Reviews

Eldritch Tales: A Miscellany of the Macabre by Les Edwards, Stephen Jones, H.P. Lovecraft

picklestar's review against another edition

3.0

Admittedly, I didn't actually make it through the entirety of this volume, but only because this is the kind of anthology I'd normally keep on my bookshelf and dip into when I'm after a quick read or a break in a long book and alas, this particular copy was a library book. While I enjoyed most of the stories, occasional racist, colonialist nonsense aside, reading these shorts one after the other they become a little samey after a while. Nonetheless, this volume would make a nice addition to my bookshelf, if I ever come across it again in my travels, and some perfect reading for those dark and stormy nights.

momogajo's review against another edition

challenging dark tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.25

Just so much racism and classism tainting otherwise great works.

clayton_sanborn's review

3.0

I know I'm cheating, but I gotta get that Reading Challenge done

mistrum_crowe's review

3.0

Not necessarily the masterpieces of fiction that I had come to expect, but I'd still recommend this for those who like cosmic horror. When he gets it right, Lovecraft is truly unnerving and will create a mood and payoff that you won't soon forget. When he gets it wrong, it can get uncomfortable, but the majority of it is at least stuff that you can get a good laugh from.

krstrau's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

crono101's review against another edition

4.0

This one was very interesting. The stories were in chronological order, starting from 1916 and spanning to as late as 1944. Reading Lovecraft's concepts and tropes of horror develop over time was neat. He starts with very general horror, inspired by ghosts and other gothic figures, and then moves towards more and more scientific and cosmic horror ideas. He also is very interested in both dreams and astral projection. Definitely a great collection.

anteus7's review against another edition

3.0

Some great stuff, and some not so great. I like his criticism of other authors of weird fiction at the end of this collection (not for what he wrote, so much, as who he included). Worth a read for the completionist.

stevenandhisbooks's review against another edition

3.0

They say 'never meet your heroes' and I guess that also includes books. I've built this up for so many years in my own head that there was probably no way this could live up to my expectations. I still enjoyed it, but not as much as I was hoping I would.

michelle_e_goldsmith's review

3.0

Perhaps not quite as strong as the previous collection. Possibly I just didn't enjoy it as much because after reading so many consecutively the stories began to feel a little similar.

The essay on supernatural horror at the end was quite interesting though and I feel it was worth reading.