The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath

H.P. Lovecraft continues to exert an enormous influence in the horror/fantasy genre. This may be surprising because Lovecraft's writings were nearly impossible to find for decades. Unlike those poor souls who, in the old days, fruitlessly searched for copies of his stories, today we can locate copies of them quite easily. And they are definitely worth seeking out, as Lovecraft writes chilling stories like no other person, alive or dead. Unfortunately for horror buffs, Lovecraft died at a young age, thus leaving his work to be carried on by others.Lovecraft is famous for his creation of the Cthulhu mythos, an alternate universe (or series of universes) populated by strange beings of infinite evil. These are the Elder Gods, beings who enjoy tormenting the human race. Time and time again, Lovecraft takes his characters into unfortunate encounters with the Elder Gods, almost always to the detriment of these hapless souls. In "The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath," DelRey collects yet another batch of Lovecraft gems.The main course of this collection is "The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath," a story about Randolph Carter, a mystic who has the ability to enter a fabulous world through his dreams. Carter isn't content with merely shuffling about a dream world; he wants to track down Kadath, a fortress where the gods live and play. Carter's quest takes him through endless adventures where he faces both good and evil realms. Carter goes to the moon, talks to cats, sails on the seas, and encounters weird creatures both helpful and harmful. All of this brings him steadily closer to his goal. This story is a synthesis of many of Lovecraft's other stories, such as "The Cats of Ulthar.""Celephais" is a short story about one of Carter's friends who became a king in the dream world. It is a short story that serves to give some background on both the dream world and one of the characters Carter encounters in his quest for Kadath."The Silver Key," a story that again incorporates the Carter character, finds Carter discovering a key engraved with strange hieroglyphics. With the key, Carter attempts to reconnect to the dream world. His subsequent disappearance raises more questions than it answers. Fortunately, these questions are answered in the next story."Through the Gates of the Silver Key" picks up where the previous story left off. Carter uses the key to move through a portal into a universe beyond any human comprehension. Carter learns that through advanced mathematics he is capable of changing the very barriers of time and space. Some barriers shouldn't be messed with, as Carter quickly discovers. While his estate is being hashed out on Earth, Carter is working diligently to return to his world. Lovecraft co-wrote this story with another author, named E. Hoffman Price.The book ends with two very short stories, "The White Ship," and "The Strange High House in the Mist." In "The White Ship," a man who watches over a lighthouse embarks on a strange journey into lands

"The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath" is perhaps Lovecraft's greatest piece of fiction; it certainly is a culmination of the Dunsanian fantasy pieces he wrote early in his career, several of which are also featured in this collection. While I recognize the seminal importance of "The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath," I must also say that I find it a particularly difficult read; if my powers of concentration are less than 100%, I simply can't make heads or tails of the story. Perhaps my trouble is a personal idiosyncrasy, but this novella is certainly complex and not well suited for the casual reader. The story describes Randolph Carter's obsessive search for the abode of earth's gods on mystical Kadath and his determination to find and abide in a glorious city he has seen in his dreams. Carter is a proficient dreamer, and his journey introduces us to important denizens and personalities in the dream world. Unafraid, Carter sets himself to brave a meeting even with Nyarlathotep, the Crawling Chaos. There are monstrous creatures and horrible vistas brought to life in these pages, but the entire dreamlike atmosphere of the story seems to rise up and cover my mind with mists that force me to reread passages in order to maintain my focus. While I don't necessarily enjoy this story in the normal sense of the word, I do regard it as a grand achievement by the author.The other stories in the collection also take us to the dream world created by Lovecraft. "The Silver Key" and "Through the Gates of the Silver Key" (written in collaboration with E. Hoffman Price) reveal much of the history of Randolph Carter and offer glimpses of other dream quests he embarked on in life. "Celephais" tells of the dream world town ruled by King Kuranes, a former earthly acquaintance of Randolph Carter, and "The Strange High House in the Mist" contains references to the dream world Carter explored. Only "The White Ship" does not relate in some way to Carter's travels. One simply should not read "The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath" without first reading a number of other related stories, several of which are unfortunately not contained in this volume (such as "The Other Gods," "The Cats of Ulthar," "Pickman's Model," and most especially "The Statement of Randolph Carter"). This book requires work on the part of the reader due to its unique complexity. Lovecraft's horror stories are much more appealing to me than the fantasy stories collected here, yet Lovecraft's true genius and talent are most easily discerned by a reading of "The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath."

Randolph Carter is Lovecraft's only hero. He is an expert dreamer, who passes at will through the Gates of Deeper Slumber and openly defies the mythos. He rides Night Gaunts and communicates with Ghouls, Zoots and Cats. In this way, the Randolph Carter series is entirely unlike Lovecraft's other weird tales. The reader actually gets the feeling that things will work out for Randolph Carter.While to stories are different in tone, they are not different in content. In "Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath," Randolph Carter goes in search of Unknown Kadath, the mountainous home of the gods. In his long journey, he drifts in and out of other stories, encountering Richard Upton Pickman, the City of Celephais, the Cats of Ulthur and an enjoyable assortment of other characters. I advise you to read this story with other Lovecraft books at hand, to reference the cast of characters.Other tales in this volume complete the quests of Randolph Carter, and tell the stories of other journeys through the Dreamlands. Each story is enjoyable, mixing fancy and horror in equal measure. I recommend this book to fans of "The Sandman."

This book was my introduction to the worlds of HP Lovecraft. I found it in the library, was enthralled for some reason by the title, and took it home to read it. Unfortunately, I took it back when I was done. It took me another eight years to find the Ballantine paperback, when a whole series of HPL was published. Because I remembered this book so fondly, I bought the whole series sight unseen, and have never had a second thought about that decision. tDQoUK is extremely accessible to readers of fantasy in particular, and readers in general. Lovecraft's imagination takes flight in his descriptions of the Dreamlands, with exotic creatures and locales abounding, and a strange little mission undertaken to petition the gods of that land. Strongly influenced by the work of Lord Dunsany, Lovecraft would never again write with such hope and beauty, though his writing would grow stronger as his mature voice emerged. This book is not horror, but high fantasy without elves and swords, rare in these days of Tolkienesque pastiche. Buy it, read it, and your imagination may never be the same again. Join me on the seven hundred steps to the gate of the Dreamlands, and don't forget to count. I'll see you in the Enchanted Wood.

If you enjoy tales of fantasy, qv the Hobbit series by JRR Tolkein or the Elric tales by Michael Moorcock, you must read this scarcely read tale of fantasy by american author H.P. Lovecraft. Understand from the first that this story is more sublime beauty than horror. The horrific cover on the del rey book, though compelling, mis-sells the story. This is a fantasy tale about a dreamer/adventurer who quests through an incredible dreamscape world on a quest to rediscover a fleeting dream city. The main character, Randolph Carter, is a hero of sorts in the Lovecraft universe and his adventures through the dreamlands are some of the most spectacular ever written in any tale of fantasy adventure. Encounters with fantastic creatures of dream and nightmare, compelling characters from ethereal kings and strange gods, to moon flying cats await you. Moreover, you will experience a new sensitivity to the power of beauty, dreams and forgotten childhood memories in a way only the master of the sublime can share. You will experience the imaginitive genius of Lovecraft fully in this often bizarre tale. Lovecraft's command of the English language make virtually every sentence a delight. "Dream-quest of Unknown Kadath" is a spectacularly unusual fantasy tale: the only thing that will haunt you is the power of the breathtaking beauty Lovecraft will paint for you in his commanding eloquence. It is perfectly paced, with no dragging areas, and somewhat of a quick read. A shame because you will wish as you near the end that the book was infinitely thicker. Do not miss this delight of fantasy storytelling! -Javier Roman