In the Mountains of Madness Audiobook By W. Scott Poole cover art

In the Mountains of Madness

The Life, Death, and Extraordinary Afterlife of H.P. Lovecraft

 Preview
LIMITED TIME OFFER

3 months free
Try for $0.00
Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 3 months. Cancel anytime.

In the Mountains of Madness

By: W. Scott Poole
Narrated by: Tim Campbell
Try for $0.00

$0.00/mo. after 3 months. Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $15.47

Buy for $15.47

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use, License, and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

In the Mountains of Madness: The Life, Death, and Extraordinary Afterlife of H. P. Lovecraft interweaves the biography of the legendary writer with an exploration of Lovecraft as a phenomenon. It aims to explain this reclusive figure, while also challenging some of the general views held by Lovecraft devotees, focusing specifically on the large cross-section of horror and science fiction fans who know Lovecraft through films, role-playing games, and video games directly influenced by his work, but know little or nothing about him.

More than a traditional biography, In the Mountains of Madness will place Lovecraft and his work in a cultural context, as an artist more in tune with our time than his own. Much of the literary work on Lovecraft tries to place him in relation to Edgar Allan Poe, M. R. James, or Arthur Machen; these ideas have little meaning for most contemporary listeners. In his provocative new book, W. Scott Poole reclaims the true essence of Lovecraft in relation to the comics of Joe Lansdale, the novels of Stephen King, and some of the biggest blockbuster films in contemporary America, proving the undying influence of this rare and significant figure.

©2016 W. Scott Poole (P)2016 Tantor Art & Literature Authors Literary History & Criticism

Critic reviews

"Thoroughly enjoyable and highly readable." ( Kirkus Reviews)

People who viewed this also viewed...

Wasteland Audiobook By W. Scott Poole cover art
Wasteland By: W. Scott Poole
Well-researched Biography • Thorough Information • Fine Voice Talent • Compelling Thesis • Detailed Relationships
Highly rated for:
All stars
Most relevant  
Poole tackles the squishy tentacular monster that is the strange life of H P Lovecraft. Unflinching in its look at HPLs good and unsavory bits, I think this is a must-read for fans who want to take up scholarship or more intense fandom within the worlds created by the old man from Rhode Island.

A fascinating modern look at HPL

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A fascinating book, that tackles a complex figure like Lovecraft with a mixture of admitted admiration and clear-headed investigative rigor. Few stones feel left unturned here, even if the reader is inclined to disagree with Poole’s POV in some cases, I think the presentation and justifications are rock solid. It might help that I was completely sold, with a number of other books and topics I wanted to explore more fully mentioned here.

Might ruffle some feathers. Good.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I really enjoyed this book but chapter 44 discuses Lovecraft’s distaste for subgroup persons of various races who don’t do a credit to their own racial parent group illustrates the current lack of cogent scholarship on the topic of what it means to have members of any group of people not be a credit to that group

Dig up his grave

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This is a nice contemporary biography of Lovecraft and history of the growth of his stature as a writer and influence upon literature and popular culture.

This is at least my second time to listen to the recording and I think I’ve read it around four times.

I recommend this book.

Nice

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Lovecraft is one of those authors whom has not aged well, this book takes the reasons for that head on with a fairly compelling thesis. For those that might be skeptical or hesitant into a heavy biographical examination of the man, know that all controversies and narratives are addressed. This really did allow me to understand Lovecraft's work so much better.

An Insightful Look

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Talks about maybe gay and tentical porn. I want to hear about the facts not the speculation. No need to theorize his “sexual frustrations”. Absolute garbage filler.

Not interested

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I liked the depth of this biography, and how he defends Lovecraft’s mother and wife. They are typically seen as destroying his life, but the author goes into much detail about his relationships with women. I highly recommend this biography.

Great biography of Lovecraft

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
To be honest, I'm not even a big fan of Lovecraft. I'm just mildly interested. However, this biography is so well researched and organized, I was mesmerized. The info provided and the way it is presented makes it one of the best biographies I know of. It also presents Lovecraft & his work in a way that would delight a serious fan and inspire others like me to read more Lovecraft.

Excellent biography

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I’ve recently become a fan Lovecraft’s, and decided I wanted to get to know the man behind the stories.

W Scott Poole does an amazing job of compiling information about Lovecraft’s life — he combs scholarship and source documents to help paint a picture of a complicated man.

At times, the overwhelming amount of information was too much. But at other times, I couldn’t stop listening.

I think the author does a good job of balancing Lovecraft’s humanity with his less-respectable traits (eg: racism). It is given nuanced treatment, which I respect. The author doesn’t seek to caricature Lovecraft with the “man of his time” defense, nor does he seek to destroy Lovecraft’s reputation.

All in all, this was fascinating.

Great biography, almost too much info

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Almost too distracting to listen to. Cheats with post processing technology that makes him sound robotic. Instead of feeling that he is really comprehending the material, it feels like inflections were altered digitally later in post. Even worse is that the timing seems digitally faked. Real turn-off narration. Is this what Lovecraft was warning us about? Inhuman.

Narrator Over Computerizes His Voice

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews