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H. P. Lovecraft – The Shadow Over Innsmouth and Other Stories of Horror | Review

Title: The Shadow Over Innsmouth and Other Stories of Horror

Author: H. P. Lovecraft

Type: Fiction

Page Count: 256

Rating: 4/5

Let’s start by addressing the elephant in the room in the form of Lovecraft’s concerning personal beliefs. I’m of the opinion that you can separate the art from the artist, especially when the artist is dead, but I also know that that’s not true for everyone.

I’ve only read one Lovecraft book before and so I’m still relatively new to his work, and I can’t quite decide what I think of him. There are times when his stories are fantastic and they more than live up to the hype, and then there are times when… well, maybe not so much.

For example, there’s a story here that Lovecraft ghostwrote for Harry Houdini, and while the story behind the story is pretty interesting, the story itself isn’t great. I think if you didn’t know it was ghostwritten, you’d believe that Houdini wrote it – but then, Houdini wasn’t known for being a writer.

The title story in this collection was fantastic though, and it was made even more interesting because I was talking to somebody about it and they’d done an adaptation of it. There are only around six stories in here and so you could probably ask for more, but they are at least pretty chunky and so there’s a bunch for you to enjoy here. I’d definitely recommend this one if you’re interested.

Learn more about The Shadow Over Innsmouth and Other Stories of Horror.

George Eliot – Silas Marner | Review

Title: Silas Marner

Author: George Eliot

Type: Fiction

Page Count: 290

Rating: 3/5

I basically picked this book up because my friend Dave has written a musical based on it and so I wanted to see what the fuss is about. I’ve also never read any Eliot before, and so it seemed like a good excuse to finally get started.

Unfortunately I didn’t particularly enjoy it, and in fact having seen the musical, I think I enjoyed that more than the book. With that said, I also understand the hype, and I do think that Eliot is a very talented writer. She got a little bit screwed over by the times that she lived in, really. And in fact, for a book of its period, I think it’s aged rather well. Let’s put it this way – I enjoyed it way more than I enjoy reading Jane Austen.

So would I recommend it? I don’t think that’s a fair question here because I went into it reading for a different reason than most people would have. For what it’s worth, I enjoyed it and I’m glad that I picked it up, but I don’t think that’s a good call for a general reader. Even if you’re a fan of the classics, you should proceed with caution.

But yeah, I liked the story itself, even if it did take a while to play out, and I particularly enjoyed the descriptions of Raveloe and the development that Marner himself goes through between the start and the end. I still kind of feel as though the story could be condensed and that it would probably work better as a movie (or a musical), but hey ho. I read it.

Learn more about Silas Marner.