LOVECRAFT: ART, ARTIFACT, AND REALITY by Steven J. Mariconda (Hippocampus Press 2013) and WEIRD REALISM: LOVECRAFT AND PHILOSOPHY by Graham Harman (Zero Books 2012) that show clearly and intelligently why Lovecraft is a very good writer indeed. As the world's leading Lovecraft scholar and editor, S. T. Joshi, has proclaimed, "I believe it is now sufficiently well established that Lovecraft was in fact one of the great prose stylists of the English language".

H. P. Lovecraft's brilliant weird fiction is now presented in its finest format, in this stunning and beautiful hardcover edition, THE NEW ANNOTATED H. P. LOVECRAFT, superbly and intelligently edited by Mr Leslie S. Klinger. It is a hefty tome, difficult to hold for one such as I, now in her twilight years and lacking strength. Mr Klinger had to be selective in his choice of stories, but his choices are spot on--with one exception. The stories are:
Dagon
The Statement of Randolph Carter
Beyond the Wall of Sleep
Nyarlathotep
The Picture in the House
Herbert West: Reanimator
The Nameless City
The Hound
The Festival
The Unnamable
The Call of Cthulhu
The Silver Key
THE CASE OF CHARLES DEXTER WARD
The Colour Out of Space
The Dunwich Horror
The Whisperer in Darkness
AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS
The Shadow over Innsmouth
The Dreams in the Witch House
The Thing on the Doorstep
The Shadow Out of Time
The Haunter of the Dark

The serious omission, to my mind, is "The Outsider," a story that should have been included, rather than something as poor and uninteresting as "Beyond the Wall of Sleep".

Following an excellent Introduction by Alan Moore, we are treated with a fascinating foreword of over fifty pages and profusely illustrated. Mr Klinger, with his annotations, plays what he calls "the Sherlockian game," in which we pretend that Lovecraft's tales are not fiction but rather factual records of real-life events. Such an approach strikes one as unintelligent and certainly non-scholarly; but in fact it results in some intriguing notes that shine new light on Lovecraft's texts. The one place where the notes left me confused is on page 12, where we find this: "More of Carter's history is given in 'Through the Gates of the Silver Key,' written by Lovecraft and E. Hoffmann Price between October 1932 and April 1933 and first published in July 1934 in WEIRD TALES 24, no. 1, 60-85. However, this tale is thought to be largely the work of Price and must be regarded as an unreliable source of information." This is nonsense, as the story is almost entirely the writing of H. P. Lovecraft. Other annotations have proved not only fascinating and informative, but hugely entertaining. The format of the book is brilliant, with Lovecraft's text in black, and Mr Klinger's notes in red.

The book is crammed with wonderful photos and illustrations and artwork, much of it in full color. Included are examples of Lovecraft's handwritten manuscripts, a full two-page reproduction of his "History of the Necronomicon," color stills of the places where Lovecraft lived, or of places that are mentioned in his stories, and numerous illustrations from WEIRD TALES. Layout is extremely handsome. I have qualms about the jacket art, as I grow weary of Lovecraft's fabulous weird fiction being represented by tentacles--even if they are embossed as they are on the front jacket for this edition.

This book will bring the outstanding classic tales of Lovecraft to new readers, and will hopefully lead to more intelligent and thoughtful critiques of the author's art. Mr Klinger will be going on an extended book tour, reading from the book and answering questions, and some of these sessions will feature guests such as Peter Straub, Neil Gaiman, and the luscious S. T. Joshi. I am captivated by this mesmerizing book, and it brings again that wonderful experience of being utterly entranced and enchanted by the resplendent art of this magnificent writer, Howard Phillips Lovecraft.

This is a large and nicely produced hardback volume on the works of H.P. Lovecraft compiled and edited by Leslie Klinger. This book features 22 stories that Klinger states are not necessarily the best or most iconic of Lovecraft's work but rather a collection of what he calls the 'best of Lovecraft's Akrham cycle," as well as a detailed biographical opener that spans several dozen pages. Each of the stories are edited by Klinger and feature very detailed and numerous annotations. Each of the stories read very cleanly and also feature numerous illustrations themselves.

I think this is the best annotated Lovecraft ever written. I absolutely recommend it. Although it contains only 22 narrative Works, they're quite well annotated. It's an amazing scholar effort. I congratulate Leslie S. Kingler for doing his best. Fot those who love Lovecraft's writings this is an excellent gift for the Christmass to come. The annotated stories in this magnificient book are: Dagon, The Statement of Randolph Carter, Beyond the Wall of Sleep, Nyarlathotep, The Picture in the House, Herbert West: Reanimator, The Nameless City, The Hound, The Festival, The Unnamable, The Call of Chtulhu, The Silver Key, The Case of Charles Dexter Ward, The Colour Out of Space, The Dunwich Horror, The Whisperer in Darkness, At the Mountains of Madness, The Shadow over Innsmouth, The Dreams in the Witch House, The Thing on the Doorstep, The Shadow Out of Time and The Haunter of the Dark. We all know Lovecraft wrote a lot of more tales, but for me, these are in off. I'm not a specialist on American Literature, but a Lovecraft's fan. If you're looking for an amazing and profesional work, this is an excellent option, probably the best one.

This is a great book if you want to boost your Lovecraft game. I wouldn't consider this essential for introducing someone new to Lovecraft, but for those who want to dig a little deeper into the stories. This is a very good curated list from Lovecraft's oeuvre which skips past some of the dross that an omnibus collection is obligated to include but blocks readers from getting to the good stuff. The annotations cover a wide range of interesting material from early drafts to historical relevance to artistic/classical references to definitions. Some of my favorite inclusions are the photographs of the architecture such as that from The Haunter of the Dark.

Publication in 2014 was uppity lip reaction to a future trump world lost psychopath sexuality with a large female anaconda. This book does not have The Other Gods, a story I read in Shadows Of Death. The subliminal pull of Ishtar Vishnu Bull of Heaven Gilgamesh bandit rule by cash confiscation vile fig leaf dirty old man Benjamin Franklin getting caught on wallets of wheat corn soy cluster illness joint pain now cracks me up.

It's a beautifully-bound volume, and an invaluable resource for the devoted fan. Its only flaw is the decision to omit some of Lovecraft's finest stories. Of course, every fan has their favorite stories, but there were some inclusions that are a bit puzzling and omissions that are perplexing. "The Outsider", "The Rats in the Walls", "The Lurking Fear", "The Temple", and "The Music of Erich Zann" offer a more enjoyable, richer reading experience than some of the relatively minor tales included instead ("The Nameless City", "The Silver Key", "The Festival"). The most disappointing omission for me is "Pickman's Model". I've always been deeply curious about how the Boston Lovecraft describes compares with the contemporary reality. I suppose our only hope is that Klinger and Norton adds an additional volume at a later date. Quibbles aside, no completist can take a pass on this gorgeous book.

Howard Phillips Lovecraft didn't live to see his fiftieth birthday, lived an impecunious existence on a tiny income, was devoted to racial and political views that were extreme even for his time, and died almost unnoticed. His parents died in mental institutions and he himself was prone to bouts of depression and "nervous exhaustion" all his life. At the time of his death his literary output consisted of a number of stories and short novels that had been published in pulp magazines. Why then, this volume of 22 of his stories, carefully annotated by Leslie S. Klinger? Because H.P. Lovecraft's fantasy stories are recognized as being among the very best of their kind, setting a standard for horror literature that has rarely been surpassed since his death in 1937.

This large volume of over 800 pages includes introductory essays on Lovecraft's life, his position as one of the great horror writers alongside Poe, Machen, and others, and on his legacy of influence on more recent writers. I found these essays fascinating, especially the biography which included a number of pictures of Lovecraft, his family, some of his homes, and of his wife Sonia, whom he married and lived with briefly before separating (but never divorcing.) But the bulk of the volume is made up of the 22 selected stories, which include some of my favorites: "The Shadow Over Innsmouth," "The Dunwich Horror," "The Whisperer in Darkness," and "The Colour Out of Space," among others. Each story is copiously annotated with definitions of some of the archaic and obscure words like eldritch with which Lovecraft peppered his narratives, explanations of the settings and locales, references to literary and historic influences, and so on. I especially enjoyed seeing the posters and publicity materials for the movies and television adaptations of some of Lovecraft's stories. While none of these really capture the atmosphere of Lovecraft's own writings, they are nonetheless interesting to look at.

H.P. Lovecraft's position as a master of fantasy and horror in literature is now well established, and this volume should become one of the standard references for both scholars and fans.

I admit that I adore big books and this is HUGE at over 900 pages and 9x2.3x10. Even with all that mass, not every Lovecraft story could fit inside. I like that the editor, Leslie S. Klinger, included so many photos, illustrations and anecdotal information along with the stories and historical information. The stories being shared in order of their writing/publication will assist the readers in watching Mr. Lovecraft's writing and views progress. Many of today's authors of horror and science fiction say that Lovecraft's body of work is what led them to be authors. I was very curious about the man and did not know he had such an unusual upbringing and that his parents were mentally ill. He died when he was 46 which seems far too young at my current age but meant little to me when I was a teen. That his pulp magazine stories have become cult classics long after his death is amazing. The editor points out that those pulp magazines served as starting points for many authors and served as "entertainment for the working class." I also learned that Lovecraft read and edited other author works for an income. I enjoyed the inclusion of so many tidbits of trivia and photos of several letters Lovecraft wrote that he illustrated...small works of art! I believe that this is a great reference and potential learning tool for both new readers and those who never put Lovecraft's work away. Reading him now, I see his stories differently than I did as a teen.
I received an ARC of this book from the publisher to read but my review was not influenced by them in any manner.

I received this book only a couple of days ago, but I'm already impressed. It's a formidable tome, both in size and content. The annotations and pictures add to the familiar stories. Some have expressed regret at the absence of some stories; I would have liked to see "The Strange High House in the Mist," a personal favourite. However, I was pleased to find "Herbert West: Reanimator." The editor says it was included because it's an early zombie story. Perhaps so, but I have a particular fondness for it in part because Herbert West is one of Lovecraft's more developed characters, right up there with Randolph Carter and Charles Dexter Ward. As my old HPL paperbacks start to fall apart, I anticipate poring over this book for years to come.

As others have said, some of Lovecraft's best work is not included. Not including my personal favorite "The Rats In The Walls" is akin to heresy and the same goes for "Pickman's Model". I'm not so sure we needed Herbert West: Reanimator, as fun as the movie was. I'm also not sure about putting the stories in the order they were written. I got the kindle version so I can't comment on the book itself, but it sounds very nice from the other reviews. I just read through the introductions and they were very well done and informative. I've been a Lovecraft fan for about three decades and it's amusing to see him become a meme or T-shirt design. I'm pleased that HPL's legacy keeps growing though, it gives me more books and graphic novels to peruse.

I was able to procure a copy of this book. And I have read about half of it and it is just simply AMAZING!!! I have looked at the appendices & there are some new items that are execellent. And a very nice & detailed foreward in this edition.
The New Annotated H. P. Lovecraft is a MUST HAVE for those who LOVE H. P. Lovecraft!

This is a wonderful compendium of Lovecraft's work complete with notes and details that I found helpful when reading the tales. References to words used during the historical period in the tales were invaluable as were the biographical information and pictures. Excellent way to get introduced to Lovecraft and a must for all fans.

I recently received this book and can safely say it's utterly amazing. As big Lovecraft fan I'm very happy and can recommend this anyone interested in science fiction and horror in general. It's a big book and highly detailed.

This book has one serious and nearly catastrophic flaw. It has no index, thus it can in no way be considered academic in nature. Also, a fair amount of the annotations are basically just filler, signifying nothing. But there are some useful factoids... One can end run the index issue, but essentially it means buying the book twice. The print form is well laid out and easy to read with or without reading the annotations and for this reason the print version is important unless one has a very large ebook reader, despite the fact the thing weighs more than a New York City phone book. While I don't have it in Kindle form, this should, in theory, give one the rough approximation of an index. The information content of the annotations is sometimes useful, but to reiterate, the thing is definitely padded like an overstuffed mattress. The lack of a solid index in the print version shows a serious lack of concern for the material as an information resource. So, if you have a large screen Kindle and the text is, in fact, searchable via your device, skip the print and get this work in ebook format. I don't know if the Kindle version has DRM piled on it to the rafters like a lot of the the store Kindle format books do. If so, this is definitely a negative purchase point. Also, if you have only one of those dinky Kindles, then you're again stuck getting both versions, because this work would likely be very difficult to deal with on a small screen, seems to me...