The first of Derleth's books posthumously based on short fragments by

The first of Derleth's books posthumously based on short fragments by Lovecraft, only 12, 000 of its 50, 000 words are original to the horror master's manuscripts, according to S. T. Joshi. First published by Arkham House in 1945 (eight years after Lovecraft's death) and considered the best of Derleth's Lovecraft pastiches by E. F. Bleiler, this later Ballantine mass-market edition features Cthulhuesque cover art by Murray Tinkelman that amalgamates the cosmic and the comic, as well as notably printed inner covers. Spine is tight, but has a lean and some creasing. Clean, unmarked interior. Some toning to the pages and a few small areas of rubbing, edge-wear, and creasing to the covers. 186 pp. Mass-Market Paperbacks.