Your favorite Lovecraft, Howard, & Smith

[vladtolenkov]

There seem to be a fair number of Lovecraft, Howard, and Smith readers on the board so I was wondering what your fave stories of the above mentioned gentlemen were. Which stories are the one that stayed with you?

My answer is highly changeable but I'd say:

Lovecraft: Dreams in the Witch House

Howard: The Shadow Kingdom (the first full-on S&S tale)

Smith: The Seven Geases

What say you?

[geoffrey]

Lovecraft: At the Mountains of Madness

Howard: "Worms of the Earth"

Smith: I have read so far only the first 60% of stories Smith wrote. Thus I don't have an answer yet.

[stonetoflesh]

Good questions!
Lovecraft: I don't really have a favorite, but I generally prefer his Dreamlands stories. Since The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath is the centerpiece of that cycle, that's my answer.
Smith: I haven't read all his work, but so far my favorites are The Seven Geases and Empire of the Necromancers
Howard: Hard to say, probably either The Shadow Kingdom or Red Nails.

[jrients]

I can't pick between Howard tales and I don't know enough Smith to have a well-formed opinion, but I absolutely adore "The Doom That Came To Sarnath".

[jcstephens]

"The Dunwich Horror". It was the first HP Lovecraft story I ever read, and still my favorite.

[Max]

Lovecraft's Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath

Probably not well enough versed to have a favorite by REH ("The one where Conan kills a giant snake!"), but Xuthal of the Dusk and Tower of the Elephant are both great.

I'm assuming you mean Clark-Ashton Smith. Haven't read him, yet. (My favorite *Cordwainer* Smith is Scanners Live in Vain). So instead I'll mention that my favorite Leiber stories, if I'm pinned down and forced to choose, are Bazaar of the Bizarre and Lean Times in Lankhmar.

[thorswulf]

Howard: Tough call, but The Hills of the Dead ( Solomon Kane) or The Frost Giant's daughter.
Lovecraft: Dreams in the Witch House, Dagon, or The Dreamquest of Unknown Kadath.
Smith: All of the Averoigne stories, and the name escapes me, but the story is in the Zothique cycle and it involves the black wizard Namirrah.
Dunsany: The Castle Unvanquished, Save for Sacnoth, and a reprint that appeared in Weird Tales twice called The Dwarf Holobolos and the Sword Hogbiter.

[vladtolenkov]

With Lovecraft its especially hard for me to pick because I first read them when I was twelve. I could name a dozen stories that stayed with me.

I picked "Dreams in the Witch House" because it scared the piss out of me when I first read it. Two words: Brown Jenkin.

If I were to pick one of his Dunsanian fantasies I guess I'd have to throw in with Jeff and vote for Sarnath (although I do have a certain affection for "The Cats of Ulthar").

"The Picture in the House" was also disturbing.

Anyway. . .I'll stop now.

[makofan]

Lovecraft - The Case of Charles Dexter Ward (honorable mentions Kadath, Mountains of Madness and the Whisperer in the Darkness)

Howard - jeez they are all good. Tower of the Elephant maybe.

[Falconer]

I like a lot of Lovecraft's writing, but The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath is the real ultimate amazing "wow" head-and-shoulders-above-the-rest moment for me. Though it must be said that its full greatness can only be experienced in the context of the larger cycle of Lovecraft's imagination (preferably read in the order written).

No such standouts amongst Howard or Smith, though if pressed I would choose The Hour of the Dragon and "The Voyage of King Euvoran," respectively, as my favorites. Regards.

[kesher]

Lovecraft: The Case of Charles Dexter Ward, though it's a close race with The Dunwich Horror and The Shadow Over Innsmouth. It was the first Lovecraft I ever read; a friend gave a copy of it to me on my 14th birthday, and it left a lasting impression.

Howard: I love Conan like a swordbrother, but if I have to pick my favorite work, it's hands-down the collected stories of King Kull. Howard at his most brooding and philosophic.

And if you haven't seen The Whole Wide World, rent it this weekend. So very good.

[Deleted]

i hadnt read lovecraft in years but when my dm described the room i was afraid. you were a good teller of tales lovecraft. you make me fear judgement.

[kenmeister]

A tie between Lovecraft's Whisperer in Darkness & the Case of Charles Dexter Ward.

I have yet to read Howard and Smith; I plan to rectify that in 2009-2010.

[Thangobrind]

HPL: "The Call of Cthulhu" or maybe "The Colour Out of Space"
REH: "Beyond the Black River"
CAS: "Necromancy in Naat" -- really difficult to decide on just one, actually

[Ghul]

This is very difficult, and I don't think I can possibly say "favorite" to any of my choices, but certainly these are among my favorites:

REH: Beyond the Black River
CAS: The Coming of the White Worm
HPL: The Colour Out of Space

Can I give an honorable mention to F. Lieber for Ill Met in Lankhmar?



Cheers,
Jeff T.

[Ghul]

Nov 23, 2008 1:43:41 GMT -6 vladtolenkov said:

I picked "Dreams in the Witch House" because it scared the piss out of me when I first read it. Two words: Brown Jenkin.

Quite right. What a creepy creature Brown Jenkin was. Yes, Dreams in the Witch House is among HPL's greatest stories, and it so happens that I re-read it just last week. I've been reading and re-reading HPL all my life. I simply can't get enough, and every experience is different, even for tales I've read 3 or more times.

Cheers,
Jeff T.

[Ghul]

Recently re-read _The Charnel God_ by CAS, and it was even better than the first time. You can enjoy it here if you can't find it in print: www.eldritchdark.com/writings/short-stories/22/the-charnel-god

And why does my spell checker not understand "charnel?" How pathetic.

[chronoplasm]

The only Howard story I've read was The Tower of the Elephant.
I've read quite a bit of Lovecraft though, and being an artist myself I gotta say that I just love Pickman's Model.

[thegreyelf]

Lovecraft: Herbert West - Re-Animator.

Howard: The Hour of the Dragon.

I've never read any Smith. I think I should remedy that.

[Ghul]

Jason, you should. Prepare to be amazed.