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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A genuine treat for all H.P. Lovecraft aficianados, 29 April 1998
By A Customer
For those of us who came early into our addiction to H. P. Lovecraft, the Necronomicon assumes a singular place as the most famous book never written. Lovecraft's non-existent volume, a treatise on magic that unlocks the dimensional barriers that seperate us from Earth's powerful and horrific former rulers, has assumed a life all its own.
The Necronomicon: Selected Stories and Essays Concerning the Blasphemous Tome of the Mad Arab is a wonderful compendium of lore and imagination compiled by editor Robert M. Price. The various stories, prefaced by an informative and insightful introduction by Price,
are all excellent in their own way, but rather uneven in tone. From genuinely creepy tales like "Settler's Wall" and "The Howler In the Dark" to more tongue-in-cheek offerings like Robert Silverberg's " Demons of Cthulhu," The Necronomicon offers a little bit of everything for the hardcore Lovecraft junkie.
For me, the book's real spine lies in the pseudo-scholarly articles that deal with the Necronomicon and its author, the "Mad" arab Abdul Alhazrad, as if they genuinely existed. Included here are such choice items as a biography of Alhazred, a history of the Necronomicon as written by Lovecraft himself, the John Dee Translation of the Necronomicon (an over-the-top parody so hilarious it reads like Shakespeare on acid), and a refreshingly serious , A Critical Commentary on the Necronomicon written by Robert M. Price.
If the idea of ancient tomes of forbidden magic, exotic lands, distant times and unutterably terrifying monsters appeals to you, then this book is a welcome addition to the growing body of Lovecraft studies.
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5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Recomended to all fans of the Mythos, 24 July 2001
Ok...its not the real necronomicon. SO? Theres no such thing...What it is though, is a very well thought out collection of mythos stories and pseudo mythos "articles". The dee translation of the necronomicon is very silly, but the sussex manuscript (an alternate version) is well written and genuinely creepy. The fiction is all reasonable, except for the "howler in the dark" which i felt was over dramatic and silly...The articles on the mythos contained within are pure gold, well written and excellently held in character. There is even a index of quotes from the necronomicon from major mythos authors. In short, an interesting and amusing collection on everyone favourite blasphemous tome
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6 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A warning to the innocent, 15 Feb 2004
By A Customer
I discovered Lovecraft at the tender age of 8, and from then on relentlesley tried to aquire a copy of the dreaded Necronomicon. I finally achieved this when I turned twenty. Within the first 24 hours it conjured such horrors as should never see the light of day or walk upon this earth. Suffice to say that I immediately got rid of that blasphemous tome. I am still a Lovecraft literature fan, but I don't go beyond that. Let this just be a warning to the innocent: be careful with the "Necronomicon" and "The Misteries of the Worm".
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