The Nightmare Factory
A vast collection encompassing the majority of Ligotti's output that shows what a incredibly original voice the author has. There are few, if any, disappointments, rather a collection of inspired dark psychological tales that radiate strangeness and leave you feeling increasingly uncomfortable. From the opening tale it is an assault on the comfortable barrier between reader and book, altering your perceptions of world from the moment you start reading and leaving them echoing in your consciousness long afterwards. [out of print]
At the Mountains of Madness
A collection bringing together Lovecraft's longer works, including
the novella "At the Mountains of Madness" an account of a strange
arctic expedition, and the outre fantasy "The Dream-Quest of Unknown
Kadath", the story of a house which warps the dimensions "Dreams in the
Witch House", and several others including both installments of Randolph
Carter's Silver Key adventures. The first volume of the H.P. Lovecraft
Omnibus. [in print - UK / US]
Dagon and Other Macabre Tales
A wide-ranging and far patchier collection than the other two, this
covers everything from Lovecraft's early tales to his later uncompleted
fragments. The stories are arranged chronologically, from "Dagon" up to
"The Evil Cleryman", with the early tales and fragments added at the end.
There are a number of classics, i.e. "The Festival" and "Herbert West -
Reanimator", but it is probably best kept as something to delve into rather
than to read all in one go as the stories are of varied quality. It is still
a highly recommended collection though. The second volume of the H.P.
Lovecraft Omnibus. [in print - UK / US]
The Haunter of the Dark
As far as I'm concerned this is the definative Lovecraft collection,
bringing together some of his best tales. Including the classic mythos
tales "The Shadow Over Innsmouth" and the "Call of Cthulhu", and the
brilliant "The Colour Out of Space", "The Rats in the Walls", "The Haunter
of the Dark", "The Picture in the House" and many others. The third volume
of the H.P. Lovecraft Omnibus, and very highly recommended. [in print - UK]
The Lurker at the Threshold with August Derleth
Ostensibly a Lovecraft novel this in fact has minimal input from Lovecraft,
being posthumously created by August Derleth from some fragmentory
manuscripts of only a few thousand words. It is however quite an interesting
expansion of what could easily have been a short story, though Derleth's
style is a bit lacklustre compared to Lovecraft's own and gives the novel
a few dry patches. [in print - US]
Fruiting Bodies and Other Fungi
This is one of the strongest collections of Lumley's tales I have read. It
opens with Fruiting Bodies, a brilliant story about a house
overtaken by a strange fungus and closes with Born of the Winds, a
story about Ithaqua the Wind Walker. Sandwiched between these are a number
of excellent tales including: the chilling The Viaduct, and an
incredibly eeiry tale called The Thin People. A perfect introduction
to Lumley's short fiction, this features both his original tales as well as
stories inspired by Lovecraft's legacy. [in print - UK / US]
The Compleat Crow
A collection bringing together all of Lumley's short Titas Crow stories,
includes a number of excellent tales as well as the brilliant novella Lord
of the Worms. [in print - UK]
