|
The House Of Souls |  | Author: Arthur Machen
Publisher: Black Mask
Category: Book
List Price: $14.95
Buy New: $8.86
as of 11/27/2009 21:19 CST details
You Save: $6.09 (41%)
New (13) Used (6) from $8.86
Seller: smokymtnbooks
Rating:  3 reviews
Sales Rank: 2529082
Media: Paperback
Pages: 198
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.5
ISBN: 1596545119
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9781596545113
ASIN: 1596545119
Publication Date: August 2, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
| |
| Also Available In:
|
| Similar Items:
| |
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Combining in one volume four of Machen's classics from the '90s: A Fragment of Life The White People The Great God Pan The Inmost Light Lovecraft in his Supernatural Horror in Literature called Machen one of the four modern masters.
|
| Customer Reviews:
 Some tedium, some excellence July 5, 2008
Zen Druid (Aloha, OR USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I have to admit at the start that I am not a huge Machen fan; I only read him beacause he has influenced the greats, such as Lovecraft. That being said, this is a good book because it contains 2 of his big "classics": "The White People" and "The Great God Pan". These should be familiar to any reader of weird tales. I find The White People to be a little tedious but still should be read by all. The other 2 novellas here are The Inmost Light and A Fragment of Life. I thoroughly enjoyed The Inmost Light because I am a great fan of "The Occult Detective" and this story surely fits that genra. It has a good plot that drives toward a satisfying conclusion. Alas, I cannot say the same for the opening piece "A Fragment of Life". This is a meandering monstrosity that goes nowhere very slowly. I will admit that I never finished it. After slogging through the main couple a)worrying over furnishing a room b)worrying over buying a stove and c)worrying over their mad aunt moving in with them I had had quite enough! Perhaps the end is interesting but I haven't enough time in this lifetime to wade through all the preliminary stuff. The trouble with Machen is that he tends to babble on and this story is an example of him at his worst. But 3/4 of the stories are good. I remain more of a Blackwood fan.
Contains an especial gem July 31, 2006
Lynn Walker (Ritzville, WA)
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
All of Machen's work is worth reading, but of the four novellas in this collection "A Fragment of Life" is itself entirely worth the price of admission. In this tale, Machen excels himself in creating a moving, human tale, full of wonder and joy (and so unlike his more common "Buckets o' Grue" material). A fine tale, plus three more that are effectively a bonus read.
 Essential Reading August 10, 2001
Richard Cody (Oakland, The Golden State)
8 out of 9 found this review helpful
Machen (1863-1947) stands as one of the great figures in "weird", or supernatural, literature. This plain but functional reprint of the 1922 U.S. edition of "The House of Souls" contains two of his finest works in the genre - "The White People" and "The Great God Pan". The book opens with an introduction, penned by Machen, which provides insight into the writing of the pieces within and into Machen himself. The first of the four novellas, "A Fragment of Life", concerns the awakening of an "ordinary" man to his mystic and real self. This piece, rather subtle and slow moving, may require rereading for full appreciation. "The White People" takes us into the pages of a journal written by a young girl who has been privy since early childhood, via her nursemaid, to ancient and arcane secrets. The journal is the gist of this story and is quite a gripping mix of fantasy and myth (yes, there is a difference). The narrative framework around the journal introduces us, via the discussion of two protagonists, to Machen's fascinating theories about good and evil. "The Great God Pan" concerns the appearance of the title entity into the everyday world of men through the agency of a more or less typical "mad doctor"; or, as Machen describes the character, a practitioner of "transcendental medicine". The fourth and final story, "The Inmost Light", is not among my favorites in the Machen cannon. Nonetheless, the narrative about another doctor dabbling in occult realms is an effective mystery and an enjoyable read. All in all, an excellent collection from an excellent writer and requisite reading for any serious student of supernatural fiction.
|
|
|
|
CERTAIN CONTENT THAT APPEARS ON THIS SITE COMES FROM AMAZON SERVICES LLC. THIS CONTENT IS PROVIDED ‘AS IS’ AND IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE OR REMOVAL AT ANY TIME.
| |
