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Post by dem bones on Dec 12, 2016 8:39:46 GMT
Seabury Quinn - The Phantom Farmhouse: (Weird Tales, Oct. 1923). "You have the odor of hell on your clothes." Mr. John Weatherby, a church minister, is convalescing in the Briarcliff Sanatorium on the cusp of the Maine Pine Woods. His fellow patients are not to his liking and to pass the hours he fantasies about a cheerful farmhouse tucked away in the trees. It is with much astonishment that he discovers just such a building on his daily walk! In next to no time John has befriended Mr & Ms Squires and fallen desperately in love with their daughter, Mildred, even though she reminds him of a dog. Pierre, the care home's senile old gardener, warns against these nocturnal visits to the Squires' place, as it shouldn't exist. Many years ago, at the height of a werewolf panic, local farmers burnt the farmhouse to the ground. Raking through the ashes they discovered the charred remains of a dozen missing persons. John won't be dissuaded from his routine even when a trio of sheep-killing were-hounds make their presence felt in the woods ....
Seabury's first Weird Tales appearance (he had a non-fiction piece, Bluebeard, in the same issue) two years before de Grandin made his début in The Horror On The Links (Oct. 1925).
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Post by helrunar on Dec 13, 2016 13:38:55 GMT
Another one that was memorably dramatized in the early 1970s on the US TV anthology series, Night Gallery (hosted by Rod Serling). I was impressed when Guillermo del Toro did a commentary for this one on the DVD release and informed the audience about Seabury Quinn and Weird Tales in addition to discussing the screen adaptation.
Nice write-up!
H.
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Post by dem bones on Dec 13, 2016 14:19:09 GMT
Another one that was memorably dramatized in the early 1970s on the US TV anthology series, Night Gallery (hosted by Rod Serling). I was impressed when Guillermo del Toro did a commentary for this one on the DVD release and informed the audience about Seabury Quinn and Weird Tales in addition to discussing the screen adaptation. Nice write-up! H. The werewolf theme was one he'd return to several times, but The Phantom Farmhouse seems best remembered, possibly for its historical significance as much as anything, as the stories are of roughly equal standard - or so it seems to me. the non-de Grandin's have grown on me over the years, especially Susette, Is The Devil A Gentleman?, The Cloth Of Madness (much anthologised, that one), Rebel's Rest and Dark Rosaleen. Sadly, Roads, which Peter Haining rated his finest story, just doesn't do it for me.
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Post by mcannon on Jan 28, 2017 23:21:15 GMT
Well, this is a pleasant surprise. According to the "Coming Attractions" site ( www.pulpcomingattractions.com/ ), Nightshade Books is about to start reprinting the "Compleat Jules de Grandin" collection originally issued by Battered Silicon Dispatch Box about 15 years ago:- >>THE HORROR ON THE LINKS: THE COMPLETE TALES OF JULES DE GRANDIN, VOLUME ONE - Coming April 4! by Seabury Quinn Today the names of H. P. Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard, August Derleth, and Clark Ashton Smith, all regular contributors to the pulp magazine Weird Tales during the first half of the twentieth century, are recognizable even to casual readers of the bizarre and fantastic. And yet despite being more popular than them all during the golden era of genre pulp fiction, there is another author whose name and work have fallen into obscurity: Seabury Quinn. Quinn’s short stories were featured in well more than half of Weird Tales’s original publication run. His most famous character, the supernatural French detective Dr. Jules de Grandin, investigated cases involving monsters, devil worshippers, serial killers, and spirits from beyond the grave, often set in the small town of Harrisonville, New Jersey. In de Grandin there are familiar shades of both Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot, and alongside his assistant, Dr. Samuel Trowbridge, de Grandin’s knack for solving mysteries—and his outbursts of peculiar French-isms (grand Dieu!)—captivated readers for nearly three decades. Collected for the first time in trade editions, The Complete Tales of Jules de Grandin, edited by George Vanderburgh, presents all ninety-three published works featuring the supernatural detective. Presented in chronological order over five volumes, and including all thirty-two original Weird Tales covers illustrated for de Grandin stories, this is the definitive collection of an iconic pulp hero. The first volume, The Horror on the Links, includes all of the Jules de Grandin stories from “The Horror on the Links” (1925) to “The Chapel of Mystic Horror” (1928), as well as an introduction by Robert Weinberg. Cover art by Donato Giancola Hardcover, 512 pages, $34.99 skyhorsepublishing.com/titles/12288-9781597808934-horror-on-the-links>> At US$35 a volume the books may not be cheap, but they'll still be more affordable - and attainable! - than the original three volume Battered Silicon set, which will cost you small fortune, even if you can locate a copy. Mark
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Post by Jojo Lapin X on Jan 29, 2017 10:57:37 GMT
At US$35 a volume the books may not be cheap The Kindle edition is $41.55 . . .
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Post by andydecker on Jan 29, 2017 17:41:40 GMT
At US$35 a volume the books may not be cheap The Kindle edition is $41.55 . . . Here in Germany it is 30,42 Euros for the print, 25,82 for the Kindle. Ridiculous price for something which is basically a glorified file. My personal barrier for a Kindle is 10 Euros. Everything above this they can gladly keep.
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Post by Jojo Lapin X on Jan 29, 2017 18:19:29 GMT
Ridiculous price for something which is basically a glorified file. Well, a physical book is basically just a file printed out on paper.
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Post by dem bones on Jan 29, 2017 20:50:57 GMT
Ridiculous price for something which is basically a glorified file. Well, a physical book is basically just a file printed out on paper. .... which I'll settle for every time.
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Post by andydecker on Apr 14, 2017 13:24:10 GMT
The Complete Tales of Jules de Grandin
Volume One
The Horror on the Links
Introduction – George A. Vanderburgh and Robert E. Weinberg
1925
The Horror on the Links The Tenants of Broussac
1926
The Isle of Missing Ships The Vengeance of India The Dead Hand The House of Horror Ancient Fires The Great God Pan The Grinning Mummy
1927 The Men Who Cast No shadow The Blood-Flower The Veiled Prophetess The Curse of Everard Maundy Creeping Shadows The White Lady of the Orphanage The Poltergeist
1928 The Gods of East and West Mephistopheles and Company, Ltd The Jewel of Seven Stones The Serpent Woman Body and Soul Restless Souls The Chapel of Mystic Horror
This has become a nice, fat hardcover, the first of planed five. The edition is dedicated to Robert Weinberg, the foreword must have been written shortly before his death. The writers advise wisely, I think, to enjoy the stories about an extended period of time. As a reader you burn out fast if you read too much fast. The formula wears you down after a while.
I read the first four and was again astonished how original Quinn was in his approach. Considering how boring and written-out some of this supernatural fiends have became over the years, you kind of expect a much tamer and one-dimensional version in a tale written nearly 100 years ago. But Quinn often finds a Twist or does a kitchen-sink approach, which surprisingly works. It is not hard to understand why he was so successful, compared to a lot of tales published in Weird Tales this was a page-turner. And still is. After a while you just blend the not so successful and irritating elements out, like his "slang" of the unwashed masses, the saccharin soap elements, Trowbridges pig-headedness and de Grandin's nonsensical curses.
Nightshade has made a nice job out of this. This is a big old-school hardcover with a wrap-around cover, very well produced. It may not have the scholary approach their C.A.Smith edition had, but it is recommended.
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elricc
Devils Coach Horse
Posts: 100
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Post by elricc on Apr 14, 2017 15:34:27 GMT
I've been listening to the audible version, I've only read a few in the past, but I was surprised how much I liked them, yes they are a bit samey with Trowbridge as the thick sidekick never catching on, but some of the ideas are good. I get the idea that if he hadn't had to crank them out they would have been really good. People made into frogs by surgery, longpig and serums for apes in the first few, whats not to like. Taking a break till next week, overdose on melodrama overwise
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Post by dem bones on Apr 14, 2017 16:22:58 GMT
The writers advise wisely, I think, to enjoy the stories about an extended period of time. As a reader you burn out fast if you read too much fast. The formula wears you down after a while. Absolutely, and I'd argue it's especially true of the post-war stories. Vols IV and V likely to prove a challenge to all but the most patient reader. Does the book reprint the original WT illustrations?
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Post by andydecker on Apr 15, 2017 17:35:40 GMT
The writers advise wisely, I think, to enjoy the stories about an extended period of time. As a reader you burn out fast if you read too much fast. The formula wears you down after a while. Absolutely, and I'd argue it's especially true of the post-war stories. Vols IV and V likely to prove a challenge to all but the most patient reader. Does the book reprint the original WT illustrations? Unfortunatly no illustrations. The oversized BSD edition had the WT covers. But in a poor quality.
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Post by mcannon on Apr 18, 2017 10:33:35 GMT
If obsessive collecting is a deadly disease, then I've surely reached the terminal phase. Today I received my copy of "The Horror of the Links", Volume 1 of the Nightshade Books editions of the complete Jules de Grandin.
Why did I purchase this, despite already owning the 3 volume Battered Silicon Dispatch Box edition, as well as the 6 1970s paperbacks, numerous other scattered reprints of various de Grandin adventures, and even a few original "Weird Tales" appearances? Well, part of the reason is undoubtedly because I checked Book Depository on a whim a couple of weeks ago, they had Volume 1 at an insane (and possibly mistaken) discount - something like 50% of the standard price - so I hurriedly ordered it without really thinking; hey, it was a _bargain_, right? But also it was probably because I find the stories, particularly the early ones covered by this volume, just so much bloody fun, regardless of how many times I reread them.
There's not really much to say about this volume that hasn't been covered in previous discussions of the de Grandin sagas. About the only new content is the much-deserved dedication to the late Robert Weinberg, and the excellent cover by Donato Giancola. I don't think I've previously seen his work, but the cover captures the spirit of the whole series very well. About the only things missing are the classic Virgil Finlay portraits of Jules and Trowbridge, and the map of Harrisonville (just how did such a nice little New Jersey city ever manage to attract so much weird and occult-related crime for so many years?) that featured in earlier reprints. It would be nice if they could make an appearance in late volumes.
If you just want a taste of "classic" de Grandin, this and the second volume are probably the best ones to grab. However I fervently hope that this reprint series makes it all the way through to its conclusion (and that Book Depository continue to offer such stupid discounts.... I'll be checking).
Mark
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Post by helrunar on Apr 18, 2017 12:00:02 GMT
Hi Mark, a friend who is a huge de Grandin enthusiast was interested to hear reviews of this new edition. He owns the Battered Silicon Hatbox (or whatever that firm is called) one that now commands such stratospheric prices and shocked me somewhat by informing me via correspondence yesterday that that "luxury" edition is riddled with typos.
When I mentioned that Vanbrugh's preface appears in the new edition, he asked me if this wasn't just a straight reprint of the Battered edition. He speculated that Nightshade might have taken the time to correct the typos, as he says they have a reputation for strong bibliographic standards. Did you notice typos in this new publication? If what he speaks of are scanning errors, they can be pretty egregious and sometimes words are missing or garbled in an odd way (I've noticed this with some e-editions of Sax Rohmer's books, among others).
Just asking on his behalf--I enjoy the occasional de Grandin outing but am not technically a fan.
cheers, H.
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Post by Jojo Lapin X on Apr 18, 2017 14:13:06 GMT
At US$35 a volume the books may not be cheap The Kindle edition is $41.55 . . . I now have the ebook, which turned out not to be quite that expensive in the end. It does have errors, but not an inordinate amount. Or maybe I am becoming overly tolerant, as practically everything I read these days is scanned from old sources.
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