A
fantasy novella by
H.P. Lovecraft (more renowned for his strange and excellent horror short stories and novels) about the expert dreamer Randolph Carter's quest for the golden city of his dreams in a bizarre and fanciful (and, being Lovecraft, at times mortally dangerous) dream world.
This story is pure treasure. The descriptions sing. The cats from saturn glow terribly. The unspoken chaos gibbers horrifyingly. It's beautiful.
Moreover, it is more accessible than much of Lovecraft's output: a clear linear plot, language which, while elaborate and exact, is somewhat less arcane than usual, and the wonder of the surrounding inspire comprehension rather than the desire to curl up and think no more of it that his horror tales inspire. A wonderful read, and especially so if you can find an old paperback copy with the original colourful painted cover. (The new Del Rey reissues, while commendable in making available this wonderful work, have inappropriately gruesome art on the cover to match the rest of their Lovecraft reprints.)