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    The Dunwich Horror & The Thing on the Doorstep
    The Dunwich Horror & The Thing on the Doorstep
    The Dunwich Horror & The Thing on the Doorstep
    Audiobook3 hours

    The Dunwich Horror & The Thing on the Doorstep

    Written by H. P. Lovecraft

    Narrated by Phil Reynolds

    3.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Considered to the be one of most influential American authors, Howard Philip Lovecraft is synonymous with some of the best fantasy and horror fiction of the 20th century, second only to Edgar Allan Poe. In The Dunwich Horror (1928), Wilbur Whateley, the son of a deformed albino mother and an unknown father, matures at an abnormal rate, reaching manhood within a decade. All the while, his sorcerer grandfather indoctrinates him into certain dark rituals and the study of witchcraft…The Thing at The Doorstep was written five years later; confessing to the killing of his friend Edward Derby, Daniel Upton hopes his account will prove he is not a murderer. “You need to read him – he’s where the darkness starts…” Neil Gaiman.Phil Reynolds is an experienced stage actor, recent credits include Lt. Sam Weinberg in 'A Few Good Men' and Freddy in Steve Martin's 'Picasso at the Lapin Agile'. Recent film projects include 'So What?' and 'The Limes' (a story set in the cut throat world of ice cream men, inspired by Shakespeare's Hamlet). Phil can also be heard on several computer games, theme park rides and guided tours!
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherThe Copyright Group
    Release dateJan 1, 2014
    ISBN9781780003962
    The Dunwich Horror & The Thing on the Doorstep
    Author

    H. P. Lovecraft

    Renowned as one of the great horror-writers of all time, H.P. Lovecraft was born in 1890 and lived most of his life in Providence, Rhode Island. Among his many classic horror stories, many of which were published in book form only after his death in 1937, are ‘At the Mountains of Madness and Other Novels of Terror’ (1964), ‘Dagon and Other Macabre Tales’ (1965), and ‘The Horror in the Museum and Other Revisions’ (1970).

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    Reviews for The Dunwich Horror & The Thing on the Doorstep

    3.5/5

    2,404 ratings119 reviews

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    • 3/5
      I don’t know how I missed H G Wells when I was young. His work is fun but I would have appreciated it more back then.This one shows that Wells has a sense of humor, and yet it’s a dark story. A brilliant physicist concocts a set of devices that enable him to become invisible. Then he loses his notebooks and equipment, so he’s stuck in a condition that isn’t quite what he had hoped it would be. While the story is entertaining and, in the last few pages, exciting, the character’s motivations are obscure. His rage seems to be an inherent part of his character.Recommended for late childhood and early teens, or if you want an easy but distracting read.
    • 3/5
      Power corrupts. Wells shows us that we crave that corruption. A wonderful adventure into which Wells sews a warning and entertains us along the way.
    • 4/5
      A very good story that I wish was a little reversed in its order; the latter half with its personal retelling of the Invisible Man's origins was most excellent, and I sort of wish the whole tale was told by its invisible participant. The ending was also splendidly vivid. Definitely worth a look if you are interested in the early goings of science fiction, or just want a solid tale with some tension.
    • 3/5
      I read The War of the Worlds a long time ago and I don't think I've really read any of Wells' other books until now, despite my intentions. I'm glad I finally got round to it. The Invisible Man isn't so much a story in some ways as an exploration of an idea -- not much happens, really: a man finds out how to make himself invisible but finds it much less convenient than expected, goes on a crime rampage, and is eventually killed. The main character is despicable and thoroughly unlikeable, which does the book no favours as a leisure read, but it's an interesting exploration of the idea. Though, of course, the 'scientific' explanation is laughable from a modern reader's perspective.

      For the little that happens it's quite long and unrewarding, but considering Wells' influence on the genre, it's interesting in that way, too.
    • 4/5
      Great read. Man.........this guy is a jerk. But I guess karma comes full circle.
    • 2/5
      Het gegeven is natuurlijk fascinerend, maar de uitwerking valt tegen: traag en gebroken ritme. Lectuur opgegeven na 120 blz
    • 2/5
      The Invisible Man was a jerk who was mean to people and tortured a cat. This pissed me off and has left my mentally incapable of leaving a more detailed review. I expected better.
    • 3/5
      *Spoilerish type reivew* This was a decent book by Wells, but my least favorite of the books I have read by him. This one obviously is a short novel about a man who is invisible. I thought the idea had a great deal of potential, but I never felt like the story ever took off for me. The Invisible Man is simply grumpy and perhaps a lunatic and the story turns into more of a chase down the bad guy plot. Not a bad read, but certainly not one to remember.
    • 3/5
      Summary: In a small english village an invisible man causes havoc when he starts to terrorise the locals

      Things I liked:

      Style: The author used a sort of epistological style as if he was recreating the story based on the hearsay and reports of people that
      had been around at the time.

      Short: I always appreciate a book that manages to deliver something in less than 300 pages that other take 900 to do.

      Things I thought could be improved:

      Number of characters: In some scenes, especially involving physical conflict, the author throws in a bunch of bystanders which makes the scene hard to follow in text. More work could have been put into differentiating or developing the characters; or it might have been better to just remake the
      scene and leave them out.


      Highlight:

      Funnily enough I think I most enjoyed the 'tell me the whole plan' section where the invisible man reveals the events that occured beforehe arrived. I found them the most tense and scary. Maybe the story should have been that one.

    • 5/5
      The Invisible Man (1897) by H.G. Wells. This is the science fiction classic that has given rise to many many spin-off stories and film adaptations. H.G. Wells was in his writing prime when he penned this brilliant book. The moral that I came up for this tale is never become invisible unless you can undo the effect. Or something like that.Griffin is a scientist deeply interested in physics. When he manages to create a method of making a body's refractive index to that of air so that it neither absorbs nor reflects light and thus becomes invisible, he does it to himself but only after having figured out how to undo the effect. But he loses the paper that has the undo formula on it.Threatened with eviction by his landlord, Griffin disrobes and sets forth to destroy the man, only to end up destroying the building and his research. Naked, he steals food and clothing. The latter items necessary when he realizes the food he consumes can be seen within him, appearing to others as floating bits.And so “The Stranger” gets rooms at an inn and attempts to create the missing formula from memory, to no avail. He becomes increasingly crazed at his inability to be seen again and to resume a “normal” life. The locals become increasingly disturbed by this temperamental shut-in and his terrible manners leading to his fits of temper. As days pass the locals become more suspicious of this person who hides his identity behind heavy clothing and facial bandage wraps.When things come to a head, Griffin reveals his true identity and fights his way out of the inn and into a cold day outside, leaving his experiments behind as well as his precious notebooks.The book chronicles the further adventures of Griffin in his attempt to fight both the elements and his fellow man. Increasing desperate at his plight, lacking clothes against the weather, the ability to procure either food or lodging in his naked state, and finding the entire countryside turned against this invisible menace, he turns a chance encounter with an old acquaintance into a temporary reprieve from his torments. But soon his faith in the fellow is betrayed, leading to an untimely death.There are many psychological insights to be drawn from this tale but at heart it is a cautionary story about science and going too far. The Invisible Man is both a hero in his field of physics and a demon in his relationship with mankind. And despite the terrible power that
    • 3/5
      I wanted to like it. I try not to judge classics by modern reading and entertainment tastes. But this book was super slow and boring.

      It had a lot of atmosphere. For a book originally published long before radio or movies or TV, I can see the value in long passages full of description.

      The premise of the story was pretty straight-forward, in a science fiction sort of way. The main character turns himself invisible with somewhat nefarious intentions. He learns that being invisible isn't very easy and gets mad at the world.

      I bumped up to 3 stars since it's a classic and one of the first ever modern works of science fiction.
    • 3/5
      I wasn't expecting the first third of this to be a slapstick comedy, but that's how Wells plays it, with Mr Invisible tripping, slapping and pilfering from a variety of gormless villagers. It's tedious, and the action scenes are flat and one-paced.There's an intermezzo where we get to the backstory and Wells explores, though insufficiently, the interesting practical and philosophical ramifications of invisibility. Then it's back to the narrative as the title character decisively rejects an offer of rehabilitation and goes on one last rampage as the dragnet of solid Victorian citizens closes in on him.A decent enough mad scientist tale but not as deep as The Time Machine or as lurid as Dr Moreau. My favourite Wells is still Mr Polly.
    • 4/5
      “An invisible man is a man of power.”A curious, and somewhat rude, stranger arrives in the village of Iping, covered up from head to toe. Turns out, he has turned himself invisible! And it's not all as wonderful as he thought it would be! In fact, when he tells his backstory, it seems he has made a grave mistake. And he quickly descends into madness...A classic that actually was better than I'd thought it would be! I used to think it would be awesome to be invisible, but as this book plainly illustrates, it's not. For one thing, food shows after he eats, so he has to hide after a meal! I hadn't thought of that! It's a good read, even though I didn't understand the science parts at all. Good ending too! I'm glad I finally read this!
    • 5/5
      If you are looking for stories with mad scientists, this is your go-to. The narration captured my attention from the first chapter to the last one. For a book written in the old times, it is not too boring for me. (The number of words is enough to keep me going.) I finished it in one sitting.
      A classic worth recommending.
    • 3/5
      Definitely my least favourite of the author's four main SF novels. The theme of the misguided scientist corrupted by his own discovery is handled much better in the Island of Dr Moreau. Much of this novel struck me as overly comedic, indeed rather slapstick. The other characters aside from the eponymous one are unmemorable ciphers. A disappointment.
    • 3/5
      One wintry day in a small, quiet English village, a stranger appears. He takes a room at the inn and keeps himself to himself. But his intense privacy, the bandages he wears, and the way he never eats around other people all arouse the suspicion of the locals. They aren’t quite sure what he is, or what he has done, but they are positive he has done something, and the speculation and rumours grow and spread. None of them, however, come close to the truth. He is invisible!

      H. G. Wells’ The Invisible Man is a story the basics of which are known to many people. A scientist meddles and experiments, and succeeds in turning himself invisible. He thinks it will lead to all sorts of advantages for him. Of course he soon discovers that there are more disadvantages that advantages, and he is unable to turn himself visible.

      It is a story of selfishness and madness.

      And it is one of the founding books for the “mad scientist” trope. Frankenstein may have created a monster, but he wasn’t insane, just irresponsible. Dr. Moreau & Griffen, H. G. Wells’ characters are selfish and think of nothing but themselves. They are not the mad cackling men of popular culture, but they are still, to my mind, mad in that they pay no mind to society and other people. They think only of themselves and what they can get out of a situation. I’d be tempted to say that they probably come out of a conservative view of the world, in that they suggest that men are inherently inclined towards evil, and only society’s pressures and rules keeps people on the straight and narrow. I’m not sure I agree with that, but it certainly explains these books.

      And although the central story here shares some similarities with The Island of Doctor Moreau the tone is utterly different. There the horror and the craziness was visible from the outset; here it is a much more restrained horror. It reads almost like a cosy mystery, with the strangeness being all the stranger because it occurs in the known and the usual, it happens in England, not in some foreign exotic island.

      It is a solid read, and very entertaining, and I am glad I read it. I’m not sure if I’ll ever reread it though.
    • 3/5
      Very funny and easy to read classic!
    • 4/5
      A man takes a room at an inn and proceeds to make life hell for the innkeepers. He's rude and demanding and also tends to smash their things when he goes into a rage, which is often. They have no idea who he is as he has refused to give a name and keeps himself bundled up to the eyeballs. When the innkeeper has finally had enough, the man literally disappears, but not before doing as much bodily injury as possible to everyone in the vicinity.Funny that I'd missed this cornerstone of horror until now. First published in 1897, it has a modern feel to it, probably because the main character displays a schizophrenic level of violence, attacking old men and women and trampling children. It must have been terrifying to an audience of 120 years ago and still plays well today as the invisible man lacks any conscience.
    • 4/5
      This story is from so long ago, yet it remains a compelling and interesting read. The violence is rather stark and not something I care for. I enjoyed looking up words with which I was unfamiliar.
    • 3/5
      I don’t know how I missed H G Wells when I was young. His work is fun but I would have appreciated it more back then.This one shows that Wells has a sense of humor, and yet it’s a dark story. A brilliant physicist concocts a set of devices that enable him to become invisible. Then he loses his notebooks and equipment, so he’s stuck in a condition that isn’t quite what he had hoped it would be. While the story is entertaining and, in the last few pages, exciting, the character’s motivations are obscure. His rage seems to be an inherent part of his character.Recommended for late childhood and early teens, or if you want an easy but distracting read.
    • 3/5
      Seriously, this novel would've been far more enjoyable if the protagonist hadn't been such a jerk. Of course, the question what happens if someone who considers himself the peak of brilliance has the opportunity to remove himself from all social conventions, but the answer given here - that social conventions are the only thing that keeps a conscience in place, and that without it and the power to act on one's whims, a person nearly inevitably becomes a monster - is too simple for my tastes.I would like to read the same story from Griffin's perspective.
    • 4/5
      Probably one of HG Well’s more well-known novels, but I didn’t enjoy it as much as the Time Machine as it was not as clever scientifically, or as convincing a story. It stooped to mediocre slapstick comedy for quite a stretch in the middle, and just did not feel compelling. However, it did get better towards the end when it was more serious.
    • 3/5
      As far as I can recall, this is my first reading of this story. I enjoyed Mr. Wells' attention to the daily challenges (as well as the broader implications) of being invisible. I enjoyed his ability to blend humour with tragedy. A short, enjoyable read.
    • 2/5
      The Invisible Man was a jerk who was mean to people and tortured a cat. This pissed me off and has left my mentally incapable of leaving a more detailed review. I expected better.
    • 2/5
      A disappointing read. H.G Wells has much better tales. I would not recommend wasting your time on this one.
    • 2/5
      Misanthropic and bereft of philosophy, it begins as farce and concludes in a homicidal froth. Pity.
    • 4/5
      An inventive & exciting story by one of the foremost Science Fiction authors of his era, whose literary fame encompasses Histories & Philosophy. Created from the serialized tale published in 1897 in a UK magazine, Pearson's Weekly, The Invisible Man as the title suggests has a main character Griffin who becomes invisible. Wells examines the good aspects & pitfalls of such a transformation with the emphasis on the downside as Griffin becomes increasingly erratic - no spoiler here - read it for the dramatic events and conclusion.
    • 1/5
      Don't ask -ugh!
    • 4/5
      Surprisingly more action than I thought the novel would have (after reading the disappointing Jekyll & Hyde last year, anyway). The Invisible Man seems to be a bad dude. Definitely not a misunderstood villain, just because he is invisible, which is what I was expecting. This invisible man could have written the book on terrorism. I thought the plot kept its pace and was the perfect length. The writing itself wasn't as great as I wished though.
    • 4/5
      I am such a geek. My favorite part of this book is the Invisible Man's brief lecture on how light and invisibility work, midway through the book. For a day, in the background of my brain I was designing camp curriculum's around it.

      So, H.G. Wells has a reputation for a reason. This book is compulsively readable, if a tad old-fashioned. It does suffer the problem of being a book in which the main character is impossible to like. Though it does serve as a rather thorough argument that invisibility is not a fantastic superpower to have, and that it certainly does not free you of your dependence on other human beings. If anything, it makes that dependency sharper. Also, how much of our trust of people hinges on being able to see their face?

      More pulp than psychological thriller, but I'm okay with that.