I am uncertain if its because this is their third foray in audio book recording or if its due to the differing styles of writing and characters, but this particular collection has some really great performances from Messrs. Branney and Leman, maybe even some of their best. That is not of course to suggest the previous two are of lesser quality per se, but perhaps straying from the various constraints of Lovecraft's style of writing freed the intrepid duo and allowed for a more spirited approach to the readings. Whatever the case may be, I really enjoyed my time listening and wanted to take my time and savor each story before moving to the next. Among my very favourite readings is that of "The Yellow Wallpaper." When I first read it years ago I found it somewhat underwhelming and had not thought twice about it since, but Mr. Branney's reading of it is superlative and it is through his performance that I really began to appreciate the subtlety and strangeness of the story as the narrator's state crumbles over the course succinctly told tale. I am very much looking forward to all future installments, and I would absolutely love it if they recorded some more Lovecraft pastiches written by his friends.

Calling these stories Lovecraftian may not be technically accurate, since some of these works predate HPL and were influences on his themes and style. That quibble aside, this is a very fine selection of stories from masters like Poe, Hodgson, MR James, Machen, Blackwood, Maupassant etc.

I have only heard a couple of the stories, but I can say here that the readings are quite professionally done, and I imagine the rest to be so. They do a good job of trying to imitate the voices of the characters in dialect / diction. The stories themselves, I have read most of them and they represent quite the cream of vintage weird fiction. You have excellent variation between short mood pieces and lengthy elaborate adventures (divided into chapters for convenient listening), and also in terms of the difference in styles between the authors. In all, this is a winning curated collection that promises great entertainment - all that one needs is a cold night, a fireplace and some nice hot beverage to go with.

Really nice readings of the stories. Listening to these adds another dimension from actually reading them.

Just to reiterate from another review, trying to get this collection in one book is near impossible. This is the next best thing.

The "book" containing the USB drive is about the size THE COMPLETE FICTION OF H.P. LOVECRAFT book and is a nice touch complete with a library check-out card filled with names of those that have borrowed it out.

The other HPLHS audio-books will soon be on their way...

I got the deluxe version... but for something called "deluxe," you would think that a track listing would be included. Nope. There's more information on this web-page than is included in the book-looking box. There would be plenty of room to include some kind of list. But no.

Beyond what is listed on this page, a "deluxe" list should include the time-length of each track, the original date of publication, the name of the periodical or collection the story comes from, and finally, a short note about where and how HPL mentioned that particular story.

The second track starts off telling us how the recordings were made, and relates that this is envisioned as the first installment of a series of recordings. Then, we are told to stop listening to that track if we want to avoid spoilers. If an answer to my complaint is included therein, forgive me: I have yet to hear the remainder of that track. Perhaps there should have been *two* editorial tracks, with the spoilers saved until the very end. Still, rather than waiting around for installment two, at very least a deluxe-quality list should be published here on this web-page.

The sound-quality of the recordings is excellent: crystal-clear. The readings are convincingly performed.

I have purchased all three audiobooks as they were released. While the readings have retained their high professional standards throughout as one would expect from the HPLHS, I have appreciated the successive refinements of the "book" boxes for each release from the clunky first audiobook to the spectacular new case for The Literature of Lovecraft!

Even though the downloads are a convenient way to enjoy the readings, don't deny yourself the visual and tactual pleasure of the Deluxe Edition of this release.