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Post by johnnymains on Sept 5, 2017 6:48:54 GMT
I wonder if that's the copy I now have?
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Post by dem bones on Sept 5, 2017 9:30:37 GMT
Thanks for sharing this, Dr. Terror (sorry, butterfingers me accidentally cropped it). By the looks of it, Wheatley's either getting stuck into the title story, or contemplating the ills of those Bolshie trade unionists. I reckon My Name Is Death is the ideal starter pack for the Birkin-curious. Eight slick, horrible anti-morality tales, with Sir Charles at his most ghoulishly entertaining in the twisted likes of Finger Of Fear, Hosanna!,and Kitty Fisher. They'd have made for a great Amicus portmanteau movie. File under: Not life-affirming.
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Post by Knygathin on Jun 14, 2018 19:37:24 GMT
I have just read my first Charles Birkin story, "My Name is Death", and well, I am pleasantly surprised. A masterful supernatural tale. And it has just the right amount of interesting realistic detail observations to manifest a sense of verisimilitude, without getting long-winded or repetitive. Beautiful prose. Very tasteful. Clearly the work of a highly cultured mind.
Which five of Birkin's collections do you regard to be his best, listed from the top and down?
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Post by dem bones on Jun 14, 2018 20:16:39 GMT
I have just read my first Charles Birkin story, "My Name is Death", and well, I am pleasantly surprised. A masterful supernatural tale. And it has just the right amount of interesting realistic detail observations to manifest a sense of verisimilitude, without getting long-winded or repetitive. Beautiful prose. Very tasteful. Clearly the work of a highly cultured mind. Which five of Birkin's collections do you regard to be his best, listed from the top and down? There are eight original collections, Devil's Spawn, The Kiss Of Death, The Smell Of Evil, My Name Is Death, Where Terror Stalked, Dark Menace, So Pale, So Cold, So Fair and Spawn Of Satan, plus two compilations derived from the above, A Haunted Beauty and The Harlem Horror. Wouldn't know about "best" - but for a handful of stories I get on very well with his work, though plenty don't. It's only fair to mention that very few of the stories involve the supernatural.
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Post by Knygathin on Apr 12, 2019 18:20:03 GMT
This is my Charles Birkin collection, finally completed. Thank you dem bones and others on the Vault for your indispensable guidance! God! What a lovely little pile of books! Their covers contrast each other so deliciously! Just the right size for me, and it will neither become larger or smaller over time. When I am done reading all, I will simply start re-reading; something rare, but much missed, for me today. In the background is a copy of A Wave of Fear* to complement the collection with the infamous "Marjorie's on Starlight".
I admit, that for me, having a book and fantasizing about what the stories inside will be like, is just as much of an enjoyment as actually reading the book. I only buy books which I like the design and cover-art of; and fortunately this nearly always coincides with great quality of the inner contents! The outer and inner seeking meet halfway by some providence.
The grainy resolution here looks like tainted wads of cotton. The air is so thick it is almost solid. ... SMELL OF EVIL, indeed!!!
With these exceptionally wonderful books I was lucky enough to be given a cinematic experience, from the covers alone, by placing them alongside each other! Beneath I orderly describe the filmatic story sequence for each cover:
1. A woman peacefully visits the grave of a dead acquaintance. 2. In the shadow of the large gravestone to her left, this suddenly rises up out of the earth! At first glance the eye socket appears to be crawling with worms; but looking closer, instead it is the reflection of a man standing nearby, clawing at his own face with livid stiff fingers, before meeting his doom. 3. Close-up. This is the same woman as in the first picture. She has turned her head, witnessing the horrible fate of the other visitor. 4. Meanwhile, at another corner of the graveyard.
I have read the first story in The Smell of Evil, and it is just as good (if that is possible) as the excellent first story in My Name is Death. "The Smell of Evil" may be one of the best, most well written short-stories I have ever read. Birkin is an incredible story-teller, with a marvelous sense for well-selected descriptive details that very effectively put a spell and draw you into the story. And I really enjoy and sympathize with his conservative perspective outlook, a rare thing hardly allowed today. But, even though the ending was very well conceived (and the last sentence was certainly fitting), it was a bit too evil for my taste, making me feel very uncomfortable, or in shock to put it differently; I had misinterpreted the comments here on the Vault, and was expecting more of a fantasy ending: giant crabs pulling a hapless victim (and hopefully one that deserved it better than the girl) over the bare wet sands, down to the retreating sea. This story confirmed that I really prefer fantasy over harshly realistic horror. One thing with Birkin, is that he competently includes small suggestions of fantasy even in his non-fantasy stories (like the brief mention of Atlantis in this one), without developing it further, and this adds a pleasantly subtle sense of mystery and supernatural undertow.
*If someone wonders which edition that is, it is the Coronet. But I have become so enamored with the cover-art on the first edition, that I just couldn't resist the temptation of making my own dust-wrapper for the paperback, on the local library's color copy machine. I guess this is what is called "Print on Demand"! It turned out rather well, not quite as good as professional printing, but almost; it even became semi glossy.
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Post by Jojo Lapin X on Apr 12, 2019 19:57:20 GMT
This is my Charles Birkin collection, finally completed. Complete? Are you sure? Also, I am slightly surprised to find you fond of Birkin. Now, a man may like many different things, to be sure, but I seem to remember you have written manifests about your literary preferences that would appear to exclude this type of thing. Birkin seems to me the precise antithesis of the "cosmic" that Lovecraft liked to go on about.
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Post by Knygathin on Apr 12, 2019 23:44:31 GMT
This is my Charles Birkin collection, finally completed. Complete? Are you sure? Also, I am slightly surprised to find you fond of Birkin. Now, a man may like many different things, to be sure, but I seem to remember you have written manifests about your literary preferences that would appear to exclude this type of thing. Birkin seems to me the precise antithesis of the "cosmic" that Lovecraft liked to go on about. Yes, for me personally it is complete. I think I have mentioned before that I don't have time to collect everything by new authors I discover these days. Instead I try to pick only the very best, or simply what attracts me the most. I have too much else to read. I am certain these three books by Birkin will satisfy my craving enough. I don't remember having written such a manifest. I do love Lovecraft's work, and I do like "cosmic" horror and science fiction, perhaps more than anything else. But I don't remember having said I will exclude other themes. For example, I like fantasy steeped in cultural history, like Tolkien (I don't believe his perspective is very "cosmic", but allegoric). And I am eagerly looking forward to set off some time to read Uncle Dynamite by P. G. Wodehouse. I think you can agree that Birkin is a pretty great writer. His prose is a pleasure to read, he does delightful, significantly detailed observations, in interesting, rare, unspoiled settings (now lost in time) reserved for a fortunate few (not necessarily with lots of money, but of sensible judgment). He has good conservative values, is tasteful, and has a shrewd sense of humor; that alone makes him worthwhile. And he surprises me with an understated great sense for the supernatural. Although, I admit some of his harsh realistic endings are too jarring on my emotions.
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