Forthcoming Lovecraftian Items

[pablo]

Amazing. The Annotated Sherlock box is simply awesome. Too bad this will not be the complete HPL works.

[j. d. worthington]

It does sound promising, though... and it may at least include all the original fiction; which, with annotations of the sort done for the Holmes canon, is likely to make it quite a sizable item. And, who knows? If this one gets a good response, they may do the rest....

[w h pugmire, esq.]

Amazon has just alerted me to a yet-to-be-published book, and although I have pre-ordered it I expect to abhor it! I actually just went to the author's blog and left a comment on my initial feelings concerning my reaction to the announcement of his book.

The book will be called A HAUNTED MIND: INSIDE THE DARK, TWISTED WORLD OF H. P. LOVECRAFT. Perhaps the title alone will alert ye to my emotional reaction. The author is someone who calls himself Dr. Bob Curran. The book is scheduled to be published August 22nd, by New Page Books. Here's a description from Amazon:

"Arguably no America writer has had more of an impact on the modern horror scene than Howard Phillips Lovecraft, the man who created the Cthulhu Mythos, with its strange gods, eerie places, and forbidden books. But what sort of a man was Lovecraft, how did he create such a terrible universe, and where did his inspiration come from? Was it, as some have argued, based on esoteric knowledge forgotten or even denied to all sane people?

"In A HAUNTED MIND, Dr. Bob Curran explores what motivated Lovecraft--his personal life is just as strange as some of his creations--and drove him to create his terrible cosmos. Using both folklore and history, Dr. Curran investigates a wide variety of Lovecraftian mysteries.

"A word of warning: you may never look at Lovecraft--or the world--in exactly the same way!"

Now this sounds entirely bogus and ignorant, just another book that wants to paint Lovecraft as a complete freak of Nature, but one who may have been clued in to actual esoteric mysteries from beyond that contain THE REAL TRUTH about the Universe! Ia!!!

It sounds like a book written for its sensationalistic publisher, with absolutely no actual historical or biographical authenticity. But I went and ordered it anyway, so that I can trash it with authority. Selah.

[j. d. worthington]

LOL. Well, Wilum, I'll reserve judgment, as it may be what you suspect... then again, it could be all this hyperbole is from the marketing people, who haven't read the damned thing themselves! After all, they marketed Jason X as a straight horror film, when it was one of the cleverest send-ups of the entire slasher genre I've ever seen. I have no doubt that anyone who went into that one expecting a typical entry in that field was left either completely ticked off, or scratching their head and wondering just who spiked their drink....

Chances are, though, you're right (unfortunately); it is, after all, soooo easy to simply regurgitate the myths about HPL in new form and make a fast buck, even though we have quite enough evidence to answer all the questions posed there rather authoritatively; and it points in a very different direction....

[Nesacat]

Chances are Wilum is right if the blurb is anything at all to go by and even if it is taken with a pinch of salt. Still I'd probably read it and then start looking around for people to hit. Now that I walk with a cane, this has become so much more possible.

[Ningauble]

Hippocampus Press semi-announced a bunch of Lovecraftian releases today, including the correspondence of Lovecraft and Clark Ashton Smith, and a collection of Steve Mariconda's essays. The poetry of George Sterling as well as an anthology of weird poetry -- Dreams of Fear (formerly a Mythos Books project) -- were also semi-announced.

I checked B&N, and they're listing Joshi's H. P. Lovecraft -- presumably H. P. Lovecraft: Nightmare Countries -- for release in September. The expanded Supernatural Horror in Literature, Wilum's Uncommon Places, and Cannon's Forever Azathoth will appear soonish (February-March), according to B&N.

[yaxomoxay]

Originally Posted by Ningauble

Hippocampus Press semi-announced a bunch of Lovecraftian releases today, including the correspondence of Lovecraft and Clark Ashton Smith, and a collection of Steve Mariconda's essays. The poetry of George Sterling as well as an anthology of weird poetry -- Dreams of Fear (formerly a Mythos Books project) -- were also semi-announced.

I checked B&N, and they're listing Joshi's H. P. Lovecraft -- presumably H. P. Lovecraft: Nightmare Countries -- for release in September. The expanded Supernatural Horror in Literature, Wilum's Uncommon Places, and Cannon's Forever Azathoth will appear soonish (February-March), according to B&N.

In other words I have to prepare myself to spend more money (just got”A means to freedom”);I am becoming an addict to HPL's letters.
Do you know when the HPL-CAS correspondence will be published, what is going to be the price and availability?
Thanks!

[Ningauble]

Originally Posted by yaxomoxay

Do you know when the HPL-CAS correspondence will be published, what is going to be the price and availability?

Alas, no. I can engage in some speculation based on previous books, though. It'll be two volumes, so price and availability will probably be in the same range as the HPL/REH letters and the HPL/AWD letters: 300 (?) 2-volume sets at $100 a piece. I suppose it is also likely that there will be a tpb edition later.

[Ningauble]

More info from B&N: The expanded Lovecraft's Library will also be out soon, as will Joe Pulver's Portraits of Ruin and Joshi & Mariconda's Dreams of Fear. ("soon" = before May)

[w h pugmire, esq.]

Hippocampus Press has been busy and have announced many new books of especial interest to the Lovecraftian. S. T. Joshi has revised and expanded his edition of THE ANNOTATED SUPERNATURAL HORROR IN LITERATURE and LOVECRAFT'S LIBRARY: A CATALOG. They have just published a new edition of Peter Cannon's humorous Lovecraftian fiction, FOREVER AZATHOTH, one of the funniest books of all time and yet one that is deliciously Lovecraftian and offers fascinating observations on some of Grandpa's tales. And--hooray!--they have just publish'd UNCOMMON PLACES: A COLLECTION OF EXQUISITES, a book of decadent prose-poetry by the Queen of Eldritch Horror, with many of the works expressing Lovecraftian delirium.

[Ningauble]

Originally Posted by w h pugmire, esq.

Hippocampus Press has been busy and have announced many new books of especial interest to the Lovecraftian. S. T. Joshi has revised and expanded his edition of THE ANNOTATED SUPERNATURAL HORROR IN LITERATURE and LOVECRAFT'S LIBRARY: A CATALOG. They have just published a new edition of Peter Cannon's humorous Lovecraftian fiction, FOREVER AZATHOTH, one of the funniest books of all time and yet one that is deliciously Lovecraftian and offers fascinating observations on some of Grandpa's tales. And--hooray!--they have just publish'd UNCOMMON PLACES: A COLLECTION OF EXQUISITES, a book of decadent prose-poetry by the Queen of Eldritch Horror, with many of the works expressing Lovecraftian delirium.

Are they out already?

[w h pugmire, esq.]

Originally Posted by Ningauble

Are they out already?

I think they are, or about to be. My book and Peter's are "March" books, but I think they are at least at the printers and probably already printed and ready for shipping. Because they are all print-on-demand, Derrick can do a slew of titles at once, I guess. He is also offering a hardcover concordance to ye poetry of Donald Wandrei! And soon there will be new collections from Joe Pulver, John Langan and Richard Gavin!! Wheeeee!

[Ningauble]

Originally Posted by w h pugmire, esq.

I think they are, or about to be. My book and Peter's are "March" books, but I think they are at least at the printers and probably already printed and ready for shipping. Because they are all print-on-demand, Derrick can do a slew of titles at once, I guess. He is also offering a hardcover concordance to ye poetry of Donald Wandrei! And soon there will be new collections from Joe Pulver, John Langan and Richard Gavin!! Wheeeee!

And S. T. & Steve's poetry anthology, plus the poetry of -- Ta-DAAAAH! -- George Sterling.

[Ningauble]

Originally Posted by w h pugmire, esq.

I think they are, or about to be. My book and Peter's are "March" books, but I think they are at least at the printers and probably already printed and ready for shipping.

I'm not so sure -- because if they are, why haven't the finished covers been posted yet? I'm guessing they're still a couple of weeks away. But the new SHiL and LL just became available at the Hipcamp.

[w h pugmire, esq.]

My tale of Nyarlathotep, "The Hands that Reek and Smoke," will be reprinted in The Book of Cthulhu II at ye end of this year, edited by Ross Lockhart as a Night Shade Press trade pb. It will be another huge reprint anthology, and the first book had some new original tales so maybe this second volume will as well. I hope this trend of Mythos reprint anthologies continues, it's a great way to remain in print while remaining a lazy sod who writes no new fiction............................