The Best of H. P. Lovecraft: Bloodcurdling Tales of Horror and the Macabre

Author: H. P. Lovecraft
Published: 1987 (Republished date?)
My Progress: Pending
My Rating:

Summary:
This is not so much a novel as it is a collection of short stories. This particular collection doesn't encompass Lovecraft's entire works, so I will keep it at a "pending" status. The stories themselves are independent, but consistently draw upon a number of themes:

1.) Every family has a dark, hidden secret.
2.) Some knowledge is not meant for Man.
3.) There are certain alluring deeds which will irreparably damage a human's psyche.

These three themes, in any combination, continually plague the protagonists usually resulting in madness, death, or both.

Comments:
I found these stories to be quite entertaining, albeit I have a twisted sense of humor. I rather enjoyed the first-person narratives of people losing their sanity, especially because at no definite point can the reader mark that transition. Some of the themes could have been played a little more, but perhaps I'm just jaded enough to not be affected.

The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever:
Lord Foul's Bane

Author: Stephen Donaldson
Published: 1977
My Progress: Pending
My Rating:

Summary:
Book one of the series introduces the main character, Thomas Covenant, as a leper suffering from social alienation. As a result of his disease and solitude, Thomas seems to succomb to his degrading mind, and enters what he believes to be a dreamworld, where he must help its inhabitants survive by defeating the evil Lord Foul. He titles himself The Unbeliever because he doesn't believe this world exists. As a result, he doesn't suffer from social codes of ethics, thinking he will awaken, and acts simply to satisfy his own needs.

Comments:
It is certainly an interesting pretense by which to establish the hero. I could identify with social ostracism, as well as the very untraditional anti-hero. However, this hedonism tended to bother me slightly. Perhaps it's merely my own inexplicible boundaries within my darker psyche, but I find nothing disturbing about killing people in interesting manners. However, I had a little trouble trying to identify with a character who thanks the 16 year old girl that saved him by raping her. Then the author found it necessary to explain the finer details of his taking her virginity in the process. I mean, Thomas could have at least had the decency to kill her afterwards...

The Tale of the Eternal Champion Volume 8:
Elric of Melniboné

Author: Michael Moorcock
Published: 1972
My Progress: Pending
My Rating:

Summary:
Elric is the emperor of Melniboné, a dying culture of cruel beings, isolated by sea from the rest of the world, with a history of dragon whispering and dark sorcery. Elric is different from his subjects in two ways: one, he has the smallest hint of a conscience, and two, he is an albino invalid who must rely on the dying sorcery of his people to ensure his daily survival. He struggles daily to both please his subjects and expand his own knowledge. Then one day his cousin tries to usurp him. In his successful quest to win back his throne and the respect of his people, Elric come accross a sentient sword, Stormbringer, whose victims' souls are consumed by the black runeblade, transferring enough of their energy into Elric, esuring his daily survival without the need for sorcery. After the successful campaign against his cousin, Elric decideds he must explore the rest of the world, as advancing civilizations can no longer ignore the presence of wealthy Melniboné. In his journey, Elric juggles his own daily survival at the cost of his ever-fleeting humanity, seeking answers his people have long forgotten.

Comments:
This was actually a difficul book to acquire, as it is both out of print, and part of a rathery lenghty saga within a saga. Elric originally appeard in Moorcock's earlier short stories, so it is difficult to pinpoint his creation. The Elric saga itself spans several stories within novels, so I'm not sure exactly how far I am into it. I originally came accross this character when I received The Dreamthief's Daughter, a revival novel to the saga printed many years later. The series begins, however, with Elric of Melniboné. The writing itself balances perfectly the subtleties of conflicts of humanity and sanity with the most breathtaking scenes of gore I have ever encountered in literature. I would lable this saga a rival to The Lord of the Rings, and the inspiration for the original Anti-Hero protagonist.