david
Crab On The Rampage
Posts: 45
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Post by david on Nov 14, 2021 11:23:52 GMT
I'm curious if anyone here has read Davies' last novel, Morning Walk. I own all of his other novels, but that one is nearly impossible to obtain. I was wondering what people thought of it, and whether it holds up against his earlier work.
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Post by Middoth on Nov 14, 2021 13:12:39 GMT
David I plundered "Land of Leys", "Possesion", "Psychogeist" and "Twilight Journey" from archive. org
what do you think about my choice? who is missing on the list? can you share your impressions of this writer?
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david
Crab On The Rampage
Posts: 45
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Post by david on Nov 14, 2021 16:25:37 GMT
Hi Middoth,
I find all of Davies' novels to be at least enjoyable and generally absorbing. Out of the 4 you have, Twilight Journey is among his best. A very original concept, well-executed. Psychogeist is also very good. It's been a while since I have read Possession or Land of Leys, though I know I liked both. I remember that Leys had more of a traditional supernatural element to it than most of Davies' longer works, where any fantastic elements were given a sort of super-science rationale. Some readers feel Davies' later novels dropped off a bit in quality, which may be true, though I don't think any of them were less than competent and thoroughly readable.
His complete novels, in order of publication are The Paper Dolls, Who is Lewis Pinder? (Man Out of Nowhere in the UK), The Artificial Man, Psychogeist, The Reluctant Medium (Tell it to the Dead in the UK), Twilight Journey, The Lampton Dreamers, A Grave Matter (The Nameless Ones in the UK), The Alien, Dimension A, Genesis Two, Stranger to Town, The White Room, Adventure Holidays Ltd. (his only novel specifically targeted at young adults), The Shadow Before, Give Me Back Myself, What Did I Do Tomorrow?, Assignment Abacus, Possession, The Land of Leys, Morning Walk.
As I mentioned, I haven't read Morning Walk, so I can't speak to it. Likewise, while I have been gradually re-reading my wat through all of them, in my re-reeading I have only got up to What Did I Do, and my memories of his novels after that are more hazy. But I would say that all are at least worth reading. My personal favorite is Artificial Man, but that could be in large part because it was the first one I read and it made a great impression on me at the time. Some readers don't like the ending, but I think it is pretty powerful. I didn't realize until years later that, in this book, Davies borrowed heavily from Philip K. Dick's Time Out of Joint. Nevertheless, he does a very effective job with the ideas he borrowed.
I'd say Lewis Pinder is essential Davies reading, and the book in which he first really began to explore questions of identity and identity disorientation, which became almost a compulsion for him in subsequent books. Very ingenious. He explores similar themes in almost all of his novels, but especially Artificial Man, Twilight Journey, The Alien, The White Room, The Shadow Before, Give Me Back Myself, and What Did I Do Tomorrow? S.T Joshi thinks Shadow Before is his best novel, and it is certainly ranks high. But in all of these treatments, Davies manages to generate a real sense of unease, disorientation, and low-key terror.
Have fun with you reading! I envy you reading these for the first time.
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Post by Middoth on Nov 14, 2021 16:42:48 GMT
Thanks David! I am very curious about this period before the horror boom in the 70s. It looks like Davis deserves a reprint just as much as John Blackburn got into print again thanks to the efforts of Valancourt. They are united by a penchant for plotting at the cross of genres.
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david
Crab On The Rampage
Posts: 45
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Post by david on Nov 14, 2021 17:14:03 GMT
Yes. Blackburn is another favorite. He and Davies have a lot in common.
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Post by Jojo Lapin X on Nov 14, 2021 17:58:19 GMT
This L P Davies, whom I swear I never heard of before today, is not very well represented in the ebook market. In fact, he has no presence at all. Furthermore, I was only able to find a total of two---shall we say---unofficial editions, of THE WHITE ROOM and DIMENSION A.
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Post by andydecker on Nov 14, 2021 18:46:25 GMT
This L P Davies, whom I swear I never heard of before today, is not very well represented in the ebook market. In fact, he has no presence at all. Furthermore, I was only able to find a total of two---shall we say---unofficial editions, of THE WHITE ROOM and DIMENSION A. Me too. The name is new to me.
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Post by Middoth on Nov 14, 2021 19:12:14 GMT
you see how many strange writers you have in England that even you, as a native, do not know about everyone
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Post by Jojo Lapin X on Nov 14, 2021 19:43:48 GMT
By contrast, everything Victoria Holt ever published is readily available unofficially, thanks to the industrious scanning and formatting performed by, I like to imagine, an army of little old ladies.
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Post by Swampirella on Nov 14, 2021 19:50:04 GMT
By contrast, everything Victoria Holt ever published is readily available unofficially, thanks to the industrious scanning and formatting performed by, I like to imagine, an army of little old ladies. I used to like her books, growing up, before I “crossed over to the dark side” & started liking the type of books featured here…
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Post by Middoth on Nov 14, 2021 19:52:08 GMT
just her fans are ready to share good things, other writers do not always have such generous fans
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david
Crab On The Rampage
Posts: 45
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Post by david on Nov 14, 2021 21:14:19 GMT
S.T. Joshi includes a chapter on Davies in his The Evolution of the Weird Tale and assessments of three of his novels in The Development of the Weird Tale. Other than that, his work hasn't received a lot of serious critical attention. And Shadows Before marks the first time any of his short stories have been collected. Other than some anthology appearances, most have been unavailable since their original periodical appearances.
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Post by andydecker on Nov 14, 2021 22:33:58 GMT
just her fans are ready to share good things, other writers do not always have such generous fans Those other writers are the lucky ones. They get paid for their work.
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Post by jamesdoig on Nov 15, 2021 0:49:30 GMT
S.T. Joshi includes a chapter on Davies in his The Evolution of the Weird Tale and assessments of three of his novels in The Development of the Weird Tale. Other than that, his work hasn't received a lot of serious critical attention. And Shadows Before marks the first time any of his short stories have been collected. Other than some anthology appearances, most have been unavailable since their original periodical appearances. David, were you able to find much more biographical info about him? I've just been reading his wikipedia entry and the references there are fascinating, especially the Trashface Blog where the guy hired a private detective to find out more about him!
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david
Crab On The Rampage
Posts: 45
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Post by david on Nov 15, 2021 1:13:20 GMT
Jamesdoig,
i wasn't able to uncover a lot more biographical info aout him than previous researchers had, but by collating what info i could gather from various reference entries, blurbs, cover copy and such, I feel safe in stating that the details of his life that I include in my intro to Shadows Before are as complete as anything you wil currently find. But as I note in that intro, the number of his pseudonyms nearly equals the vierifiable facts of his life.
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