The Shadow over Innsmouth

By: H. P. Lovecraft

Narrated by: Richard Coyle

The perfect H. P. Lovecraft title to follow on from 2010's At the Mountains of Madness, and the only HPL title not to appear in a periodical! Perfect also because it is split in to 5 distinct chapters...ripe for abridgement into five half-hour episodes!

The Shadow Over Innsmouth tells the first-person story of a young historian, Robert Olmstead, who, while investigating his family genealogy in New England, is intrigued to learn about a hated and mysterious fishing town called Innsmouth. When he visits he finds the place to be run-down and near-deserted, with a cult-like religion and a strange, degenerate population. His investigation soon turns into a race to escape the town and the the evil creatures he sees emerging from the sea.

The Shadow Over Innsmouth was written by H. P. Lovecraft in 1931 and is the only one of his works of fiction not to have initially been published as part of a periodical. It continues HPL's Cthulhu Mythos, featuring townspeople worshipping the elder sea god Dagon and mentioning the mysterious Shoggoth creature of his other works.

Howard Phillips "H. P." Lovecraft (August 20, 1890 - March 15, 1937) was an American author of horror, fantasy and science fiction, especially the subgenre known as weird fiction. As early as the 1940s, Lovecraft had developed a cult following for his Cthulhu Mythos, a series of loosely interconnected fiction featuring a pantheon of humanity-nullifying entities, as well as the Necronomicon, a fictional grimoire of magical rites and forbidden lore. His works were deeply pessimistic and cynical.

Although Lovecraft's audience was limited during his life, his reputation has grown and he is now regarded as one of the most influential horror writers of the 20th Century. Stephen King called him "the 20th century's greatest practitioner of the classic horror tale." This 2011 adaptation comprises five episodes, originally aired on BBC Radio 4 Extra, once again read by the superb Richard Coyle and featuring music by acclaimed composer Jon Nicholls. The series is offered here in exclusive extended edition.

©2011 Ladbroke Productions (Radio) Ltd (P)2011 Spokenworld Audio/Ladbroke Audio Ltd

Love Lovecraftian stories, timeless as ever.

Lovecraft writes wonderful stories. I'm being pulled deeper and deeper Into his offerings. Maybe one day I will turn into something that can worship the others undeserving as I am.

Excellent read

Horror, wonder and suspense at its best. Where has this been hiding all my life?

one of the best Lovecraft stories.

Great story. The only weakness is the long random long sounds between chapters here.

The narration was marvelous. Lovecraft at his best

Richard Coyle brings this undying classic to life with perfect narration. The music is perfect also

exelente divertida y unica

H.P. siempre será un icono del terror y está historia clásica lo muestra, el lector que utilizan es exelente

Fascinating story told in a audio drama manner.

What made the experience of listening to The Shadow over Innsmouth the most enjoyable?

What made this audio drama enjoyable was is this was yet another very well crafted story by H.P. Lovecraft. A story that is wonderfully produced and narrated by Richard Coyle and company. It is voice acted in many parts, alongside the narration, and every part is a fascinating joy to listen and imagine in your mind IMHO.

There are also well done sound fx's and background music that is tastefully weaved into the narration and acting. Each are brilliantly used to create and set the mood and atmosphere for the story and setting. However, these audio fx sounds, and background music, never overshadow the story itself or the voice acting. In other words, they are well done in a way so that they only lend to the atmosphere created by the story and narrator. Of which, Richard is a great voice actor and his voice is well suited for these types of stories. As you can tell I'm a fan of his work here and with another HP Lovecraft story he narrated called the "At The Mountains of Madness".

What other book might you compare The Shadow over Innsmouth to and why?

"Over the Mountain of Madness" another H.P. Lovecraft masterpiece. The version that was also narrated and voice acted by Richard Coyle.

Which scene was your favorite?

The scene on the docks when the old town drunk in the story is "spilling the beans" on what he knows after the main character shares a bottle of alcohol with him. This scene gives a tremendous amount of background lore about the wonderfully chilling Cthulhu mythos that H.P. Lovecraft artfully and originally crafted into what we know call the sci-fi horror genre.

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

Yes. It's almost impossible to stop listening to this audiobook/drama once you start down that grim-dark Lovecraftian path of Cthulhu dark intrigue, horror and suspense.

Any additional comments?

If you pick this story up then do yourself a favor and also pick up the companion story called "At the Mountains of Madness" which is also read by Richard Coyle.

Great

Any additional comments?

Absolutely excellent execution from Lovecraft and Coyle. I would have preferred a lot more sound effects but it was still engrossing.

best narration for this story

Almost perfect,
Best sound effects, narration and pacing of an version of this story I've found.
My only complaint is that for some reason they found it necessary to introduce the book and do the credits at the beginning of EVERY chapter... it's a short story, give me a break. Weird, unfortunate choice.
Very minor in the scheme of things.

Excellent portrayal! Classic terror from Lovecraft

The story is one of the essential Lovecraft reads and the performance was absolutely on point.

Great Story, Narrator, Music!

I did not know about H.P. Lovecraft. But this short story was a nice introduction to him as a writer. I found the book dark and frightening. it was so riveting, I had to listen to the book in one sitting. In addition to a really good story, the Narrator was a-m-a-z-i-n-g!!
I will be looking for him in other stories. His tone when the tense moments happened had me on the edge of my seat. And of course that music....I was scared for the protagonist before the danger even happened. I have found a new author and a new narrator!