Necronomicon

I'm not going to bother reviewing the fiction in the volume. It's by H.P. Lovecraft, it's absolutely fantastic horror fiction that transcends the genre and what's included is all of his best stuff. I will assume, that like any literary type (or horror fan), you are not here to decide - "Should I buy Lovecraft's books?". I'm assuming you know that like Poe, you need a Lovecraft selected (or complete) works on your shelf - the question then is "Which edition is best suited to my needs?" So, I'm going to focus on why this book is a good purchase - it has 36 stories, including the big ones. It's affordably priced. It looks really nice on a shelf and it's very pleasant to read in the hands and on the eyes. The drawback is it's big and the binding is so-so. The only one-volume competition is really the Library of America "Tales" collection with 22 tales. It has better binding and a better critical apparatus (e.g. footnotes). That one's a bit more expensive though and has some other problems. I would recommend either this volume or the Library of America to someone looking for a single volume collection. If you're a collector or own the Library of America "Tales" book, this probably isn't worth a purchase because you have most of the stories. Personally, I prefer this one because the pages are thicker and I find the text easier on my eyes. The Library of America edition is much smaller and has ultra-thin pages with relatively small text. If you have good eyesight, that might be a better choice since physically it's smaller, but I had difficulty reading it. This edition sits like a Bible on the shelf towering above other books. The gold ink on the spine looks very classy and ominous and it's easy to find amongst my bookshelves. The binding is not great, but it's good enough and on par with most oversized mass market paperbacks. There are better Lovecraft collections out there. I believe the Arkham has Lovecraft in his entirety, there are the Joshi volumes edited from the original proofs rather than the published editions - of note to the purists, but this is the best one for most people, myself included. $18 for 36 Lovecraft stories and short fiction! It's an uncanny deal. It towers, cyclopean, above other such editions at that price. If you want a shorter volume (admittedly this is quite large physically) - the Del-Rey's might fit your needs. It's cheaper, too. The collectors and completists love the Arkham ones. If you're buying for a library, the Library of America is a better pick, both because of its standard size, because it's bound better and because of the critical apparatus and lastly because of snob appeal - the tales were "selected" by Joyce Carol Oates (the tales selected aren't much different than this volume though). I think this is the best single volume reading edition because it's easy to read, it has the best selection of stories and it's an attractive volume. Recommended.

'Necronomicon: the complete Weird Tales' of H.P Lovecraft in its hardcover edition is a beautiful book - a bibliophiles dream. Suitably tome-like, all it really needed was a tassel to complete the look. The typeset and illustrations are really appropriate and unlike some I appreciated the biography on H.P Lovercraft contained in the rear of the book. Reviewers have also noted that 'Necronomicon: the complete Weird Tales' is not a complete collection of Lovecraft's work - but it never claimed to be, instead it collects those works written for legendary pulp magazine 'Weird Tales.' At 878 pages there's plenty of material for readers to sink their teeth into, and all the classics, such as 'The Dunwich Horror,' 'The Shadow Out of Time,' and 'Call of Cthulhu' are included. Buy this book and saraband yourself across aeons of time into the curious, antique world of H.P Lovecraft. Park yourself under a gibbous moon and read these eldritch tales of cyclopean architecture and primordial terrors. You will traverse dimensions of time and space and have an indescribably sinister experience of unspeakable horror.

i was impressed with the look and feel of this book. i received the hardcover last night. cool illustrations as well. maybe not the most lavish nor complete volume, however, for the price you can't beat it. Venger As'Nas Satanis Cult of Cthulhu High Priest

"Stoop not down unto the darkly splendid world; Wherin continually lieth faithless depth, and hades wrapped in clouds, delighting in unintellible images, precipitous, winding, a black ever-rolling abyss; ever espousing a body unluminous, formless and void." -The Chaldean Oracles of Zoroaster.