At the Mountains of Madness

By: H. P. Lovecraft

Narrated by: William Roberts

At the Mountains of Madness first appeared in 1936, in the February, March and April editions of the American magazine Astounding Stories. One of H.P. Lovecraft’s most chilling works, it draws on Edgar Allan Poe’s Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym, as well as Lovecraft’s deep fascination with the Antarctic. The sinister discoveries made by a group of explorers in At the Mountains of Madness are testament to the author’s enormous powers of imagination.

Download the accompanying reference guide.Public Domain (P)2012 Naxos AudioBooks

old-fashioned language made nearly unlistenable

I've listened to other readings by William Roberts, and they are all better than this. For some reason, he practically yells this whole story like an announcer in an WWII newsreel. It amplified the slow, tedious detail of Lovecraft's writing and undermined the haunting, dramatic parts.

Loved the prose, lukewarm on the story

What did you like best about At the Mountains of Madness? What did you like least?

I loved the writing -- ornate, poetic, vivid. I have to say, though, that the story just didn't grip me. At the time it was written, it probably was unique, but it has subsequently been done better by others.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

The narrator keeps telling us how reluctant he is to reveal what he knows he must reveal. Naturally, he does this at the end. It left me underwhelmed.

What does William Roberts bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He was good.

Could you see At the Mountains of Madness being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

I suppose it would be a visual spectacle-- Lovecraft does a great job describing this world of ice -- but I don't see the story really hooking people.

Any additional comments?

I love Loveraft's style. You have to work a bit to follow, but it's worth it.

Classic

Great story brought to life. I listen to it a couple of times a year. Wish to see it on film.

William Roberts Reads "At the Mountains of Madness

This is my third audiobook of Lovecraft’s classic sci-fi story of Antarctic explorers who discover an abandoned alien city whose murals tell the true history of the earth. The narrator of the story is a New England college professor unnerved by having his beliefs about the past demolished. I heard Wayne June read the man as a sober middle class man of action and Edward Herrmann read him as an upper-class WASP scholar. Another reviewer took the words out of my mouth by noting that William Roberts told the tale in the air of a 1940s newscaster, say, Lowell Thomas. He meant that as a criticism but I think Robert’s tone fits the story well. He gives a very emotive reading, sounding like an old man who has lost his certainties at the end of his life.

Lovecraft’s best, but still Lovecraft

While it avoids many of Lovecraft’s usual failings, the suspenseful atmosphere is somewhat ruined in the 2nd act by a need to pad the word count and overly explain the cosmic horror. The suspense comes back somewhat for the 3rd act, but by this point much of the mystery is gone.