The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath
Encyclopedia
The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath is a novella
by H. P. Lovecraft
. It was completed in 1927
and was unpublished in his lifetime. It is both the longest of the stories that comprise his Dream Cycle
and the longest to feature protagonist Randolph Carter
, and can thus be considered a culminating achievement 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
. Currently, it is published by Ballantine Books
in an anthology that also includes "The Silver Key
" and "Through the Gates of the Silver Key
." The definitive version, with corrected text by S. T. Joshi
, 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.
", The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath appears to have been influenced by Vathek
, a 1786 novel by William Thomas Beckford
that "is similarly an exotic fantasy written without chapter divisions". Critics like Will Murray
and David E. Schultz, in fact, have suggested that The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath is in effect a second attempt at completing the abandoned novel Azathoth.
While the influence of the fantasies of Lord Dunsany on Lovecraft's Dream Cycle
is often noted, Robert M. Price
argues that a more direct model for The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath is provided by the Mars
novels of Edgar Rice Burroughs
:
Price suggests that "Lovecraft's fighting ghouls correspond quite nicely to the Tharks of Barsoom
, [and] the canine Richard Pickman to Tars Tarkas
". In his view, the "villainous race of pirates who fly between the Dream-earth and the moon in aerial ships...are Lovecraft's analogues to Burroughs' race of airborne pirates, the First Born
or Black Martians."
Elsewhere, Price maintains that L. Frank Baum
's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
was also a significant influence on The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath, pointing out parallels between the two works:
An H. P. Lovecraft Encyclopedia
cites Nathaniel Hawthorne
's The Marble Faun
and "The Great Stone Face" as influences.
."
Lovecraft himself declared that "it isn't much good; but forms useful practice for later and more authentic attempts in the novel
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."
and meets the zoogs, a race of predatory and sentient rodents. For a novice, such an encounter could prove calamitous, but Carter is an experienced dreamer and so is knowledgeable of their language and customs. When Carter asks the zoogs about Kadath, they don't know where it is; instead, they suggest that Carter go the town of Ulthar
and find a wizened priest named Atal who is learned in the ways of the gods.
In the cat-laden city of Ulthar, Carter visits Atal, who mentions a huge carving wrought on Ngranek's hidden side that shows the features of the gods. Carter realizes that if he can go to Ngranek, examine the carving, and then find a place where mortals share those features and are thus related to the gods, he must be near Kadath.
to secure passage to Oriab
. Dylath-Leen is infamous for the black galleys that frequent its harbors. These galleys are steered by oarsmen who are never seen and crewed by turban
ed men that trade curious-looking rubies for slaves and gold
.
Randolph Carter's quest is interrupted when he is captured by the turbaned men and flown to the moon on one of their notorious black galleys. Once there, he learns that the turbaned men are slaves to the terrifying moon-beasts. A procession of moon-beasts and their slaves escort Carter across the moon to deliver him to the Crawling Chaos Nyarlathotep
(one of the Other Gods who rule space, in contrast to the Great Ones, the gods of earth). He is saved by the cats of Ulthar, who slay his captors and return Carter to earth's Dreamlands in the port of Dylath-Leen.
Carter boards a ship sailing to Baharna, a great seaport on the isle of Oriab. On the way to Oriab and while he travels across the island riding a zebra
, Carter hears dark whispers about the night-gaunts, though they are never properly described. Carter makes a treacherous climb across Ngranek and discovers the gigantic carving of the gods on its far side. He is surprised to see that the features match those of sailors who trade at the port of Celephaïs
, but before he can act on this knowledge, he is snatched away by the night-gaunts and left to die in the Vale of Pnath in the underworld
.
Carter is rescued by friendly ghouls, amongst them Richard Pickman, a friend of Carter's, the protagonist of another of Lovecraft's stories, Pickman's Model
and who is now also a ghoul, who agree to return him to the upper Dreamlands. They make their way to the terrible city of the gugs to reach the Tower of Koth, wherein a winding stairway leads to the surface. Finding the city asleep, Carter and the ghouls attempt to sneak past the snoring gugs. The ghasts
, the gugs' traditional enemies, begin an attack, but the group manages to ascend the stairway and open the great trapdoor to the Enchanted Wood.
Carter reaches the city of Thran and buys passage on a galleon
to Celephaïs. While en route, Carter asks the sailors about the men who trade in Celephaïs—the ones he believes to be kin to the gods. He learns that they are from the cold, dark land of Inquanok or Inganok and that few people dare to travel there. Even more ominous, there are no cats there. The plateau of Leng with its inhuman treacheries is too near.
In Celephaïs, Carter meets his old friend Kuranes
, the king of the city. Kuranes is an old dreamer whom Carter knew in the waking world, but when he died, he became a permanent resident of the Dreamlands. Longing for home, he has dreamed parts of his kingdom to resemble his native Cornwall
. Kuranes knows the pitfalls of the Dreamlands all too well and tries to dissuade Carter from his dangerous quest. Carter, however, will not be deterred.
. The trip to Inganok takes three weeks, but as they draw near, Carter spots a strange granite
island. When he inquires about the mysterious isle, the captain explains that it is the nameless rock, and it is best to not speak of it. That night, Carter hears strange howls from the nameless island.
When Carter arrives at Inganok, he purchases a yak
and heads northward, in the hope that past the onyx quarries he will find Kadath. Carter ascends a steep ridge beyond which nothing is visible but sky. At the summit, he looks out and gets a breathtaking view of a gargantuan quarry. Carter sets off toward this quarry, but his yak, spooked, abandons him.
Carter is captured by a slant-eyed man, whom he has met before among the merchants of Dylath-Leen. The slant-eyed man summons a shantak-bird
, which both ride over the Plateau of Leng, a vast tableland populated by Pan
-like beings. Arriving at a monastery
wherein dwells the dreaded High Priest Not to Be Described
, Carter now suspects that the slant-eyed man is yet another conspirator of the forces that seek to thwart his quest.
The slant-eyed man leads Carter through the monastery to a domed room with a circular well, which Carter speculates leads to the Vaults of Zin in the underworld. Herein, the high-priest, wearing a silken robe and a mask, is waiting. Carter learns that the Men of Leng are the same beings that conceal their horns under turbans and trade in Dylath-Leen. He also learns that the night-gaunts do not serve Nyarlathotep as is commonly supposed, but Nodens
, and that even Earth's Gods are afraid of them. It is never revealed to the reader who the high-priest in the silken mask is, but Carter recoils from him in such horror that it is possible that he is Nyarlathotep
. (The text suggests that the High-Priest is one of the Moon-Beasts.)
When the slant-eyed man is momentarily distracted, Carter pushes him into the well and escapes through the maze-like corridors. In pitch-black darkness, Carter wanders through the monastery, fearing he is being pursued by the High Priest Not to Be Described. At last reaching the outside, Carter realizes that he is in the ruins of ancient Sarkomand
, which lies near the coast.
Soon he encounters the ghouls that helped him earlier once more. The Men of Leng have taken them hostage on their ship, and they are to be taken to the nameless rock, revealed to be a moon-beast outpost. Carter summons the rest of the ghouls from the underworld and they take control of the galley. After releasing their kin, they sail on to the nameless rock and fight a pitched battle against the moon-beasts. Emerging victorious, and fearing the arrival of reinforcements, Carter and the ghouls return to Sarkomand. Once there, Carter obtains the services of a flock of night-gaunts to transport himself and the ghouls to the gods' castle on Kadath.
-like man who explains to Carter that the gods of earth have seen the city of Carter's dreams and decided to make it their home, and have thus abandoned Kadath. The gods walk no more in the ways of gods, and have become instead mere denizens of the jewelled city Carter had glimpsed in his dreams. The pharaoh commands Carter to find this city, so that the natural order might be restored. "It is not over unknown seas," he says, "but back over well-known years that your quest must go; back to the bright strange things of infancy and the quick sun-drenched glimpses of magic that old scenes brought to wide young eyes. For know you, that your gold and marble city of wonder is only the sum of what you have seen and loved in youth.... These things you saw, Randolph Carter, when your nurse first wheeled you out in the springtime, and they will be the last things you will ever see with eyes of memory and of love." This mysterious man then reveals his identity—he is Nyarlathotep
, the Crawling Chaos, the emissary of the Other Gods who dwell in the blackness of space.
Nyarlathotep sends Carter on a great Inganok shantak-bird through space to the sunset city. Unfortunately, Carter realizes too late that the mocking Nyarlathotep has tricked him, and that instead he is being taken to the court of Azathoth
at the center of the universe. At first believing he is doomed, Carter suddenly remembers that he is in a dream and saves himself by leaping from the great bird. As he falls, his thoughts turn toward New England
, and he wakes to find that he is at last in his marvelous sunset city; no longer in the Dreamlands but in his own room in the waking world of Boston, looking out upon its architectural graces, suffused in a splendid sunrise.
The final lines of the story find Nyarlathotep brooding 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.
The German prog rock
band Payne's Gray released a concept CD based on Dream-Quest, Kadath Decoded, in 1995.http://www.e-prog.net/bands/paynesgray.htm
A five-issue comic book adaptation drawn by Jason Thompson
was released from 1997 to 1999. http://www.sonic.net/~jason/dream/index.html
An animated feature
adaptation of the novel was released on October 11, 2003 at the H. P. Lovecraft Film Festival by Guerrilla Productions. The film was an effort by volunteers and Lovecraft fans from around the world and is currently available on DVD. The film uses artwork from Jason Thompson's comic series, as well as original artwork by Thompson.http://www.guerrilla-productions.org/Movie_Dreamquest.html
In 1970, after the success of The Dunwich Horror
, American International Pictures
announced they would make a version of the novel, as well as another version of The Color Out of Space which they had previously filmed in 1965 as Die, Monster, Die!
.
In the sixth season of Northern Exposure
, the main character of Joel Fleischman goes on a quest to find Alaska's "Lost Jewel City of the North", only to realize that it is his beloved hometown of New York.
There is a videogame for ZX-Spectrum Spectrum (computer) entitled The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath http://www.worldofspectrum.org/infoseekid.cgi?id=0021008.
Oxford artist Charles Cutting uses the plot of Lovecraft's novel as a basis for his web comic "The Dream Quest of Randolph Carter" which appears on The Illustrated Ape's website.
Novella
A novella is a written, fictional, prose narrative usually longer than a novelette but shorter than a novel. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Nebula Awards for science fiction define the novella as having a word count between 17,500 and 40,000...
by H. P. Lovecraft
H. P. Lovecraft
Howard Phillips Lovecraft --often credited as H.P. Lovecraft — was an American author of horror, fantasy and science fiction, especially the subgenre known as weird fiction....
. It was completed in 1927
1927 in literature
The year 1927 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Random House, book publishers, is founded in New York City by Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer.-New books:*James Boyd - Marching On...
and was unpublished in his lifetime. It is both the longest of the stories that comprise his Dream Cycle
Dream Cycle
The Dream Cycle refers to a series of stories by author H. P. Lovecraft. These stories concern themselves with "The Dreamlands": a vast, alternate dimension that can be entered via dreams.-Geography:The Dreamlands is apparently divided into four regions:...
and the longest to feature protagonist Randolph Carter
Randolph Carter
Randolph Carter is a recurring protagonist in H. P. Lovecraft'sfiction and a thinly disguised alter ego of Lovecraft himself. The first tale in which Carter appears--"The Statement of Randolph Carter" --is based on one of Lovecraft's dreams....
, and can thus be considered a culminating achievement 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
Arkham House
Arkham House is a publishing house specializing in weird fiction founded in Sauk City, Wisconsin in 1939 by August Derleth and Donald Wandrei to preserve in hardcover the best fiction of H.P. Lovecraft. The company's name is derived from Lovecraft's fictional New England city, Arkham. Arkham House...
in 1943
1943 in literature
The year 1943 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*George Orwell resigns from the BBC to become literary editor of Tribune.*Isaac Bashevis Singer becomes a naturalized citizen of the United States....
. Currently, it is published by Ballantine Books
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 AG in 1998 and remains part of that company today. Ballantine's logo is a...
in an anthology that also includes "The Silver Key
The Silver Key
"The Silver Key" is a short story written by H. P. Lovecraft in 1926, considered part of his Dreamlands series. It was first published in the January 1929 issue of Weird Tales. It was followed by a sequel, "Through the Gates of the Silver Key", co-written with E...
" and "Through the Gates of the Silver Key
Through the Gates of the Silver Key
"Through the Gates of the Silver Key" is a short story co-written by H. P. Lovecraft and E. Hoffmann Price between October 1932 and April 1933. A sequel to Lovecraft's "The Silver Key", and part of a sequence of stories focusing on Randolph Carter, it was first published in the July 1934 issue of...
." The definitive version, with corrected text by S. T. Joshi
S. T. Joshi
Sunand Tryambak Joshi — known as S. T. Joshi — is an award-winning Indian American literary critic, novelist, and a leading figure in the study of Howard Phillips Lovecraft and other authors of weird and fantastic fiction...
, 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.
Inspiration
Like Lovecraft's novel fragment "AzathothAzathoth (short story)
"Azathoth" is the beginning of a never-completed novel written by American horror fiction writer H. P. Lovecraft. It was written in June 1922 and published as a fragment in the journal Leaves in 1938, after Lovecraft's death...
", The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath appears to have been influenced by Vathek
Vathek
Vathek is a Gothic novel written by William Beckford...
, a 1786 novel by William Thomas Beckford
William Thomas Beckford
William Thomas Beckford , usually known as William Beckford, was an English novelist, a profligate and consummately knowledgeable art collector and patron of works of decorative art, a critic, travel writer and sometime politician, reputed to be the richest commoner in England...
that "is similarly an exotic fantasy written without chapter divisions". Critics like Will Murray
Will Murray (writer)
Will Murray is the author of more than fifty novels, a scholar of pulp fiction and a writer of numorous comic books. Much of his fiction has been published under pseudonyms.-Novels and magazines:...
and David E. Schultz, in fact, have suggested that The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath is in effect a second attempt at completing the abandoned novel Azathoth.
While the influence of the fantasies of Lord Dunsany on Lovecraft's Dream Cycle
Dream Cycle
The Dream Cycle refers to a series of stories by author H. P. Lovecraft. These stories concern themselves with "The Dreamlands": a vast, alternate dimension that can be entered via dreams.-Geography:The Dreamlands is apparently divided into four regions:...
is often noted, Robert M. Price
Robert M. Price
Robert McNair Price is an American theologian and writer. He teaches philosophy and religion at the Johnnie Colemon Theological Seminary, is professor of biblical criticism at the Center for Inquiry Institute, and the author of a number of books on theology and the historicity of Jesus, including...
argues that a more direct model for The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath is provided by the Mars
Barsoom
Barsoom is a fictional representation of the planet Mars created by American pulp fiction author Edgar Rice Burroughs, who wrote close to 100 action adventure stories in various genres in the first half of the 20th century, and is now best known as the creator of the character Tarzan...
novels of Edgar Rice Burroughs
Edgar Rice Burroughs
Edgar Rice Burroughs was an American author, best known for his creation of the jungle hero Tarzan and the heroic Mars adventurer John Carter, although he produced works in many genres.-Biography:...
:
In Lovecraft's novella, the traditional Dunsanianism of his Dreamlands fantasies serves only as background, mere landscape. The action and the plot are essentially Burroughs. In this book, what is Randolph CarterRandolph CarterRandolph Carter is a recurring protagonist in H. P. Lovecraft'sfiction and a thinly disguised alter ego of Lovecraft himself. The first tale in which Carter appears--"The Statement of Randolph Carter" --is based on one of Lovecraft's dreams....
but an otherworldly interloper who arrives on the scene in an extramundane world not as a cowed outsider, but rather as a bold adventurer who loses no time in establishing himself at the head of a force of strange alien races whom he enlists in a crusade against evil forces threatening his own happiness.
Price suggests that "Lovecraft's fighting ghouls correspond quite nicely to the Tharks of Barsoom
Barsoom
Barsoom is a fictional representation of the planet Mars created by American pulp fiction author Edgar Rice Burroughs, who wrote close to 100 action adventure stories in various genres in the first half of the 20th century, and is now best known as the creator of the character Tarzan...
, [and] the canine Richard Pickman to Tars Tarkas
Tars Tarkas
Tars Tarkas is a fictional character in Edgar Rice Burroughs' Barsoom series. Though a great warrior and leader among his people he possesses a sense of compassion and empathy uncharacteristic of his race...
". In his view, the "villainous race of pirates who fly between the Dream-earth and the moon in aerial ships...are Lovecraft's analogues to Burroughs' race of airborne pirates, the First Born
The Gods of Mars
The Gods of Mars is a 1918 Edgar Rice Burroughs science fiction novel, the second of his famous Barsoom series. It was first published in All-Story as a five-part serial in the issues for January-May 1913. It was later published as a complete novel by A. C...
or Black Martians."
Elsewhere, Price maintains that L. Frank Baum
L. Frank Baum
Lyman Frank Baum was an American author of children's books, best known for writing The Wonderful Wizard of Oz...
's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a children's novel written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow. Originally published by the George M. Hill Company in Chicago on May 17, 1900, it has since been reprinted numerous times, most often under the name The Wizard of Oz, which is the name of...
was also a significant influence on The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath, pointing out parallels between the two works:
Carter tries to reach his thrice-glimpsed Sunset City, just as Dorothy tries to reach the Emerald CityEmerald CityThe Emerald City is the fictional capital city of the Land of Oz in L. Frank Baum's Oz books, first described in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz...
. Both make the acquaintance of various tribes of wondrous creatures along the way. The zoogs might even be viewed as Lovecraft's MunchkinMunchkinThe Munchkins are the natives of the fictional Munchkin Country in the Oz books by L. Frank Baum. They first appeared in the 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, in which they are described as being somewhat short of stature, and wear only blue...
s. And in both cases there is a final scene of revelation in which the protagonist is informed that the ethereal object of his/her quest is in reality just the dream-version of the familiar and beloved homestead back in the waking world, to which the hero/ine at once returns. GlindaGlindaGlinda is a fictional character in the Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum. She is the most powerful sorceress of Oz, ruler of the Quadling Country south of the Emerald City, and protector of Princess Ozma.- Literature :Baum's 1900 children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz...
or NyarlathotepNyarlathotepNyarlathotep, also known as the Crawling Chaos, is a malign deity in the Cthulhu Mythos fictional universe created by H. P. Lovecraft. First appearing in Lovecraft's 1920 prose poem of the same name, he was later mentioned in other works by Lovecraft and by other writers and in the tabletop...
, what's the difference?
An H. P. Lovecraft Encyclopedia
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...
cites Nathaniel Hawthorne
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Nathaniel Hawthorne was an American novelist and short story writer.Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in 1804 in the city of Salem, Massachusetts to Nathaniel Hathorne and the former Elizabeth Clarke Manning. His ancestors include John Hathorne, a judge during the Salem Witch Trials...
's The Marble Faun
The Marble Faun
The Marble Faun: Or, The Romance of Monte Beni, also known as Transformation, was the last of the four major romances by Nathaniel Hawthorne, and was published in 1860. The Marble Faun, written on the eve of the American Civil War, is set in a fantastical Italy...
and "The Great Stone Face" as influences.
Reaction
The Dream-Quest has evoked a broad range of reactions, "some HPL enthusiasts finding it almost unreadable and others...comparing it to the Alice books and the fantasies of George MacDonaldGeorge MacDonald
George MacDonald was a Scottish author, poet, and Christian minister.Known particularly for his poignant fairy tales and fantasy novels, George MacDonald inspired many authors, such as W. H. Auden, J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, E. Nesbit and Madeleine L'Engle. It was C.S...
."
Lovecraft himself declared that "it isn't much good; but forms useful practice for later and more authentic attempts in the novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
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."
Plot summary
Randolph Carter dreams three times of a majestic sunset city, but each time he is abruptly snatched away before he can see it up close. When he prays to the gods of dream to reveal the whereabouts of the phantasmal city, they do not answer, and his dreams of the city stop altogether. Undaunted, Carter resolves to go to Kadath, where the gods live, to beseech them in person. However, no one has ever been to Kadath and none even knows how to get there. In dream, Randolph Carter descends "the seventy steps to the cavern of flame" and speaks of his plan to the priests Nasht and Kaman-Thah, whose temple borders the Dreamlands. The priests warn Carter of the great danger of his quest and suggest that the gods withdrew his vision of the city on purpose.The quest begins
Carter enters the Enchanted WoodThe Enchanted Wood (H. P. Lovecraft)
The Enchanted Wood is a fictional place in H. P. Lovecraft's Dream Cycle and is located in the Dreamlands. Its main inhabitants are the zoogs. A unique, haunted tree grows in this forest whose seed originally came from the moon. This tree's sap can be fermented to create a potent drink...
and meets the zoogs, a race of predatory and sentient rodents. For a novice, such an encounter could prove calamitous, but Carter is an experienced dreamer and so is knowledgeable of their language and customs. When Carter asks the zoogs about Kadath, they don't know where it is; instead, they suggest that Carter go the town of Ulthar
Ulthar
Ulthar is both a fictional town and a fictional deity. The town of Ulthar is part of H. P. Lovecraft's Dream Cycle, appearing in such stories as The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath , "The Cats of Ulthar" and "The Other Gods" .-Town:...
and find a wizened priest named Atal who is learned in the ways of the gods.
In the cat-laden city of Ulthar, Carter visits Atal, who mentions a huge carving wrought on Ngranek's hidden side that shows the features of the gods. Carter realizes that if he can go to Ngranek, examine the carving, and then find a place where mortals share those features and are thus related to the gods, he must be near Kadath.
Voyage to Oriab Isle
Carter goes to Dylath-LeenDylath-Leen
Dylath-Leen is a fictional city in H. P. Lovecraft's Dream Cycle and appears in The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath and the Brian Lumley short story Dylath-Leen....
to secure passage to Oriab
Oriab
Oriab is a fictional location in H. P. Lovecraft's Dreamlands. It is a large island in the Southern Sea and is lush and fertile. Its most prominent landmark is the tall, snow-capped mountain Ngranek. It is home to the magah birds that nest in its resin trees.- Baharna :Baharna is a major seaport...
. Dylath-Leen is infamous for the black galleys that frequent its harbors. These galleys are steered by oarsmen who are never seen and crewed by turban
Turban
In English, Turban refers to several types of headwear popularly worn in the Middle East, North Africa, Punjab, Jamaica and Southwest Asia. A commonly used synonym is Pagri, the Indian word for turban.-Styles:...
ed men that trade curious-looking rubies for slaves and gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
.
Randolph Carter's quest is interrupted when he is captured by the turbaned men and flown to the moon on one of their notorious black galleys. Once there, he learns that the turbaned men are slaves to the terrifying moon-beasts. A procession of moon-beasts and their slaves escort Carter across the moon to deliver him to the Crawling Chaos Nyarlathotep
Nyarlathotep
Nyarlathotep, also known as the Crawling Chaos, is a malign deity in the Cthulhu Mythos fictional universe created by H. P. Lovecraft. First appearing in Lovecraft's 1920 prose poem of the same name, he was later mentioned in other works by Lovecraft and by other writers and in the tabletop...
(one of the Other Gods who rule space, in contrast to the Great Ones, the gods of earth). He is saved by the cats of Ulthar, who slay his captors and return Carter to earth's Dreamlands in the port of Dylath-Leen.
Carter boards a ship sailing to Baharna, a great seaport on the isle of Oriab. On the way to Oriab and while he travels across the island riding a zebra
Zebra
Zebras are several species of African equids united by their distinctive black and white stripes. Their stripes come in different patterns unique to each individual. They are generally social animals that live in small harems to large herds...
, Carter hears dark whispers about the night-gaunts, though they are never properly described. Carter makes a treacherous climb across Ngranek and discovers the gigantic carving of the gods on its far side. He is surprised to see that the features match those of sailors who trade at the port of Celephaïs
Celephaïs
"Celephaïs" is a fantasy story by American horror fiction writer H. P. Lovecraft, written in early November 1920 and first published in the May 1922 issue of the Rainbow.The title refers to a fictional city that later appears in H. P...
, but before he can act on this knowledge, he is snatched away by the night-gaunts and left to die in the Vale of Pnath in the underworld
Underworld (Dreamlands)
The underworld is a fictional location in the Dream Cycle of H. P. Lovecraft. It is described in detail in Lovecraft's novella The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath ....
.
Carter is rescued by friendly ghouls, amongst them Richard Pickman, a friend of Carter's, the protagonist of another of Lovecraft's stories, Pickman's Model
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...
and who is now also a ghoul, who agree to return him to the upper Dreamlands. They make their way to the terrible city of the gugs to reach the Tower of Koth, wherein a winding stairway leads to the surface. Finding the city asleep, Carter and the ghouls attempt to sneak past the snoring gugs. The ghasts
Underworld (Dreamlands)
The underworld is a fictional location in the Dream Cycle of H. P. Lovecraft. It is described in detail in Lovecraft's novella The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath ....
, the gugs' traditional enemies, begin an attack, but the group manages to ascend the stairway and open the great trapdoor to the Enchanted Wood.
Journey to Celephaïs
Here Carter comes upon a gathering of zoogs and finds that they plan to make war on the cats of Ulthar. Not wanting to see his friends harmed, Carter warns the cats, enabling them to launch a surprise attack on the zoogs. After a brief skirmish, the zoogs are defeated. To abate further hostilities, the zoogs agree to a new treaty with the cats of Ulthar.Carter reaches the city of Thran and buys passage on a galleon
Galleon
A galleon was a large, multi-decked sailing ship used primarily by European states from the 16th to 18th centuries. Whether used for war or commerce, they were generally armed with the demi-culverin type of cannon.-Etymology:...
to Celephaïs. While en route, Carter asks the sailors about the men who trade in Celephaïs—the ones he believes to be kin to the gods. He learns that they are from the cold, dark land of Inquanok or Inganok and that few people dare to travel there. Even more ominous, there are no cats there. The plateau of Leng with its inhuman treacheries is too near.
In Celephaïs, Carter meets his old friend Kuranes
Kuranes
Kuranes is a fictional character in H. P. Lovecraft's Dream Cycle. He was introduced in the short story "Celephaïs" and also appeared in The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath ....
, the king of the city. Kuranes is an old dreamer whom Carter knew in the waking world, but when he died, he became a permanent resident of the Dreamlands. Longing for home, he has dreamed parts of his kingdom to resemble his native Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
. Kuranes knows the pitfalls of the Dreamlands all too well and tries to dissuade Carter from his dangerous quest. Carter, however, will not be deterred.
Trek into the Cold Waste
Under the pretense of wishing to work in its quarries, Carter boards a ship bound for Inganok, a nation built of onyxOnyx
Onyx is a banded variety of chalcedony. The colors of its bands range from white to almost every color . Commonly, specimens of onyx contain bands of black and/or white.-Etymology:...
. The trip to Inganok takes three weeks, but as they draw near, Carter spots a strange granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
island. When he inquires about the mysterious isle, the captain explains that it is the nameless rock, and it is best to not speak of it. That night, Carter hears strange howls from the nameless island.
When Carter arrives at Inganok, he purchases a yak
Yak
The yak, Bos grunniens or Bos mutus, is a long-haired bovine found throughout the Himalayan region of south Central Asia, the Tibetan Plateau and as far north as Mongolia and Russia. In addition to a large domestic population, there is a small, vulnerable wild yak population...
and heads northward, in the hope that past the onyx quarries he will find Kadath. Carter ascends a steep ridge beyond which nothing is visible but sky. At the summit, he looks out and gets a breathtaking view of a gargantuan quarry. Carter sets off toward this quarry, but his yak, spooked, abandons him.
Carter is captured by a slant-eyed man, whom he has met before among the merchants of Dylath-Leen. The slant-eyed man summons a shantak-bird
Shantak
A shantak is a fictional creature in the writings of H. P. Lovecraft. It is also part of the Cthulhu Mythos. The creature first appeared in Lovecraft's novella The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath .-Description:...
, which both ride over the Plateau of Leng, a vast tableland populated by Pan
Pan (mythology)
Pan , in Greek religion and mythology, is the god of the wild, shepherds and flocks, nature, of mountain wilds, hunting and rustic music, as well as the companion of the nymphs. His name originates within the Greek language, from the word paein , meaning "to pasture." He has the hindquarters, legs,...
-like beings. Arriving at a monastery
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
wherein dwells the dreaded High Priest Not to Be Described
High Priest Not to Be Described
The High Priest Not to Be Described is a fictional character in H. P. Lovecraft's Dream Cycle. He first appeared in the Lovecraft short story "Celephaïs" .-Summary:...
, Carter now suspects that the slant-eyed man is yet another conspirator of the forces that seek to thwart his quest.
The slant-eyed man leads Carter through the monastery to a domed room with a circular well, which Carter speculates leads to the Vaults of Zin in the underworld. Herein, the high-priest, wearing a silken robe and a mask, is waiting. Carter learns that the Men of Leng are the same beings that conceal their horns under turbans and trade in Dylath-Leen. He also learns that the night-gaunts do not serve Nyarlathotep as is commonly supposed, but Nodens
Nodens (Cthulhu Mythos)
Nodens is a fictional character in the Cthulhu Mythos. Based on the Celtic deity, Nodens, is the creation of H. P...
, and that even Earth's Gods are afraid of them. It is never revealed to the reader who the high-priest in the silken mask is, but Carter recoils from him in such horror that it is possible that he is Nyarlathotep
Nyarlathotep
Nyarlathotep, also known as the Crawling Chaos, is a malign deity in the Cthulhu Mythos fictional universe created by H. P. Lovecraft. First appearing in Lovecraft's 1920 prose poem of the same name, he was later mentioned in other works by Lovecraft and by other writers and in the tabletop...
. (The text suggests that the High-Priest is one of the Moon-Beasts.)
When the slant-eyed man is momentarily distracted, Carter pushes him into the well and escapes through the maze-like corridors. In pitch-black darkness, Carter wanders through the monastery, fearing he is being pursued by the High Priest Not to Be Described. At last reaching the outside, Carter realizes that he is in the ruins of ancient Sarkomand
Sarkomand
Sarkomand is a fictional city in H.P. Lovecraft's Dream Cycle stories, first mentioned in The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath.A ruined city on the northern shore of the Cerenerian Sea in the Dreamlands, it is described as being inhabited by the Men of Leng and was supposedly the capital of this...
, which lies near the coast.
Soon he encounters the ghouls that helped him earlier once more. The Men of Leng have taken them hostage on their ship, and they are to be taken to the nameless rock, revealed to be a moon-beast outpost. Carter summons the rest of the ghouls from the underworld and they take control of the galley. After releasing their kin, they sail on to the nameless rock and fight a pitched battle against the moon-beasts. Emerging victorious, and fearing the arrival of reinforcements, Carter and the ghouls return to Sarkomand. Once there, Carter obtains the services of a flock of night-gaunts to transport himself and the ghouls to the gods' castle on Kadath.
Conclusion
After an exhilarating flight, Carter arrives at last at the abode of the gods, but finds it empty. Finally a great procession arrives with much fanfare, led by a pharaohPharaoh
Pharaoh is a title used in many modern discussions of the ancient Egyptian rulers of all periods. The title originates in the term "pr-aa" which means "great house" and describes the royal palace...
-like man who explains to Carter that the gods of earth have seen the city of Carter's dreams and decided to make it their home, and have thus abandoned Kadath. The gods walk no more in the ways of gods, and have become instead mere denizens of the jewelled city Carter had glimpsed in his dreams. The pharaoh commands Carter to find this city, so that the natural order might be restored. "It is not over unknown seas," he says, "but back over well-known years that your quest must go; back to the bright strange things of infancy and the quick sun-drenched glimpses of magic that old scenes brought to wide young eyes. For know you, that your gold and marble city of wonder is only the sum of what you have seen and loved in youth.... These things you saw, Randolph Carter, when your nurse first wheeled you out in the springtime, and they will be the last things you will ever see with eyes of memory and of love." This mysterious man then reveals his identity—he is Nyarlathotep
Nyarlathotep
Nyarlathotep, also known as the Crawling Chaos, is a malign deity in the Cthulhu Mythos fictional universe created by H. P. Lovecraft. First appearing in Lovecraft's 1920 prose poem of the same name, he was later mentioned in other works by Lovecraft and by other writers and in the tabletop...
, the Crawling Chaos, the emissary of the Other Gods who dwell in the blackness of space.
Nyarlathotep sends Carter on a great Inganok shantak-bird through space to the sunset city. Unfortunately, Carter realizes too late that the mocking Nyarlathotep has tricked him, and that instead he is being taken to the court of Azathoth
Azathoth
Azathoth is a deity in the Cthulhu Mythos and Dream Cycle stories of H. P. Lovecraft and other authors. Its epithets include Nuclear Chaos, the Daemon Sultan and the Blind Idiot God.-Inspiration:...
at the center of the universe. At first believing he is doomed, Carter suddenly remembers that he is in a dream and saves himself by leaping from the great bird. As he falls, his thoughts turn toward New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
, and he wakes to find that he is at last in his marvelous sunset city; no longer in the Dreamlands but in his own room in the waking world of Boston, looking out upon its architectural graces, suffused in a splendid sunrise.
The final lines of the story find Nyarlathotep brooding 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.
Connections to other Lovecraft tales
- The ghoul Richard Upton Pickman first appeared in "Pickman's ModelPickman'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...
" (19271927 in literatureThe year 1927 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Random House, book publishers, is founded in New York City by Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer.-New books:*James Boyd - Marching On...
) in which he is still human and painting nightmare creatures he calls forth as models. - The priest Atal appears as a boy and youth in two earlier tales, "The Cats of UltharThe 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 narrative goes, the city is home to an old couple who...
" (19201920 in literatureThe year 1920 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Agatha Christie publishes her first novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, introducing the long-running character detective, Hercule Poirot....
) and "The Other GodsThe Other Gods"The Other Gods" is a short story written by American horror writer H. P. Lovecraft on August 14, 1921. It was first published in the November 1933 issue of The Fantasy Fan.-Synopsis:...
" (19331933 in literatureThe year 1933 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* February 17 - The magazine Newsweek is published for the first time.* James Joyce's Ulysses is allowed into United States.-New books:...
), respectively, which fully describe events alluded to in The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath. - NyarlathotepNyarlathotepNyarlathotep, also known as the Crawling Chaos, is a malign deity in the Cthulhu Mythos fictional universe created by H. P. Lovecraft. First appearing in Lovecraft's 1920 prose poem of the same name, he was later mentioned in other works by Lovecraft and by other writers and in the tabletop...
, the Crawling Chaos, is frequently mentioned in Lovecraft's Cthulhu MythosCthulhu MythosThe Cthulhu Mythos is a shared fictional universe, based on the work of American horror writer H. P. Lovecraft.The term was first coined by August Derleth, a contemporary correspondent of Lovecraft, who used the name of the creature Cthulhu - a central figure in Lovecraft literature and the focus...
tales, but his appearance here is the only time he interacts meaningfully with any of Lovecraft's characters. - Nyarlathotep also appears in the sonnet cycle Fungi from YuggothFungi from YuggothFungi 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 genre magazines...
. - KuranesKuranesKuranes is a fictional character in H. P. Lovecraft's Dream Cycle. He was introduced in the short story "Celephaïs" and also appeared in The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath ....
was introduced in the short story "CelephaïsCelephaïs"Celephaïs" is a fantasy story by American horror fiction writer H. P. Lovecraft, written in early November 1920 and first published in the May 1922 issue of the Rainbow.The title refers to a fictional city that later appears in H. P...
" (19201920 in literatureThe year 1920 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Agatha Christie publishes her first novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, introducing the long-running character detective, Hercule Poirot....
), as a person who abandoned his earthly life in favor of the Dreamlands. - Carter alludes to the travels of the lighthouse keeper and main character of The White ShipThe White Ship"The White Ship" is a short story written by science fiction and horror writer H. P. Lovecraft. It was first published in The United Amateur #2, November 1919....
. - LengLengLeng is a fictional cold arid plateau in the Cthulhu Mythos, whose location seems to vary entirely from story to story. The Plateau of Tsang, referenced by H. P...
is referenced in several other of Lovecraft's works, including The HoundThe HoundThis page deals with the H. P. Lovecraft short story. For the character from George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire, see Sandor Clegane"The Hound" is a short story written by H. P. Lovecraft in September 1922 and published in the February 1924 issue of Weird Tales...
and At the Mountains of MadnessAt the Mountains of MadnessAt the Mountains of Madness is a novella by horror writer H. P. Lovecraft, written in February/March 1931 and rejected that year by Weird Tales editor Farnsworth Wright on the grounds of its length. It was originally serialized in the February, March and April 1936 issues of Astounding Stories...
, although its location differs in each instance. - Kadath is mentioned by name in the quote from the extended quote from the NecronomiconNecronomiconThe Necronomicon is a fictional grimoire appearing in the stories by horror writer H. P. Lovecraft and his followers. It was first mentioned in Lovecraft's 1924 short story "The Hound", written in 1922, though its purported author, the "Mad Arab" Abdul Alhazred, had been quoted a year earlier in...
in The Dunwich HorrorThe Dunwich Horror"The Dunwich Horror" is a short story by H. P. Lovecraft. Written in 1928, it was first published in the April 1929 issue of Weird Tales . It takes place in Dunwich, a fictional town in Massachusetts...
. Kadath is also briefly mentioned in At the Mountains of MadnessAt the Mountains of MadnessAt the Mountains of Madness is a novella by horror writer H. P. Lovecraft, written in February/March 1931 and rejected that year by Weird Tales editor Farnsworth Wright on the grounds of its length. It was originally serialized in the February, March and April 1936 issues of Astounding Stories...
.
- Although not a Lovecraft tale, Allan and the Sundered VeilAllan and the Sundered VeilAllan and the Sundered Veil was a six-part story written in the style of a boy's periodical by Alan Moore and illustrated by Kevin O'Neill, included at the back of each issue of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume I and collected at the back of that volume...
, by Alan MooreAlan MooreAlan Oswald Moore is an English writer primarily known for his work in comic books, a medium where he has produced a number of critically acclaimed and popular series, including Watchmen, V for Vendetta, and From Hell...
and Kevin O'NeillKevin O'Neill (comics)Kevin O'Neill is an English comic book illustrator best known as the co-creator of Nemesis the Warlock, Marshal Law , and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen .-Early career:...
, apparently takes place during this story (at least for Randolph Carter's personal chronology).
Adaptations
Cyoakha Grace O'Manion, San Francisco avant-garde composer, released in 2004 a concept album/original soundtrack to the feature film, including extended tracks and additional music from the film, called Unknown Music from Dream Quest of Kadath. http://cdbaby.com/cd/cyoakha Read a review at The Thunder Child. Another concept album was created by XCross. Read a review at: XCross.The German prog rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
band Payne's Gray released a concept CD based on Dream-Quest, Kadath Decoded, in 1995.http://www.e-prog.net/bands/paynesgray.htm
A five-issue comic book adaptation drawn by Jason Thompson
Jason Thompson (writer)
Jason Thompson is a manga critic, journalist, writer and comics artist.-Life and career:...
was released from 1997 to 1999. http://www.sonic.net/~jason/dream/index.html
An animated feature
Feature film
In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...
adaptation of the novel was released on October 11, 2003 at the H. P. Lovecraft Film Festival by Guerrilla Productions. The film was an effort by volunteers and Lovecraft fans from around the world and is currently available on DVD. The film uses artwork from Jason Thompson's comic series, as well as original artwork by Thompson.http://www.guerrilla-productions.org/Movie_Dreamquest.html
In 1970, after the success of The Dunwich Horror
The Dunwich Horror
"The Dunwich Horror" is a short story by H. P. Lovecraft. Written in 1928, it was first published in the April 1929 issue of Weird Tales . It takes place in Dunwich, a fictional town in Massachusetts...
, American International Pictures
American International Pictures
American International Pictures was a film production company formed in April 1956 from American Releasing Corporation by James H. Nicholson, former Sales Manager of Realart Pictures, and Samuel Z. Arkoff, an entertainment lawyer...
announced they would make a version of the novel, as well as another version of The Color Out of Space which they had previously filmed in 1965 as Die, Monster, Die!
Die, Monster, Die!
Die, Monster, Die! is a 1965 horror film directed by Daniel Haller. The film is a loose adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft's story The Colour Out of Space. The story is about an American scientist who pays a visit to the estate of his fiancée's family...
.
In the sixth season of Northern Exposure
Northern Exposure
Northern Exposure is an American television series that ran on CBS from 1990 to 1995, with a total of 110 episodes.-Overview:The series was given a pair of consecutive Peabody Awards: in 1991–92 for the show's "depict[ion] in a comedic and often poetic way, [of] the cultural clash between a...
, the main character of Joel Fleischman goes on a quest to find Alaska's "Lost Jewel City of the North", only to realize that it is his beloved hometown of New York.
There is a videogame for ZX-Spectrum Spectrum (computer) entitled The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath http://www.worldofspectrum.org/infoseekid.cgi?id=0021008.
Oxford artist Charles Cutting uses the plot of Lovecraft's novel as a basis for his web comic "The Dream Quest of Randolph Carter" which appears on The Illustrated Ape's website.