David Kartas Wrote:
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> isnt mentioned by HPL at all, nor is W.C.Morrow,whos
> briliance he flatly missed.
>
> But for the starters,try to look up "A strange
> goldfield" by Guy Boothby,...
I have just read
"A strange goldfield" by Guy Boothby. I am sorry, but I really didn't enjoy it. To me it is a very ordinary "haunted town" ghost story, and meagerly written. Incidentally I also finished Blackwood's "The Insanity of Jones", and there's just no comparison. The Boothby story shrinks into crumbling insignificance in the light of Blackwood's overwhelming masterpiece.
My god, I would even say that Blackwood is a greater master of the weird tale than both Lovecraft and C.A.Smith. Lovecraft and Smith are greater artists when it comes to form, the aesthetics of visuals, moods, and overall refined story-telling. But Blackwood seems more mature, with a purified clean style, and genuine consummate communication with the weird. Lovecraft and Smith stand in-between the time-period of the older writers, who were mystics and true believers, and the newer more material age of self-sufficing surface entertainment and conscious focus on purifying the aesthetics of form and style. They are in-between, with one foot in either world, making them very enjoyable reading.
I have also read W.C.Morrow's
"His Unconquerable Enemy". Now this was entertaining reading! He is witty, intelligent, and has a knack for inventing an interesting situation. I guess this is what you call a 'conte cruel' story. Reminds of Smith, similar to The Dark Eidolon in sentiment. But when the mutilated servant is heading for the stairs, the ending of the story becomes a little too obvious.
I think both "A strange goldfield" and "His Unconquerable Enemy' are written in a matter of fact earthbound way. By men who merely document a train of events, without really understanding these events' implications in a larger cosmic sense. Morrow appears the most aware of the two though. They lack the higher wisdom and perspective on Life, of Smith's mastery for example. With Smith you are given more than just practical descriptive facts, he also meanwhile leads you on paths that give elevation of the soul and spirit.
I am glad I read these stories though, because set in perspective they let me appreciate the value of the mastery of writers like Blackwood, Lovecraft, and Smith, even more.
This is my honest opinion. But I still commend your efforts.
And although I believe it unlikely that some unknown Weird Master writers, of the above mentioned calibre, lie hidden in some dusty library, it would be exciting if. Between the Eddas and the modern weird masters almost a thousand years passed without much exciting in the field. Could that really be? Perhaps there are hidden literary treasures, attended to by monks in the catacombs of distant mountaintop abbeys.
Kyberean Wrote:
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> Adrian Ross's novel The Hole of the Pit is one of the
> very finest horror novels,...
I was unable to find this online.