- Paperback
- Publisher: Delirium Books (April 2003)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1929653387
- ISBN-13: 978-1929653386
- Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Format:Hardcover
This is my first hardcover collection, and I am still extremely proud of it. Delirium Books have become extremely sought after, and this is a book that will increase in value over time. The jacket illustrations by Augie Wiedemann, publish'd in colour, are exceptionally eerie and fine. Most of the stories in this book are those I wrote in the 1990's, and some few are earlier than that; and the majority of the tales take place in Sesqua Valley, a haunted locality that I invented in 1974 or thereabouts. The book's first tale, "O, Christmas Tree," was the first Sesqua story, written in collaboration with Jessica Amanda Salmonson. Many of the stories are in the Cthulhu Mythos.
The major flaw of these tales is that I wrote them before I had S. T. Joshi as my editor. I had some very peculiar habits as a young writer, affectations that were rooted in my obsession with H. P. Lovecraft. My attitude toward grammar was punk rock: forget the rules, I'll write it MY way! And thus a lot of the writing is flawed, poor, confused. I have affectations that I picked up from Lovecraft, spelling "show" as "shew" (something I still do on rare occasion), and using words incorrectly (mostly a matter of ignorance concerning correct English usage). And yet this collection remains my most popular book.
Among the weird tales is my sequence of thirty-three sonnets, heavily influenced by (corrupted by...?) the sonnets of H. P. Lovecraft and the glorious William Shakespeare -- my God of Literature. I try'd to be too clever and experimental with these poems, and the result is very poor. I think the finest among them is not Lovecraftian at all but rather an homage to Oscar Wilde:
I entertained the evil things of Life,
Those panther boys whose beauty I adored;
And for this crime I lost my sons, my wife,
And I became a thing grotesque, abhorred.
And so what can I do but live in dream,
Where my fine name is not a thing of mud,
Where kissing handsome lads does not blaspheme,
Where--seven-veil'd--I dance in pool of blood?
and so on. Compare that to this wonky effort:
Shall I compare you to the beauteous moon--
You, far more lovely, twice as lunatic?
Rough etchings carved into an antient rune
Are not more covert, more esoteric
As your pale eyes in which I nigh behold
The lazy luster of your hungry beam,
That self-substantial fire, twice more cold
Than those refracted rays of lunar stream.
Yuk.
Each tale is followed by a wee Author's Note, and some of these are rather amusing and informative. Buy the book because it is rare and will be a wise investment. But if you just want a copy for reading, the paperback edition (and it has more tales than this hardcover includes) is less costly.
The major flaw of these tales is that I wrote them before I had S. T. Joshi as my editor. I had some very peculiar habits as a young writer, affectations that were rooted in my obsession with H. P. Lovecraft. My attitude toward grammar was punk rock: forget the rules, I'll write it MY way! And thus a lot of the writing is flawed, poor, confused. I have affectations that I picked up from Lovecraft, spelling "show" as "shew" (something I still do on rare occasion), and using words incorrectly (mostly a matter of ignorance concerning correct English usage). And yet this collection remains my most popular book.
Among the weird tales is my sequence of thirty-three sonnets, heavily influenced by (corrupted by...?) the sonnets of H. P. Lovecraft and the glorious William Shakespeare -- my God of Literature. I try'd to be too clever and experimental with these poems, and the result is very poor. I think the finest among them is not Lovecraftian at all but rather an homage to Oscar Wilde:
I entertained the evil things of Life,
Those panther boys whose beauty I adored;
And for this crime I lost my sons, my wife,
And I became a thing grotesque, abhorred.
And so what can I do but live in dream,
Where my fine name is not a thing of mud,
Where kissing handsome lads does not blaspheme,
Where--seven-veil'd--I dance in pool of blood?
and so on. Compare that to this wonky effort:
Shall I compare you to the beauteous moon--
You, far more lovely, twice as lunatic?
Rough etchings carved into an antient rune
Are not more covert, more esoteric
As your pale eyes in which I nigh behold
The lazy luster of your hungry beam,
That self-substantial fire, twice more cold
Than those refracted rays of lunar stream.
Yuk.
Each tale is followed by a wee Author's Note, and some of these are rather amusing and informative. Buy the book because it is rare and will be a wise investment. But if you just want a copy for reading, the paperback edition (and it has more tales than this hardcover includes) is less costly.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
2 reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
A Note from Ye Author
12 Feb 2009
Format:Hardcover
This edition is obviously for die hard collectors only. The entire contents has recently been reprinted in an inexpensive paperback edition that has three more stories added, one of which is brand new. This Delirium hardcover is a beautiful book, and it is likely to increase in value as the years proceed, so buying it may be a wise financial move. Almost the entire contents of this book and my other paperback, THE FUNGAL STAIN AND OTHER DREAMS, has been reprinted in my new book from Centipede Press, THE TANGLED MUSE. The charm of this book, and that which has made it so popular, is that I follow each tale with personal (at times too personal) commentaries. This is a lovely book, as are all of Delirium's hardcovers, and the vinyl dust jacket is especially cool. Moft of ye contents slightly embarrasses me now because I wrote this book before I had S. T. JOSHI (the Magnificent!) as my professional editor. I was basically my own editor and thus I "did my own thing," wrote in an affected style that was highly tainted by some idiosyncrasies that enchanted me when I found them in Lovecraft's tales and correspondence (using words such as "shew" and "antient," &c). And much of the writing in the early tales is indeed garbage, as the other reviewer claims (although he has never actually read the book). If you want a book that will increase in value over time, spend all that $$$ and purchase this. Otherwise, buy the trade pb edition also offer'd here at Amazon, that was publish'd by Mythos Books and includes interior illustrations and additional tales. Selah.
0 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Garbage
8 Jun 2011
Format:Hardcover
The title says it all. If you want Lovecraftian horror - read Lovecraft. If you want a pale imitation, with no redeeming qualities, read this.
If you want cheap bird-cage liner - this book is for you.
If you want cheap bird-cage liner - this book is for you.
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