October’s book: At the Mountains of Madness

At the Mountains of Madness, a science fiction and horror novella by the renowned H. P. Lovecraft, follows Dr. William Dyer of Miskatonic University as he leads a team on an Antarctic expedition. The book is presented as a warning to the world, as Dyer attempts to dissuade other would-be adventurers from following in his footsteps.

Inspired by Lovecraft’s life-long fascination with Antarctica—then still largely unexplored—the story uses the isolation of this cold and remote landscape to delve into themes of humanity’s insignificance in the face of cosmic horror and the limits of human understanding, ideas that Lovecraft often explored in his work.

We will be sending out one chapter every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, starting Wednesday the 2nd and finishing with chapter 12 on Monday the 28th. Check it out each day on this site, or subscribe to the book club to get each chapter sent to your email inbox!

The text is provided by Standard Ebooks. If you want to read ahead or download the book to your ereader, there are multiple formats available on Standard Ebooks’ page for the novel. We are not affiliated with the organization, but they have put a significant amount of effort into making public domain works accessible to everyone. Go ahead and check them out.

If you prefer audiobooks, pick your favorite version from LibriVox and listen along. Or, if you like the feel of paper while you’re reading, support your local independent book store by buying a copy from Bookshop.org or take it out from your local library.

For summaries and analysis, check out the book’s page on Wikipedia.

Thanks for joining the book club, and we hope you enjoy At the Mountains of Madness next month!