"Starving would prove my ultimate fate; of this I was certain." : Lovecraft Analysis Part One

Rejoice, oh reader, for we have finally arrived at that most critical of destinations: The first of my analytical posts, whose existence I myself doubt even as I’m typing this. I’ve learned quite a bit about blogging in the past few months, the main one being that consistent Internet opinionating is not too far off from a second job. I won’t bore you with the details, but suffice to say that this post should have been begun several times before it actually commenced.

Table of Contents: “Collected Fiction Volume 4: Revisions and Collaborations"

I do not know how this post finds you, fellow traveler, but as of this writing it finds my hometown in the grip of a miserably cold season. The temperature is below freezing, as it has been for some time, and as it will remain for some time. Truth be told, if not for the fact that I would have forfeited my wages, I would not have willingly risen from bed these past few days. As it stands, I am half-frozen but awake nonetheless, and so it falls that you shall have another post to enjoy.

Table of Contents: “Collected Fiction Volume 3 (1931-1936)"

 

Welcome back, all of you who dare continue this journey with me. I hope your week has brought you as many joys as mine. In a very Lovecraftian fashion, a certain tide rose, an old and powerful force which swept away all those foolish enough to be caught in its path. People cavorted in the streets like madmen, and gave way to their base desires and instincts. I joined hundreds of my fellows in offering up our pay for robes and tunics stitched with strange runes, chief among them the primary letter of the alphabet, stylized in a most curious manner. Now the frenetic bliss is ebbing, as it always does, and we shall have a period of calm until next year’s season of festivals begins.

"If I Am Mad, It Is Mercy!" : My Lovecraft Collection (Part Two)

As I write these, I sometimes like to imagine what my readers will think as they read them. For instance, I imagine right now most of you are going “Wait a second, didn’t I already see a picture of that shelf, and read a post about his Lovecraft collection?” The answer to that question is yes, I did already show you a similar picture, and write a post that was very similar in theme and format to this one. The answer is also no, because this post in front of you is about books I have which are related to Lovecraft, but weren’t written by the man himself.

Table of Contents: “Collected Fiction Volume 2 (1926-1930)"

As promised, this post will continue our journey through the contents of each of the four volumes in Joshi’s new editions, with a brief synopsis from me regarding the tales which I’ve read so far. You’ll notice that the list is significantly shorter this time around – this volume only contains thirteen stories – but they are also quite a bit longer. I’ve also read a larger percentage of them, thanks mostly to the shortened list of contents, but also because we’re getting the real meat of Lovecraft at this point.