For years, the HPLHS has offered numerous editions of Lovecraft's fiction by *other* publishers. An edition of their own has been long overdue. Nor surprisingly, quite a lot of careful thought and effort was put into creating this set with the usual creativity and extra touches that we've come to expect from our beloved Society. This is not merely an edition of the complete fiction. It's called the H.P. Lovecraft Experience for a reason. And weighing in at 8 pounds, it's massive!
The two volumes of Lovecraft are a perfect size for holding comfortably and reading. They are beautifully made with flexibound covers, edge staining, and placemark ribbons. By the way, possibly unbeknownst to the boys at the HPLHS, they are a perfect companion match to the Barnes & Noble edition of Edgar Allan Poe's Classic Stories which is the same size and with a similar flexibound cover! (see photo). Plus, it is nice to see that these books have sewn bindings. If there is any doubt, open up the book and look down inside the middle of one of the "signatures" (the booklets that are sewn in), and you will see the stitching (see photo). Not only that, but the Reader's Guide also has a sewn binding. Quality everywhere.
The Reader's Guide is a valuable and very welcome part of this set, featuring Branney and Leman's insightful analyses of ten of Lovecraft's stories. As usual, they've come with another way to add to the experience of enjoying Lovecraft. I am very happy that they chose to include something like this.
Adding to the overall experience are the lovingly crafted ephemera. My favorites are the Orne Library Card and the leatherette bookmark (I'm a sucker for cool bookmarks).
And of course everything is housed in a frightening vault that even features lifting ribbons for extracting the hideous tomes from their encasement. That's if you can get past the terrifying visage on the outside! This set is totally a winner and well worth acquiring.