In 1877, two men visit the Irish village of Kraighten for a week of fishing. In the ruins of a very curious house, they discover the moldering diary of its previous owner. Its torn pages hint at an evil beyond anything that exists on this side of the curtain of possibility. This classic novel bridged the gap between the British fantasy and supernatural authors of the later 19th century and modern horror fiction. Classic American horror writer H. P. Lovecraft cites this and other works by Hodgson among his greatest influences.
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Review:
This classic novel of the weird supernatural, first published in 1908, was an important influence on H. P. Lovecraft. In the ruins of an ancient stone house in Ireland is found the diary of an elderly man who lived alone with his sister and their pets, and who longed for his lost love. The diary tells of how the man explores a cyclopean cavern beneath the house and fights off swarms of white pig-like monsters pouring up from below. Then, in a visionary sequence, he breaks through to an alternate space-time dimension and sees a doppelganger of his house on a vast desolate plain. The prose is hokey at times, but the strange mood evoked by the other-dimensional setting is powerful indeed. As acclaimed horror writer T. E. D. Klein says, "Never has a book so hauntingly conveyed a sense of terrible loneliness and isolation."
About the Author:
William Hope Hodgson (1877-1918) was an English author. He produced a large body of work, consisting of essays, short fiction, and novels, spanning several overlapping genres including horror, fantastic fiction and science fiction. He died in World War I at the age of 40.
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- PublisherWildside Press
- Publication date2009
- ISBN 10 1434409953
- ISBN 13 9781434409959
- BindingPaperback
- Number of pages138
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Rating