Review of 'The House on the Borderland' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
Great, moody writing, though the dream of the future world does nothing for me.
eBook
English language
Published June 19, 2017 by Standard Ebooks.
The House on the Borderland
4 stars
(19 reviews)
The House on the Borderland is unique in several ways. The narrative itself is a double-frame narrative: the editor of the volume is presenting a manuscript he found under mysterious circumstances, describing the account of two fishermen who themselves discovered a hand-written account of the cosmic haunting of a recluse’s remote home.
Additionally, the novel is one of the earliest examples of the departure of horror fiction from the Gothic style of supernatural, psychological hauntings, to more realist, science-fiction/cosmic horror themes. The recluse is, among other events, transported to a mysterious supra-universal plane populated by monsters and elder gods; and his house withstands assaults from legions of monsters as he travels across time and the solar system.
The book was very influential on H. P. Lovecraft, who himself was famous for the cosmic horror themes in his work. The concept of an uncaring, and even evil, universe that Lovecraft found …
The House on the Borderland is unique in several ways. The narrative itself is a double-frame narrative: the editor of the volume is presenting a manuscript he found under mysterious circumstances, describing the account of two fishermen who themselves discovered a hand-written account of the cosmic haunting of a recluse’s remote home.
Additionally, the novel is one of the earliest examples of the departure of horror fiction from the Gothic style of supernatural, psychological hauntings, to more realist, science-fiction/cosmic horror themes. The recluse is, among other events, transported to a mysterious supra-universal plane populated by monsters and elder gods; and his house withstands assaults from legions of monsters as he travels across time and the solar system.
The book was very influential on H. P. Lovecraft, who himself was famous for the cosmic horror themes in his work. The concept of an uncaring, and even evil, universe that Lovecraft found so disturbing is front and center in this supremely strange novel.
Review of 'The House on the Borderland' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
I usually try reading a book before looking at its reviews on any website and I was honestly surprised to see the ratings of this book being at around 3½ stars here on Goodreads. I am a fan of Lovecraftian-style horror and I thought this book really shows the influence its had on Lovecraft's stories.
Firstly, I don't think that the characters are what makes this book so great. They have their moments but most of the time they seem rather dull to me. No, what fascinated me most about this book was the author's description of the horrors the main protagonist seems to encounter, most of which describe exactly what I love to read when reading a horror story. I find his descriptions very detailed and engaging — yet near the end of the book they start to pad out slightly and the author starts repeating himself quite a …
I usually try reading a book before looking at its reviews on any website and I was honestly surprised to see the ratings of this book being at around 3½ stars here on Goodreads. I am a fan of Lovecraftian-style horror and I thought this book really shows the influence its had on Lovecraft's stories.
Firstly, I don't think that the characters are what makes this book so great. They have their moments but most of the time they seem rather dull to me. No, what fascinated me most about this book was the author's description of the horrors the main protagonist seems to encounter, most of which describe exactly what I love to read when reading a horror story. I find his descriptions very detailed and engaging — yet near the end of the book they start to pad out slightly and the author starts repeating himself quite a bit which I found to be a shame. I believe this book could've been made quite a bit shorter but it would then also lose the charm it had to me.
As a fan of Lovecraft's work I would totally recommend this book!
hexaitos reviewed The House on the Borderland by William Hope Hodgson
None
5 stars
I usually try reading a book before looking at its reviews on any website and I was honestly surprised to see the ratings of this book being at around 3½ stars here on Goodreads. I am a fan of Lovecraftian-style horror and I thought this book really shows the influence its had on Lovecraft's stories.
Firstly, I don't think that the characters are what makes this book so great. They have their moments but most of the time they seem rather dull to me. No, what fascinated me most about this book was the author's description of the horrors the main protagonist seems to encounter, most of which describe exactly what I love to read when reading a horror story. I find his descriptions very detailed and engaging — yet near the end of the book they start to pad out slightly and the author starts repeating himself quite a …
I usually try reading a book before looking at its reviews on any website and I was honestly surprised to see the ratings of this book being at around 3½ stars here on Goodreads. I am a fan of Lovecraftian-style horror and I thought this book really shows the influence its had on Lovecraft's stories.
Firstly, I don't think that the characters are what makes this book so great. They have their moments but most of the time they seem rather dull to me. No, what fascinated me most about this book was the author's description of the horrors the main protagonist seems to encounter, most of which describe exactly what I love to read when reading a horror story. I find his descriptions very detailed and engaging — yet near the end of the book they start to pad out slightly and the author starts repeating himself quite a bit which I found to be a shame. I believe this book could've been made quite a bit shorter but it would then also lose the charm it had to me.
As a fan of Lovecraft's work I would totally recommend this book!
Subjects
- Classic Literature
- Fiction
- Horror
- Science Fiction
- Fiction, science fiction, general
- Weird Fiction
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