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Post by dem bones on Jul 27, 2021 5:52:48 GMT
You know I'm going to hold you to that, don't you? All good, so long as you provide suggestions--I've played around with Volume I and it's a challenge. I suspect later volumes will be easier. Thank you. Not sure if I'll be much help post-1939, but will worry about that when we get there.
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Post by cauldronbrewer on Jul 27, 2021 14:43:40 GMT
Adam Hull Shirk - Into the Fourth: Adventures in the Fourth Dimension — Disappearance of Two Men. Reformed criminal "Professor" Orlando Parkes unreforms for one last job before retiring abroad. Unfortunately, the house he burgles is that of Dr. Carrington, a scientist sworn to establish a gateway to the fourth dimension. This one would fit in the British Library's Dangerous Dimensions. Helen Liello - For Sale — A Country Seat: Cats, a Suicide, and a Real Estate Agent. Stannard lands a dream Tudor house in a park at the obligatory ridiculously generous price. The estate agent reluctantly concedes property is a hard sell on account of a previous owner hung himself. Stannard marvels at the credulity of superstitious simpletons. He most certainly has no fear of so-called "ghosts!" A hideously pale, twisted face at the window, a phantom corpse beneath the bed-sheets, and a black cat with a frayed, noose-like collar, attempt to persuade him otherwise. A workable setup, undermined by {Spoiler}a dire Scooby-doo ending.
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Post by cauldronbrewer on Jul 27, 2021 19:24:43 GMT
Lady Anne Bonny - Wings of Power [Part II of III]: From the helpful 'Synopses of Preceding Chapters' this sounds barking, but I'm wary of WT serials - the blurbs so often promise far more than cruelly prolonged story delivers - and I've not the patience to read parts I and III from a screen, so will reluctantly give Lady Bonny's opus a miss for time being. You didn't miss much. In theory, the story sounds wild: there are sinister scientists, zeta-rays, a mind control element named zodium, and a local lord who's obsessed with building an insect museum on the island of Montserrat. In practice, it's fairly dull.
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Post by cauldronbrewer on Jul 29, 2021 11:22:34 GMT
The July 1925 issue has been a tad disappointing, but maybe that's because I'd already read the top-shelf entries. Paul S Powers - The Death Cure: He Restored Life to the Body, But Could Not Bring Back the Soul. Stood up by their dealer, junkie Tim the Spotter and coke head Broadway Charlie break into the home laboratory of Dr. Abraham le Forne, 'Specialist in Diseases of the Mind,' a mummy-faced horror in a blood-splattered apron (he's just removed a particularly squelchy brain). Le Forne proposes a drugs-for-participation-in-an-experiment arrangement, and the intruders are too desperate to refuse. Le Forne deliberately overdoses both volunteers and callously informs them of the fact. Not to worry - his miracle serum will return them from death just so long as he doesn't wait until rigor mortis sets in.
Run-of-the-mill weird science, though the depiction of drug addiction was blunter than I expected. Harold E. Somerville - The Sudden Death of Luke A. Lucas: The Rumer of Luke's Demise Spread Like a Prairie Fire. Lucas pinballs all over town, trailing the source of the damaging newspaper report that he died earlier today. All a hilarious On the Buses size mix up. This issue's The Midnight Visitor. From memory, the weird story reprint, The Three Low Masses, is no great shakes either. A real groaner. I also can't argue with your memory of "The Three Low Masses." Seabury Quinn - Servants of Satan #5: The End of the Horror: True Tale of New England Witchcraft Author concludes his account of the Salem Witch Trials with a tribute to the formidable Lady Phips, wife to the Royal Governor of Massachusetts, who persuaded her husband to put a stop to the lunacy. The mischief of Ann Putnam and friends had by now claimed nineteen lives, with a further two hundred accused parties awaiting either trial or a one way journey to Gallows Hill. I'm surprised Haining didn't reprint the series in one of his witchcraft books - it has the hallmark of his favoured material. Old hat to me given that I've read a stack of books about the Salem witch trials (I've even visited the town a few times), but Quinn does pull out some interesting details. I particularly appreciate his focus on Ann Putnam, who I've always thought was one of the most fascinating figures in the tragedy--she was the only "afflicted girl" to later apologize for her role in the witch hunt.
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Post by dem bones on Jul 29, 2021 16:56:05 GMT
Seabury Quinn - Servants of Satan #5: The End of the Horror: Old hat to me given that I've read a stack of books about the Salem witch trials (I've even visited the town a few times) , you and countess bossy ... uh, princess tuvstarr both. ... but Quinn does pull out some interesting details. I particularly appreciate his focus on Ann Putnam, who I've always thought was one of the most fascinating figures in the tragedy--she was the only "afflicted girl" to later apologize for her role in the witch hunt. I know they're a little beginners guide, but I think both Quinn non-fiction series' from that period bring something extra to the table. I like the weird news snippets in the early Baird issues, too. Weird Tales, May 1923
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Post by cauldronbrewer on Jul 29, 2021 19:20:38 GMT
Andrew Brosnatch Eli Colter - Farthingale's Poppy: Four Men Make a Tremendous Effort to Revive the Dead. When Frank Gordoon, a man of phenomenal will-power, inexplicably drops dead, his best friend, Dr. Farthingale. cannot bring himself to embalm the corpse and instead transfers it direct to pine coffin and installs both in family vault. This is just as well. Their mutual friend Lawrence believes Gordoon, who had recently studied astral projection, is trapped outside his body. Before agreeing to grave-robbing, the Doctor, a self-confessed rank materialist, begs Frank for a sign to prove Lawrence correct. I'm still looking for a standout Colter story. This one isn't it. Jan Dirk - Clay-Covered Justice: A Strange East Indian Judgement Was Passed on Bull Orthcutt. Braithwaite outraged at the despicable crimes of a fellow white, resolves to take him into custody. He is too late. 'Bull' Orthcutt has terrorised the peaceful hill and jungle folk for too long. His murder of old Bey the potter's daughter - for her "refusal of certain demands" - is offence too many. The victim's intended, Jamal the Brahman, King of the hill tribe, takes matters into his own capable hands. Orthcutt's punishment is not what you might expect from accompanying illustration, which is rather a shame. Nothing truly weird here, though at least "Clay-Covered Justice" isn't as ravenously imperialist as, say, "Leopard's Trail." Jamal comes out looking better than Braithwaite, let alone Orthcutt. Robert E. Howard - Spear and Fang: Tale of the Cavemen - Neanderthatalers and Cro-Magnards. Fair A-aea is abducted by a cannibal man-ape, meat on his fangs, rape and murder in his little red piggy eyes. Ga-nor the cave-artist impulsively runs to the rescue. Can intelligence and guts defeat brute strength? It's not difficult to see why even Howard enthusiasts have tended to pass over "Spear and Fang."
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Post by Swan on Jul 29, 2021 20:07:29 GMT
Seabury Quinn - Servants of Satan #5: The End of the Horror: Old hat to me given that I've read a stack of books about the Salem witch trials (I've even visited the town a few times) , you and countess bossy ... uh, princess tuvstarr both. Oh dear. I fear the worst. Rather you than me.
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Post by 𝘗rincess 𝘵uvstarr on Jul 29, 2021 22:18:48 GMT
Seabury Quinn - Servants of Satan #5: The End of the Horror: Old hat to me given that I've read a stack of books about the Salem witch trials (I've even visited the town a few times) , you and countess bossy ... uh, princess tuvstarr both. PFFT! I don't care.
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Post by dem bones on Jul 30, 2021 8:11:01 GMT
What a start to the weekend just arrived from planet Betancourt. Farnsworth Wright [ed.] - Weird Tales, March 1925 (Wildside Press, 2021) Arthur Thatcher - The Last of the Teeheemen [Part 1 of 2] C. M. Eddy, Jr. - The Better Choice Robert S. Carr - The Composite Brain Zeke Lake - The Iron Lady in the Crypt Volney G. Mathison - The Death Bottle Gordon Philip England - Adventures of an Astral Carlos G. Stratton - A Pair of Mummies Fletcher R. Milton - The Flaming Eyes Albert Seymour Graham - The House of Fear Seabury Quinn - Servants Of Satan #1. The Salem Horror Willis Knapp Jones - Bright Eyes of Adventure Edith Lyle Ragsdale - The Burning Wrath of Allah Henry S. Whitehead - The Thin Match Arthur J. Burks - Strange Tales From Santo Domingo #2: Desert of the Dead Greye La Spina - The Last Cigarette Margaret McBride Hoss - The Weird Green Eyes of Sari George Ballard Bowers - A Gaddaan Alaad Robert Lee Heiser - The Dreamer Jan Dirk - Radio V-Rays Lady Anne Bonny - Wings of Power [Part 3 of 3] G. Frederick Montefiore - Black Curtains Jack Woodford - The Band of Gold Samuel M. Sargent, Jr. - The Dane John H. Green - Seven Men in a Tank
The Eyrie
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Post by dem bones on Jul 30, 2021 16:15:15 GMT
CCT revived the G. Frederick Montefiore's vignette in Not at Night (Oct. 1925) and again in the Omnibus (1936). Last of the Teeheemen - great white hunters, lost world, dinosaurs, etc., is reputedly well down to the standard of the serials to date (am determined to read it). Forrest J Ackerman revived both The Weird Green Eyes of Sari and aforementioned Black Curtains in Rainbow Fantasia, 2001. Andrew Brosnatch C. M. Eddy, Jr. - The Better Choice: Inventor Kills Himself to Test Machine for Reviving the Dead. John Castle leaves a note for his trusted friend, Montague White, on what to do when he discovers him lying dead in the laboratory. Castle has tested his life giving serum on a multitude of guinea pigs (including a guinea pig) and has every confidence on returning from the dead. His guide on the other side assures him he would be better moving on to the next plane, but, Castle Is insistent. Should his formula work, he demands to live out his earthly span. Zeke Lake - The Iron Lady in the Crypt: Modern Revenge by Medieval Means. A millionaire Parisian bribes the museum caretaker to allow him access to the torture chamber so he can steal an item or two for his private collection. The caretaker recognises him as the scoundrel who ruined the woman he loved. No wonder the face of the Iron Nun forever wears a cruel smile.
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Post by cauldronbrewer on Jul 30, 2021 19:18:25 GMT
Last of the Teeheemen - great white hunters, lost world, dinosaurs, etc., is reputedly well down to the standard of the serials to date (am determined to read it). The concluding half of J. Schlossel's "Hurled into the Infinite" from the July 1925 issue certainly lives down to expectations. It's full of weird science nonsense about a secret "Society of Man" using "will power" to teleport people to a distant planet inhabited by "near-men." For any authors out there feeling the sting of a negative review, take comfort in the fact that one letter to the July 1925 installment of The Eyrie criticizes H.P. Lovecraft as "straining for effect" (well, maybe) but then praises "When the Green Star Waned" by Nictzin Dyalhis as "one of the most remarkable stories of its kind which have yet appeared" (I'd agree with that for sure, just not in the sense the letter writer means it).
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Post by dem bones on Jul 31, 2021 11:10:33 GMT
Been meaning to add the exact quote somewhere. Here seems as good a place as any as every story from 1925 is under suspicion. Andrew Brosnatch Robert S. Carr - The Composite Brain: Insane Scientist Creates a Monster Out of Living Tissue. Prof. Hurley and star mad student Leroy cultivate an obscene misshapen abomination by grafting human and animal limbs - bits of "monster bulldog," octopus and swamp rattlesnake prominent among them - to a mass of living protoplasm. Hurley, controlling the killer thing telepathically, unleashes it on his multiple enemies. Simply adorable! Albert Seymour Graham - The House of Fear: Stark Terror Stalks Through This Tale of a Madhouse. Dr. Helmhortz, 'the Master of Black Magic,' has his hooded disciples abduct Carrold Baron, banker, and token anonymous blonde - new admissions to his private asylum in the woods. Contains scenes of non-consensual face transplant surgery. It is not unlikely this three pager was left over from satanic reign of Edwin Baird. Andrew Brosnatch Robert Lee Heiser - The Dreamer: Fascinating Weird Romance by the Author of "Adventure of Souls". " ... would you dare suggest to the bank cashier, sprawled on the floor in a pool of his own blood, that Phantom Dick was made of the stuff of dreams." In his dreams, farm labourer Richard Stafford is Phantom Dick, mastermind of the most daring band of criminals the (West Midlands?) city has ever seen. When Dick falls for Enid Quigley, a beautiful young typist, he first initiates her into the gang, then plots their escape to freedom from his confederates who have become murder happy. During his waking hours, Richard's life takes a turn for the weird when he first meets the living image of his fantasy girl while reading of a serial bank robber's latest daring exploits in the newspaper.
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Post by cauldronbrewer on Jul 31, 2021 16:06:04 GMT
Been meaning to add the exact quote somewhere. Here seems as good a place as any as every story from 1925 is under suspicion. Baird's reign could help account for the inclusion of "The White Queen of the Corolans," the two-part Arthur Thatcher serial that begins in the July 1925 issue. There's nothing noticeably weird about this tale of two shipwrecked sailors who find themselves entangled in the politics of an African city-state. The story does include a whole lot of something else, which you can probably guess based on the setting and title. A definite lowlight.
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Post by dem bones on Aug 1, 2021 9:03:45 GMT
Andrew Brosnatch Arthur J. Burks - Desert of the Dead: Strange Tales from San Domingo: No. 2. A great hollow bowl in the mountains, shunned by the natives. Whitey knows better than any superstitious black and sets out to explore this so called 'desert of the dead.' Come nightfall, the vast expanse of sand is transformed into a jungle thick with soldiers. The white man witnesses the spectral reenactment of bloody massacre amidst an inferno. A strong most violent story of issue contender. Seabury Quinn - Servants Of Satan #1. The Salem Horror: True Tale of Witchcraft. "Something must be done; a means must be found to unite the people in one common cause and divert their dislike from their pastor. Love? No, the Reverend Mr. Parris' religion knows no love. He is a Fundamentalist of the Fundamentalists, and, like his modern brethren of the same school, finds his favourite passages of Scripture among those which tell of the dreadful vengeance of the Almighty. Fear? Hatred? Perhaps. These emotions sway men and women more vigorously than anything else, But how?" The catalyst is Tituba, the Parris' West Indian maid, who has taken to entertaining the villagers' daughters with palm reading and dark tales of voodoo. Several of the girls begin behaving in an odd manner designed to draw attention upon themselves. The physician, Dr. Griggs, solemnly pronounces them bewitched. The 'victims' are not slow to denounce the two friendless old women responsible. Sarah Osburn and Sarah Good are taken into custody, soon to be joined by Tituba. The Salem Horror has begun. Greye La Spina - The Last Cigarette: Fate Played a Strange Prank Upon This Man Who Slew Himself. With the death of his wife, Milton Wheeler faces ruination under a mountain of secret debt he can never hope to settle. How Benson, his enemy, will gloat at his public disgrace! There is but one way out. Jack Woodford - The Band of Gold : A Fearsome Tale of Plastic Surgery. To win back her toy boy lover, Mrs. Zander colludes with a struck off surgeon to steal her young love rival's comely body. Farnsworth Wright should have introduced a monthly department, 'Edwin Baird selects another masterpiece of horror' to keep us from guessing.
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Post by helrunar on Aug 1, 2021 14:28:09 GMT
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