Pastiche.

[Nesacat]

Recently read two books by Robert Bloch. One was a collection of all his Mythos tales and the other is a novel and a tribute to Lovecraft called Strange Eons.

I must say I was wary about reading them since I'd just been reading Ramsey Campbell's mythos tales and a collection called Eternal Lovecraft, which I didn't quite like. They didn't sound right. They felt all wrong and in the case of Eternal Lovecraft the stories rambled on and on needlessly. I had to make myself finish the book.

However Robert Bloch was a pleasure to read. The books are a wonderful tribute to the Old Gent and have the sense and feel of his writing. Bloch has managed to retain the sense of mystery. Of saying much by saying very little indeed and of creating that atmosphere of dread suspense that Lovecraft did. And above all else, there was the wonderful way in which Strange Eons ended. A truly fit tribute to the Old Gentleman from Providence.

[j. d. worthington]

Just did a re-read on Frank Belknap Long's novelette, "The Horror from the Hills", one of the earliest of the Lovecraft pastiches (written in 1929, first published as a two-part serial in Weird Tales Jan. & Feb. 1931). Like all of Long's stories, the writing is uneven, and (by modern tastes) overly given to expository passages with far too little action. However, for sheer scope of ideas and some fascinating grounds for speculation, it really is quite a feast; it also has some marvelous passages of writing that are truly magical in and of themselves. Those who enjoy Long's "The Space Eaters" or "The Hounds of Tindalos" will recognize some common themes that link these works to the sort of speculation so common in sf of the first half of the century, as well.

One of the interesting things about this one is that it was actually inspired by a dream of Lovecraft's, which he wrote to Long about (as well as to Donald Wandrei and Bernard Austin Dwyer; all three accounts are still extant, and vary slightly) and in fact the novel contains, apparently verbatim, the account HPL sent to him -- a very impressive dream not only for its incredible amount of detail, but for the fact that Lovecraft's persona in the dream (a quaestor in Spain during the time of the Roman senate) not only slept but experienced a nightmare within the dream itself...

While I can't recommend it unreservedly, for those who enjoy the earlier sf of the 1920 and 1930s, and who enjoy the spinning of ideas and the blurring of realities so common to Lovecraft's own work, it is definitely worth seeking out a copy of the tale. Unfortunately, the most recent printing is in The Baker's Dozen: 13 Short Horror Novels (which also includes Lovecraft's "The Shadow Out of Time" as well as T. E. D. Klein's "Children of the Kingdom"), which was released in the mid-1980s. However, this has apparently gone through several printings, and is relatively easy to find.

[Randolph]

I just picked up Tales From the Cthulhu Mythos which collects 2 HPL stories and about 20 othert ones by authors ranging from August Derleth to Stephen King. This is my first experience with mythos stories not written by Lovecraft and - so far - I've been pleasantly surprised.

"Jerusalem's Lot" by Stephen King was well written and genuinely creepy at times, though it seemed like a more of a tribute to Lovecraft than pastiche.
It's about a cursed house called Chapelwaite and the even more cursed family that built it. Oh, and the super-duper cursed ghosttown, Jerusalem's Lot.

The only way I can describe Frank Belknap Long's "The Space Eaters" is that it was a lot of "in joke" fun. I had known about Long from Lovecraft's correspondence, but this was the first story I'd read by him, and I would definitely be interested in reading more.

The best so far, though, was Clark Ashton Smith's "Return of the Sorceror" Smith was such an excellent (and versatile) writer, and this story proved to me that he could write traditional horror as well as he wrote dark fantasies (Or whatever you'd call them). I don't want to give anything away, but I highly reccommend this tale.

I haven't finished the book yet, but if I find any more gems, I'll post them.

[j. d. worthington]

On Long's "The Space Eaters"... I think what I like best about that one is his discussion early on about what works and doesn't work in terror tale. The concepts he throws out there (as with a lot of the concepts he throws out in the early parts of "The Hounds of Tindalos") are fascinating, and call up genuinely eerie speculations. I do, however, have problems with Long's development of things. Nonetheless, I enjoy those early stories of his.

I take it that this is the later edition of Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos, as it has the King in it... this also has the Fritz Leiber "Terror from the Depths"? If you can find a copy of the earlier edition (probably easiest to find a used paperback of the 2-volume set, or order it through a library) I'd be interested in your thoughs on a couple of the pieces that weren't in the newer edition.

[Randolph]

Originally Posted by j. d. worthington

On Long's "The Space Eaters"... I think what I like best about that one is his discussion early on about what works and doesn't work in terror tale. The concepts he throws out there (as with a lot of the concepts he throws out in the early parts of "The Hounds of Tindalos") are fascinating, and call up genuinely eerie speculations.

Yes, "The Hounds of Tindalos" is certainly an imaginitive and interesting piece. The ideas Long suggests remind me a lot of Lovecraft's earlier tales like "Hypnos" and "From Beyond". But as you pointed out, Long doesn't develope things quite as well as Lovecraft.

Originally Posted by j. d. worthington

I take it that this is the later edition of Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos, as it has the King in it... this also has the Fritz Leiber "Terror from the Depths"? If you can find a copy of the earlier edition (probably easiest to find a used paperback of the 2-volume set, or order it through a library) I'd be interested in your thoughs on a couple of the pieces that weren't in the newer edition.

Yup. The version I have seems to be pretty new, and it does contain "Terror From the Depths". I'm curious about this older version, though. I'll see if I can hunt down a copy.

[j. d. worthington]

Well, there aren't a lot of differences, which is why I suggest seeing if you can get a library copy first. A piece by J. Vernon Shea, "The Haunter of the Graveyard", which I personally found annoying the first time 'round, though I've come to quite like it since; "The Sister City" and "Cement Surroundings" were the offerings by Brian Lumley, which were each incorporated into later novels of his, and were replaced by "Rising with Surtsey"(?) as I recall; and a piece by James Wade, "The Deep Ones", which has remained a personal favorite as it brought Lovecraft's mythology into the 'Sixties counterculture and scientific experimentation in some interesting ways, I thought. I believe those were the only differences, though I'd have to dig out my copies of both to recheck....