To the surprise of the narrator, the ramshackle house isn't quite as empty as it first seemed. It is a dwelling of an ancient-looking man, speaking with a Yankee dialect long since lost. To the horror of the cyclist, it is revealed, that the old man is quite excited about the cannibalism the book depicts. This penchant is underlined even further when the young man notices a dripping of blood seeping through the ceiling. But before anything further happens, a freak thunderbolt destroys the house, killing the old man.
The story itself is rather short, which probably is the reason why it comes out as overly melodramatic. Lovecraft was never a stranger in using melodramatic elements in his stories, but here it feels more like a crutch he uses to end the story after losing interest in taking it further. As a whole, the story isn't strong, despite the idea of it has some intrigue.
Ex Oblivione (1921) The prose poem explores the themes of dreams and dying being parallel. An unnamed narrator describes, how in his dreams at the final stretches of his existence, a papyrus he finds from a dream city of Zakarion teaches him the method of passing through huge brass gates the city holds. What is presumably his final night upon Earth, the narrator takes a drug, which allows him to swing the gates open, only to find a vastness of the white void.
Lovecraft always was on his strongest with these short prose poems. The style was a good match to his skills and interests as a writer and allowed him to dwell on his ideas in a manner that didn't always work well with his short stories.
This poem was apparently inspired by a philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer, whom Lovecraft read. The concept of the narrator finding happiness from the void, as in nothing there is nothing you wish for, was a sentiment Lovecraft seemingly found somewhat soothing.
The Nameless City (1921) Out of the stories presented here, the Nameless City might be the most important one, as it is the first story to be considered as a part of his Cthulhu Mythos. Before this, he had explored some themes of the setting and some of the characters in it had been presented earlier, this is where it all begins to come together.
In the Arabian peninsula, an unnamed protagonist is looking for a fabled lost city. After finding it, he discovers dwellings and temples not fit for humans. As he descends further, he sees a bright light emanating from some distant, unknown source. When he finally finds the source of light, just before it is blown out by the wind, the protagonist sees a glimpse of horrifying, crocodile and seal infused beings. Then there's nothing else but darkness.
Lovecraft himself liked the story quite a bit, but critics have been less kind to it. Lin Carter, for example, claimed the story as overwritten and overly dramatic and wasn't a fan of Lovecraft describing the mood of terror rather than creating a mood for the readers to imagine it themselves.
Personally, I find it a good story. While I do agree it is a tad overly (melo)dramatic, which isn't really a surprising feature for Lovecraft, it is a better tale than what Carter gives it credit for. And not only because of the many important building blocks it has in consideration of Cthulhu Mythos. Lovecraft has used melodrama in a worse fashion, here it feels more fitting.
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