Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Offer ends May 1st, 2024 11:59PM GMT. Terms and conditions apply.
£7.99/month after 3 months. Renews automatically.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Call of Cthulhu and Other Stories cover art

Call of Cthulhu and Other Stories

By: H. P. Lovecraft
Narrated by: William Roberts
Get this deal Try for £0.00

Pay £99p/month. After 3 months pay £7.99/month. Renews automatically. See terms for eligibility.

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £14.99

Buy Now for £14.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Listeners also enjoyed...

The Shadow over Innsmouth and The Whisperer in Darkness cover art
The Complete Fiction of H.P. Lovecraft cover art
Dagon cover art
At the Mountains of Madness cover art
HorrorBabble's Lovecraft Shorts: Volume 1 cover art
The Shadow over Innsmouth cover art
The Call of Cthulhu cover art
The Thing on the Doorstep and Other Stories cover art
Necronomicon cover art
HorrorBabble's Classic Horror: Volume 1 cover art
The Hound cover art
The Dunwich Horror cover art
H.P. Lovecraft - The Complete Fiction Omnibus Collection, Second Edition cover art
H. P. Lovecraft's Short Tales of Terror cover art
Eldritch Tales cover art
H.P. Lovecraft: The Complete Omnibus Collection, Volume I: 1917-1926 cover art

Summary

At the heart of these stories, as with all the best of Lovecraft’s work, is the belief that the Earth was once inhabited by powerful and evil gods, just waiting for the chance to recolonise their planet. Cthulhu is one such god, lurking deep beneath the sea until called into being by cult followers who – like all humans – know not what they do. It is because of these dark, mythic tales with their terrified awareness of the limits of Man’s knowledge, that H.P. Lovecraft is one of the most influential American writers.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your My Library section along with the audio.

©2010 Naxos AudioBooks (P)2010 Naxos AudioBooks

Critic reviews

"Reading Lovecraft is challenge enough, but listening to his work can be fraught with peril - unless William Roberts is at the mike. Readers and listeners either love or hate Lovecraft, most commonly because of his complex language and near overwhelming sentence structure. Roberts takes on this challenge and delivers these short stories beautifully. He seems to have wrangled the leviathan that is Lovecraft's style and bullied it into submission. His delivery is engaging and dramatic. It shows that he has spent time with the text and understands the author's sometimes dizzying style. Best of all, he is able to communicate that understanding to the listener. Roberts's narration provides a perfect introduction for newcomers who are interested in Lovecraft’s work but who are intimidated by his reputation." (AudioFile magazine)   

What listeners say about Call of Cthulhu and Other Stories

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    155
  • 4 Stars
    91
  • 3 Stars
    27
  • 2 Stars
    8
  • 1 Stars
    3
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    156
  • 4 Stars
    64
  • 3 Stars
    16
  • 2 Stars
    4
  • 1 Stars
    2
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    126
  • 4 Stars
    69
  • 3 Stars
    35
  • 2 Stars
    7
  • 1 Stars
    3

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Gain Entrance

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to the Call of Cthulhu and Other Stories. The narrator was just perfect and did a great job with accents as well. I'd only "read" (listened to, actually) one other Lovecraft story before these, but I already knew I would love it. I love that Lovecraft gave his colleagues and everyone else permission to write in the "world" he'd created, the Mythos. I came to his work because I'd read many Lovecraftian poems and short-stories and was curious what was actually behind it. It's really lots of fun.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

A horror classic

I've been a Lovecraft fan for years, so it was great to find an audio book version of his stories, especially as it's read by the great William Roberts, one of my favourite narrators.

Many of his stories are based in the "Cthulu Mythos", the premise that eons ago Earth was ruled by The Great Old Ones; vast, non-human creatures who even now slumber in other dimensions, waiting until they can re-enter our world, crush the kingdoms of man and once again take dominion of the planet.

Despite some attitudes that may seem a bit uncomfortably old fashioned to modern readers, these stories remain classics of their kind, deeply influential to subsequent writers and a lot of fun as well.



"Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn!"

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Tentacle in your pocket or just diseased to see me

Stripped of their outré cosmic horror mythos, many of H. P. Lovecraft's best stories are essentially rip-roaring Boys Own adventure yarns with added tentacles and a minefield of idiosyncratic grammar. Fine examples of this tendency towards page-turning excitement are those classics of Weird Fiction, 'The Call Of Cthulhu' and 'The Dunwich Horror,' both of which are included here on this first of four Naxos collections narrated by William Roberts (the other stories in this volume are early statement of intent, 'Dagon,' and dreary Poe-pastiche, 'The Hound').
A quick search will reveal dozens of Lovecraft audio-readings available, some of which offer complete or extensive recordings of his works, but beware: many of these are well-meaning but wretchedly inept efforts; resist the temptation for quantity over quality and plump for these instead. Here, William Roberts' fruity delivery captures perfectly the florid, swivel-eyed hysteria of Lovecraft's prose, injecting it with an affectionate element of Grand Guignol camp that is entirely appropriate; there are, after all, only so many times you can say "cyclopean" or "eldritch" with a straight-face.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great introduction

Having only heard of H.P Lovecraft before, but never had the time, I got myself this. What a great introduction to H.P Lovercraft's work it has been. The Cthulhu mythos was portrayed perfectly. It's been a long time since I got this engaged in a story. Can't wait to listen to more of his works.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Hard to beat

This is a SUBJECTIVE review - simply my OPINION.
William Roberts reads with an authentic, ‘Saturday evening serial’ feel that keeps you listening.
He speaks very clearly, with an almost atlantic accent that is closer to screen actors of the 1930s and 1940s.
The stories are classic, and the accompanying music is well selected and totally apt.
Hugely enjoyable.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Great narrator

The narrator seems to be able to capture the voice and feel of H.P Lovecraft.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent audiobook

Great stories and a good narrator. Most are short stories between 20 and 30 mins long so easy to dip in and out of. Great for long winter nights.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliantly read, and a great selection!

As an introduction to Lovecraft, and his mythos, a more perfect tool I could not advise!

Read passionately, and expressively, unabridged and honest, and the choice of tales gives a tantalising insight into the beings, characters and events of Lovecraft’s ‘Cthulhu Mythos’.

If it is mystery you are looking for, and not the resolved mystery of the likes of Arthur Conan Doyle, but a lingering and chilling mystery, that stays in your thoughts long after the story is finished, then this is definitely for you.

I, myself have read most of Lovecraft’s story’s already, and only came to this audiobook as a refresh for stories read long ago, though refresh it certainly did, the beautifully handled readings breathed new life into these stories, and I only hope the reader has compiled more of Lovecraft’s stories for audio consumption!

A great production, and worth every penny.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Racism

I couldn't get past the quite blatant racism found from almost the very beginning. Too much talk of 'mongrels' and 'mixed blood' and negros for my taste. The book is narrated well though.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent

Exceptionally well narrated, I was drawn in the moment I pressed play and couldn't stop until it was finished. Highly recommended and one of the better lovecraft readings, well worth the credit!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!