Honestly I'm not a big Lovecraft guy. Like I read synopses of his stories and impressionable nerds being driven mad by wacky weirdo shit seems like extremely my thing, but reading actual stories is like pulling teeth. Maybe he was just that bad of a writer or maybe I don't know English well enough to enjoy his verbose nerdy prose...

The tweet in question .

  • ssjmarx [he/him]
    ·
    2 years ago

    Lovecraft simply doesn't work on the modern reader. He was writing those stories when the mass consciousness was first starting to grapple with the enormity of the universe and the insignificance of the Earth, but now that we're essentially taught those facts from childhood all of the impact of learning about eldritch abominations is gone.

    • Anemasta [any]
      ·
      2 years ago

      There's a bunch of other plots he had than space god making you feel small and unimportant. Like stories where the protagonists finds out that he's not full anglo-saxon. There is also a story about people being killed by an air conditioner, I think.

    • Opposition [none/use name]
      ·
      2 years ago

      Yeah, I tried reading a few of his stories, but bounced off them. First I was shocked he was such an overt racist and wondered how he had ever become acceptable, especially among people who goddamn well know better. Second the fear of the unknown fell flat. It's just something we've moved past. I'm sure it was creepy as hell when the stories were new, but that was a long time ago.