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An H.P. Lovecraft encyclopedia
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From Publishers Weekly
An H.P. Lovecraft Encyclopedia, edited by S.T. Joshi and David E. Schultz, will please HPL purists, since it focuses on the weird writer's literary work with entries for individual stories, the more important poems and essays, fictional locales and characters (including every member of the German U-boat crew named in "The Temple"). Although Cthulhu and HPL's other "gods" don't receive separate entries, there's an essay-length entry on the Cthulhu Mythos. Other longer entries concisely treat such topics as HPL's juvenilia, letters and travels, but his philosophy gets short shrift for, as the editors state in their introduction: "No separate entry on Lovecraft's philosophical thought is included here, as the topic is too complex for succinct discussion." Despite such selective coverage, this is an indispensable volume.
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Lovecraft scholars Joshi (founder and editor of Lovecraft Studies) and Schultz (editor of H.P. Lovecraft's Commonplace Book) have compiled an accessible yet scholarly general encyclopedia and chronology focusing on prolific fantasy/horror author H.P. Lovecraft (1890-1937). Succinct, alphabetically arranged entries cover Lovecraft's numerous works, which include short stories, sketches, poetry, essays, novels, nonfiction, and letters. Also covered are significant characters, little-known features of the stories, and family members, associates, and critics, as well as people known to have influenced Lovecraft, e.g., Nathaniel Hawthorne. The entries for each work include type of work, word count, estimated date of writing, first publication, first appearance in a volume by Lovecraft, and subsequent appearances in corrected or annotated editions. Plot synopses of Lovecraft's fictional works are included, with at least one citation to a book or article discussing that work. Entries include footnotes and references but no cross references, and the bibliography cites both primary and secondary sources. This detailed encyclopedia is highly recommended for public and academic libraries. Laurie Selwyn, San Antonio P.L., TX
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
21/06/2007
I gave this inch-thick book three stars because it IS full of good information, well researched, and will certainly be just what some people are looking for. For me, however, it was not at all what I expected (or wanted).
I was hoping that a 'Lovecraft Encyclopedia' would shed light on the fictional elements within his works. However, this encyclopedia concerns lovecraft's life, acquaintances, influences, etc.
Mostly.
It's inconsistent; if you look up "Azathoth," you get two paragraphs about the stories "he/it" appears in and those that inspired, but learn absolutely nothing about what Azathoth actually *is*. "Cthulhu" provides pages of info, but really nothing more than the geneology of the name "Cthulhu Mythos," and absolutely nothing at all about the character.
But if you look up "Lake," "Atwood," "Dombrowski" ... you at least do get a sentence or two about these fictional characters, though not much, really. Why include relatively unimportant fictional characters but include no information about the "heavy-hitters"?
Seriously diappointing; there's room for another book here.
I would have been happy if the book at least gave definitions for certain archaic words, such as "eldritch" and the like, words not found in a contemporary dictionary. But no. Or perhaps even a pronunciation guide for commonly mis-pronounced words.
I guess for now, if you want to know something about the entities in HPL's works, you have to buy a book related to the "Call of Cthulhu" role playing game or something.
If you need to do a term paper on the life of HPL, you may find some gold here; if you enjoy his stories but would like to understand them better, this will be of no help.
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