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JulieH
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« Reply #15 on: May 21, 2012, 01:34:59 PM » |
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Oddly enough, the sequel isn't awful, taken alone. It has some interesting things in it (much like the Shock treatment/rocky horror dichotomy). But taken as a sequel, it's horrible.
Basically, it's Derlething Cast a Deadly Spell. It's using some of the superficial aspects of the original, but trying to mix it with a completely different part of modern society (McCarthyism), which would be a valid concept for a story set in a similar world, EXCEPT....
Wait, let me be plain.
Cast a Deadly Spell posits a world where magic is a new technology. It's recent, but it's pervasive - and seems to be accepted by 99.9% of the populace. Like electricity. Even those who choose not to use it don't seem to be offended by it.
Witch Hunt then posits (and it does appear to have moved forward into the 50s, assuming from the cars and styles and technocolor presentation) a slight jump into a future where suddenly magic is shunned and offensive (a la communism, hence the name) and practitioners are being outed and punished.
It's not a logical step for the story to take.
Totally derlethed.
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T. Kelly Lee
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« Reply #16 on: May 21, 2012, 02:00:55 PM » |
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Interestingly, though I don't like the hard-boiled detective type story mixed with the mythos, I think I know have an idea for taking that genre, turning it on its head, and coming up with a story. Hmm. Feels delightfully hypocritical. Let's see what happens...
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LambethWarp
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« Reply #17 on: May 22, 2012, 10:10:30 AM » |
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Anyone here read Shadows Over Baker Street? Holmes/Cthulhu x-over, for those who don't know. I bought it last year and it's generally fairly enjoyable - the first story (by Neil Gaiman, no less) was pretty good, in particular. A few were definitely quite naff though, and even in some of the better stories there were bits that made me think "Dammit, I can write better than this".
On the whole I'd recommend it. I guess the 'hardboiled' detective (sub-)genre postdates the original Holmes stories by a few decades though.
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JulieH
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« Reply #18 on: May 22, 2012, 10:23:29 AM » |
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Anyone here read Shadows Over Baker Street? Holmes/Cthulhu x-over, for those who don't know. I bought it last year and it's generally fairly enjoyable - the first story (by Neil Gaiman, no less) was pretty good, in particular. A few were definitely quite naff though, and even in some of the better stories there were bits that made me think "Dammit, I can write better than this".
On the whole I'd recommend it. I guess the 'hardboiled' detective (sub-)genre postdates the original Holmes stories by a few decades though.
A study in Emerald was pretty kickass... But depends on hw you define "hardboiled" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Carter_%28literary_character%29 |
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LambethWarp
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« Reply #19 on: May 22, 2012, 10:57:53 AM » |
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Sure, I haven't read much detective fiction* other than the Holmes stories. But the Wiki page on 'hardboiled detective fiction' places it firmly in the 1920s/30s and describes features not generally found in Holmes, e.g. strong sexual element, morally ambiguous lead character, narrator may be a victim or perpetrator rather than the detective (or the detective's sidekick), that sort of thing.
*having said that, I really enjoyed the Auguste Dupin stories by Poe - interesting that these are often quoted as a major influence on Conan Doyle, while Poe's more gothic fiction is clearly the biggest influence on Lovecraft, at least in his earlier/non-SF works.
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JulieH
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« Reply #20 on: May 22, 2012, 04:20:16 PM » |
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*having said that, I really enjoyed the Auguste Dupin stories by Poe - interesting that these are often quoted as a major influence on Conan Doyle, while Poe's more gothic fiction is clearly the biggest influence on Lovecraft, at least in his earlier/non-SF works.
You can't tell me you don't see the homage to "Murders in the Rue Morgue" in "The Hound"  ? |
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Ruth - CthulhuChick
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« Reply #21 on: May 22, 2012, 05:55:59 PM » |
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Reading Book of Cthulhu right now. So far the short stories are a mix, but some good. "The Infernal History of the Ivybridge Twins" has me laughing my butt off, though. The sex. Omg. The sex.
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LambethWarp
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« Reply #22 on: May 22, 2012, 06:28:59 PM » |
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*having said that, I really enjoyed the Auguste Dupin stories by Poe - interesting that these are often quoted as a major influence on Conan Doyle, while Poe's more gothic fiction is clearly the biggest influence on Lovecraft, at least in his earlier/non-SF works.
You can't tell me you don't see the homage to "Murders in the Rue Morgue" in "The Hound" ? Not read 'The Hound' - I don't think it's on the 'complete' works I've got on my Kindle. I'm sure it's online along with everything else but I haven't got round to it yet. |
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« Last Edit: May 23, 2012, 05:09:02 AM by LambethWarp »
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Eric Lofgren
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« Reply #24 on: May 22, 2012, 11:26:46 PM » |
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I quite enjoyed the sequel to The Color Out of Space, by Michael Shea, called The Color Out of Time. It's not brilliant, but it does have some genuinely creepy moments. I'm also a fan of T.E.D. Klein's Mythos work, like Black Man With a Horn and Children of the Kingdom. Both, IIRC, feature the Tcho Tcho people.
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LambethWarp
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« Reply #25 on: May 23, 2012, 05:09:44 AM » |
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Nice one, thanks! Might listen when I get home this evening. |
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Bob Lovecraft
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« Reply #26 on: May 23, 2012, 08:13:36 AM » |
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*having said that, I really enjoyed the Auguste Dupin stories by Poe - interesting that these are often quoted as a major influence on Conan Doyle, while Poe's more gothic fiction is clearly the biggest influence on Lovecraft, at least in his earlier/non-SF works.
You can't tell me you don't see the homage to "Murders in the Rue Morgue" in "The Hound" ? Not read 'The Hound' - I don't think it's on the 'complete' works I've got on my Kindle. I'm sure it's online along with everything else but I haven't got round to it yet. If you ask Ruth nicely, she might let you grab a copy of her personal e-book collection of HPL stuff. Of course, I don't know if she still has a copy for public consumption, so take the advice with a grain of salt. Bob |
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If someone ever dares you to read the Necronomicon out loud... just say no.
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JulieH
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« Reply #27 on: May 23, 2012, 08:48:12 AM » |
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T. Kelly Lee
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« Reply #28 on: May 23, 2012, 08:58:18 AM » |
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There's some good stories in Shadows Over Baker Street but I wouldn't advise reading it straight through. Because, frankly, the concept is a bit of a one-trick poney. You get a different version of the same concept straight through. So you might consider just reading a story now and again, when you're in the mood. For me, anyway, the whole thing became a blur by the end. I don't really know how much Conan Doyle Lovecraft read, though one presumes he must have read some. (Though, to be fair, I've never read any Stephanie Meyer and sometimes vampires show up in my stories.  ) But I would consider the Hound to be something of a riff on Baskervilles, if it took anything as a seminal text from wich it might be derived. It's certainly meant to be something of a pastiche of HPL's own writing. And it works that way. Even... in the Dutch language. |
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Ruth - CthulhuChick
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« Reply #29 on: May 23, 2012, 12:04:59 PM » |
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Not read 'The Hound' - I don't think it's on the 'complete' works I've got on my Kindle. I'm sure it's online along with everything else but I haven't got round to it yet.
If you ask Ruth nicely, she might let you grab a copy of her personal e-book collection of HPL stuff. Of course, I don't know if she still has a copy for public consumption, so take the advice with a grain of salt. Bob Yep, it's on my website http://cthulhuchick.com/free-complete-lovecraft-ebook-nook-kindle/...that's the public one anyone. I may have a copy for myself with collabs. <_< |
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