General Weird discusion thread

[Connavar]

Is it historical or pre Conan Hyboria story like the Valley ?

Have to get his other works beside Conan now that i had a very nice taste. Some historical stories and/or Soloman Kane and Kull.

It was nice seeing his amazing prose used outside Conan.

About this thread must the fantasy/horror we talk about be very old ?

Im reading much 40s,50s,60s weird like fantasy right now.

[j. d. worthington]

I wouldn't class "The Black Stone" as among Howard's best works, myself (though I am rather fond of it); it has too many flaws in the writing to fit into that category, though still a quite effective tale in its own way. It's not like "The Valley of the Worm", no; this one is more directly influenced by HPL, though also showing Howard's fascination with the conflicts between barbarism and civilization, etc.

As for all the work discussed here needing to be old... I don't know as that's a requirement, and I'm fine with discussing a broad range of work; but the older work seldom gets mentioned these days, and I think that's more what this thread was set up to discuss, for that reason.

[Connavar]

Thats what i wondered there are some real old authors that dont have threads here that we can talk about.

REH,ERB,Meritt has their threads.

For example i saw a George Macdonald in my Mammoth Fantasy collection. He,Lord Dunsany and some others dont have threads here.

[Lobolover]

Mac Donald-I dunno,I read Lilith,liked it-but hes somethign entierly diferent-also his comparison to C.E.Lewis and Tolkien annoy me.

J.D.-I meant from his "Lovecraftian" tales.

[j. d. worthington]

Originally Posted by Lobolover

Mac Donald-I dunno,I read Lilith,liked it-but hes somethign entierly diferent-also his comparison to C.E.Lewis and Tolkien annoy me.

Lewis I can understand -- both writers were heavily Christian and heavily allegorical (albeit I think MacDonald did a better job artistically, in the main). But I've never quite understood the comparison to Tolkien, save for people lumping all fantasy into that particular pigeonhole....

J.D.-I meant from his "Lovecraftian" tales.

From REH's Lovecraftian tales? If you're meaning those which are direct Lovecraftian pastiche, then I think I'd probably agree with you. If you include those where he used Lovecraftian elements (and sometimes themes) for his own purposes, then I think it still falls in the second rank. Either way, it is, overall, a very enjoyable tale, and conveys the atmosphere quite well....

No, Connavar, neither of them do have threads here, as I recall; though Dunsany, at least, comes up for discussion fairly frequently. Why don't you begin such a thread....?

[nomadman]

About this thread must the fantasy/horror we talk about be very old ?

I don't see why. There are still some very good weird tales being written: Mark Samuels, Quentin S Crisp and Matt Cardin are all well worth seeking out.

[Lobolover]

Not all of us will know them,you know.

[Connavar]

Yeah but talking about those authors and their work here might help modern horror newbies like me. Its one thing saying which authors to read and another hear people post why they like some stories of theirs.

[j. d. worthington]

When it comes to present modern horror writers, I'd definitely add Ramsey Campbell, Thomas Ligotti, T. E. D. Klein, and Caitlin R. McKiernan to the list. Not to mention such writers as Richard Matheson, Charles L. Grant, Karl Edward Wagner, a fair amount of Basil Copper, and the like.

There are also several writers who work in the older vein, for that matter, such as A. F. Kidd (Summoning Knell and Other Inventions), for example.

Here's one listing of authors who have tried their hand at the ghostly tale:

Ghost Story Writers

Also, as I've asked before, how far back are we going? Here's another book that might prove of interest to those who enjoy the traditional tale:

https://www.utexas.edu/utpress/excerpts/exfelhau.html

[Connavar]

Ramsey Campbell i want to try, dont know how long back he has been around. I saw him win several World Fantasy awards which isnt something usual for a horror writer.



Karl Edward Wagner i know as a fantasy writer. I hear his name mentioned with respect. One of those authors you keep hearing about without knowing where you heard about him and why they are highly regard.

Whats is he famous for Kane like fantasy or horror stories ?


In horror i dont have a problem with older work like early 20th century or earlier its more modern stuff like 1950+ thats i am clueless about.

[AE35Unit]

Campbell is well respected in the horror and fantasy fields,must try him out.

[j. d. worthington]

And Wagner is noted for both, as well. His fantasy is definitely "dark fantasy", with quite a few horrific elements and a very dark, often grim atmosphere (not untinged, occasionally, by a certain pensive melancholy reminiscent of Poe and the Romantics). I don't know if I've mentioned it elsewhere or not, but he even wrote a tale featuring a meeting between Kane and Moorcock's Elric....

Campbell's first book was a set of Lovecraftian pastiches, The Inhabitant of the Lake and Less Welcome Tenants, put out by Arkham House in 1964, when he was at the tender age of 18....

Since then, he has done quite a wide variety of stories, from "straight" horror to psychological horror to sword-and-sorcery, to tales that are, quite frankly, difficult to place, as they are rather uniquely Campbellian....

[Connavar]

Whats his better works Campbell ? What stories or collection are seen as his best ? With an author like this who i have a vague idea about i thought about trying his best or one of his best works.

Psychological horror sounds good to me, im not into straight horror.

[Nesacat]

Was very much in two minds about continuing with reading Ramsey Campbell. I'd started with Cold Print, which is a collection of stories and the influence was evident to the point that you could identify the stories from which Campbell had got his inspiration. I'd been about ready to stop right there but am glad I kept on (thanks to JD here).

His work got better as he went along and started using his own voice more and more. It was a fine voice indeed and a very unique one as well. The stories and books range far and wide and are well worth reading.

When starting on a new writer I tend to read short stories if possible. I don't know if that works for you Connavar, but if it does, Campbell has many such collections.

[Lobolover]

JD.-ive been looking for "Summoning Knell and Other Inventions",but I got 0 hits on google.Is that realy the correct title?

also-im quite alergic to fantasy in the modern being mentioned,because I always get the image of the same ol' crap they have in the common bookshops.

"EVIL MAGICIANS-DRAGONS-SWORDS!"

You get my point?