R'LYEH REVIEW

Issue 030

copyright © 1985 by Robert M. Price
reprinted by permission of Robert M. Price

The Dunwich Horror and Others
H. P. Lovecraft
Arkham House, 1985, 433 pp. $15.95

(Reviewed by Stephen Mariconda)

The appearance of Arkham House's sixth printing of The Dunwich Horror and Others is the single most important event in Lovecraft studies since the firm issued its epochal The Outsider and Others in 1939. The latter probably saved Lovecraft's weird work from an undeserved literary oblivion; the 1985 Dunwich Horror is, I believe, the important first step in securing that work its permanent position as an important contribution to American literature. The new volume is the first to present Lovecraft's fiction as he intended us to read it, and the evident care with which it has been prepared clearly conveys that Lovecraft is an author worthy of serious consideration. Missing, in happy opposition to past editions, are the painful misprints, garish covers, and slovenly design which did much to reinforce the misconception of Lovecraft as an inconsequential pulp fictionist. In the concrete, all readers now --- some fifty years after his death --- have access, for study and reflection, to what Lovecraft actually wrote; in the abstract, all approaching Lovecraft for the first time are met with the implication that his work is one worthy of conscientious presentation. Arkham House plans to follow this publication with corrected versions of At the Mountains of Madness and Other Novels and Dagon and Other Macabre Tales later this year.

This milestone is due to the diligence of leading scholar S. T. Joshi, who since 1977 has consulted original manuscripts and other primary source materials in an attempt to reconstruct Lovecraft's writings. Numerous textual errors, he found, had crept into the published versions of the tales over the decades through both willful editorial changes and encrusted typographical errors perpetuated and compounded by reprinting from inaccurate texts. These many errors were mainly of an individually minor sort --- punctuation and spelling --- but at times encompassed dropped words and sentences, reparagraphing, and other more important divergences; all of which cumulatively sapped much of the coherence and effect of the stories. Of all Joshi's invaluable contributions to the field --- which are indeed too numerous to detail here, though his 500-page bibliography (1981) must be mentioned --- the publication of the results of his textual research must be counted as his greatest achievement thus far in an absolute sense; for had he not determined to undertake the task, scholars might not have had the definitive Lovecraft for yet another fifty years.

In an evident attempt to continue August Derleth's questionable 1963 copyright, the content and order of the first edition of Dunwich Horror has been retained; the resemblance between the two volumes ends there, however, and this would have been more fittingly called a new edition rather than a "Corrected Sixth Printing" (p. iv). The text has been entirely reset in the readable and gracefully modern typeface used in the firm's New Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos (1960), and sports a new dust jacket, a brief textual introduction by Joshi, and a reprinting of Robert Bloch's introduction to Ballantine's The Best of H. P. Lovecraft. The latter piece, though an able defense of the horror genre, says too little about Lovecraft's life and work for the amount of space it takes up; but certainly it is aeons removed from the hardened cliches of Derleth's introduction to the 1963 edition. One is at a loss to know why the publishers did not have Joshi, certainly the keenest commentator on Lovecraft's work, add the introduction as well.

The dust jacketof the book is green with a grey decorative typefont for the author and title names, the front cover featuring a subdued realistic painting by Raymond Bayless depicting Cthulhu emerging from R'lyeh. The end-papers are likewise slate-green, and opposite the title page, which is also set in the cover's display face (as are all the titles in the book), we find a nice surprise: a frontispiece of the 1934 Truesdell portrait of Lovecraft.

There are many other such pleasant surprises. On the contents page, for example, we find the date of composition after each title; this touch, which makes it clear to the uninitiated that it is well to consider Lovecraft's tales as they were written, is typical of the volume.

Among the immediately noticeable textual restorations is the dedication to C. W. Smith of "In the Vault", missing since the first appearance in The Tryout in November 1925. "The Thing on the Doorstep" now has seven chapter divisions instead of five. Readers of "The Whisperer in Darkness" may now note an entire line of text restored between the two words in paragraph one: "deep things", as it read in previous editions. And the long-omitted subtitle of "The Call of Cthulhu" is restored. A most attractive change is the use of reduced type as specified by Lovecraft in such things as the news item "Mystery Derelict Found at Sea" in "The Call of Cthulhu" (with correct paragraphing restored) and the Akeley correspondence in "The Whisperer in Darkness". The latter story, finally presented as it was written --- with the correctly-printed transcriptions of the horrible record and the half-heard conclave at the Akeley place --- is a thing beautiful to behold, and forms perhaps the aesthetic high point of the volume's design.

If the other textual corrections present in the book are less immediately obvious, they are no less important in their cumulative effect; for horror fiction succeeds or fails largely on small details that are at first intangible. Certainly, though, certain changes are evident in the course of even a quick perusal. In "Whisperer", for example, the narrator now wishes of Akeley (after his first conversation with him): "If only he wouldn't gloat so about Yuggoth and its black secrets!" (p. 225). But in the 1963 version there was no italicization, and thus no subtle hint as to the strength of --- and real motivation behind --- the pseudo-Akeley's malicious delight in his whispered descriptions of the black planet. Similarly, Nahum Gardener's death-speech in "The Colour out of Space" now tells of the destruction by the extracosmic being not of "Thad an' Merwin", but of "Thad an' Mernie" (p. 77); this odd contraction of the name being one more deft touch of the local color which supports the tale's devastating supernatural realism. In "Cthulhu" Castro now lays the ritual murders to "Black Winged Ones" (p. 140) instead of "Black-winged Ones"; the entities described in this new reading can now perhaps be tied in with the night-gaunt s of The Dream-Quest of Unknown Ka-dath. A more extensive textual change is in all the colloquial dialect (i.e., the title story and "The Shadow over Innsmouth"), which is now rendered as Lovecraft wrote it. The many other such corrections, taken together, will prove a boon not merely to students of Lovecraft's style but to all scholars in the field.

Indeed, the whole volume fosters the latter implication --- that Lovecraft is an author who ought to be studied --- and in a general sense this is the most important thing about it. Joshi's textual introduction, though necessarily brief, references one of his best articles ("Textual Problems in Lovecraft") in the distinguished journal Lovecraft Studies; this mention well serves to tie the book to the world of Lovecraft scholarship. The fact that such a world exists has not been implied in any previous edition of Lovecraft; and between this, the corrected texts and their careful presentation (plus such touches as dates in the table of contents), and the attractive design of the book, the reader approaches the material with a perception that Lovecraft's work is one of substance and value. Lovecraft wrote carefully and thoughtfully --- this, thanks to Joshi and also to James Turner of Arkham House, is evident in the volume's whole approach --- and henceforth we will be able to study with equal care and thoughtfulness exactly what he wished us to read.

"The Dead Valley"
Ralph Adams Cram
Necronomicon Press, 1984. $1.50

(Reviewed by Will Murray)

This is the first in Necronomicon Press's series of publications reprinting classic supernatural fiction under the heading, "H. P. Lovecraft's Favourite Horror Stories". Originally it was planned as an anthology, but lack of interest on the part of commercial publishers compelled series editor S. T. Joshi to resort to individual reprintings of the less accessible stories Lovecraft praised in his survey, Supernatural Horror in Literature. "The Dead Valley" is the tale of two Swedish boys who detour through an atmospherically curious valley in their native land, and what befalls them. Although a very short tale, it is nevertheless arresting in its unfolding of mood and swelling terror --- in short, it will be obvious to fans of HPL why the Master thought so highly of it. Series editor Joshi likens it to "The Colour out of Space", and correctly so, even though Lovecraft read Cram's story after he wrote his own. This is a fine beginning to a worthwhile series of reprints of rare supernatural fiction, and it should be supported by those who have longed to read the more obscure works Lovecraft mentioned in his essay. Promised next is "The Sin Eater" by Fiona McLeod.

The House of Cthulhu and Other Tales of the Primal Land
Brian Lumley
Weirdbook Press, 1984, 94 pp. $7.50 (paperback)

Brian Lumley: A New Bibliography
Leigh Blackmore
Dark Press, 53 pp. $5.00

(Reviewed by Robert M. Price)

Fans of an author are always pleased to learn that a new tale by him or her has appeared in a periodical. You can tell when a person has passed the threshold from fandom to fanaticism (i.e., collectors and completists) when they groan to hear the same news. For now their temporary, never-more-than-momentary rest is again disturbed, and they must hunt down a copy (preferably a "mint" one, which may never be read any way --- wouldn't want to ruin it, would you?). Such fanatics (I speak from experience) always welcome two things: a bibliography of the writer's works, to help in hunting down the disparate stray stories, and a collection of such stories, which makes such hunting no longer necessary (unless, of course, you must have every blessed printing. I know . . . I know. . . .) Well, Brian Lumley fan(atics) will be doubly cheered at the appearance of not one but both of these.

Blackmore' s New Bibliography is a masterpiece as these things go. It lists Lumley's works in English, first books, then contributions to periodicals and anthologies (fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and even letters). Then it adds translations in pretty much the same categories. A separate section catalogues Lumley criticism, interviews, reviews, and previous bibliographies. Special "Lumley Issues" of various magazines (this one among them) are listed, and there is even a selection of early fanzine illustrations by Lumley! That invaluable tool of all critics, a chronology of his work is also provided. And in case you still don't know where to look up some odd item of Lumleyana, Blackmore includes indices of titles of Lumley's works, magazines in which they have appeared, and names of authors. Some Lumley items you won't be able to find with the aid of this or any bibliography are his lost works, which are listed and describedby Lumley himself. Blackmore has done a complete job! One minor foul-up: "Material Included In Books By Others", on p. 19, is omitted by mistake from the table of contents. The really bad news is that there are only two hundred copies in print. So we'd suggest you order one quick. See ad on page 52 of this issue.

The House of Cthulhu is an attractive magazine-size collection of Lumley's Theem'hdra stories, which had previously appeared in various issues of Fantastic, Whispers, and Fantasy Tales. Five new ones fill out the series. There are eleven in all. The book is nicely illustrated by Jim Pitts. Lumley fans have no doubt been praying for this and do not need to be encouraged to seek out a copy. One warning: Lumley's name has been omitted from the cover of the first printing, but don't let that throw you. Copies are available from Weirdbook Press, P. O. Box 149, Amherst Branch, Buffalo, NY 14226-0149 (75¢ postage).

Tales of Horror and Damnation #6
"Special Clark Ashton Smith Tribute Issue"
edited by Robert Schwartz
$3.50, plus $1.00 postage
(from Robert Schwartz, P. O. Box 191448, Miami Beach, FL 33139)

(Reviewed by Robert M. Price)

This special fanzine devoted to CAS should be of interest to Smithophiles, as it combines brief essays on various aspects of Smith's work with others on authors thought to be influenced by him. Some articles deal with rather bizarre themes, but for Smith this may be quite appropriate. Essays include "Reptile Fascinations: Studies in Howard, Smith, and deCamp"; "CAS: Dunsanian Temporality, Visions, and Literary Concepts"; "Two Points on Lovecraft"; "Survey Notes on the Classics of CAS Commentary"; "CAS Motif in the Work of Jack Vance"; "Tierney and Simon of Gitta"; "DeCamp Through CAS and Dunsany"; "CAS and R. W. Chambers"; and "Common Themes and Thought for CAS, ERB and deCamp".

H. P. Love craft --- Out for Blood
Richard Huber
Blackstone Publications, 1984. 32 pp. $4.00
from Richard Huber, 7346 Carved Stone, Columbia, MD E1045

(Reviewed by Robert M. Price)

You may recognize Richard Huber as an artist whose distinctive illustrations are featured in Darrell Schweitzer (ed.) Essays Lovecraftian and Meadeand Penny Frierson (eds.) HPL. He is also a student of Lovecraft's fiction, and he presents the results of long reading and careful research in this magazine-format fanzine.

H. P. Lovecraft --- Out for Blood (why it is so titled, I cannot tell you) is really a kind of transcribed notebook. There is a final section of "Random Notes", but in fact this title describes the whole collection. Each feature reads like a draft or idea for an article. But the lack of development and polish does not prevent this booklet from being informative.

Huber's introduction states his belief that "Lovecraftian analysis is by no means 'worked-out' as many believe . . . now begins the real work." True, but there is a problem here in that Huber admits "The majority of conclusions here in date back seven years. . . ." This dates the discussion somewhat. Huber discusses Colin Wilson's The Strength to Dream, Lin Carter's Lovecraft: A Look Behind the Cthulhu Mythos, DeCamp's Lovecraft: A Biography, Darrell Schweitzer's The Dream Quest of H. P. Lovecraft, and only the earliest essays of Dirk W. Mosig and S. T. Joshi which appeared in Whispers and Nyctalops. In other words, Huber's analysis takes no account of the rather large amount of research that has since appeared in Lovecraft Studies and Crypt of Cthulhu. Thus some of his conclusions are "old news". Nonetheless, it is interesting to see that he has sometimes independently corroborated the findings of other scholars. And of course, there are several original insights and suggestions as well. Huber, for example, interprets the ending of "The Haunter of the Dark" to imply that the Haunter was destroyed by an aimed lightning bolt before he could fully possess the body of Blake and use it for some nefarious purpose.

The various pieces in this collection return time and again to three main themes. First, and least significant, Huber is concerned to contrast Lovecraft with Colin Wilson and to rebut what he regards as Wilson's disparaging remarks on HPL. Second, he vigorously disputes Dirk W. Mosig's theory that Lovecraft's fiction consistently expressed his personal worldview of mechanistic materialism. He holds instead that despite his personal disbelief in supernaturalism, Lovecraft freely used it in his fiction, whereas Mosig claims HPL was really writing of scientific, though admittedly weird, realities. Huber's argument seems to me largely, but not completely, semantical. For instance, he says that pseudoscience such as we find in "The Mound" (the ability to teleport, etc.) is really to be classed as supernatural since it is bogus science. Azathoth, he holds, is a transcendent god pure and simple, despite HPL's description of him in "The Whisperer in Darkness" as "nuclear chaos". But Huber does have a point; there is real occultism in the stories, and Lovecraft admitted that he wanted to create the illusion in his fiction of a suspension of natural law, otherwise known as a miracle. Huber also quotes two references where Lovecraft himself contrasts even the hypothetical existence of the Old Ones with mechanistic materialism: "Much as I would like to live in a cosmos full of my favourite Cthulhus, Yog-Sothoths, Tsathogguas, and the like, I find myself forced into agreement with men like Russell, Santayana, Einstein, Eddington, Haeckel, and so on" (Selected Letters III, p. 449). In "The Call of Cthulhu", the narrator recalls that before he discovered the reality of Cthulhu, "My attitude was still one of absolute materialism as I wish it still were."

Third, Huber writes to vindicate his "conviction that Lovecraft's fictional concepts were developed with consistent logic and form a unified body of work. There are those who hold up the apparent incongruities in Lovecraft's fiction . . . [to] prove HPL was only indifferent when it came to giving his tales a common background." Instead, Huber believes that these "apparent inconsistencies are only that: apparent. HPL's concepts form a fantastically intricate arabesque, but the ends do meet if one looks deep enough." Huber shows an ingenuity rivaling that of Will Murray in detecting possible links and connections (e.g., were the Dream World dwellers near Kadath who looked like the Great Old Ones another colony of the space-born humanoids of K'n-yan?). But it seems to me one can go only so far with this kind of thing before one becomes a Lovecraftian fundamentalist, harmonizing every stray line and syllable lest Lovecraft's holy writ be found to be less than inerrant. It just isn't possible. Lovecraft was more concerned about the creative possibilities of his various creations and felt free to reconceive them when it seemed advantageous to a given plot. For instance, see my article "An Introduction to Lovecraft's Necronomicon" in Crypt of Cthulhu #23, or my forthcoming essay "Lovecraft's Cosmic History" in Crypt of Cthulhu #37. It does not all fit together, but who cares? The stories are all the better for the various permutations their concepts, characters, and props undergo.

For fans of Huber's artwork, it should be noted that H. P. Lovecraft --- Out for Blood is profusely illustrated by the multitalented author.