The Mask of Cthulhu (1958) by August Derleth contains six longish stories which are hard to categorize, beyond the obvious remark of their obvious indebtedness to the writings of H.P. Lovecraft. The earliest story (in terms of composition), "The Return of Hastur," was seen in some form by Lovecraft himself before he died in 1937. Derleth remarks in his brief introduction that Lovecraft saw the "opening pages and the outline of my proposed development" and made several suggestions that were adopted "enthusiastically" by Derleth. Yet Derleth has taken Lovecraftian themes and nomenclatures, and extended and regularized them, so much so that the vein of Lovecraft is impure and even debased. With the latter term I refer to Derleth's adding a sort-of Christian good-vs-evil orthodoxy to Lovecraft's invented pantheon of Elder Gods, all of which diminishes Derleth's stories and makes them so less satisfying than Lovecraft's originals. What Derleth has really done is to write a form of fan-fiction, ticking off certain ideas and invented lore that (Derleth thinks) will thrill the Lovecraft fans who recognize them. Alas, that's a very low bar, and the resultant stories read like poor pastiches of Lovecraft's originals.
Showing posts with label H.P. Lovecraft. Show all posts
Showing posts with label H.P. Lovecraft. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 2, 2017
August Derleth's fan-fiction of H.P. Lovecraft
The Mask of Cthulhu (1958) by August Derleth contains six longish stories which are hard to categorize, beyond the obvious remark of their obvious indebtedness to the writings of H.P. Lovecraft. The earliest story (in terms of composition), "The Return of Hastur," was seen in some form by Lovecraft himself before he died in 1937. Derleth remarks in his brief introduction that Lovecraft saw the "opening pages and the outline of my proposed development" and made several suggestions that were adopted "enthusiastically" by Derleth. Yet Derleth has taken Lovecraftian themes and nomenclatures, and extended and regularized them, so much so that the vein of Lovecraft is impure and even debased. With the latter term I refer to Derleth's adding a sort-of Christian good-vs-evil orthodoxy to Lovecraft's invented pantheon of Elder Gods, all of which diminishes Derleth's stories and makes them so less satisfying than Lovecraft's originals. What Derleth has really done is to write a form of fan-fiction, ticking off certain ideas and invented lore that (Derleth thinks) will thrill the Lovecraft fans who recognize them. Alas, that's a very low bar, and the resultant stories read like poor pastiches of Lovecraft's originals. 
Saturday, March 26, 2016
Lovecraft Caricatured
I've rarely ever felt the urge to burn a book, but this one, Lovecraft (2003), makes me feel like burning it. Ostensibly it is a comic book-styled biography of H.P. Lovecraft--a fictionalized one. That doesn't bother me. It treats Lovecraft's stories as real aspects of his life (i.e., young Lovecraft finds his mad father's copy of The Necronomicon). That doesn't bother me. It trivializes real issues of Lovecraft's life and makes them into one-dimensional cliches (prissy young Howard is queer-bashed by other children; insensitive mother tells Howard to stop talking nonsense when she's aware of the reality of his nightmares; and that's just for starters). This bothers me. The writers of this crap should be embarrassed. The illustrations aren't much better. What a botched and mistaken enterprise.
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