The Thing on the Doorstep and Other Stories

By: H. P. Lovecraft

Narrated by: William Roberts

Length: 4 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's Summary

H.P. Lovecraft never found fame during his lifetime and died in 1937 in relative obscurity. But in the decades that followed his death, his importance as a unique and original visionary in the genre of science fantasy and 'weird fiction' has grown monumentally, so that even talents such as author Stephen King and film-maker John Carpenter have described him as a prime influence upon their creative lives. Here, then, is a selection of his stories.

Download the accompanying reference guide.

Public Domain (P)2013 Naxos AudioBooks

A great selection of Lovecraft

Would you consider the audio edition of The Thing on the Doorstep and Other Stories to be better than the print version?

I find Lovecraft much easier to listen to than to read. It's also nice to have a selection of stories already, as Lovecraft has so many that it can be overwhelming to know where to start.

What other book might you compare The Thing on the Doorstep and Other Stories to and why?

I'd recommend some of Lovecraft's other stories if you want to continue to expand your horror lexicon. For anyone new to Lovecraft, I'd recommend "The Call of Cthulhu and Other Stories", also read by William Roberts, which also contains "The Dunwich Horror", "The Hound", and "Dagon". If you liked "The Thing on the Doorstep", "The Dunwich Horror" is in a similar vein.

Which character – as performed by William Roberts – was your favorite?

William Roberts has a great voice for performing Lovecraft and is my favorite voice actor amongst the other Lovecraft audiobooks I have. The only downside is that almost all of Lovecraft's stories are written in first person, and while William Roberts has some changes of voice for other characters within the story, his main characters all tend to sound the same. But he has a nice pace and is pleasant to listen to for extended periods of time.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

"The Rats in the Walls" was a particularly well-done performance, and, as a story, it flowed well, compared to some of Lovecraft's stories that can get a little labored in places. "The Outsider", a short story, was also strangely interesting, as the main character is much less self-aware than Lovecraft's main characters tend to be. This is a really good selection of Lovecraft stories, especially if you are relatively new to his writing like I am.

Any additional comments?

This audiobook contains 6 stories in all: "The Thing on the Doorstep", "The Colour Out of Space", "The Doom That Came to Sarnath", "The Festival", "The Outsider", and "The Rats in the Walls".

Excellent Reading by Roberts

As a lifelong fan of H.P. Lovecraft, I believe that William Roberts has the perfect voice to match the text.