General Weird discusion thread

[nomadman]

About this thread must the fantasy/horror we talk about be very old ?

I don't see why. There are still some very good weird tales being written: Mark Samuels, Quentin S Crisp and Matt Cardin are all well worth seeking out.

 

[Lobolover]

Not all of us will know them,you know.

 

[Connavar]

Yeah but talking about those authors and their work here might help modern horror newbies like me. Its one thing saying which authors to read and another hear people post why they like some stories of theirs.

 

[j d worthington]

When it comes to present modern horror writers, I'd definitely add Ramsey Campbell, Thomas Ligotti, T. E. D. Klein, and Caitlin R. McKiernan to the list. Not to mention such writers as Richard Matheson, Charles L. Grant, Karl Edward Wagner, a fair amount of Basil Copper, and the like.

There are also several writers who work in the older vein, for that matter, such as A. F. Kidd (Summoning Knell and Other Inventions), for example.

Here's one listing of authors who have tried their hand at the ghostly tale:

Ghost Story Writers

Also, as I've asked before, how far back are we going? Here's another book that might prove of interest to those who enjoy the traditional tale:

https://www.utexas.edu/utpress/excerpts/exfelhau.html

 

[Connavar]

Ramsey Campbell i want to try, dont know how long back he has been around. I saw him win several World Fantasy awards which isnt something usual for a horror writer.



Karl Edward Wagner i know as a fantasy writer. I hear his name mentioned with respect. One of those authors you keep hearing about without knowing where you heard about him and why they are highly regard.

Whats is he famous for Kane like fantasy or horror stories ?


In horror i dont have a problem with older work like early 20th century or earlier its more modern stuff like 1950+ thats i am clueless about.

 

[AE35Unit]

Campbell is well respected in the horror and fantasy fields,must try him out.

 

[j d worthington]

And Wagner is noted for both, as well. His fantasy is definitely "dark fantasy", with quite a few horrific elements and a very dark, often grim atmosphere (not untinged, occasionally, by a certain pensive melancholy reminiscent of Poe and the Romantics). I don't know if I've mentioned it elsewhere or not, but he even wrote a tale featuring a meeting between Kane and Moorcock's Elric....

Campbell's first book was a set of Lovecraftian pastiches, The Inhabitant of the Lake and Less Welcome Tenants, put out by Arkham House in 1964, when he was at the tender age of 18....

Since then, he has done quite a wide variety of stories, from "straight" horror to psychological horror to sword-and-sorcery, to tales that are, quite frankly, difficult to place, as they are rather uniquely Campbellian....

 

[Connavar]

Whats his better works Campbell ? What stories or collection are seen as his best ? With an author like this who i have a vague idea about i thought about trying his best or one of his best works.

Psychological horror sounds good to me, im not into straight horror.

 

[Nesacat]

Was very much in two minds about continuing with reading Ramsey Campbell. I'd started with Cold Print, which is a collection of stories and the influence was evident to the point that you could identify the stories from which Campbell had got his inspiration. I'd been about ready to stop right there but am glad I kept on (thanks to JD here).

His work got better as he went along and started using his own voice more and more. It was a fine voice indeed and a very unique one as well. The stories and books range far and wide and are well worth reading.

When starting on a new writer I tend to read short stories if possible. I don't know if that works for you Connavar, but if it does, Campbell has many such collections.

 

[Lobolover]

JD.-ive been looking for "Summoning Knell and Other Inventions",but I got 0 hits on google.Is that realy the correct title?

also-im quite alergic to fantasy in the modern being mentioned,because I always get the image of the same ol' crap they have in the common bookshops.

"EVIL MAGICIANS-DRAGONS-SWORDS!"

You get my point?

 

[j d worthington]

JD.-ive been looking for "Summoning Knell and Other Inventions",but I got 0 hits on google.Is that realy the correct title?

also-im quite alergic to fantasy in the modern being mentioned,because I always get the image of the same ol' crap they have in the common bookshops.

"EVIL MAGICIANS-DRAGONS-SWORDS!"

You get my point?

You should check out some of the threads here on that topic. Teresa and myself (and a few others) have long been fighting that particular battle. Fantasy is a very broad field, and that sort of story is only one very narrow example of what's available, as well as what has been done in the past, within the field.

Even there, there are some exceptionable tales available, if you know where to look; things that are genuinely good pieces of storytelling, and even worthwhile contributions to literature as a whole.

 

[j d worthington]

On Summoning Knells, etc.:

Summoning Knells and Other Inventions

 

[Lobolover]

a,KnellS .

anyway,just passing through "The Monster Maker" by W.C.Morrow-seems interesting.

Anything else you came across recently?

 

[AE35Unit]

JD.-ive been looking for "Summoning Knell and Other Inventions",but I got 0 hits on google.Is that realy the correct title?

also-im quite alergic to fantasy in the modern being mentioned,because I always get the image of the same ol' crap they have in the common bookshops.

"EVIL MAGICIANS-DRAGONS-SWORDS!"

You get my point?

Know what you mean Lobo,but there's plenty of good stuff too.

 

[Lobolover]

AE35-problem is,you cant realy tell,when ,if there is something good,it visualy looks like the rest.Ive yet to see one GOOD NEW book in a local bookshop ,for the past 3 years-though it may be much longer.

 

[Connavar]

AE35-problem is,you cant realy tell,when ,if there is something good,it visualy looks like the rest.Ive yet to see one GOOD NEW book in a local bookshop ,for the past 3 years-though it may be much longer.

Its better to go by recommendations or look after books on your in fantasticfiction or wiki etc

Fantasy authors and books that arent 20 million selling but are acclaimed work and loved by fans.


All SFF books look generic and lame if you go by covers.



Do you read fantasy younger than REH? Have you read Jack Vance for example ?

 

[Lobolover]

no-its that problem.Only thing that could be clasified as Fantasy that I read is Barker's "Weaveworld"-nice,however it was kinda,not exactly my cup of rum.

 

[j d worthington]

no-its that problem.Only thing that could be clasified as Fantasy that I read is Barker's "Weaveworld"-nice,however it was kinda,not exactly my cup of rum.

As I said, though, "fantasy" is a much broader field than you may think. Here's one brief article on some of the different types:

Types of Fantasy

and here's one that is more extensive:

Writing.Com: Types of Fantasy

And believe me, there's a world of difference between The Lord of the Rings, "The Howling Man", Deathbird Stories, The Worm Ouroboros, and The Biography of the Life of Manuel, not to mention adding the Gormenghast books to the list.... And, frankly, several of these (such as urban fantasy, dark fantasy, and even a fair amount of high or epic fantasy, for example) can easily fit into the category of weird fiction....

 

[Lobolover]

The Howling Man

?

Whats it about?

And generaly-which authors would you seperate from-the dirt?

because this is a lasting imagine imprinted mostly by the things people said like:

"FANTASY is BIIIG swords"

"Talking animals behaving in an antropomorphic way"

etc.

 

[j d worthington]

Oooof! That's a long list!

You could, however, do much worse than checking out various books from the following:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballantine_Adult_Fantasy_series

Newcastle Forgotten Fantasy Library - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

There are also such writers as Harlan Ellison, Ray Bradbury, Charles Beaumont, Richard Matheson, Rod Serling, etc., who are frequently classed (rather loosely, by any definition) as sf writers, but who have themselves noted they were more fantaisistes. And then there are other writers, such as Donald Wandrei (at least, at his best, which is still a substantial amount), whose fantasy is more of the nightmarish kind.

"The Howling Man" was a story by Charles Beaumont, originally published in (of all places) Playboy, then adapted as an episode of The Twilight Zone; and deals with a traveler who comes upon a strange monastery with an even stranger "guest" (read: prisoner), whose howls will not let him have peace until he finds out who this person is and why he is imprisoned...

Also, such writers as Roger Zelazny, Tanith Lee, C. J. Cherryh, Andre Norton (at least with her earlier Witch World books), Avram Davidson, etc., are also worth reading. And these only begin to scratch the surface....