Re: CAS had "stinkers"...how about HPL?
Posted by:
Hespire (IP Logged)
Date: 26 August, 2020 06:57PM
Every time I post an opinion on this site, no matter how foolhardy or enthusiastic I sound, it's always with doubt and anxiety. It's why I felt a little bad when considering which of CAS' stories are "stinkers", fearing both disapproving members and the imaginary ghost of CAS, and why I insisted that other people here are better at discussing HPL's stories than me. Funny you share your experience with a Japanese wife, because my Japanese mother definitely instilled this in me.
With that said, I did read "Through the Gates of the Silver Key" last night, fearful of my ignorance and arrogance as a reader and eager to change my mind. In spite of my complaints, I've always considered it one of my favorite HPL stories because of its open-minded nature and wild ideas. It's the only story I know in which Lovecraft (or rather Price, but HPL left this in) acknowledged that calling ancient alien beings "abominable" and "malignant" is a bit overly judgmental, and that entities like Yog-Sothoth couldn't possibly be so evil because they are far too grand to even think of harming little ol' humanity. It offers a rare perspective on Lovecraft's mythos that resonates with me, though I'm no Theosophist or orientalist. And the plot with Yaddith was a fun idea for a cosmic horror, and I mirror Robert E. Howard's sentiment that a whole story about Yaddith would be great.
But unfortunately I still found the story rather lacking, even with my attempt at opening my mind to it. It's a brilliant idea from beginning to end, but I found the whole plot with Yaddith so rushed and so different from what came previously that I couldn't immerse myself in it. Maybe I would have preferred it if HPL had just focused on a story about Carter, Zkauba, and Yaddith, and left out Price's Theosophic lecturing and the adventure with Yog-Sothoth. It felt like two very different stories with very different perspectives, rather than a natural progression from one thing to the next. And I understand that maybe HPL wanted it to be a shocking revelation, that humans can dream of other worlds but could never truly thrive outside of their own, and that human senses wouldn't handle the shock of being suddenly dropped into an alien dimension. But none of that spoke to me, because even after spending ages with all these otherworldly adventures (adventures which were too vague to entice my imagination), Carter simply hated being an alien, and I couldn't put myself in his shoes because I don't think this side of his conflict was explored very deeply. There was too much summary for me to feel for his plight.
Even if "Dream Quest" isn't one of my favorites, I still appreciate the progression of feelings and events leading up to the revelation that Carter's true dream-city was his home all along. There was a long, ambling, but definite progression rising up to that exact moment. And the twist that Nyarlathotep, his mysterious arch-nemesis, is the one to reveal this to him was a stroke of genius. But in "Through the Gates", it felt too sudden and too much at odds with Price's contribution. Again, none of the ideas are bad, but the presentation of them felt discordant to me, and rushed as if HPL might not have enjoyed writing this, which might be true because he stated he wasn't eager to write any sort of sequel to "Silver Key." I would have preferred this either as a longer novel or perhaps as two different stories, so that all the ideas could breathe and be explored more deeply.
Maybe CAS, who was so enthusiastic about this story, could have done something a little more unified with it, since he had written several stories dealing with men visiting alien worlds. And the idea of an alien avatar hating its human avatar but forced to share the same body sounds like the sort of drama and humor he would have played up. Almost along the lines of the subtle humor and horror in his "Monster of the Prophecy."
I refuse to call any story a "stinker" now, but I do feel that this story is one of Lovecraft's notably weaker efforts.
Edited 8 time(s). Last edit at 26 Aug 20 | 07:14PM by Hespire.