Book Review: The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath  

By H.P. Lovecraft

5 Stars 

Perhaps one of the greatest pieces of the greatest writer of all time, The Dream-Quest of Kadath by H.P. Lovecraft, is about Randolf Carter and his quest for the Earth Gods and the beautiful sunset city of his dreams. As well as being similar to another of his stories, Celephais, this story is set in the marvellous world of dreams just above Earth itself and centres around Randolf Carter as he heads from Ulthar beyond the river Skai to Celephais as he tries to find the Earth Gods to plead his acceptance into the beautiful sunset city of his dreams. Despite others’ warnings and bad tidings, he perseveres on, eventually and finally making it to the city of Kadath. 

There are many things not really going in favour of The Dream-Quest of Kadath, one being the archaic-feeling writing style of the nineteen hundreds and the common usage of long and extravagant words that aren’t used often in modern-day. Despite its various flaws, which slow down the reading process a bit, this story still has a sort of thrilling adrenaline that is unique to Lovecraft and which keeps you turning each page one by one. The storyline, I would say, is better than most of Lovecraft’s works, reading more like a dark fantasy dream through foggy graveyards and finally to the great sunset city where clouds and happiness prevail. Much like Randolf Carter’s very own heaven, it draws parallels from Celephais and its protagonist, Kuranes, with some characters from previous works reappearing in this one. It would give you a good idea and understanding of Lovecraft’s dream cities only mentioned in the other stories. I would recommend The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath to those interested in Lovecraft’s cosmic lore, also known as the Cthulhu Mythos, and those who like dark fantasy elements. 

Reviewed by Ayesha 

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