Necronomicon

By: H. P. Lovecraft

Narrated by: Richard Powers, Bronson Pinchot, Stephen R. Thorne, Keith Szarabajka, Adam Verner, Tom Weiner, Patrick Cullen

Length: 21 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

The only audio edition of Necronomicon authorized by the H. P. Lovecraft Estate

Originally written for the pulp magazines of the 1920s and ’30s, H. P. Lovecraft’s astonishing tales blend elements of horror, science fiction, and cosmic terror that are as powerful today as they were when first published. This tome brings together all of Lovecraft’s harrowing stories, including the complete Cthulhu Mythos cycle, just the way they were when first released. It will introduce a whole new generation of readers to Lovecraft’s fiction, as well as attract those fans who want all his work in a single, definitive volume.

Stories include:

“Dagon”
“Herbert West – Reanimator”
“The Lurking Fear”
“The Rats in the Walls”
“The Whisperer in the Darkness”
“Cool Air”
“In the Vault”
“The Call of Cthulu”
“The Color Out of Space”
“The Horror at Red Hook”
“The Music of Erich Zann”
“The Shadow Out of Time”
“The Dunwich Horror”
“The Haunter of the Dark”
“The Outsider”
“The Shunned House”
“The Unnameable”
“The Thing on the Doorstep”
“Under the Pyramids”

©2014 H. P. Lovecraft (P)2014 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

missing stories

the only problem I had was that it was missing a lot of his best stories.

Inventive Storytelling for its Time

Lovecraft has a gift for capturing the always half-imagined horror with cooly analytical language that sneakily evokes the emotion of the moment. However, his prejudice is a bit much even for its time: gratuitous rather than instructive. Trouble is always afoot when a "dark foreigner" makes an appearance. In general, this is not quite my type of story, but Lovecraft's reputation earns this compilation a read. Even for short fiction, it gets tedious at points (perhaps just an impression from the shortened attention span of a much later generation of reader), but is still well-crafted. The various readers did a good job as well, somehow managing to evoke an old-timey radio/television feel.

HARD TO FINISH

I really struggled with this one. I bought it because HP Lovecraft was referenced by two of my favorite authors. I don't think I've ever had to rewind so much on any audiobook. I could not stay focused on the story & gave up on some parts. It got easier toward the end but I almost didn't make it there. The performances weren't awful, they just seemed dull. I was annoyed by how many times something was said to be impossible to described but then described. It's possible that this only happened once or twice but i heard it repeatedly because I had to rewind so much. Maybe I just set my expectations too high.

foundation of our horror genra but redundant

I mean u can easily see how Lovecraft influenced our modern horror... but unfortunately not in the good ways. it's all the things about horror I find stupid and annoying. no complexity... evil is just evil. Racist and culturally insensitive... which I would give a general period pass to... except for the fact it's such a central tenent of his stories. everything not classically Western is scary, weird and evil... and all evil is not white Western... kind if ignorant and annoying. And last the definition of fear is consistently willful ignorance. multi dimensions could be terrifing but not just because they exist. not just because. strange things aren't frightening because they are strange. and this theme and constant string that has pourrd into our modern horror... that there are bad other things that want maddening badness for badness sake is just a cop out to me. at least at the lowest rung, make our universe their food. and at a higher rung, make their morals counter to ours. but just pure simple evil isn't scary... it's just lazy.

the performance was good though. and in general the stories are entertaining in a basic camp fire sort of way.

Unusual and intriguing

Deliciously well written, these stories are unique and gripping, truly horrible but so interesting. The writing is beautiful, although almost every story is presented in the style of many, many years ago - which actually helps to bring them alive. I recommend these stories, they creep into your mind with bat's wings, echoing their terror as you read. The narrators are also strong and emotionally charged. Lots of fun - if you don't faint first

Timeless and evocative...

I'm stunned at how deeply profound and ahead of his time this man from the the early 20th century was. I can only conjecture that some of the personas from within his writing share a visceral connection to him, and I ponder at what deep impact he had on science fiction and horror.

loved it

flawless excellent fantastic I absolutely loved it I can't say enough about it everyone should read it

Not my Most Favorite, but Very Good.

I liked to listen to this as I worked. Interesting, eldritch tales about old- fashioned horror. Slow paced like Tolkien, morbid like Poe. The voice acting was a good match.

Brilliant performance!

Really wonderful narration of classic Lovecraft stories. Bronson Pinchot is really my favorite, but all the storytelling was very well done.

A solid collection

This, as you can see from the other reviews that list the stories in this collection, is a varied collection of Lovecraft's stories not of any specific period or subject or chronological order but a good solid collection of Lovecraft's work.

Some of the narrators are better than others but on a whole I found them good.

I wish someone would gather a collection for audio of his work either by cycle or chronological.