tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post5573382967639174993..comments2024-03-28T15:30:09.903-04:00Comments on GROGNARDIA: Pulp Fantasy Library: The Great God PanJames Maliszewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-64110352455668956282010-10-20T08:08:43.706-04:002010-10-20T08:08:43.706-04:00I keep meaning to read this story - I suppose some...I keep meaning to read this story - I suppose someday I will.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00801468265072232351noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-28601420038206970472010-10-19T20:56:24.726-04:002010-10-19T20:56:24.726-04:00On another note: While I don't consider the te...<i>On another note: While I don't consider the term "pulp fantasy" to be derogatory, I do find your use of it awkward. "Pulp fantasy" has (or had) a more specific reference than you give it, and I find the definition "works of the imagination intended for a mass audience that draw on eclectic sources for their own inspiration" to be so broad that it's not much use for categorization. Your use would include everything from Robert E. Howard to The Hobbit to The Well of the Unicorn; at that point, one might as well just say "fantasy." What would you give as an example of non-pulp fantasy?</i><br /><br>You're right that my typical usage of it is pretty broad, perhaps even too broad, but it's not completely without meaning. Generally, I don't include "epic" or "high" fantasy under the pulp fantasy rubric, so I'd never classify, say, Tolkien, Eddings, Donaldson, etc. as pulp fantasy. Likewise, most of what I call pulp fantasy is in short story or novella form, or at least is more "episodic" in nature. That excludes lots of series from the category. It's true I've discussed many books that violate these characteristics in my Pulp Fantasy Library posts, but I usually admit this upfront and, when I don't, it's probably because I think it's clear that the book exerted some influence over <i>D&D</i> and thus gets a pass.James Maliszewskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-45784068404302986332010-10-18T23:00:31.479-04:002010-10-18T23:00:31.479-04:00The story of how Machen reviewed Clark Ashton Smit...The story of how Machen reviewed Clark Ashton Smith's first collection of verse:<br /><br />http://www.eldritchdark.com/articles/reviews/15/a-machen-review-of-clark-ashton-smith<br /><br />Matthew: I read your post. While there are some points I agree with, I just don't see HPL and Machen as "180 from each other". How then did HPL write "The Lurking Fear"? Some have contended that "The Dunwich Horror" is a rewrite of/homage to "The Novel of the Black Seal" (I agree). <br /><br />If HPL was so non-simpatico with Machen's world-view, why did he only chide Machen for the latter's use of sex for "weird/horrific" effect (something HPL basically did in "The Thing on the Doorstep" and "The Shadow Over Innsmouth")? <br /><br />HPL, despite probably knowing Machen's Christian proclivities, doesn't seem to feel them worth remarking upon. A reason for that could be Machen's outlook was so far beyond the realms of "standard" Christian thought at the time that it essentially circled back around to something HPL could agree with. Not 100% congruence, but not "180 the other direction" either.<br /><br />Machen obviously had no profound objections to something like CAS' "The Star-Treader". He also corresponded with a couple of people connected with the Lovecraft Circle (check the link above). So, no, I don't agree with the "180 away from" position.<br /><br />Deuce RichardsonDeucehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00240457596421236288noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-26413951261798300502010-10-18T22:03:40.464-04:002010-10-18T22:03:40.464-04:00@Larry - I expressed myself better here: http://wh...@Larry - I expressed myself better here: http://wheel-of-samsara.blogspot.com/2010/10/tales-of-arthur-machen-and-supernatural.html<br /><br />But I do think HPL and Machen are actually 180 from each other.Matthew Slepinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04056247825064943944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-80815679335932130012010-10-18T21:19:21.020-04:002010-10-18T21:19:21.020-04:00@ PCB
That Stephen King quote is pure gold.@ PCB<br /><br />That Stephen King quote is pure gold.Mirandahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10745062840676790649noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-8308217869801928942010-10-18T20:48:27.214-04:002010-10-18T20:48:27.214-04:00It is not generally known, but Robert E. Howard wa...It is not generally known, but Robert E. Howard was a HUGE Machen fan. He considered "The Novel of the Black Seal" to be as good as anything by Poe or HPL. A foundational influence upon "Worms of the Earth".<br /><br />REH once threatened to write a fannish letter to Machen. Perhaps he did.<br /><br />Machen certainly believed in what he was writing, at least on a basic level. Such belief was why he joined (and later left) The Golden Dawn. I wouldn't call his viewpoint particularly humanocentric. More "cosmically Christian" than anything.Deucehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00240457596421236288noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-48515976033508604172010-10-18T19:52:32.220-04:002010-10-18T19:52:32.220-04:00@PCB
SK has a lot of self justifying stupidity to...@PCB<br /><br />SK has a lot of self justifying stupidity to spew to all and sundry to vindicated whatever he's embarrassed about. He's just too lazy to work out plot. And he's happy to steal somebody else's. Dracula, The Haunting Of Hill House, and Of Mice And Men were all rewritten by SK as Salem's Lot, The Shining, and Blaze (unpublished). The Stand went beyond a thousand pages and became his "own Viet Nam", because he'd literally lost the plot. SK books have virtues, but I'm not keen on the self serving things the man says. Is Sidney Sheldon telling people how to write?brasspenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00740202895575678193noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-34076551294180647402010-10-18T18:53:27.072-04:002010-10-18T18:53:27.072-04:00I believe that The Great God Pan is also a favouri...I believe that The Great God Pan is also a favourite of Stephen King's - he mentions in his memoir "On Writing" that his own novella "N" was a tribute to Machen's. In this regard King reminds me of Henry Rollins: I'm not a fan of either of their bodies of work, but I am regularly interested in what they are reading or listening to.<br /><br />Meandering off the topic for a moment - I haven't read "On Writing", but the Amazon reviews mention one interesting snippet from the writing advice he gives:<br /><br />'He doesn't plot his stories. He puts "a group of characters in some sort of predicament and then watch them try to work themselves free." In fact he even goes as far as to say, "plot is shifty, and best kept under house arrest."'<br /><br />Actually, if you look at the Amazon preview of the book and search for 'plot', on page 159 there is this interesting statement:<br /><br />"I distrust plot for two reasons: first, because our _lives_ are largely plotless, ...; and second, because I believe plotting and the sponteaneity of real creation aren't compatible."<br /><br />In King's terms, story being the actual events that take place through a novel, movie, or (I dare say) a game, whereas plotting is the act of pre-determining what direction those events will take and to what conclusion they lead. A perspective I wasn't expecting to hear from SK, once again his thoughts are more interesting to me than his work ...PCBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03645647030605683608noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-74045957296801763912010-10-18T15:06:22.059-04:002010-10-18T15:06:22.059-04:00Gee, we must both be channeling something since I ...Gee, we must both be channeling something since I just posted about Machen the other day. A guy who does not get as much love as he should. I think Machen is creepier than Lovecraft because Machen's vision is so humanocentric; the alien horror turns out to be, in some sense, us.<br /><br />I like the Great God Pan, although I think The White People is probably the most unsettling story of Machen's that I have read.Matthew Slepinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04056247825064943944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-56878545172412858622010-10-18T13:53:03.858-04:002010-10-18T13:53:03.858-04:00Stormcrow said: "You can find the The Great G...Stormcrow said: "You can find the The Great God Pan at Project Gutenberg."<br /><br />And onto the smartphone it goes. Thanks!Deltahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00705402326320853684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-57677577527714325042010-10-18T13:43:53.559-04:002010-10-18T13:43:53.559-04:00You can find the The Great God Pan at Project Gute...You can find the <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/389" rel="nofollow">The Great God Pan</a> at Project Gutenberg. <br /><br />Thanks, James. I needed a good nightmare tonight...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-51381310238565011542010-10-18T10:52:14.354-04:002010-10-18T10:52:14.354-04:00I do find The Great God Pan very unsettling, and a...I do find <i>The Great God Pan</i> very unsettling, and always have. I think you're right to attribute that to Machen's ideas, but it also flows from his <i>conviction</i>; he seems to be writing about things he deeply believes.<br /><br />On another note: While I don't consider the term "pulp fantasy" to be derogatory, I do find your use of it awkward. "Pulp fantasy" has (or had) a more specific reference than you give it, and I find the definition "works of the imagination intended for a mass audience that draw on eclectic sources for their own inspiration" to be so broad that it's not much use for categorization. Your use would include everything from Robert E. Howard to <i>The Hobbit</i> to <i>The Well of the Unicorn</i>; at that point, one might as well just say "fantasy." What would you give as an example of non-pulp fantasy?John Harper Brinegarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17592827787099084705noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-75322758716422502172010-10-18T10:35:23.618-04:002010-10-18T10:35:23.618-04:00Ever since I discovered this quote from H G Wells ...Ever since I discovered this quote from H G Wells I've thought of him as a soul-brother to HPL... maybe I did before, but this strengthens it:<br />"Science is a match that man has just got alight. He thought he was in a room - in moments of devotion, a temple - and that his light would be reflected from and display walls inscribed with wonderful secrets and pillars carved with philosophical systems wrought into harmony. It is a curious sensation, now that the preliminary splutter is over and the flame burns up clear, to see his hands lit and just a glimpse of himself and the patch he stands on visible, and around him, in place of all that human comfort and beauty he anticipated - darkness still."<br /><br />H G Wells:'The Rediscovery of the Unique' Fortnightly Review (1891)richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13517340075234811323noreply@blogger.com