Cthulu
on your phone.
Ebooks
are great, as are the eReaders we read them on, but they hardly take
advantage of the technology via which they are conveyed. That is why
we were so excited to hear about the iClassics range of interactive
reading apps for iOS and Android, which let readers young and old
enjoy classic fiction in a more hands-on way. Fans of the dark arts,
we checked out the iLovecraft app.
For
those unfamiliar with his works (for shame!), H.P. Lovecraft created
dark and foreboding tales of terror and menace, often featuring
other-worldly Gods and monsters. Best read in the dark, alone,
Lovecraft's stories and novels lend themselves to illustration, which
the iLovecraft app really takes advantage of.
Starting
more like a film than a book, the app is fully animated with a
haunting soundtrack playing throughout. Just as with standard reading
apps, you physically flick the screen to turn each page, but also
have the option of manipulating other things in the story. You can
rattle bones and skulls as they hang by the on-screen text, as well
as turn on lights and even slowly open a coffin. The app includes the
tales The Hound, Dagon, and The Window, as well as a Lovecraft
biography and a sketchbook by the artist.
The
words drip onto the screen and change colour throughout, with the
music and sound effects taking the reader by surprise with screams
and crashes, moans and growls. The app recommends you read the story
with headphones on, and doing so very much enhances the experience.
Just be warned; you will be startled.
If
the intention will all this hard work is to get more kids reading, we
think iClassics have truly cracked it. Younger people are more
accustomed to interacting with media on their phones and tablets in
this way, so a story – a 'classic', no less – that uses all the
technological capabilities of the device is sure to be winner.
The
range also features apps with the works of Edgar Allan Poe, Charles
Dickens, Oscar Wilde, Arthur Conan Doyle, and Jack London.
£2.99
each.