Wednesday Reading Meme
Mar. 1st, 2023 09:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
snowynightRecently I prefer reading short stories, because they are easier to finish. The writers I have read this week have all influenced modern fantasy and horror genres.
Recently finished:
Lord Dunsany
The Gods of Pegāna: The pantheon of Pegāna is weird, inscrutable, fallible and often petty. Lord Dunsany has created a very intriguing fantasy world with glimpse into its mythology and tales. The mythology is further elaborated in Time and the Gods and other short stories
Robert W. Chambers
Best known for his short stories in The King in Yellow, Robert W. Chambers was so popular alive that he was doomed to obscurity in academics. This article: The Secret Chambers of the Heart: Robert W. Chambers and “The King in Yellow” gives me a lot of insight about him and the King in Yellow mythos. I really want to read Kenneth Hite's annotation. (Kenneth Hite is a writer and role-playing game designer. His discussion of the horror genre sets a very high standard for me)
The first four of the stories in The King in Yellow: "The Repairer of Reputations", "The Mask", "In the Court of the Dragon", and "The Yellow Sign" all reference a play in book form entitled The King in Yellow, an eerie symbol called the Yellow Sign, and a mysterious and dangerous entity called the King in Yellow. They create a harsh world filled with paranoia and danger, filled withy tragic characters trapped in nightmarish horror. It feels very modern despite written earlier than Lovecraft's works
Ambrose Bierce
Author of the Devil's Dictionary. One of the rare Civil War writers with actual combat experience as a soldier. In 1913, Bierce told reporters that he was travelling to Mexico to gain first-hand experience of the Mexican Revolution. He disappeared and was never seen again.
An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge: It's said to be "one of the most famous and frequently anthologized stories in American literature." Set during the American Civil War, it explores the horror of death with a non-linear narration. I have read that its structure has influence on "In the Court of the Dragon", but can't find further sources. If so, it's interesting to how the writers influence each other.
One Kind of Officer: The general tells his captain that "it is not permitted to you to know anything. It is sufficient that you obey my order". He soon has reason to regret his words. A chilling war tale about institutions that encourages blindly following orders
An Inhabitant of Carcosa: A vivid account of a man from the ancient city of Carcosa found himself in a unfamiliar wilderness. This inspires Robert W. Chambers' stories in The King in Yellow, which in turn influences Cthulhu mythos
Recently finished:
Lord Dunsany
The Gods of Pegāna: The pantheon of Pegāna is weird, inscrutable, fallible and often petty. Lord Dunsany has created a very intriguing fantasy world with glimpse into its mythology and tales. The mythology is further elaborated in Time and the Gods and other short stories
Robert W. Chambers
Best known for his short stories in The King in Yellow, Robert W. Chambers was so popular alive that he was doomed to obscurity in academics. This article: The Secret Chambers of the Heart: Robert W. Chambers and “The King in Yellow” gives me a lot of insight about him and the King in Yellow mythos. I really want to read Kenneth Hite's annotation. (Kenneth Hite is a writer and role-playing game designer. His discussion of the horror genre sets a very high standard for me)
The first four of the stories in The King in Yellow: "The Repairer of Reputations", "The Mask", "In the Court of the Dragon", and "The Yellow Sign" all reference a play in book form entitled The King in Yellow, an eerie symbol called the Yellow Sign, and a mysterious and dangerous entity called the King in Yellow. They create a harsh world filled with paranoia and danger, filled withy tragic characters trapped in nightmarish horror. It feels very modern despite written earlier than Lovecraft's works
Ambrose Bierce
Author of the Devil's Dictionary. One of the rare Civil War writers with actual combat experience as a soldier. In 1913, Bierce told reporters that he was travelling to Mexico to gain first-hand experience of the Mexican Revolution. He disappeared and was never seen again.
An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge: It's said to be "one of the most famous and frequently anthologized stories in American literature." Set during the American Civil War, it explores the horror of death with a non-linear narration. I have read that its structure has influence on "In the Court of the Dragon", but can't find further sources. If so, it's interesting to how the writers influence each other.
One Kind of Officer: The general tells his captain that "it is not permitted to you to know anything. It is sufficient that you obey my order". He soon has reason to regret his words. A chilling war tale about institutions that encourages blindly following orders
An Inhabitant of Carcosa: A vivid account of a man from the ancient city of Carcosa found himself in a unfamiliar wilderness. This inspires Robert W. Chambers' stories in The King in Yellow, which in turn influences Cthulhu mythos
