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Thomas
@aviationdoctor.eth
1/ Reading and reflecting on HP Lovecraft while on a plane. I’ve kept going back to him every now and then since my teenage years. I usually can’t read more than one short tale at a time, but I can’t go for too long without reading one either. One of the themes that I enjoy most in his writings is this idea —foundational to the cosmic horror genre— that the universe is incomprehensible to us puny humans. Not that I believe it to be true (I am confident in science’s explanatory power) but I find it a compelling literary device. It creates tension in the unknown unknowns, which are infinitely many, lurking beyond our limited experiential horizon. By contrast, classic horror (e.g., Stephen King’s) circumscribes evil to a mundane object or monster (a car, a clown, a dog, etc.).
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Tokenized Human
@tokenizedhuman
Any reason you can only cope with a short amount at a time? Is it the existential dread the work conjures in your mind, or simply his style? This kind of horror, the unimaginable, is incredibly emotive, and absolutely terrifying when employed well. I've not read Lovecraft, but this technique is so ingrained in the T Davies episodes of Dr Who he must have been a huge fan.
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Thomas
@aviationdoctor.eth
It’s a couple of things. One is that each tale is world-building: it has its own characters, non-continuing plot, unique setting, etc so reading too many at once becomes a bit exhausting. The other is his style. He rarely alternates short and long sentences, and has a clear preference for the latter. So reading him requires concentration and effort, especially as he uses slightly antiquated and academic language, much like how an anthropologist might describe his observations.
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