Interesting collection of odds-and-ends showing Lovecraft's development as a writer, but not his best work. ( )

A plethora of place names, a distant mythos, but I am reminded of nothing so much as [b:The Masque of the Red Death|204779|The Masque of the Red Death|Edgar Allan Poe|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1172667858s/204779.jpg|15568908], which was far, far better. (The Bible-like descriptions of Sarnath itself are beautiful, the names evocative, but this is the kind of fantasy building I've been doing myself as long as I can remember, so I guess it seems like a childish way to build a story, to me. Completely non-creepy, as I was totally cheering for the fish people from the word go.) Kind of enjoyed this one.

(Moved 2015 review to the individual work Sept. 2017 to make room to review the collection under its own entry. Another story that I remember rather vividly) ( )

It was fine, some of the description was a bit lengthy and repetitive for my liking but yeah, sure, whatever. ( )

Extermínio e vingança dos Ibs ( )

'The Other Gods': ***1/2
The earth gods have long since moved to the highest peaks of unknown Kadeth in the frozen wastes because foolish men kept climbing up lesser peaks and those gods don't want to be seen by mere mortals. Some nights they come to their beloved mountain, Hatheg-Kla, to dance. After what happened to Barzai the Wise (who should have changed his name to 'the Foolhardy' as soon he decided he just had to see the earth gods), they might as well move back. There's a touch of social class snobbery in this 1921 story - Barzai is fearless because he's the son of an ancient castle-dwelling landgrave. His disciple, the young priest Atal, is sometimes afraid because he's the son of an innkeeper. The Pnakotic Manuscripts are mentioned more than once, including the fact they come from the land of Lomar, a land also mentioned in 'Polaris'.

'The Tree': ***
The flashback section of this 1920 story is set in ancient Greece. We lovers of whodunnits will have no trouble guessing why one of two great sculptors has fallen ill and who is responsible. Even if you aren't a mystery fan, the revenge will make it all clear. No need for the police or lawyers here.

'The Doom That Came to Sarnath': ****
The description of the beautiful city of Sarnath makes it sound as if it would have been a wonder of the world and a great movie location had it survived to modern times (assuming it hadn't been plundered in the 10,000 years since its heyday). As for the doom, it's a pity that it didn't befall the evil-doers themselves instead of their remote descendants. It was a hate crime that should never have been celebrated. Given that this was written in 1919, don't be surprised that '...only the brave and adventurous young men with yellow hair and blue eyes...' are willing to look for Sarnath after its doom. There's a sea-green stone idol carved in the likeness of a great water-lizard named Bokrug that has a role.

'The Tomb'***
The last of his line is obsessed about his infamous ancestors' tomb. There's a poem in 18th century style about boozing and partying now because you can't do either after you die.

'Polaris':**1/2

Is our unnamed narrator having a recurring nightmare, dreaming of a past life that might have been lived 26,000 years ago, or caught between two worlds? If the North Star knows, it's not telling. The Pnakotic Manuscripts are mentioned. Naturally, in this 1918 story, the men of Lomar are tall and gray-eyed, while their foes, the squat, yellow-skinned Inutos, don't know the Lomarians' 'scruples of honour'. I didn't appreciate the description of 'Esquimaux' in the next-to-the-last paragraph.

'Beyond the Wall of Sleep': **1/2

This 1919 story got on my nerves by harping on the physical, mental, and moral deficiences of inbred inhabitants of the Catskill Mountains (which the narrator equates with what Southerners call 'white trash'). Yes, the dreams reported by the illiterate and developmentally disabled character who is having them are the more striking because the source is so unlikely, but the character could have been just as disabled and illiterate without being from any ethnic stock the author scorned. Freudians probably won't like the slur against him that's in the first paragraph. The narrator has a device which might enable him to communicate telepathically with the dreamer. The fate suffered by yet another character is certainly unpleasant to contemplate.

'Memory:'**

It's a very short piece about a genie and a demon. The ending might have been a surprise back in 1919, but I fear only a very inexperienced modern reader won't figure it out ahead of time.

'What the Moon Brings':**
There are some decent descriptions that give the narrator good reason to be afraid of the moon and what moonlight reveals. Personally, I think the narrator should have run in the opposite direction. By the way, 'shewing' is an old spelling for 'showing' and an 'Eikon' is an icon.

'Nyarlathotep': **

This is a prose poem from 1920. Nyarlathotep appears to the narrator and others as a man who looks like a Pharaoh. He gives lectures and demonstrations. Men shudder as they recommend him. The ones who have seen him wind up screaming from nightmares (no, the story doesn't tell us what effect this has on the women and children). Our narrator was fool enough to listen to a friend. Either the narrator and other viewers are sharing hallucinations, or the works of man are falling apart in a hurry. One hopes that the narrator is hallucinating at the end.

'Ex Oblivione':**

It's another story about dreams, this one involving a little gate of bronze. Unlike most of the stories in this collection, the nameless narrator is happy with its ending.

'The Cats of Ulthar':****

While there are moments that we cat lovers won't like, I hope others of my kind will enjoy the reason it's illegal to kill cats in Ulthar as much as I did. Hatheg, the stony desert in 'The Other Gods,' gets mentioned here. In fact, one of the boys in this story probably grew up to be the young priest in that other story.

'Hypnos':***

Two men, one a sculptor, use exotic drugs to expand their perceptions. Will they regret it? 'Phrensy' is an old, archaic even, spelling of 'frenzy'.

'Nathicana':***

It's a Poe-style poem. Nathicana is the narrator's beloved.

'From Beyond':****

If you're a fan of the Lovecraft Middle School series, as I am, this is the story in which that series' main villain, Crawford Tillinghast, appears. It's just as well for the world that Tillinghast's friend accepted his invitation.

'The Festival':***1/2

This 1923 story has elements in common with one of Lovecraft's best, 'The Shadow Over Innsmouth,' which was written in 1931. The festival in question is the Yule-rite, which has nothing to do with Christmas. Our narrator has been summoned to the sea town his ancestors lived in. His ancestors were dark and came '...from opiate southern gardens of orchids...', so he's not a WASP [White Anglo-Saxon Protestant]. Arkham, Miskatonic University, Marvells of Science by Morryster, and the Olaus Wormius' Latin translation of mad Arab Abdul Alhazred's Necronomicon are mentioned. Lovecraft threw two real books in the list: the 1595 Daemonolatreja of Remigius (Nicolas Remy) and the 1681 Saducimus Triumphatus by Joseph Glanville. The narrator is offered a choice...