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Case of Charles Dexter Ward, The
 
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Case of Charles Dexter Ward, The (Paperback)

by H. P. Lovecraft (Author), D M Mitchell (Introduction)
4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
RRP: £8.95
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Product details

  • Paperback: 176 pages
  • Publisher: Creation / Oneiros Books; New Ed. / edition (24 April 2008)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 1902197259
  • ISBN-13: 978-1902197258
  • Product Dimensions: 21.1 x 14 x 1.3 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 283,133 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #16 in  Books > Fiction > Cult Authors > Lovecraft, H. P.

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Product Description

Product Description
A nameless terror surges through the centuries to engulf the soul of Charles Dexter Ward, a brilliant New England antiquarian. Evil spirits, malefic gods and fear-stricken superstitions still lurk in vile catacombs beneath the surface of a blighted land. Ward is driven to unleash these loathsome horrors upon a defenceless world, possessed by the demonic shade of his ancestor, Joseph Curwen, a warlock steeped in the blackest arts of magic. Now Ward too must master these obscene rituals and pay his price in blood...human blood.

This special edition of the Lovecraft classic includes Lovecraft's rare ''History of the Necronomicon'', plus an illuminating new introduction by DM Mitchell (editor of The Starry Wisdom)

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Customer Reviews

10 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.3 out of 5 stars (10 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Lovecraft's most accessible horror tale, 30 Nov 2002
By Daniel Jolley "darkgenius" (Shelby, North Carolina USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Case of Charles Dexter Ward (Mass Market Paperback)
The Case of Charles Dexter Ward has long been one of my favorite books. Charles Ward is an intellectual young recluse steeped in antiquarianism (much as Lovecraft himself was) who discovers horrible secrets about a distant ancestor, one consciously expunged from public records and histories at the end of his ill-begotten life. Ward engulfs himself in a genealogical and historical pursuit of knowledge of this man, a passion all the more emblazoned by each mysterious discovery he makes. This ancestor, Joseph Curwen, was reputably a dabbler in the black arts who fled from Salem in advance of the remarkable witchcraft trials in that town. Finding refuge in Providence, he lived a reclusive, mysterious life, made even more mysterious by his eternally youthful appearance. A recluse by nature, he spent most nights at a farmhouse in Pawtuxet. A continuing series of terrible cries and noises detected from that farmhouse, in conjunction with a number of missing locals and rumors of brutality against Negro slaves surreptitiously brought to that abode culminated in a raid by local citizens determined to put an end to whatever monstrous acts the strange man was committing. No member of that raiding party ever dared discuss what he saw or heard during that awful night. Ward's knowledge of Curwen is greatly advanced when he discovers an old painting of him (revealing a face virtually identical to his own) and a set of personal papers hidden behind that painting. He then launches into terrible studies of the occult at home and abroad, then returns home to put to use the arcane secrets he has learned. His doctor and father eventually grasp the nature of Ward's actions and unite themselves in a determination to block Joseph Curwen's ancient ambitions and plans to once more walk the earth with the aid of his great-great-great grandson. The horrors they encounter in the pursuit of this objective are richly described and deliciously gruesome.

This story is pretty much straight horror with no deeply mythological overtones beyond those of necromancy. Lovecraft does an excellent job of always pushing the action along while providing a rich, deep, historical background of both Curwen and young Charles Ward. The ending chapter contains some of Lovecraft's most terror-inducing, menacingly evil scenes and is not to be missed by those with a gratuitous admiration for the macabre. For those readers who find the Cthulhu Mythos stories too strangely remote and otherworldly, this novella provides a more practical, more individualistic vision of horror sure to affect the reader more viscerally than do mysterious references to the Ancient Ones. Anyone considering reading Lovecraft for the first time would do well to make this book his introduction to the master of horror. This is everything a horror story should be.

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars The best Lovecraft- The worst adaption, 13 Jul 2008
By Mr. Mark D. Ellis "empbot" (UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This is my favourite horror story and I'm a massive fan of Lovecraft. The first time I came across this book was in a collection of short stories so I jumped at the chance to get it as its own book. What a mistake. It seems there has been no editorial process whatsoever unless it was done by the Work Experience kids. The amount of 'teh' instead of 'the' is unbelievable! A normal English word somewhere in chapter 2 has a ö instead of an o. There are many many more errors in basic spelling too (and no, I don't mean the letters containing old writing between Curwen and Orne). I'm only up to chapter 3 and I'm seething at how this piece of unspeakable genius has been mutilated by the 'editor'. The fact I've read it many times before means I can confidently review it here.
If you buy Lovecraft, buy the 'At the Mountains of Madness' Lovecraft omnibus (part 1)- Part 2 is better (Dagon and other Macabre Tales) but part 1 is worth it just for a mistake-free 'The Case of Charles Dexter Ward' as well as the great 'At the Mountains of Madness' itself.
This fantastic, atmospheric horror masterpiece deserves more respect than Creation Oneiros have afforded it. Shame on TEHM.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Very good. You will think it's real..., 1 May 2002
By A Customer
This review is from: Case of Charles Dexter Ward (Mass Market Paperback)
The biggest strength of Lovecraft, evident in most of his stories, is his ability to set the scene for a story well enough for you to see it in your mind without being too restrictive. He also has a number of "props" used in more than one story (like the famed Necronomicon), which he invented to give continuity to any stories with even the smallest thing to do with the Chthulhu mythos (he invented the Necronomicon).
The story itself is good - near the end parts of it are predictable, but it still manages to surprise a little.
Overall, a very immersive story (it was the first Lovecraft story i've read, and i'm hooked)
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars An interesting little study in horror
Lovecraft's a difficult author. He does have the imagination to create a vivid universe, but his tales can be repetative. Read more
Published on 25 Jul 2001 by finnton@aol.com

5.0 out of 5 stars A Master in Horror
Lovecraft is undoubtedly the Master of Horror, about 30 years ago I red this book for the first time and every year I will read it two times. Read more
Published on 29 Dec 1999

2.0 out of 5 stars It's not a horror novel, it's a horrible novel!
Although Lovecraft's book is interesting when read as a psychyatrical case study, it lacks even the most basic elements of the horror genre. Read more
Published on 27 Nov 1998

5.0 out of 5 stars Stephen King would pee his pants
I usually don't enjoy reading horror novels but the intelligence and master story telling of The Case of Charles Dexter Ward was amazing. Read more
Published on 29 Oct 1997

5.0 out of 5 stars A very nice thriller!!
I believe that H.P. Lovecraft is a master in writting thrillers. He keeps you in mystery up to the last paragraph and he describes his characters in every detail. Read more
Published on 8 Aug 1997

5.0 out of 5 stars H.P. Lovecraft. The only one master of cosmic horror.
This was the very first book I read, written by Howard Philips Lovecraft.
A friend had tipped me about H.P. Read more
Published on 6 Jul 1997

4.0 out of 5 stars Lovecraft primer
One of Lovecraft's most coherent novellas and, consequently, a quick and enjoyable read. Lovecraft manages to invoke a deliciously lugubrious atmosphere without resorting to the... Read more
Published on 8 April 1997

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