San Antonio College Library

H.P. Lovecraft, the radical, misanthropic master of the horror genre, now has an impassioned advocate in Michel Houellebecq, Europe's most controversial modern novelst. In his illuminating appraisal of Lovecraft's life and work, Houellebecq reveals a surprising debt to the master of weird fiction.

"This scholarly study highlights Lovecraft's profound impact on 20th century popular culture. Early chapters introduce his complete writings, providing an annotated bibliography of the author's horror and science fiction tales. The works are discussed in the context of the Cthulhu Mythos, an invented mythology centering on ancient and alien beings interacting with the terrestrial world"--Provided by publisher.

"A prolific and fascinating letter writer, the renowned science fiction writer H.P. Lovecraft chronicled the most minute particulars of his life in his correspondence. Whether he is describing the antics of his favorite cats, evaluating baked beans or cheese, or debating the purchase of a suit, Lovecraft's remarkable letters reveal much about him as a writer and as a man. They also outline his views on history, aesthetics, society, politics, and economics...

In the years following H. P. Lovecraft's death in 1960, few of his friends and admirers were moved to write down their personal impressions. This may have been in part because HPL outlived so many of his colleagues. One can only wonder what intimates such as W. Paul Cook or Robert Barlow might have penned had they not preceded him to the grave. Perhaps others felt they had little more to add to the already ample public record of a successful author....