HP Lovecraft

Im not the worlds greatest reader but I do enjoy a book on a regular basis . My standards are very high and very specific . The last book that gave me that feeling was Aliester Crowley's  Moon Child . This book was a dark story of magick but included some delicious humour and comic observations regarding its colourful characters ie : Simon Iff   . Now this is a good example of the standard of book I aspire to find .
   With this standard in mind I set out to read HP Lovecraft's  Mountains of Madness and was a bit disappointed. Yes this short story was good , but not remarkable and at times it plodded on . It was acceptable I guess , but I was disappointed , it not being as good as I was expecting . Of course to write a great author off ( no pun intended )  after reading one short story was a bit stupid , and as I read the second story , The Case of Charles Dexter Ward  I quickly changed my mind . Suddenly I cant put the book down .
  There is a certain darkness in the way the  horror of the story is always viewed from the point of an onlooker , not through the eyes of its characters . Nor is the truth ever totally revealed . The truth is always murky but your left in no doubt about its intensity . Again this hits the mark I find hard to find when reading .His writing style builds up true fear and dread like ive not often experienced in a book . A truly uneasy feeling is created and somehow the story feels 100% realistic in an everyday manner , despite its fantastic plot !  By the time Lovecraft has finished you feel the story is real . This is remarkable and I shall be looking for further books of his . Yes this particular story hits the mark !