At the Mountains of Madness (Annotated with Critical Essay and H.P. Lovecraft Biography)
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3.6 • 11 Ratings
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Publisher Description
The Miskatonic Antarctic Expedition of 1930-31 is led by William Dyer. Using a newly invented boring device, a group of men explore the area of McMurdo Sound, which is opposite the Ross Ice Shelf, where famous explorer Byrd led an expedition in recent time.
One of the members of the expedition, Lake, has found some unusual soapstone pieces and wants to set up a sub-expedition to the northwest. He finds mountains that are taller than the tallest known ranges on Earth and the frozen remains of monstrous creatures that are like nothing ever seen on the planet. He assesses them to be half-animal and half-vegetable and that their brain development far beyond anything human.
In July 2010 it was announced that the film would be made in 3D and that James Cameron would become producer; Tom Cruise was attached to star.
This book is annotated and includes a critical essay and biography about the life and times of H.P. Lovecraft is also included with this book.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Lovecraft's At the Mountain of Madness opens with a newspaper announcement of a voyage to Antarctica, immediately followed by the narrator, Professor William Dyer stating his opposition to it. From there, the book launches into the story of Dyer's own, earlier expedition to the Antarctic wasteland, one that culminated in murder and horror in the aforementioned mountains. Lovecraft was a master of writing about indescribable horrors whose visages violate the laws of nature in unsettling ways. Right off the bat, this creates a problem for anyone seeking to translate his work into a visual medium: how to keep the sense of unspoken tension and dread? Artist I.N.J. Culbard addressed this concern admirably by telling the story largely through radio broadcasts, which forces the reader to feel the tense isolation felt by the explorers as they uncover progressively horrific mysteries from the Antarctic ice. Culbard also effectively threads a sense of dread throughout the book with subtle touches of the macabre, such as a glimpse of two blind penguins swimming in the foreground of an early frame. This is one of Lovecraft's most famous stories. Although it is questionable whether it needed an adaptation, this is an excellent one.
Customer Reviews
Marvelously Unfulfilling!
Have your dictionary handy for this one - what a vocabulary this guy had! An amazing, engaging story. Picks up speed as you go - after the first 2/3 of the book, you won't be able to put it down until you've finished it. As for the title of this review, you'll understand when you're done reading this monumentally creative work by one of the masters of the genre.
Uggghhhh
How can this be considered a classic by some? Lovecraft's descriptive talent maynbe significant, but the way it is applied to the secondary details of architecture and geology make this an interminably long read. Sorry, but some works are timeless...this one is not. Maybe 80 years ago unexpected geologic formations and an oddly built (and deserted) ancient city were suspenseful, but now they are just boring. Don't waste your time on this unless you feel like you need to be familiar with it to impress your hipster friends that just read it to impress others. Dull.