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Post by andydecker on Nov 8, 2009 14:03:23 GMT
Brian Lumley - Dagon's Bell and other Discords (NEL, 1994, 333 pages)  Content: Introduction
Dagon´s Bell
No sharks in the Med
In the Glow Zone
The Caller of the Black
The Picnickers
The Fairground Horror
Problem Child
Aunt Hester
The Whisperer
The Statement of Henry Worthy
The Strange Years
Big "C"
The Disapproval of Jeremy CleaveThis is the second of Lumley´s short stories collections. All stories are reprints, they range from 1971 to 1990, a long time. There are short introductions by the writer. I have read a lot of Lumley, and I am on the fence about him as a writer. I like a lot, but I also can´t stand a lot. His take on Lovecraft was kind of new at the time, continuing the path Derleth forged. Personally I understand the appeal of this "modern" Lovecraft, but for my taste it loses a lot of the original. Basically Lumley (and Derleth) - and correct me if I see this wrong - took Lovecrafts nihilistic concept of absolutly uncaring deities and made them the equivalent of the demons of hell. who can be fought and defeated. This opened the mythos for further stories and new concepts, no argument there. It also made it into a cheap funhouse-ride. As a writer Lumley is particulary fascinated with Lovecraft´s fishmen from Innsmouth. He wrote a lot of stories about them. It is a fascination I am afraid I can´t share. So there is a race of Creatures of the Black Lagoon living in the ocean and lusting for human woman to breed. Booh, scary, kids, bring on the harpoons. It is a concept which has IMHO dated badly, and reading about the terror of the protagonists upon discovering the frog people is more laughable than horrific. Dagon´s Bell: The friend of the narrator, David Parker, marries in 1954 and buys Kettlethorp Farm at the north east coast of England. The farm is very old, its foundations are roman in fact or predates them. The former owner vanished mysteriously. But the Farm is haunted, the couple gets problems. Parker discovers that the house is the door to underground tunnels leading to a subtearan temple where Dagon´s Bell is rung. There are connections to Innsmouth, and the wife is related to some denizens of the city. After the wife get´s her nervous breakdown and Parker hears the bell, he and his friend climb down with dynamite and shotguns to kill the creatures ... This is a typical Lumley Mythos story. It is quite a bit rambling in places, evokes the proper Mythos stuff and it ends with a bang. No Sharks in the Med: Honeymooners Geoff and Gwen arrive on a little greek island. Native taxidriver Spiros takes an unhealthy liking to Gwen and starts harrassing the couple. It all ends in violence. Today we would call this a serialkiller story. It has a nice atmosphere as Lumley has a good eye for land and people, and there is something creepy about stalking Spiros. The Caller of the Black: The first Titus Crow story. Occult specialist Crow picks a fight with black magician Gedney, who kills his enemies with black magic. But Crow can turn the table on him and destroy him. The plot of this one isn´t very original, villian Gedney is your typical Crowley stand in and not the least interesting. The story owes a LOT to Casting the Runes, even the delivered envelope is there, and the twist is, well, either clever or groanworthy. Depends on one´s taste, I guess. To be continued ... |
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Post by Steve on Nov 8, 2009 15:42:40 GMT
As a writer Lumley is particulary fascinated with Lovecraft´s fishmen from Innsmouth... It is a fascination I am afraid I can´t share. So there is a race of Creatures of the Black Lagoon living in the ocean and lusting for human woman to breed. Booh, scary, kids, bring on the harpoons. It is a concept which has IMHO dated badly, and reading about the terror of the protagonists upon discovering the frog people is more laughable than horrific. I take your point, Andy, but for me - and for all its shortcomings - the "Shadow Over Innsmouth" shtick was Lovecraft's greatest achievement. It's not the 'frog people' themselves, who were really nothing new even at the time, but rather the fishy taint they cast over everything. I love that sense of decay that Lovecraft instills in "Innsmouth" and the like - the rotting seafronts and overall atmosphere of physical, social and moral degradation. That's where the real horror lies. |
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Post by andydecker on Nov 8, 2009 16:14:31 GMT
No argument there. Lovecraft´s story is great. It is so much more than just frogman running around. Alone the long first part where our unfortunate hero is driving around the country and describing the decay, the sense of alienation and pure malice in the crumbling town, alone for that it is a great read. It gladly makes one overlook the silly action parts at the end. Lovecraft´s "action" never was convincing, but of course you don´t read him for the action.
Even the ending of "Innsmouth" is quite powerful and worked back then. It didn´t worked so well when others used it again and again.
I guess it is all in the execution. There is that great movie The City under the Sea with Vincent Price from 1965 which has a strong lovecraftian vibe, a sunken city on the cost of Cornwall, mysterious gillmen swiming around, which are quite scary. Here the concept works splendidly. In a lot of tales by Lin Carter, Lumley or others, they are the men in the proverbial rubber-suit.
The current arc of the Hellboy spin off BRPD is also using the frogmen in a big way, with splendid atmospheric artwork by Guy Davis, making them also a believable monster menace.
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Post by killercrab on Nov 8, 2009 18:03:28 GMT
I love that sense of decay that Lovecraft instills in "Innsmouth" and the like - the rotting seafronts and overall atmosphere of physical, social and moral degradation. That's where the real horror lies. >>
Nicely put. I keep thinking about investing in the recent Lovecraft greatest hits book - the companion to Conan Chronicles ( which is gorgeous). I've not read alot of Lovecraft but I can immediately smell the aroma of decay...
KC
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Post by lemming13 on Aug 5, 2010 21:22:39 GMT
Yes, that was HPL's real skill - the depiction of the crumbling of communities, families, and minds into a cesspool of despair and decay, and the evocation of sensory impressions of that. To be honest, I live in a city which has vast areas which remind me of Innsmouth; to the point where I walk around with the H P Lovecraft Historical Society's jolly little song 'It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Fishmen' playing on my Ipod, and know exactly what they mean. And we're landlocked.  |
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Post by andydecker on Aug 6, 2010 9:03:55 GMT
And we're landlocked. You know they also come through the ground?  |
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Post by lemming13 on Aug 9, 2010 17:48:45 GMT
Funnily enough, I once played a Call of Cthulhu roleplaying scenario in which freshwater cousins of the Deep Ones were living in a location clearly based on the Harecastle canal tunnel in the north end of this city. Mind you, most of the muties up that end are more like ghouls than fishmen.
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