Lamentations of the Flame Princess (LotFP) is the work of James Edward Raggi IV. It is a thin volume of Rules & Magic based on the open source game license and falls generally into the old school renaissance family of products. Mr. Raggi's unique take seems to be the "weird" as is in evidence by the cover and 18+ content warning. The hard cover Player Core Book pictured above is the latest iteration of LotFP having a 2013 copyright. There were two previous boxed editions of the game which come with additional referee material.
A few years ago when I was first discovering the OSR (Old School Renaissance), I purchased and read some of the cornerstone publications of the sub-genre, OSRIC (Old School Reference and Index Compilation), Basic Fantasy, Labyrinth Lord, Dark Dungeons and Swords & Wizardry, to name a few. All are variations on the older out-of-print versions of the world's most popular game editions. LotFP is closely related to those other products, but with the "weird" twist that makes the game a bit darker and more horrific. The rules themselves give some of this weird flavor, but it is in the artwork (cover above), many pieces featuring the signature flame haired princess, and early adventure modules that the weird mood is most evident.
In terms of system, LotFP clings most closely to Basic/Expert, but there are significant changes so I don't really see LotFP as a simulacrum. Gone are the flashy spells like fireball. Fighters are the only class that improves in combat skill. Clerics and magic users gain spells and hit points, but their to-hit number stays the same as they level. LotFP uses race as class for the non-human dwarf, elf and halfling. The thief is replaced with the specialist class which reminds me to mention that LotFP replaces the percent based skills with a clever d6 method I really like.
Mr. Raggi is also the author of the Random Esoteric Creature Generator and states he prefers original monsters so there is no bestiary for LotFP. Of course, borrowing monsters from any old school version of the game will work fine, but I think Mr. Raggi is on to something here. Original creatures and original magic items, all with history connecting them to the milieu has a lot to recommend it as a practice.
I have been a huge fan of LotFP since I first discovered it (although I admit I don't play it). The original boxed version of the game came out in 2010 and included some excellent referee material that is not included in the Player Core Book, which has the number one printed on the spine. I am hopeful that Mr. Raggi will eventually release a volume 2 which will include an expanded version of the referee material that was in the box, because I think it contains some of his best work. The adventure mods published by Mr. Raggi are equally compelling and weird, the early ones being my personal favorites.
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