Gavin Callaghan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Haven't gotten 'round to reading X yet--- too busy
> with assorted, endless errands. Recently received
> In Lovecraft's Shadow by August Derleth in the
> mail, so I have to read that too---
>
> [
www.derleth.org]
>
> I thought this latter book would include ALL of
> Derleth's Lovecraftian works in one place, but I
> was incorrect; it only includes most of Derleth's
> MYTHOS stories; therefore, it has none of the
> Lovecraft "collaborations" (The Survivor and
> Others, The Lurker at the Threshold, some of The
> Watchers out of Time, etc.) Still, it is
> handsomely illustrated by Fabian----
Correct. All the posthumous collaborations "with" Lovecraft *ahem* were published separately, in
The Watchers Out of Time and Others. Get the two, and you've got all Derleth's Lovecraftian fiction as such; though, if memory serves, there are Lovecraftian nods in a few of the Pons tales and elsewhere. Not plot elements, simply throwaway lines, as it were.
However, I'd advise reading
In Lovecraft's Shadow a bit at a time, for his tendency to repeat the same patterns endlessly very shortly becomes quite tedious, and you might therefore miss some of the nice little concepts he has here and there. The stories aren't
entirely without merit, but (save for frankly confessed fan fiction) they often rank as among the poorest Lovecraftian pieces I've ever encountered; though I will also say that his (to me) obvious tendency in later stories to consciously parody himself on this gives those tales an odd charm.
On the other hand, he could, when he chose create a rather good atmosphere, as in the opening pages of "The Dweller in Darkness", or (as mentioned above) include some fascinating concepts which deserved more exploration for their potential. But Derleth, when it came to such fiction, was as inveterate a mimic as Lin Carter ever could be, and this robs much of this work of its promise....