Holy shit.
I had never avoided H.P. Lovecraft, not the way I avoided, say, “Gravity’s Rainbow.” He
was always on the margins: part of the problem is that I have a real
tough time getting into short stories, and the majority of Lovecraft’s
output is in short stories. The other day, though, I was
at the library bookstore and—while I do not generally look at their
science fiction selections, because I do not need to read a Dune-sequel
when I have not yet read the first—I found an old paperback with a
cheesy cover that features a monster out of the movie “Yellow
Submarine.” I bought it for a dollar. I haven’t finished it. I feel premature, writing this, without having finished the collection, but at the rate I’m going…okay, I've read the first few.
