''The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath'' is a

novella A novella is a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most short stories. The English word ''novella'' derives from the Italian ''novella'' meaning a short story related to true (or apparently so) facts ...

by American writer H. P. Lovecraft. Begun probably in the autumn of 1926, the draft was completed on January 22,

1927 Events January * January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith becomes the first Director-General. * January 7 * ...

and it remained unrevised and unpublished in his lifetime. It is both the longest of the stories that make up his Dream Cycle and the longest Lovecraft work to feature protagonist

Randolph Carter Randolph Carter is a recurring fictional character in H. P. Lovecraft's fiction and is, presumably, an alter ego of Lovecraft himself. The character first appears in "The Statement of Randolph Carter", a short story Lovecraft wrote in 1919 bas ...

. Along with his 1927 novel '' The Case of Charles Dexter Ward'', it can be considered one of the significant achievements of that period of Lovecraft's writing. ''The Dream-Quest'' combines elements of horror and fantasy into an epic tale that illustrates the scope and wonder of humankind's ability to dream. The story was published posthumously by Arkham House in

1943 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured. * January 4 – ...

. Currently, it is published by

Ballantine Books Ballantine Books is a major book publisher located in the United States, founded in 1952 by Ian Ballantine with his wife, Betty Ballantine. It was acquired by Random House in 1973, which in turn was acquired by Bertelsmann in 1998 and remains ...

in an anthology that also includes "

The Silver Key "The Silver Key" is a fantasy short story by American writer H. P. Lovecraft. Written in 1926, it is considered part of his Dreamlands series. It was first published in the January 1929 issue of ''Weird Tales''. It is a continuation of "The Drea ...

" and " Through the Gates of the Silver Key". The definitive version, with corrected text by

S. T. Joshi Sunand Tryambak Joshi (born June 22, 1958) is an American literary critic whose work has largely focused on weird and fantastic fiction, especially the life and work of H. P. Lovecraft and associated writers. Career His literary criticis ...

, is published by Arkham House in ''At the Mountains of Madness and Other Novels'' and by Penguin Classics in ''The Dreams in the Witch-House and Other Weird Stories''.

Plot

In his dreams, Randolph Carter sees a majestic city, but is unable to approach it. After the third time the city appears in his dreams, he prays to the gods of dream to reveal the city's whereabouts, but then the city vanishes from his dreams altogether. Undaunted, Carter resolves to beseech the gods in person at

Kadath The Dream Cycle is a series of short stories and novellas by author H. P. Lovecraft (1890–1937). Written between 1918 and 1932, they are about the "Dreamlands", a vast alternate dimension that can only be entered via dreams. Geography The D ...

, the mountain above which the gods of dream live. In dream, Carter consults priests in a temple that borders the Dreamlands. They tell Carter that nobody knows the location of Kadath, and warn him of great danger should he continue with his quest to reach the city and suggest that the gods purposefully stopped his visions. Carter's knowledge of Dreamlands customs and languages makes his quest comparatively less risky than if done by an amateur, but he must consult entities with a dangerous reputation. The Zoogs, a race of predatory rodents, direct him to Ulthar to find the priest Atal. In the cat-laden city of Ulthar, Atal mentions a huge mountainside carving of the gods' features. Carter realizes the gods' mortal descendants will share those features and presumably be near Kadath. While seeking passage there, Carter is kidnapped by turbaned slavers, who take him to the moon and deliver him to horrible moon-beasts, the servants of malevolent god Nyarlathotep. The cats of Ulthar, Carter's allies, rescue him and return him to a port city. After a long journey, Carter finds the carving, recognizing the visage of the gods in traders who dock at Celephaïs. Before he can act on his knowledge, faceless, winged creatures called nightgaunts capture him and leave him to die in the underworld. Friendly ghouls, including Carter's friend

Richard Pickman "Pickman's Model" is a short story by H. P. Lovecraft, written in September 1926 and first published in the October 1927 issue of '' Weird Tales''. It has been adapted for television anthology series twice: in a 1971 episode of '' Night Galler ...

, assist him in returning to the surface by sneaking through the terrible city of the man-eating Gugs. After assisting the cats in repelling a Zoog sneak attack, Carter buys passage to Celephaïs and learns from the sailors that the traders come from Inganok, a cold and dark land devoid of cats. Carter meets Celephaïs' king, his friend Kuranes, who became a permanent resident of the Dreamlands upon his death in the waking world. Longing for home, he has dreamed parts of his kingdom to resemble his native Cornwall. Kuranes knows the pitfalls of the Dreamlands well but fails to dissuade Carter from his quest. Under the pretense of wishing to work in its quarries, Carter boards a ship bound for Inganok. As they draw near, Carter spots a nameless island from which he hears strange howls. At a breathtaking summit near a quarry, Carter is captured by a merchant he had previously encountered. Monstrous birds fly them over the Plateau of Leng, a vast tableland populated by Pan-like horned humanoid beings. Carter is brought to a monastery inhabited by the dreaded High Priest Not to Be Described. There, Carter learns that the Men of Leng are the slavers who captured him, and had worn turbans to conceal their horns. He also learns that the nightgaunts do not serve Nyarlathotep, as is commonly supposed, but Nodens, and that even Earth's gods fear them. Carter recoils in horror as he realizes the masked high-priest's true identity. Carter flees through maze-like corridors, wandering through the monastery in pitch-black darkness until he chances on the exit. After rescuing several ghouls from Men of Leng, Carter and ghoul reinforcements attack a moon-beast outpost on the nameless rock. In a nearby city, Carter obtains the services of a flock of nightgaunts to transport himself and the ghouls to the gods' castle on Kadath. After a long flight, Carter arrives at Kadath but finds it empty. A great procession led by a pharaoh-like man arrives. The pharaoh reveals himself as Nyarlathotep and tells Carter that the city of his dreams is the childhood memories of his home city of Boston. The gods of earth have seen the city of Carter's dreams and made it their home, abandoning Kadath and their responsibilities. Impressed with Carter's resolve, Nyarlathotep grants Carter passage to the city to recall the gods of earth, but Carter realizes too late that the mocking Nyarlathotep has tricked him, and he is being taken to the court of

Azathoth Azathoth is a deity in the Cthulhu Mythos and Dream Cycle stories of writer H. P. Lovecraft and other authors. He is the ruler of the Outer Gods, and may be seen as a symbol for primordial chaos. H. P. Lovecraft Inspiration The first reco ...

at the center of the universe. At first believing he is doomed, Carter suddenly remembers that he is in a dream and wakes. Nyarlathotep broods over his defeat within the halls of Kadath, mocking in anger the "mild gods of earth" whom he has snatched back from the sunset city.

Characters

Lovecraft included elements and characters from previous stories, many of which had been influenced by

Lord Dunsany Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett, 18th Baron of Dunsany (; 24 July 1878 – 25 October 1957, usually Lord Dunsany) was an Anglo-Irish writer and dramatist. Over 90 volumes of fiction, essays, poems and plays appeared in his lifetime.Lanham, M ...

, in ''Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath'', though they are not always depicted consistently. *

has the ability to enter the Dreamlands, an alternate dimension accessible through dreams. He appears in several other Lovecraft stories: " The Statement of Randolph Carter", " The Unnamable", "

", and " Through the Gates of the Silver Key". He is modeled after the author himself and represents his philosophical views. * Richard Upton Pickman appears as a ghoul. The character first appeared in "

Pickman's Model "Pickman's Model" is a short story by H. P. Lovecraft, written in September 1926 and first published in the October 1927 issue of ''Weird Tales''. It has been adapted for television anthology series twice: in a 1971 episode of ''Night Gallery' ...

" (1927), in which he was still a living human artist. He is reported to have disappeared with his family's copy of the Necronomicon in 1926 in Lovecraft's short story " History of the Necronomicon". * The priest Atal appears as a boy and youth in two earlier tales, "

The Cats of Ulthar "The Cats of Ulthar" is a short story written by American fantasy author H. P. Lovecraft in June 1920. In the tale, an unnamed narrator relates the story of how a law forbidding the killing of cats came to be in a town called Ulthar. As the nar ...

" (1920) and " The Other Gods" (1933), respectively, which fully describe places and events alluded to in ''The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath''. * Nyarlathotep, the Crawling Chaos, is frequently mentioned in Lovecraft's

Cthulhu Mythos The Cthulhu Mythos is a mythopoeia and a shared fictional universe, originating in the works of American horror writer H. P. Lovecraft. The term was coined by August Derleth August William Derleth (February 24, 1909 – July 4, 1971) was an ...

tales, but his appearance here is the only time during which Nyarlathotep interacts meaningfully with any of Lovecraft's human characters. Nyarlathotep also appears in the sonnet cycle

Fungi from Yuggoth ''Fungi from Yuggoth'' is a sequence of 36 sonnets by cosmic horror writer H. P. Lovecraft. Most of the sonnets were written between 27 December 1929 – 4 January 1930; thereafter individual sonnets appeared in ''Weird Tales'' and other genr ...

. * Nodens (an

Elder God An elder is someone with a degree of seniority or authority. Elder or elders may refer to: Positions Administrative * Elder (administrative title), a position of authority Cultural * North American Indigenous elder, a person who has and tr ...

) is also described in "

The Strange High House in the Mist "The Strange High House in the Mist" is a short story by H. P. Lovecraft. Written on November 9, 1926, it was first published in the October 1931 issue of ''Weird Tales''. It concerns a character traveling to the titular house which is perched o ...

". Fritz Leiber wrote that the gods in Lovecraft's fiction are typically depicted as "either malevolent or, at best, cruelly indifferent". Nodens is an exception to this, which Leiber says could be an attempt to explain why the more malevolent gods have not overrun humanity. * Kuranes was introduced in the short story " Celephaïs" (1920), as a person who abandoned his earthly life in favor of the Dreamlands.

Inspiration

Like Lovecraft's novel fragment "

" (1922, published 1938), ''The Dream-Quest'' appears to have been influenced by ''

Vathek ''Vathek'' (alternatively titled ''Vathek, an Arabian Tale'' or ''The History of the Caliph Vathek'') is a Gothic novel written by William Beckford. It was composed in French beginning in 1782, and then translated into English by Reverend Sam ...

'', a 1786 novel by

William Thomas Beckford William Thomas Beckford (29 September 1760 – 2 May 1844) was an English novelist, art collector, patron of decorative art, critic, travel writer, plantation owner and for some time politician. He was reputed at one stage to be England's riches ...

that "is similarly an exotic fantasy written without chapter divisions". Critics such as

Will Murray William Murray (born 1953) is an American novelist, journalist, short story, and comic book writer. Much of his fiction has been published under pseudonyms. With artist Steve Ditko, he co-created the superhero Squirrel Girl. Biography Early ...

and David E. Schultz, in fact, have suggested that ''The Dream-Quest'' is in effect a second attempt at completing the abandoned novel ''Azathoth''. While the influence of the fantasies of

on Lovecraft's Dream Cycle is often mentioned, Robert M. Price argues that a more direct model for ''The Dream-Quest'' is provided by the six Mars ("

Barsoom Barsoom is a fictional representation of the planet Mars created by American pulp fiction author Edgar Rice Burroughs. The first Barsoom tale was serialized as ''Under the Moons of Mars'' in 1912 and published as a novel as ''A Princess of Mars' ...

") novels of

Edgar Rice Burroughs Edgar Rice Burroughs (September 1, 1875 – March 19, 1950) was an American author, best known for his prolific output in the adventure, science fiction, and fantasy genres. Best-known for creating the characters Tarzan and John Carter, he ...

that had been published by 1927. It's been noted, however, that there is little in common between John Carter, a classic action hero, outstanding warrior and rescuer of princesses, and Randolph Carter, a melancholy figure, quiet and contemplative, who never actually fights any of his enemies, is captured several times, and needs his friends to rescue him again and again. Elsewhere, Price maintains that

L. Frank Baum Lyman Frank Baum (; May 15, 1856 – May 6, 1919) was an American author best known for his children's books, particularly ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' and its sequels. He wrote 14 novels in the ''Oz'' series, plus 41 other novels (not includ ...

's '' The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' (1900) was also a significant influence on ''The Dream-Quest'', pointing out that in both books the main character chooses in the end to return "home" as the best place to be. ''

An H. P. Lovecraft Encyclopedia ''An H. P. Lovecraft Encyclopedia'' is a reference work written by S. T. Joshi and David E. Schultz. It covers the life and work of American horror fiction writer H. P. Lovecraft. First published in 2001 by Greenwood Publishing Group, it was reis ...

'' cites Nathaniel Hawthorne's '' The Marble Faun'' and " The Great Stone Face" as influences.

Reception

''The Dream-Quest'' has evoked a broad range of reactions, "some HPL enthusiasts finding it almost unreadable and others... comparing it to the ''

Alice Alice may refer to: * Alice (name), most often a feminine given name, but also used as a surname Literature * Alice (''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''), a character in books by Lewis Carroll * ''Alice'' series, children's and teen books by ...

'' books and the fantasies of George MacDonald." Joanna Russ referred to ''The Dream-Quest'' as "charming... but alas, never rewritten or polished". Lovecraft himself declared that "it isn't much good; but forms useful practice for later and more authentic attempts in the

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

form." He expressed concern while writing it that "Randolph Carter's adventures may have reached the point of palling on the reader; or that the very plethora of weird imagery may have destroyed the power of any one image to produce the desired impression of strangeness." In 1948,

Arthur C. Clarke Sir Arthur Charles Clarke (16 December 191719 March 2008) was an English science-fiction writer, science writer, futurist, inventor, undersea explorer, and television series host. He co-wrote the screenplay for the 1968 film '' 2001: A Spac ...

sent

a copy of '' The Arkham Sampler'' containing part of ''The Dream-Quest''. Dunsany responded: "I see Lovecraft borrowed my style, & I don't grudge it to him". Darrell Schweitzer, Review of Keith Allan Daniels, "Arthur C. Clarke & Lord Dunsany: A Correspondence by Keith Allen Daniels". ''Weird Tales'', DNA Publications, Fall 1998 (p. 9).

References

Sources

* * Lovecraft, Howard P. ''The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath'' (1926). In S. T. Joshi (ed.). ''At the Mountains of Madness and Other Novels'' (7th corrected printing). Sauk City, WI: Arkham House, 1985. . * Schweitzer, Darrell, ed. (2001). ''Discovering H. P. Lovecraft''. Holicong, PA: Wildside Press. .

External links

*
''Somnis Quaeritur Ignota Cadath'' (Latin Translation by Alexander Ricius)

''The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath'', animated by Hellbender Media
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dream-Quest Of Unknown Kadath 1943 American novels 1943 fantasy novels dark fantasy novels American horror novels American novellas American fantasy novels adapted into films Cthulhu Mythos novels Novels by H. P. Lovecraft Novels published posthumously Books about cats Novels about dreams Weird fiction novels Arkham House books