A. Merritt

[Lobolover]

Originally Posted by Lobolover

The thiry (somewhat) steps to Satan is just a crime story,from what Ive heard.It true?

I MEANT the "Seven footprints" thing.

[clovis-man]

Originally Posted by Lobolover

The thiry (somewhat) steps to Satan is just a crime story,from what Ive heard.It true?

Seven Footprints to Satan is a story about a Satanic cult in New York City set in the 1920s, when it was written. So, no it doesn't really qualify as fantasy, but the scenario as it plays out is reasonably fantastic. The copy I have was published in 1942 as the first of the Avon "Murder of the Month" series. A review written around that time says: "A cross between Sax Rohmer and the Hugh Walpole of red-haired portrait fame, Mr. Merritt has done, very powerfully, another mystery thriller. He has a remarkable facility for drawing the most outlandish, Dracula-like things with such perfect savoir faire that one accepts them as the perfectly normal, as mosaics of realism."

So you be the judge.

[Lobolover]

"realism" kills all the fun.And-"Another"-did he write others ?

[j. d. worthington]

Burn, Witch, Burn and Creep, Shadow could (with a tiny bit of stretching) be said to fit into this category easily enough. And "realism" in the above should be read as "verisimilitude" or "enough plausibility to make the reader suspend disbelief" rather than as it has come to be understood in recent decades, which does tend to fit Bierce's definition: "The art of depicting nature as it is seen by toads. The charm suffusing a landscape painted by a mole, or a story written by a measuring-worm"....

[Lobolover]

Oh,okay

ps:youre staying on?I gota lota things to talk about.

[clovis-man]

Not to bump this thread to shameless visibility but I am about halfway through my re-read of 7 Footprints. It's been more than 40 years since I last read this. I have to say that my second impressions are quite different than my first ones. I'll post a critique when I finish. Maybe I should re-read The Ship of Ishtar or The Snake Mother as well.

[Lobolover]

"The ship of Ishtar"-ive been wondering If I should read that.

[clovis-man]

Originally Posted by Lobolover

"The ship of Ishtar"-ive been wondering If I should read that.

I'm afraid I can't honestly advise you due to (again) the length of time it's been since I first read it. One thing for sure: You won't have to worry about too much "realism". The story starts with the male protagonist being magically and ethereally transported to a world of fantasy.

[j. d. worthington]

I have very mixed feelings on The Ship of Ishtar. In some ways it definitely deserves its status as a fantasy classic, but in other ways it can be almost painful to read. A mixed bag, altogether. (Though I will agree that Merritt's often prose-poetical style is especially suited for the subject matter here....)

[Lobolover]

What exactly is so "painfull" on it?

[j. d. worthington]

The romantic element here seems (to me, at any rate), though potentially very strong, even more awkwardly handled than that in The Moon Pool, which at times was downright embarrassingly silly.... What carried The Moon Pool, of course, were its magnificent concepts, the eeriness of the whole, and the strong adventure tale. Both are worth reading, but if you're not a fan of fantasy per se, I wouldn't suggest The Ship of Ishtar... though it does have a rather impressive ending, as I recall....

[Lobolover]

even more silly then in "The Metal Monster" ?

[j. d. worthington]

Originally Posted by Lobolover

even more silly then in "The Metal Monster" ?

*wince* Don't even go there....

[Lobolover]

uh-what DID you mean by that ?

[j. d. worthington]

I mean that The Metal Monster's greatest strength is in the eponymous creation; after that, in some of the "exotic" aspects of the novel, such as its locale, the pulp adventure, etc. The romantic element and such there are among possibly the worst things Merritt ever did, frankly. How he could write such tosh is beyond me... especially as he was capable of doing much better with these elements at times, and certainly had a feel for the ethereal and delicate elements in other aspects. But so it is. It's well worth a read, but by no means for the romance involved....