All Reviews by Jeff Edwards
At the Earth's Core
by Edgar Rice Burroughs
AT THE EARTH'S CORE begins as a fun "hollow Earth" adventure but its episodic nature becomes tedious. And, as soon as the book's hero meets Dian the Beautiful, the romance aspect of this "scientific romance" takes over and most of the hero's subsequent actions are designed to reunite him with Dian. Burroughs included some surprisingly grisly descriptions, however, like the hypnotism scene in the Mahar temple.
The Call of Cthulhu
by H. P. Lovecraft
"The Call of Cthulhu" is one of H.P. Lovecraft's most famous -- and most accessible -- works. It is sometimes difficult to read Lovecraft because of his prose style, but this story moves along at a fairly brisk pace. If you've never tried Lovecraft -- or if you have, and didn't enjoy his work -- then try "The Call of Cthulhu."
Alleys of Darkness
by Robert E. Howard
A gullible boxer is tricked into a kidnapping plot in this pulp tale by Robert E. Howard. The story is forgettable but worth reading if you’ve never encountered anything by REH outside of the sword & sorcery genre.
The Monster of Lake Lametrie
by Wardon Allan Curtis
This short story begins well, promising a "hollow Earth" adventure. But it takes a wrong turn into "mad scientist" territory when a human brain is transplanted into the skull of an elasmosaurus. You won't want to miss the scene with the singing plesiosaur. Ridiculous!
The Castle of Otranto
by Horace Walpole
This is an important work: the first Gothic novel. But note H.P. Lovecraft's apt description of THE CASTLE OF OTRANTO: "tedious, artificial, and melodramatic."
Dracula's Guest
by Bram Stoker
It was good to read something by Bram Stoker besides DRACULA. About half of the stories in this collection are worth reading: "Dracula's Guest," "The Judge's House," "The Squaw," and "The Secret of the Growing Gold." Beware, though: The stories I mentioned are still clumsy. The rest are utterly forgettable.