At the Mountains of Madness

By: H. P. Lovecraft

Narrated by: Felbrigg Napoleon Herriot

Length: 4 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's summary

FNH Audio presents a complete and unabridged reading of H.P. Lovecraft's famous story "At the Mountains of Madness". The story is related by one of the two survivors from a polar expedition. Unlike other polar explorers who may have died from cold, starvation or simply getting lost, in this story things are somewhat different.

The survivor is desperate to prevent a new polar expedition because there are "beings" there, strange murderous beings. There are things that man should not see beyond the recently discovered mountains at the pole. Scientists listening to the story told by the survivors have assumed that the teller has gone mad because what they describe just cannot be. Or can they...

©2010 FNH (P)2011 FNH

Lacks audio post production

The narration is too fast .90 of speed sort of fix it but certain sounds prevent it from being listened louder

You get what you pay for

This is the cheapest edition you can get on audible, and it shows. the recording quality was about the quality of a average free librivox reading, but with terrible , very loud, music thrown in the mix every time things get dramatic or a new chapter starts. But the narrator and story makes up for that with a vengeance, despite bad editing. If you can put up with it's flaws, it's well worth the buy. it's definitely one of my favorite books. One more caution, h.p. lovecraft is an amazing storyteller, but very racist. it's not too bad in this book, but be warned about it if you easily offended and want to read his other works.

Wrong Narrator, Great Story

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Read my full review below

What did you like best about this story?

Again read my review below

How did the narrator detract from the book?

I've already answered this in my review below.

Do you think At the Mountains of Madness needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

Does audible even know that the author is dead?

Any additional comments?

I love this book personally and own both the Hardcover colected works of H.P. Lovecraft and all of the audiobooks of his works. However the choice of narrator for this edition was completely wrong. He sounds like a little kid, instead of a tired man in his late 50s early 60s. I'm actually going to go buy the Blackstone Edition because that narrator has the right tone.

I have three quick warnings for prospective buyers of any edition of this work however, first; while I personally love the purple prose used in this book some people find it insanely boring. The excessive descriptions give me the chills but not everyone has the same tastes in literature as I do. Second, this book has a style which is very different from that of many of H.P. Lovecraft's other works and I would not recommend it as your first introduction to his stuff. The Call of C'thu'lu while extremely racist is a good example of his other works. Third and finally, this book isn't really a horror story by modern standards. It is a piece of science fiction written in the early parts of the 20th century, long before we discovered the origins of the moon, genetics, or even continental drift. So inaccurate science ahoy.

In the end I believe that the horror comes from an idea which has become common knowledge in some ways instead of a terrifying new idea. That of the pale blue dot, that humanity isn't all that special and that others may have come before us, and that they will come after us. That the hubris of the elder things ended them and that our own hubris may yet end us.

Excellently fitting style of read.

One of the first published of Lovecraft's books, this would be an excellent "primer" for the expanded mythos.

The reading is excellently fitting for the material, an earnest desperation felt throughout, with no unnecessary distractions or complications beyond the fitting music between chapters.

In short, this is the best Lovecraft reading I've yet found.

GREAT story, HORRIBLE music!

IMPORTANT-- This would be 4.5 stars IF it didn't have the HORRIBLE, LOUD, STARTLING music every 15 minutes, interrupting the story. The narrator is good enough. The story is VERY cool, especially for how old it is. But, seriously, the music will come out of nowhere and scare the CRAP out of you!!

You'll want to listen to this again and again

Where does At the Mountains of Madness rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This isn't a fair question... I've listened to some amazing works. But this book is definitely average or above average.

What was one of the most memorable moments of At the Mountains of Madness?

I really enjoyed chapters 8 and 9, which focused on history. (I don't want to spoil anything by saying more.)

Have you listened to any of Felbrigg Napoleon Herriot’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I haven't, but I loved his accent and the realistic expression of hesitance that he lent to the work.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

It was a bit hard to get into for the first quarter or half, but after that, I did want to listen all the way to the end.

Any additional comments?

As always, I enjoyed how Lovecraft tried to make his story seem plausible. It makes strong references to real geography and biological science (at times, using terminology that is a bit too technical for casual readers though). There's also some twists that you probably won't see coming, which is always a thrill for someone who can usually guess plot twists in advance. The chapters on "history" were a favorite for me (don't want to spoil anything though) and there were lots of gory bits that you can sit down and ask yourself, "What if this was real and actually happened to me," freak yourself out.

However, the story does have a slow start and Lovecraft's unusual descriptive style (e.g. describing a sunset as "grotesque." It also continues his habit of uncomfortable ideas on race, but at least this time it's not talking about literal, human races.

Overall, it's a great read with great narration - just wish it had a bit less music.

Great Reading of the infamous novel

If you could sum up At the Mountains of Madness in three words, what would they be?

Great production value

What did you like best about this story?

That it's totally unabridged and you can drink in every detail.

What about Felbrigg Napoleon Herriot’s performance did you like?

Elocution intonation dramatization and even breathing

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When they run from the Shogaths

A classic!!!

A great performance, and an atemporal story. This is one example of good narrative combine with our fear to the unknown.

Classic sci-fi novella

What made the experience of listening to At the Mountains of Madness the most enjoyable?

This is a classic sci-fi novella.

What about Felbrigg Napoleon Herriot’s performance did you like?

I really enjoyed the performance but I confess to liking English accents! He kept the pace steady and allowed the story to build without adding unnecessary drama to the narration. Since the story is told from the point of view of a survivor reluctantly telling the story the tone the narrator achieved was quite good.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Steven Spielberg is supposed to be making this into a movie! Really hope this happens.My tag line - And we thought we were alone......

WOW!

Nothing quite like it. Amazing. Couldn't, "put it down"! Descriptions of the Antarctic are compelling.