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Post by redbrain on Jun 26, 2008 12:57:59 GMT
The end at last...
The Spider - Hans Heinz Ewers. A classic tale which deserves much praise -- but perhaps needs little comment from me.
The Children of Ubasti - Seabury Quinn. Not a black magic story, but a straighforward monster story... I shouldn't like this. I'm not a big fan of psychic sleuths. I think that the better Carnacki stories, The Whistling Room for example, would be improved by the removal of Carnacki. And -- name of a little blue dog, friend Trowbridge! -- the Jules de Grandin stories are as preposterous as psychic sleuth stories come. Despite that, perhaps because of that, I have rather a weakness for Jules de Grandin. A guilty pleasure. I know that the de Grandin stories are rubbish (how could I not know?) but they're enormously enjoyable. This one is no exception and -- for me -- ended the book on a high.
I wouldn't be astonished if that last mini-review surprised our Janitor of Lunacy.
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Post by dem on Jun 26, 2008 14:53:41 GMT
Well, "I know that the de Grandin stories are rubbish" didn't come as too much of a shocker but I'm pleased you get something - in fact, the right thing - from the Seebs' work. His non-De Grandin's are probably "better written" but I know which I prefer. As to The Spider I've always considered it a grimmer, nastied up rewrite of Erckmann & Chatrian's The Invisible Eye. They're both excellent in their own way, but, Ewers being Ewers, he takes the unflinching approach to the material and therefore I reckon he just shades it. Read Ewers' The Execution Of Damiens for the first time in years on Monday and was blown away by it all over, even though I knew exactly what was coming.
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Post by redbrain on Jun 27, 2008 13:17:47 GMT
Well, "I know that the de Grandin stories are rubbish" didn't come as too much of a shocker but I'm pleased you get something - in fact, the right thing - from the Seebs' work. His non-De Grandin's are probably "better written" but I know which I prefer. I think you're right in thinking that Seeb's non-Grandin stories are better written. (Or are often better written.) But, when it comes down to it, if you're looking for fine writing you probably won't be reading Seeb's work at all. I'd rather read de Grandin than Seeb's other stuff simply because it's more fun. In fact, maybe there ought to be a de Grandin thread somewhere on the Vault. As to The Spider I've always considered it a grimmer, nastied up rewrite of Erckmann & Chatrian's The Invisible Eye. They're both excellent in their own way, but, Ewers being Ewers, he takes the unflinching approach to the material and therefore I reckon he just shades it. Read Ewers' The Execution Of Damiens for the first time in years on Monday and was blown away by it all over, even though I knew exactly what was coming. I read Ewers' The Execution Of Damiens in one of the Pan Horror books when it (the early volume of Pan Horrors, not the story) was first published. That must have been the mid 60s. (I could check by riffling through my books upstairs, but can't be arsed). The story still remains with me quite vividly, when much of my early horror reading has vanished from my brain. |
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Post by dem on Jun 27, 2008 13:43:40 GMT
In fact, maybe there ought to be a de Grandin thread somewhere on the Vault. The late, great Seabury has a few dead rubbers in the Fantastic Pulps/ Weird Shudder section where only the bravest dare venture even for 1 second ..... |
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Post by redbrain on Jun 27, 2008 14:52:15 GMT
In fact, maybe there ought to be a de Grandin thread somewhere on the Vault. The late, great Seabury has a few dead rubbers in the Fantastic Pulps/ Weird Shudder section where only the bravest dare venture even for 1 second .....  Only the bravest, eh? That cuts me out! |
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Post by Johnlprobert on Jun 27, 2008 15:08:57 GMT
Perhaps this is(n't) the time to mention that I've got the three volume set 'The Complete Adventures of Jules de Grandin' from Battered Silicon Despatch Box?
They're all a bit samey, to tell you the truth. One of the very best is 'House of Horrors' which got reprinted by dear old Herbert in Pan No.1
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Post by andydecker on Jun 27, 2008 19:25:58 GMT
So I am not the only one who bought the Batered Silicon edition? I love Quinn. Yes, he is formulaic in many parts and some of his tics can become quite lame, but his stories are fun. Quite racy for it´s time. (Maybe the nude girl in almost every story was the secret of his success  who knows?) Of course not every one is a winner, but he can surprise his readers. And the three volume edition is a very nice edition. |
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Post by Johnlprobert on Jun 27, 2008 19:37:51 GMT
Hi Andy!
Yes it is nice to know someone else bought it. Mine got a bit bashed by poor packaging from the US but I was assured that 'that happened to all of them'.
Yes I would have to agree that you can't go wrong with a bit of nudity, or having your clothes torn off by some despicable monster such that you are reduced to panties & a slip, but by the time I was halfway through volume 2 it was starting to get a bit like 'Midsomer Murders' - even Kolchak didn't have quite so many 'Monsters of the Week'!
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Post by redbrain on Jun 27, 2008 22:48:46 GMT
I think the naked and semi-naked girls in de Grandin stories were provided as fuel for Margaret Brundage's cover paintings. (Though I'm not sure how many covers de Grandin notched up.) According to one of Lovecraft's letters, Seabury Quinn had framed Margaret Brundage paintings in his home.
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Post by dem on Aug 11, 2010 17:22:20 GMT
Perhaps this is(n't) the time to mention that I've got the three volume set 'The Complete Adventures of Jules de Grandin' from Battered Silicon Despatch Box? They're all a bit samey, to tell you the truth. One of the very best is 'House of Horrors' which got reprinted by dear old Herbert in Pan No.1 thanks to the Fantasy Center (RIP), i got into Seabury Quinn via second-hand copies of Magazine Of Horror & Startling Mystery Stories, and it seems to me now that Robert A. W. Lowdnes cherry-picked the best of the stories; many of the post-WW2 de Grandin's i've read - with the notable exception of the horrible Suicide Chapel - have struck me as pretty flat in comparison to the often barking, frequently inventive 'twenties & 'thirties adventures. Lord P. and any other fans of The House Of Horror, if you've not read it and you have a copy - it's sure to be included in this super-sounding "Battered Silicon Despatch Box" edition - try The House Where Time Stood Still ( Weird Tales, March, 1939), all but a rewrite of the same story but with the mutilations turned up to 11. Yes I would have to agree that you can't go wrong with a bit of nudity, or having your clothes torn off by some despicable monster such that you are reduced to panties & a slip, but by the time I was halfway through volume 2 it was starting to get a bit like 'Midsomer Murders' - even Kolchak didn't have quite so many 'Monsters of the Week'! I love Midsomer Murders, me. Especially when the story-lines involve witchcraft & the supernatural ( Talking to the Dead features, among other niceties, phantom monks, a slappable showbiz psychic and murder by impalement inside an iron maiden) and the surprisingly numerous episodes where the going gets fruity (Elverton-cum-Latterly is an unlikely hotbed of fantasy role playing, "private cookery lessons", risqué riding crop action and other scandalous goings on in Country Matters). Sometimes you strike lucky and get both for the price of one. In The Straw Woman a gay vicar is burned alive inside an effigy, his lover "spontaneously combusts", a severed pig's head is mounted on the altar and a retired nightclub owner converts his stately hall into a swingers paradise. Then there are the eps which are just plain old fashioned grisly; the recent Sword Of Guillaume saw the beheading of a property developer aboard a ghost train. Gruesome enough but bettered by the next murder - a buxom hotelier has her head hacked off and plonked on the dressing table. i'd hoped to bump into one of Caroline Graham's six original Midsomer Murders novels on my travels by now but no joy as yet. |
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Post by andydecker on Aug 11, 2010 19:00:17 GMT
love Midsomer Murders, me. Especially when the story-lines involve witchcraft & the supernatural ( Talking to the Dead features, among other niceties, phantom monks, a slappable showbiz psychic and murder by impalement inside an iron maiden) and the surprisingly numerous episodes where the going gets fruity (Elverton-cum-Latterly is an unlikely hotbed of fantasy role playing, "private cookery lessons", risqué riding crop action and other scandalous goings on in Country Matters). Sometimes you strike lucky and get both for the price of one. In The Straw Woman a gay vicar is burned alive inside an effigy, his lover "spontaneously combusts", a severed pig's head is mounted on the altar and a retired nightclub owner converts his stately hall into a swingers paradise. Then there are the eps which are just plain old fashioned grisly; the recent Sword Of Guillaume saw the beheading of a property developer aboard a ghost train. Gruesome enough but bettered by the next murder - a buxom hotelier has her head hacked off and plonked on the dressing table. i'd hoped to bump into one of Caroline Graham's six original Midsomer Murders novels on my travels by now but no joy as yet. Also love Midsummer Murders. They showed it here on german tv, sunday´s at 10. Still are a few seasons behind. But it is a lot of fun. The higher the bodycount, the better they are. The Straw Woman was a good one. Or the one with the guillotine, They seek him here  They can be pretty meanspirited which I really like. Not taking themselves so seriously as other british crime shows is also a bonus. |
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Post by andydecker on Aug 11, 2010 19:20:31 GMT
Perhaps this is(n't) the time to mention that I've got the three volume set 'The Complete Adventures of Jules de Grandin' from Battered Silicon Despatch Box? I thought I was the only one who bought this  I got stuck in the first one. It is best taken in small doses. And the format isn´t exactly reader friendly. |
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Post by Johnlprobert on Aug 11, 2010 20:09:01 GMT
Perhaps this is(n't) the time to mention that I've got the three volume set 'The Complete Adventures of Jules de Grandin' from Battered Silicon Despatch Box? I thought I was the only one who bought this I got stuck in the first one. It is best taken in small doses. And the format isn´t exactly reader friendly. Andy you're the only other person I know who bought the set as well! Yes the books ARE very unwieldy and I've no idea if I'll ever get to the end of them! |
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Post by dem on Aug 11, 2010 21:21:04 GMT
They can be pretty meanspirited which I really like. Not taking themselves so seriously as other british crime shows is also a bonus. I think it might be in Talking to the Dead: Barnaby & Ben interview an author of occult non-fiction. For the briefest moment the camera catches the dust-jacket of his latest masterpiece and, unless i imagined it, the title is Mumbo Jumbo Today. At least six of the screenplays are the work of the absurdly prolific Anthony Horowitz who has plenty of previous where the genre is concerned, the bulk of his horror & supernatural novels and shorts aimed at the young adult market. He also edited, The Puffin Book of Horror Stories (1994) Pete Johnson - Secret Terror
Stephen King - Battleground
Robert Westall - The Vacancy
Guy de Maupassant - The Twitch
Laurence Staig - Freebies
Roald Dahl - Man from the South
Kenneth Ireland - The Werewolf Mask
John Gordon - Eels
Bram Stoker - Jonathan Harker’s Journal [extract from Dracula
Anthony Horowitz - Bath Night |
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Post by andydecker on Aug 11, 2010 23:01:56 GMT
Horowitz wrote horror novels? I only knew about his YA thrillers which I have zero interest in.
On the strength of his work on Midsummer I bought Foyle´s War. Most of those british series were shown here, from Prime Suspect to Wire in the Blood, but they shied away from Foyle´s War. (Untill now at least). After reading so much about this and as I am interested in those period pieces I sampled the first DvD of Foyle. Great stuff. Never regretted ordering this.
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Only the bravest, eh? That cuts me out!
who knows?) Of course not every one is a winner, but he can surprise his readers.
I got stuck in the first one. It is best taken in small doses. And the format isn´t exactly reader friendly.