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Post by benedictjjones on Jan 22, 2010 10:06:54 GMT
which one is your favourite and why?
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Post by cw67q on Jan 22, 2010 10:51:53 GMT
Black Man with a Horn. every time I read it there seems to be another layer to the story. Not only a fine horror tale but a very emotionally moving story.
A tribute to HPL that beats HPLs best works out of sight.
- chris
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Post by dem bones on Jan 22, 2010 11:18:21 GMT
As just mentioned, Children Of The Kingdom, because it's the one that's stayed with me. can't remember now, but did Klein cite Machen's little people from The Shining Pyramid (i think!) as the influence? anyway, for me, it was like the creatures depicted by HPL's Pickman's in his ghoulish 'modern studies' had been let loose on New York.
So that's Dark Gods back on the to re-read pile.
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Post by marksamuels on Jan 22, 2010 11:57:37 GMT
As just mentioned, Children Of The Kingdom, because it's the one that's stayed with me. can't remember now, but did Klein cite Machen's little people from The Shining Pyramid (i think!) as the influence? anyway, for me, it was like the creatures depicted by HPL's Pickman's in his ghoulish 'modern studies' had been let loose on New York. So that's Dark Gods back on the to re-read pile. There's a whole bunch of tales by Machen featuring his Little People; "The Shining Pyramid", "Out of the Earth", "The Novel of the Black Seal", "Change", and "The Red Hand", for example. My favourite of Klein's tales is "The Events at Poroth Farm" (which formed the basis of his novel The Ceremonies---closely related to Machen's "The White People"), with both "Children of the Kingdom" and "Black Man with a Horn" joint second. Mark S.
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Post by marksamuels on Jan 22, 2010 12:10:33 GMT
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Post by cw67q on Jan 22, 2010 13:22:23 GMT
As just mentioned, Children Of The Kingdom, because it's the one that's stayed with me. can't remember now, but did Klein cite Machen's little people from The Shining Pyramid (i think!) as the influence? anyway, for me, it was like the creatures depicted by HPL's Pickman's in his ghoulish 'modern studies' had been let loose on New York. So that's Dark Gods back on the to re-read pile. My favourite of Klein's tales is "The Events at Poroth Farm" (which formed the basis of his novel The Ceremonies---closely related to Machen's "The White People"), with both "Children of the Kingdom" and "Black Man with a Horn" joint second. Mark S. I like Events too, but prefer the Ceremonies. I read the novel first mind, so didn't come to it thinking "hey this is Events padded out" :-) I found Re-assuring Tales to be a disappointment though. Anyone looking to read Klein for the first time would be much better picking up a second hand copy of Dark Gods which must be one of the classic collections of horror stories. - chris
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Post by benedictjjones on Jan 22, 2010 16:17:32 GMT
^the tales one has been on 'the list' since i first saw it. still have to get ceremonies or events at proth farm
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Post by dem bones on Jan 22, 2010 18:57:32 GMT
By the way, I was rather disconcerted to see what google decided to choose as a banner ad for Vault when I logged in... Mark S. And to think those blighters who use firefox with the AdBlock plug-in miss out on these lovely ads! you have to feel sorry for them really. T. E. D. Klein - Dark Gods (Pan, 1987) Cover illustration by David O'Connor Blurb: T. E. D. Klein's highly acclaimed first novel The Ceremonies - which Stephen King called "the most exciting novel in my field to come along since Straub's Ghost Story' - established him in the top rank of horror writers. Now, with the four novellas gathered here, Klein proves himself to be a master of this classic shorter form.
The collection opens with Children of the Kingdom, a beautifully crafted chiller that gradually reveals the horrors that lurk behind the shadows of the city. In Petey, George and Phyllis and the die-hards at their housewarming think their new rural retreat is quite a steal - unaware that foreclosure, in a particularly monstrous form, is heading their way.
In the insidiously terrifying Black Man with a Horn, a homage to Lovecraft, a chance encounter with a missionary priest over the Atlantic lures a traveller into a web of ancient mystery and fiendish retribution. And in Nadelman's God, the protagonist discovers, degree by shocking degree, that the demons of our imagination are not always imaginary.
FIRST BRITISH PUBLICATIONRichard Davis (ed.) The Years Best Horror 3 (Sphere, 1973) is as good a place as any to find Events At Poroth Farm
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Post by benedictjjones on Jan 23, 2010 0:38:46 GMT
^don't mention that bugge, took me too long to find te single stories - i don't want to hear 'dark gods' is now 50p on ebay!!
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Post by nathanieltapley on Jan 23, 2010 1:01:22 GMT
I've only read Petey (in the Ramsey Campbell anthology about heirs to M.R. James) but I was completely blown away by it. I'm glad to hear that the others are just as good if not better, I'd better get my hands on a copy of this pretty quickly...
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Post by andydecker on Jan 23, 2010 20:18:13 GMT
The Ceremonies is a great novel. A real doorstopper at a time when novels were often slim. And real slow. But wonderfully written.
A shame that Klein produced such a small body of work.
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Post by stuyoung on May 15, 2010 14:11:02 GMT
I can never decide which is my fave Dark Gods story. I'd have to read the book again to decide. Not like that's a chore.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on May 23, 2010 18:17:18 GMT
Nadelman's God right now, mainly because the central idea - that this man has accidentally incanted something ancient without even knowing it - appeals greatly. But really, I could choose any of the four stories, it's such a strong collection. Maybe still my favourite of the last 40 years.
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Post by khorazin on Dec 24, 2010 17:21:44 GMT
Nadelman's God, because its just so damn good, and has some personal connotations to boot, there isn't however a bum note in the book, and Children of the Kingdom is a very close second.
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julieh
Crab On The Rampage
One-woman butt-kicking army
Posts: 70
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Post by julieh on Jan 1, 2011 7:30:26 GMT
For me, it's Nadelman's God or Petey, depending on which one I read most recently. Both of them have caught me over and over again... Each of these has such incredible bizarre depth, with so much casually deposited detail that you don't even realize is important til you get to the end.
If there was one author I could get an autograph from, it would be Klein - each of his stories (both in and out of this collection) stands so strong, and he has such a knack for giving you all the clues so that you can fill in the ending yourself when the story stops just as the door creaks open....
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