Review Title: {A Strange Story of Terrifying Tragedy}

Posted: Monday, March 5, 2018

Review of {At the Mountains of Madness} by {H.P. Lovecraft}

A comprehensive review by John Adams Theibert Jr.

Review Method: In this review I will use a 10-element system to assign a star amount to this story out of a total of five stars. Each element has 2 components that are each worth 0.25 stars. Each element is worth a total of 0.5 stars. There are 5 primary elements and 5 secondary elements. There are 3 subtotal stars in the primary elements, obtained by adding the primary elements and rounding up. There are 2 subtotal stars in the secondary elements, obtained by adding the secondary elements and rounding down.

The Primary Elements: Idea, Plot, Characters, Setting, & Theme

The Idea (The Air Element) — hook and world: {The idea of the story was unique and engaging yet lacked immediate pulling power. The hook was slow and methodical, yet it managed to tug just enough to keep me wondering about the rest of the book. The world was vividly rendered and creatively crafted using plausible places imagined, existing in locations that are remote and desolate.} Air element interpretation of the Idea: {The wind constantly blew sand around the rocks in the dessert causing them to move in a straight line as if by magic.} Stars for the idea: [0.5] stars out of 0.5 stars.

The Plot (The Fire Element) — conflict and climax: {The plot was plodding yet had a somewhat satisfying end. The conflict seed to be implied more than experienced. The climax was a somewhat singular event that was frightening and gratifying at the same time.} Fire element interpretation of the Plot: {The candle in a class cup was lit, providing light to the room, yet a mischievous boy put a firecracker in the softened candle wax and it popped after a few hours.} Stars for the plot: [0.25] stars out of 0.5 stars.

The Characters (The Water Element) — development and dimension: {There seemed to be only one character that was prominently portrayed in the story. The main character did not change much during the story, because his emphasis was always the same, in which he used a warning tone throughout the story. Dimensionally, however, the main character was well rounded, in that he was realized in a complex and involved way, making him seem intelligent, wise, and brave, yet still approachable and human.} Water element interpretation of the Characters: {The submarine surfaced and a periscope was used to see if a floating piece of flotsam was a makeshift life raft, yet it was just floating junk.} Stars for the characters: [0.25] stars out of 0.5 stars.

The Setting (The Earth Element) — scenes and senses: {The setting was dazzling and chilling. The scenes were described in abundant detail and had significant gravity to them. The scenes used in the story were well rounded, exploring sight, sound, and smell for the most part, lacking somewhat in touch and taste.} Earth element interpretation of the Setting: {The fragrant bouquet of flowers was delivered to the home of the struggling shower curtain ring salesman.} Stars for the setting: [] stars out of 0.5 stars.

The Theme (The Spirit Element) — lesson and epiphany: {The theme of the story was a kind of warning to not venture into the regions described in the story. The lesson of the story was that some discoveries are too dangerous to make. The epiphany was that there are, in fact, wonders in the world to dark and terrible to fathom.} Spirit element interpretation of the Theme: {The angry phantasm smashed dishes, and turned over book cases, telling the visitors they were not welcome.} Stars for the theme: [0.5] stars out of 0.5 stars.

Subtotal stars for the Primary Elements (always rounding up), [3] stars out of 3 stars.

The Secondary Elements: Style, Substance, Grammar, Essence, & Impression.

The Style (The Mist Element) — logic and pacing: {The style of the story was a strong point. The logic was sound in how the story progressed and how the characters acted and reacted. The pacing was moderate and kept an even clip throughout.} Mist element interpretation of the Style: {The steam rising from the dragons nostrils billowed and filled the room with humidity.} Stars for the style: [] stars out of 0.5 stars.

The Substance (The Bone Element) — skeleton and teeth: {The structure of the story was well founded with its parts fitted together smoothly and sensibly. The skeleton was solid and held the weight of the story well. The story’s teeth were razor sharp in that the story had a great premise that ancient advanced and extremely strange life forms could have lived on Earth millions of years ago and died out.} Bone element interpretation of the Substance: {The archeologist uncovered the scull of a huge alpha predator, which would have been a top predator among the aquatic dinosaurs.} Stars for the substance: [] stars out of 0.5 stars.

The Grammar (The Wood Element) — sentence structure and word usage: {The grammar of the story did not have any obvious problems. The sentence structure seemed solid and correct, and the word usage was accurate and clear.} Wood element interpretation of the Grammar: {The white wooden lifeboat looked small, but lasted for over 4 months at sea, saving the lives of all onboard.} Stars for grammar: [0.5] stars out of 0.5 stars.

The Essence (The Metal Element) — emotion and memory: {The essence of the story was intense. The emotions of fear and wonder were the most prominent in the story. The most memorable part of the story was the climax, in which the main characters were chased by an ancient creature.} Metal element interpretation of the Essence: {The steel long swords chimed and sparked as they clashed.} Stars for the essence: [0.5] stars out of 0.5 stars.

The Impression (The Shadow Element) — opinion and talent: {My impression of this story is good. In my opinion it has a lot of strong elements, however, some of its elements are not thoroughly utilized.} Shadow element interpretation of the Impression: {The long shadow of the mountain covered the whole city, causing the street lights to come on earlier than other nearby cities.} Stars for the impression: [0.25] stars out of 0.5 stars.

Subtotal stars for the Secondary Elements (always rounding down) [2] stars out of 2 stars.

Conclusion: {In conclusion, this story is great from a conceptual stand point, however, it lacks stellar execution. This story was intriguing and had a lot of nagging unanswered questions.}

Grand total stars for the story — primary elements and secondary elements: [4] stars out of 5 stars.