Shadow over Innsmouth

Something that irks me with a lot of popular fiction is the decline of storytelling within the story itself. I feel that a lot of writers, some of my favorites included, are hesitant with having major chunks of plot told through the lips of unreliable characters. Instead, we get a very algebraic plot formula in popular lit where the author is the one who shows the reader the story from A to B.
This is embarrassing to admit, but I’ve read more adaptations to Lovecraft’s work then I’ve actually read of his original work. Neil Gaiman’s short story, Bay Wolf, is probably one of my favorites. However, from The Call of Cthulhu to some of his lesser known works, I’ve seen Lovecraft show his readers the Shoggoth demons through the words of a old ship captains. The Shadow over Innsmouth, which I finished earlier today, is a good example of this. The protagonist is told the secrets history of the town by Zadok, a man who’s mouth is only moved for booze, and whether or not you can take this for truth is questionable until the narrator gets chased out of the hotel. I find this style refreshing.

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