What of C.M.Eddy?

[Lobolover]

Is there anything good/worth it in his work?He seems to be genraly forgoteen nowadays.

 

[j d worthington]

I've not read much of Eddy, to be honest. The revisions Lovecraft did for him varied between almost unreadable ("Ashes") to mildly interesting ("The Ghost-Eater") to purplish to the point of (intentional) self-parody ("The Loved Dead") to a rather flawed but in some ways very effective moody piece ("Deaf, Dumb, and Blind"). His "Black Noon" (an unfinished tale), based on a trip he and HPL made in search of a "Dark Swamp", while no sterling work, has some quite nice moments. Other than that, I don't recall reading any of his work.

However, if you're interested, you can find "Black Noon" in the following:

Acolytes of Cthulhu - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

and there's also this:

Exit Into Eternity*

I wouldn't rate his work highly, from what I've read; but it does have moments that are quite good....

 

[Lobolover]

Say-whats so unreadable on Ashes?I never found out what it and "Deaf, Dumb, and Blind" were about.

 

[j d worthington]

Actually, I did answer the question about "Ashes", more than once. "Deaf, Dumb, and Blind" is about a poet who, due to accident, has been rendered into such a condition, yet still senses the influences in the house he now inhabits, where a sorcerer once lived. Parts of that one are quite atmospheric....

"Ashes", on the other hand, is silly, puerile, mawkish, sloppily written, idiotic, and in general bad in just about every way one can imagine. Think of the worst "grade Z" films you've ever seen -- not the ones that are "so bad they're good", but simply gawdawful -- then translate that sort of thing to the written page, and you have "Ashes"....

 

[Lobolover]

I havent asked you about it yet-could you elaborate on whats it about a LITLE more?

Also-did you get any PM's from the recently?

 

[j d worthington]

Actually, you did ask about "Ashes" some time back, in a brief discussion about the revisions HPL did for Eddy... though that may be one of the things that dropped out during the Chronsflux.

Anyway, briefly, it is about a scientist who discovers a formula for rendering anything organic into fine white ashes; the narrator (our hero) works for said scientist, and has fallen for the fellow's secretary/assistant. After various demonstrations on live animals, one day it appears that this fiend has carried out such an experiment on the beauteous, courageous damsel. Quite naturally, our hero goes into a snit, especially when it seems he is about to follow... and clonks the guy on the head and lets him experience his new discovery first-hand... before discovering that the young lady was actually locked away, unconscious but safe.

If you think my flippant tone here is unwarranted... trust me, I'm doing honor to this bit of tripe. There's pulp, and then there's PULP! This one definitely falls into the latter category....

Oh, and no, I've not received any PM's from you in quite some time....

 

[Lobolover]

Ive sent you a PM about "The sorceror's aprentice" a litle time back,for instance. Didnt it come through?

Well,the idea isnt bad,I mean that of "ashi-ficattion",though.

 

[j d worthington]

Ah, yes. That one I got... but I'd answered that query already -- in fact, we had quite a debate about it -- and I've not had the time to rehash old ground, I'm afraid... though perhaps this weekend, as I've got a bit more time off than usual, I can do.

As for the idea... the problem is, it's utterly pointless and ridiculous. At first blush, it's a neat idea, but with any thinking, it simply becomes ludicrous... and that's the high point of this particular story....

 

[Lobolover]

Well,it could be used for-well,if someone would be passed as WAY too insane, then id understand,I mean,Fritzl imrpisoned his daughter for 42 years,had children with her and walled his own grandmothers windows.Where was the use in that?

Or in a competition based on how far you can throw a cell phone?

Or a competition based on hundreds of people bombarding each other with tomatoes?

 

[j d worthington]

The problem is, Lobo, that the "mad scientist" schtick hasn't been a viable story element in well over a century. Any time it's used, it completely spoils any chance of taking the story seriously.

This is not to say that a scientist who is obsessed isn't a possibility; handled with care, that one can work well -- but you must be very careful to make it believable, rather than a caricature, and few can manage that. Eddy was certainly not one.

There is also the simple fact that a scientific experiment to find such a solution is utterly pointless, and something no reputable scientist (which he was supposed to be) would be likely to do. It serves no purpose. It is without any function. It's complete balderdash, without an ounce of sense to it... as is the story evolved from it.

Trust me, this one is utter crap. I've had to wade through it more than once for one reason or another, and I can't help but wince the whole way through....

 

[Lobolover]

Yes-well,Ive heard of research based on to reconstruct the voice of Mona Lisa from the painting.I can hardly see any use there :|

 

[Lobolover]

Except maybe being curious-which is what alot of things boil down to.

And maybe this could work as a scenario for a parody,I dont know.