Eldritch Tales

A Miscellany of the Macabre

By: H. P. Lovecraft

Narrated by: various narrators

Following the phenomenal success of Necronomicon, its companion volume brings together Lovecraft's remaining major stories plus his weird poetry, a number of obscure revisions, and some notable nonfiction, including the seminal critical essay "Supernatural Horror in Literature."

Gathering together in chronological order the rest of Lovecraft's rarely seen but extraordinary short fiction, this collection includes the entirety of the long-out-of-print collection of thirty-six sonnets "Fungi from Yuggoth."

Lovecraft died at the age of forty-seven, but in his short life he turned out dozens of stories that changed the face of horror. His extraordinary imagination spawned both the Elder God Cthulhu and his eldritch cohorts, as well as the strangely compelling town of Innsmouth, all of which feature here.

©2014 H.P. Lovecraft (P)2014 Blackstone Audiobooks

Worthwhile for Lovecraft fans

What did you love best about Eldritch Tales?

Some of the stories were amazing, and the essay on weird tales at the end was very informative.

What did you like best about this story?

The variety of stories, and unimaginable concepts Lovecraft creates.

What three words best describe various narrators’s voice?

Some were horrible.
Elijah Alexander was absolutely tedious...it is painful to listen to him. It is as if he does not understand what he is reading, or did no rehearsals. His tones and meter make no sense, and make the story completely lost. When I hear his name, I want to skip that story.

Any additional comments?

Overall it is good for Lovecraft fans

well done

I love h.p Lovecraft's tales and the performance of the narrators is well done. chapter nine is one of my favorites in this audio book.

An Excellent, If Repeated, Performance

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would recommend this audiobook to a friend because of the great stories that are told within. Lovecraft can be a bit hard to get into, but if you like horror then this collection has something for everyone. Stories about monsters, dreams, quests and all manner of the macabre never make it a dull.

What did you like best about this story?

Given that this is a collection, it is hard to nail down exactly what the best thing about the volume is. Since I am a fan of Lovecraft, just hearing more of his work after consuming the Dreamcycle is a great privilege.

Have you listened to any of various narrators’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have listened to most of the narrators from the previous Lovecraft volume called Dreams of Terror and Death. I particularly enjoyed the performances of Stephan Rudnicki and Simon Vance. They've just got that voice that conveys terror so well. Armando Duran, a newcomer in this volume, adds an interesting flair to the stories set in the western parts of the United States.

Who was the most memorable character of Eldritch Tales and why?

There are simply too many to count, but Joe Slatter from Beyond the Wall of Sleep always stands out to be as a tragic figure due to the mental strain he undergoes while lacking the sophistication to relay how he feels.

Any additional comments?

I have to say that I am disappointed in the inclusion of stories from Dreams of Terror and Death. I was hoping for the inclusion of works such as The Call of Cthulhu or The Dunwich Horror and hearing quite a lot of the previous volumes content was a let down. However, the inclusion of the history of the horror fiction genre towards the end was a surprisingly interesting addition, though it is ironic Lovecraft wasn't mentioned in it.

60 short stories, 10-20 of any real value

H.P. Lovecraft wrote hundredes and hundredes of short stories, and yet most people has only ever heard about let alone read a handfull of them...
there is a reason for that... 9 out of 10 a near unreadable/unlisenble, being either pure word salad, or worse, just plain boring....
Buuuut the few good works, are pretty damn good

so yeah this is a collection of lesser known works, and I would say 1/5th is pretty good and the rest is garbage
the comedy poem both suprised me and mad me giggle though

2nd Best Anthology

I enjoyed this collection of Lovecraft stories. This and the Necronomicon together comprise a large percentage of well known Lovecraft writings, although this is still missing the Mountains of Madness and Shadow Over Innsmouth. I preferred the Necronomicon to this collection but did enjoy this one quite a bit. Recommended if you, like me, are looking for the highlights of Lovecraft.