The Color Out of Space
In the tale, an unnamed narrator pieces together the story of an area known by the locals as the "blasted heath" in the wild hills west of the fictional town of Arkham, Massachusetts. The narrator discovers that many years ago a meteorite crashed there, poisoning every living being nearby; vegetation grows large but foul tasting, animals are driven mad and deformed into grotesque shapes, and the people go insane or die one by one.
Reviews (29)
“I shall be glad to see the water come.”
The “blasted heath” near Arkham and the “strange days”. ?!?!? That little piece of land, described above, is creepy from start to finish in this tale. Something happens to that land, and all the organic life around it is highly affected - and changed. And whether or not the mystery is ever solved, that land will soon be underwater when the reservoir is built, and “nothing could bribe me to drink the new city water of Arkham.” - creepy, right? And how about these quotes, from the ending... “Something terrible came to the hills and valleys... and something terrible - - though I know not in what proportion - - still remains.” “I shall be glad to see the water come.” Lovecraft has "crafted" one spooky story here, and a great tale to read around Halloween!
Colour me delighted
This is a prime example of why HPL is a master of the macabre. In just a few words, he paints such a vivid scene you can easily picture it with your mind's eye. The horror builds slowly, almost unnoticed until the climax. HPL's style of writing has been copied, or at least attempted, by many authors; with varying degrees of success. This tale has spawned at least two other stories. One is almost a sequel, "The Colour Out of Time" by Michael Shea which is a pretty decent read. "The Colour Out of Darkness" by John Pelan is the other. That one I haven't read. From its review, it is a poor pastiche.
Consider getting a whole compilation - they're inexpensive enough
Taking a "documentary" style not uncommon for speculative fiction of this vintage, the creep factor is slowly brought to a boil. A little slow for some tastes, but not nearly drawn out as the longer-form At the Mountains of Madness that is one of his most famous works. Better to start here. This story also succeeds more at investing you in the characters who are in peril (at least in relative terms; the style is so matter-of-fact aside of the depiction of creepy sights, that it's hard to get beyond a sense of detachment). The payoff is reasonably satisfying. For a few dollars more, you can get a massive compilation and sample his works as your whims dictate.
The kindle edition is unreadable
I expected to read about eldricht horrors, not be confronted by one. Individual letters or whole words are either replaced or entirely missing. This is not readable. Avoid it.
good book
but lots of typos in the kindle edition... good story though! twelve thirteen fourteen fifteen sixteen seventeen eighteen nineteen twentry
Bad formatting
Story is fine, but you failed utterly to fix the line breaks. This made a rather good story difficult to read.
Lovecraft. Buy it
What else do I have to say? H P Lovecraft.
Excellent
Great book and fast delivery
How did I go so long without reading any Lovecraft?
Will definitely read another. Very vivid descriptions and yet I feel like everyone probably has a totally different experience because it leaves much up to the imagination.
My first Lovecraft read and will probably not be the last
I thought this ebook was a collection of short stories. It is not. A story about an otherworldly horror slowly corrupting everything around it. A good read.
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