The reviewer appreciates the collection for its masterpieces like 'The Colour Out of Space' and 'The Rats in the Wall', but criticizes some stories for their racism and weak endings. They find Lovecraft's work influential but flawed, with some stories feeling outdated or poorly executed.
The reviewer has a nuanced opinion of this collection of H.P. Lovecraft's works. They highlight several standout stories, such as 'The Colour Out of Space' and 'The Rats in the Wall', praising them for their atmospheric horror and unique concepts. However, they also point out significant flaws, including racist undertones in stories like 'The Shadow Over Innsmouth' and 'The Call of Cthulhu', which they find problematic and outdated. The reviewer appreciates Lovecraft's influence on the horror genre but notes that some stories feel weak or poorly executed, with endings that fall flat or characters that are not well-developed. They also mention that some stories, like 'The Shadow Out of Time', can be boring and lack the depth of his better works. Overall, they see the collection as a mixed bag, with some truly great pieces alongside others that are marred by their flaws.
Quick quotes
The Rats in the Wall. An absolute masterpiece of horror, one of the two best Lovecraft ever wrote (together with “Colour Out of Space”).
The most obvious weakness is its extremely racist middle third, and the way its conclusion seems to betray the thesis of the story; Cthulhu may be eternal, but he Spoilerloses a fight with a boat and then goes back to sleep, I guess?
The portrayal of a decaying town cannot be separated from its racism; Lovecraft wrote a poem about a nice New England town that fell into decay because it let non-White people come in and intermingle, and now he's turned that poem into a horror story.