For sure that context is important but it still read really uncomfortably for me. Obviously everyone is going to have different mileage with their ability to look past that and thatās cool.
The science part of the science fiction was too janky for me to suspend my disbelief as well. Again, gonna be different for others (yourself! )
Iām from the fringes of this country, an area where life isnāt easy for those raised there but which is massively exploited for its natural benefits by a distant, bigger, and often much wealthier, population mass so I am Belter all the way! #MebyonKernow
Fantasy really. People with superpowers, huge mythology spanning centuries. Just with spice and space folding instead of rings and hawks. It isnāt a criticism of it - just doesnāt feel like sci Fi to me
Finished Roadside Picnic, which might now be one of my favourite books, after giving up on Lovecraft, who I canāt help but feel is actually a terrible writer, and am now finally diving into le Guin. Went for Forever Coming Home, which is just so pleasant to spend time with, and it made me spit out imaginary tea at the Grannyās Twat bit. Iāve ordered the Complete Earthsea in hardback because I imagine itāll be equally as pleasant to keep next to me on my bedside table for a good while.
Lovecraft is a terrible writer at the ābeing able to write a decent sentenceā level, but had an incredible vision. Enjoying the Cthulhu mythos in other media and by other writers is perhaps a better way to experience, and thrill at, the uncaring cosmic horror he saw, without having to fight through his dismal prose and dreadful racism.
Yeah, his dedication to the mythos is what Iāve admired the most, canāt help but love stuff like that, but the core of his stories are so flimsy, and when he half-heartedly plays dumb itās pretty eye-rolling. And as you said: racist. I couldnāt help but feel that it all represented some kind of colonial anxiety. Iāve got a collection of Blackwood stories so Iāll try them instead!
You what m9? Lovecraft was a superb writer IMHO. Yes the plots were often scanty but for building up brooding atmosphere he was the (no pun intended) king.
Yeah I think the prose style is good but he has no ability to really render characters so thereās almost never (maybe never?) direct dialogue related because of his limitations around two characters talking.
I think in general his stories are great but they are definitely (maybe with the exception of At The Mountains of Madness due to its length) less impressive than all the talk of them would lead you to believe.
That said, I read The Colour Out of Space in advance of seeing the film and it was still a good āweird sci-fiā tale, I think. But Iāve definitely got more out of reading the various sourcebooks for Call of Cthulhu role-playing game than actually reading his stuff, I think.
each to their own and all that, but for my money he had an amazing and unique vision that he couldnāt express on paper as well as it should have been. The fact that itās still part of the cultural currency today is a testament to how strong it is.
Huh I feel almost exactly the opposite. I think that the power of his prose style makes up for a lot of deficiencies in his writing (weak characterisation, lack of women, sameyness etc). He does the same old ideas over and over but the power of his writing keeps it fresh and engaging despite the obvious flaws
Agree with MLH here. I find Lovecraftās actual prose lumpen and indigestible to a degree that stands out even in genre fiction. That the central ideas remain interesting is quite something.
Since it always comes up in relation to him itās worth saying Lovecraft repented his racism later in life, and appeared to be on the path to becoming a socialist according to his personal letters.
A quick google suggests that ārepentā is maybe a bit strong (the lengthy answers to this and this) but if you have any better links or references Iād love to read them.
Yes, when I say later in life I mean literally his last year - some of the last letters he ever wrote, mentioned here (from the Lovecraft wiki, which is a thing):
I read the extracts in a twitter thread I canāt get at anymore a while back, and they seemed pretty compelling. Ultimately it is a footnote; Iād never question his work is inflected by racism thatās overt even for his time. I just thought Iād mention it because I feel somewhat sorry for the guy and the cage of fear and suffering he lived in for most of his life.
Bit of a jag but me and some pals are starting a Coriolis RPG stream on Twitch at 8pm if anyone is interested.
For those whoāre not familiar itās like Firefly but swap out the Western bit for Arabian Nights. Should be some good fun. Itāll also be uploaded to YouTube in a few days if youāre not around at 8pm BST.
Just finished More Than Human by Theodore Sturgeon, as it was another SF Masterworks book that looked good. It was written back in 1953, but luckily didnāt feel too dated (maybe because the āsciā bit wasnāt too scientific, mind reading/teleporting type stuff). I really quite enjoyed it.
Before that was Jeff Noonās Pollen, which is the second book in his Vurt series. Iād read the first one years ago, and only just got around to this one. I was loving the first half, although it dropped away a bit at the end, so it put me off from diving into the next books straight away. Very weird kind of alternative Manchester, where feathers are a kind of drug/payment system/reality altering kind of thing.
And before that was Make Room! Make Room! By Harry Harrison. Iāve read some of his previous books (he seemed to churn them out back in the 50s and 60s or whenever he wrote), and they were quite good fun. This was imagining a super populated New York at the end of the century, with 35 million people living there, and following a few characters around. It started off good, but then dropped off quite a bit. Iāve since seen that itās one of the updated penguin classic sci fi books, but Iām not too sure why they picked it really.