Why am I passionate about this?
My PhD work focused on horror fiction and film, and I spent ten years teaching about horror (I even included two of my recommended books in courses). The academic stuff is more a symptom than a cause of my passion for the scary. I’ve been a horror freak forever, becoming interested in vampires by age four, reading Stephen King and writing stories to frighten classmates by age nine, and putting a poster of Freddy Krueger on my wall at age ten. Extremes of fiction take me away from extremes of real life, which are much harder to handle.
L.'s book list on horror for stretching your mind to extremes
Why did L. love this book?
I love this one for its extremes of thought rather than any extremes of violence, though it implies the slaughter of an entire civilization. It’s the mountains and the mountains beyond mountains, each range more sublime than the last, more likely to dash your comprehension against their rocks, that is the genius here, the idea that no matter how horrific something seems, what’s really horrific is always right behind it, outside your capacity for seeing it completely.
Lovecraft is the master of describing the indescribable, and I think this novella is where he does it best. (Un)Naturally, the book’s greatest triumph is the shoggoths, creatures that defy both form and understanding, and madness comes to life. Brilliant!
5 authors picked At the Mountains of Madness as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.
At the Mountains of Madness is a science fiction-horror novella by American author H. P. Lovecraft.
An expedition to Antarctica goes horribly wrong as a group of explorers stumbles upon some mysterious ancient ruins, with devastating consequences. At the Mountains of Madness ranks among Lovecraft's most terrifying novellas, and is a firm favourite among fans of classic horror.