In the Mountains of Madness: The Life, Death and Extraordinary Afterlife of H.P. Lovecraft

Poole (Vampire: Dark Goddess of Horror), in this unblinking biography, examines the life of an artistic genius who possessed abhorrent social views. A self-educated eccentric with widely ranging interests, H.P. Lovecraft (1890…1937) read classical mythology, the Arabian Nights, Edgar Allan Poe, and Ambrose Bierce, which led him to write horror fiction. His stories appeared in pulp magazines and circulated among the wide network of correspondents who kept his work alive after his premature death at age 47. Poole also examines two controversial aspects of Lovecraft's life. While previous biographers claimed that Lovecraft's mother had a negative impact on his life, Poole argues that Sarah Susan Phillips Lovecraft encouraged her son's intellectual interests and shaped him as an author. The second point is the awful, unvarnished racism that appears in his stories and his history. Poole makes no excuses for this, as other biographers have done, and sees it as a hideous stain on a remarkable career. Poole also examines Lovecraft's influence on the media, roll-playing games, and contemporary authors such as Stephen King. Reader Tim Campbell does a wonderful job telling the tale.