David Kartas Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I see im gting a lot of on topic responses :/

Maybe you will find some gold nuggets in there. It's an impressive archeological expedition you have taken on. Reading all those books looks like the single lifetime achievement of a university professor.

Personally I believe that the best and most worthwhile literature have already surfaced by way of natural selection. But there just may be traces of genius that got lost, before they had chance to flower.

I have tried lesser known fantasist, like in the book Discoveries In Fantasy, and while they have some good elements, often they don't hold together in artistic integrity and wisdom like the work of the better known masters. And I have also plowed through a lot of fantasy books (famous and not so famous) I didn't enjoy, before arriving at the writers I love today.

For me there is enough in Lovecraft's Supernatural Horror in Literature to pick from. I have yet much I want to read by Algernon Blackwood and M. R. James. I also want to explore more of modern weird writers, like
Ramsey Campbell (have only read his early Mythos tales, which I enjoyed), for comparison. And there are many classic non-weird works, like Sheakspeare, The Eddas, etc, to be read (but not read yet) for perspective. Also there are so many delicious stories of my favorite authors that I want to read over again! Time is limited, and some selective curbing is unfortunately necessary. I think it is wise to stay focused rather than spreading out on every path.


You may not like my response, but at least it is a response.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 27 Dec 08 | 05:35AM by Knygatin.

The Eddas are "weird". And some of Sheakspeare too. Sorry!

The Edda is nice,beter then molk "folk" tales colections,which all fall flat on characters,etc.Also,to be fair,some of those are short stories.

And then ill do som work to find things in the Australian Gutenberg.A litle tip-if its not on internet archive,it wont be anywhere.Though you have to look through the archive and not just count on google search.

Also,I think you miss alot.Oliver Onions isnt mentioned by HPL at all, nor is W.C.Morrow,whos briliance he flatly missed.I stil need to get into Robert Hichens and Quiller-Couch.

But for the starters,try to look up "A strange goldfield" by Guy Boothby,which has pulp main characters,but they dont do anything and its actualy one of the most haunting tales ever writen.

And take H.H.Ewers for instance- "The Dead Jew" is a combination of Ewers and Onions,"From the diary of an orange tree" is a clear Onionsian story and "The end of John Hamilton Llewelyn" is wonderfully abysmal in being so like yet so unlike "The Crystal Lense" (I think thats the title).

Apologies if this has already been mentioned, but it's quite worthwhile, I think: Weird Tales from Northern Seas.

I am afraid I cannot agree with the "natural selection" sentiment. Ralph Adams Cram's weird stories are first rate, yet far too little known. Also, as I have mentioned here before, Adrian Ross's novel The Hole of the Pit is one of the very finest horror novels, period, yet it took until the early '90's for it to be reprinted for the first and only time since its original 1914 publication. Sometimes, the cream simply does not rise, whatever the reason.

Kyberean Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I am afraid I cannot agree with the "natural
> selection" sentiment... Sometimes, the cream simply does not
> rise, whatever the reason.

A bit off-topic, but I saw this movie, The Mole People, which has been ridiculed and beaten down into oblivion by critics. In spite of some obvious 1950's macho action-adventure dialog, I found it poetic and absolutely beautiful in its fantasy elements. Especially the dressing and behaviour of the albino Sumerian people was appropriately weird and otherworldly. This film immediately led my thoughts to Merritt and CAS.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 28 Dec 08 | 03:30AM by Knygatin.

Julian Roffman's horror film The Mask often makes me think of CAS's works, particularly the 3-D Mayan-like sequences.

David Kartas Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> 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:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Adrian Ross's novel The Hole of the Pit is one of the
> very finest horror novels,...

I was unable to find this online.

Unfortunately, The Hole of the Pit is not available online, to the best of my knowledge. It is in the public domain, however. I wish that someone would scan it and make it available on the Web.

As of now, the only place the novel can be found is in Ramsey Campbell's 1992 anthology Uncanny Banquet. I doubt that this book remains in print (and I don't think that it was ever even published in the U.S.), but it should be available through used booksellers at a reasonable price.

Martinus Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Jojo Lapin X Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > 1. I repeat: It is not a book, it is a set of
> > original documents. Hence it has nothing to do
> > with the outrageous crimes allegedly
> perpetrated
> > by publishers such as Tartarus and the Ash-Tree
> > Press; at the very least it is a different
> > category of crime.
> >
> > 2. I very much doubt the items will actually
> sell
> > for $35,000.
>
> Maybe not. Currey has a 10% discount in effect, so
> the asking price is currently $31,500. Hey, you
> can get the two Mss. for "The Shunned House" for
> $90,000! ;-)

How securely held would these items be? Would they be kept in a safe on the premises? I'm just thinking how easy it would be to walk into one of these places with a sock on your head, shove a pistol in someone's face and walk out with a treasure trove of literature. After posting them on the net you could sell them on eBay or donate them to some library in another country. :)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 29 Dec 08 | 09:36AM by Justice.

Knygatin-It was more the scene where the man man was walking about a hole and the characters heard or thought they heard the noises of things diging in the pits.It was this vision,and that of a man working for endless nights amongst dead men what I meant.

OK, I see. You look and grab for fragments of vision, that may lie hidden in little known works.

Yes.Like "In a strange story" by Lytton.

But you realy should try "Subteranean Temples" by Loti-I can send it to you,if need be.

Also,am at # 4402 .

Great news that I forgot to mention!

I've just heard that certain well-known specialty horror publishing houses will be collaborating on a re-edition of the public domain novel The Hole of the Pit. Extensive editorial work in preparing the text, which involved the adding of a comma to a sentence on page 111, of course, now means that the presses in question own full copyright in the text, which can therefore never, ever, ever again be re-printed by anyone, under any circumstances.

The volume will be specially bound in basilisk hide covers with plutonium inlay. Each copy will be printed using vellum pages, and bindings will be hand-sewn by vestal virgins. For a mere $25,000 per copy, this is an absolute steal!

There will be a limited but generous print run of 3.5 copies, and a certain second-hand--uh, I mean antiquarian--bookseller has magnanimously agreed to handle any re-sales to collectors for a 500 % profit--a mere half of his usual percentage!

Don't miss this special offer, and God bless America, Adam Smith, and Sonny Bono for making it all possible!

Kyberean Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Great news that I forgot to mention!
>

Uhm, I was wondering.... if I write a critical introduction, doing a thorough psychoanalysis of the symbolic meaning in The Hole of the Pit, carefully dissecting the hidden thoughts and intents behind every fantastic element, with long extensive footnotes at the bottom of every page, thus proving the importance of this novel for us as human beings today... and how it can help solve our present World economic crisis... and environmental issues... Will I then get a piece of the "action" and become part copyright share owner? And will my name be printed on the cover, above Adrian Ross's own, and in larger, brighter letters? I really want to be famous! But if possible without taking the risk of creating something myself and opening my heart to others. Rather, as critic and analyzer. I really want to be famous!

p.s. I could even write a full biography of the author, dragging his naked carcass out into the sun for everyone to gloat over, revealing all juicy details of possible homosexuality and any other personal and family secrets the author would have preferred be untold.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 30 Dec 08 | 08:34AM by Knygatin.