'The Doom That Came To Sarnath' – H.P. Lovecraft

I've devoted a large chunk of this blog to the stories of Clark Ashton-Smith and while I really need to read more of his original works, it's very clear that Robert E. Howard is an influence around these parts as well. I was thinking about this last night and suddenly realised that H.P. Lovecraft hasn't featured here at all. While there are very good reasons why Lovecraft doesn't get talked about (we all know the ones or rather, the one), it feels a little off to let Ashton-Smith and Howard have their day(s) but not Lovecraft. So here we are :o) I can't promise that this will be a regular thing (for reasons that will become apparent) but I was stuck for a read, last night, and thought I'd give 'The Doom That Came To Sarnath' a go as I'd never read it.

It's a funny read, highlighting what I see as Lovecraft's shortcomings, as a writer, but also a story that shows how shortcomings can be turned into a strength...

There is in the land of Mnar a vast still lake that is fed by no stream and out of which no stream flows. Ten thousand years ago there stood by its shore the mighty city of Sarnath, but Sarnath stands there no more.

The other reason why Lovecraft has never really featured here is that I struggle with him as a writer. He clearly has the vision for weird fiction but he doesn't quite have the writing skills to back it up and that's a real shame given what his mind's eye wants to show us. There, I said it ;o)

As a result, I find his work infuriating; you can see the potential but it's so dry...

Well, that's what I thought until I read 'The Doom That Came To Sarnath'.

I won't go into too much detail around what the story is all about, the clue really is in the title ;o) On that level, there's no surprises here. Mankind shoots things that it doesn't understand full of arrows and their descendants ultimately pay the price. Apparently, a thousand years later is nothing when you're a toad god waiting on some sweet revenge. Pro-tip, if you want to piss off a toad god, just do it. Your descendants will hate you but you won't be around for the payoff so don't let it concern you too much ;o) But anyway...

Lovecraft is as dry as ever but in the case of 'The Doom That Came To Sarnath', it seems to work for the story as it lends the air of a historical recounting of events, possibly by a some historian struggling to put the picture together as it's so old by now. While the tale itself is relatively straightforward (almost too straightforward, 'The Doom...' is only eight pages long) this air of almost antiquity, in the setting, is what engaged me. I don't know if this is what Lovecraft was aiming for but I'm not complaining. A dry tone in the writing became a way forward for really engaging with a world that suddenly became a lot more interesting.

'The Doom That Came To Sarnath' didn't really change my mind about Lovecraft's writing but it did go to show that one story's weakness can become a strength in another. And if that helps me disconnect from the real world for a bit, 'a job well done' is what I say. Maybe I will read a few more of these stories after all...

You can read 'The Doom That Came To Sarnath' over Here. I found it in the Wordsworth collection 'The Haunter of the Dark.