I have not posted in quite a while. Since my wife and I have a trip planned in a couple of weeks, I wanted to sneak in a couple of posts.
First some new arrivals. I have long been a fan of Donald Wandrei so when I saw this post on Ralph E. Vaughan's Book Scribbles I was intrigued. I have several of Wandrei's books, but the items from Necronomicon Press looked very interesting. I found a vendor that had both books at a reasonable price and ordered them. (Thanks Ralph) Sadly he could not find the poetry volume. I have been on a bit of a Bradbury kick lately, so I ordered this edition of The October Country at the same time. I loved the cover illustration. The artist was not credited in the ISFDB database.
This summer I read some well-written mythos tales and some that were quite disappointing. I will not identify them. I have decided in all my blogs to focus on the positive unless I am extremely offended. Some time ago, I added Matt Cardin's blog, The Teeming Brain to the list of blogs I follow. When I returned from the cabin, I checked to see if I had any of his work on hand. I had read half of his short story "Teeth" in the anthology The Children of Cthulhu when I decided to order his collection of short stories To Rouse Leviathan. While I was waiting for the book to arrive, I looked around to see what else was on my shelves. I realized I had read and liked his short story "The New Pauline Corpus" in one of my favourite mythos anthologies Cthulhu's Reign edited by Darrell Schweitzer.
In "Teeth" Jason, a lecturer at Terence University, meets up with his friend Marco while visiting the library. Marco, a brilliant visiting student from Guatemala, is triple majoring in physics, philosophy, and history. Marco is usually quite friendly, but today he seems to be obsessed with something he is writing. Marco invites Jason back to his room and presents him with a spiral notebook. He instructs Jason to look at page 46. While he flips through the book, Jason notices it consists mostly of quotations. Page 46 contains an elaborate and beautifully executed mandala. The illustration begins to move, and Jason realizes he is "staring into a nightmare of abyss of endless teeth." Jason passes out. Marco wakes Jason up, gives him a couple of pills to relax him and begins to tell Jason of his research. It seems that Marco has been attempting to understand the true nature of reality. He then asks if people want to know the truth about their lives, "To know why we are here, why we live and die, why it thunders and rains? Most of all, to know who and what we are." Marco has concluded that most people cannot handle the truth preferring illusion instead. At this point, he gives Jason the notebook to read telling him they will talk later. He also tells him to avoid looking at the mandala a second time.
I will leave my discussion of the plot here focusing instead on why I liked this story so much. I find Cardin's writing conveys the moods or impressions of his characters quite concisely. Jason's feeling of despair and oppression upon reading the notebook are presented effectively in two or three lines. Jason's anxiety seemed to be a natural outgrowth of reading the journal. We are spared the neat summary of the pantheon of mythos deities that you so often get at this point in a pastiche. instead Lovecraft's cosmicism is subtly represented, and the reactions of both Marco and Jason fall within the Lovecraftian tradition.
Also part of the joy of mythos inspired stories for me lies in recognizing echos of Lovecraft's work. I enjoy reading something new and imaginative, but with a flavour of Lovecraft, not just Wilbur Whateley renamed.
Mild spoilers follow, in "Teeth" I see faint echos of so many stories, "Dagon", "Nyarlathotep", "The Dreams in a Witch-House", "The Rats in the Walls", "The Call of Cthulhu" that I could not help but enjoy it.
Cardin's "The New Pauline Corpus" begins with an unidentified narrator reading a letter or letters from a renegade Protestant theologian (Paul) to his Catholic friend Francis. The letters contain his theological musings interspersed with visions of a horrific new reality of wrecked cities, flames, night gaunts and a strangely altered humanity.
" I turn my eyes skyward and see the gargoylish figures still commanding the open air between the coiling columns of smoke. Rubbery black demonid shapes with smooth black faces and leathery wings swoop and careen like flakes of ash on a hot wind."
A voice speaking from behind him, and addressing the narrator as "My Son" urges him to reread the letters. There is some information or nuance that is escaping him. The voice also reminds him, "but remember that we are waited upon". Indeed even as he reads, the narrator is aware of "the ocean roar of voices" from outside.
For Cthulhu has risen, not at least initially, as the raving monster seen only by the crew of certain ill-fated merchant ships. Rather images of Cthulhu and R'lyeh have appeared to humanity as a form of beatific vision that heralds a "New Awakening."
In my mind, this was a great read. I was only sorry I did not know enough theology to understand many of the references and their significance. It is interesting to read a mythos tale which deals with the issues of Christianity when faced with the revelations of Lovecraft's cosmicism, something Lovecraft ignored.
"Lovecraft's cosmicism was a result of his complete disdain for all things religious"
"As such, Lovecraft's cosmicism is not religious at all, but rather a version of his mechanistic materialism."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmicism
Lovecraft's narrators often share his mechanistic materialism. In his stories Lovecraft does not deal in detail with what the reality of what the mythos means for conventional religion because religion did not interest him. Also since the calamity is normally avoided within the story the bulk of humanity are spared the knowledge of their actual place in the universe.
Indeed, in stories like "The Dreams in a Witch-House" the narrator exhibits nothing but disdain for the superstitious (conventionally religious) immigrants. This despite the fact that in the end the immigrants prove to be correct, their children are being menaced by a witch.
Cardin on the other hand really embraces this topic. His story contains not only biblical quotes, but quotes from religious thinkers like Luther. Nothing should be taken at face value. As the story progresses, it raises more and more questions, the nature and timing of the letters, the identity of the various characters, the nature of reality. After my first reading I noted the story was good with an interesting religious theological focus. After my second reading, my copy was a mass of underlining and marginal. Cardin's writing style in this story fits the subject matter. It is beautifully in character with the proposed setting and mood of the story as demonstrated by the quote that follows.
"that instead of pointing directly toward spiritual and metaphysical truths, the great concepts, words and icons of our tradition were in fact mere signals, hints, clues, that gestured awkwardly toward reality whose true character was and is far different from and perhaps even opposite to the surface meanings?"
He understands Lovecraft work but explores the different issues that it raises. Since this anthology collects stories about what happens after Cthulhu rises there is ample scope for Cardin to address the wider ramifications. This scope and Cardin's obvious interest in religion are what distinguish this story from the bulk of the mythos writing. And his use of night gaunts, rare in a non-Dunsany style tale is brilliant.
Cover credits
To Rouse Leviathan: Cover Art Michael Hutter, design Daniel V. Sauer
Studies in Weird Fiction: Robert H. Knox
The October Country: unattributed
The Children of Cthulhu: Dave McKean
Cthulhu's Reign: unattributed
Lovecraft's narrators often share his mechanistic materialism. In his stories Lovecraft does not deal in detail with what the reality of what the mythos means for conventional religion because religion did not interest him. Also since the calamity is normally avoided within the story the bulk of humanity are spared the knowledge of their actual place in the universe.
Indeed, in stories like "The Dreams in a Witch-House" the narrator exhibits nothing but disdain for the superstitious (conventionally religious) immigrants. This despite the fact that in the end the immigrants prove to be correct, their children are being menaced by a witch.
Cardin on the other hand really embraces this topic. His story contains not only biblical quotes, but quotes from religious thinkers like Luther. Nothing should be taken at face value. As the story progresses, it raises more and more questions, the nature and timing of the letters, the identity of the various characters, the nature of reality. After my first reading I noted the story was good with an interesting religious theological focus. After my second reading, my copy was a mass of underlining and marginal. Cardin's writing style in this story fits the subject matter. It is beautifully in character with the proposed setting and mood of the story as demonstrated by the quote that follows.
"that instead of pointing directly toward spiritual and metaphysical truths, the great concepts, words and icons of our tradition were in fact mere signals, hints, clues, that gestured awkwardly toward reality whose true character was and is far different from and perhaps even opposite to the surface meanings?"
He understands Lovecraft work but explores the different issues that it raises. Since this anthology collects stories about what happens after Cthulhu rises there is ample scope for Cardin to address the wider ramifications. This scope and Cardin's obvious interest in religion are what distinguish this story from the bulk of the mythos writing. And his use of night gaunts, rare in a non-Dunsany style tale is brilliant.
Cover credits
To Rouse Leviathan: Cover Art Michael Hutter, design Daniel V. Sauer
Studies in Weird Fiction: Robert H. Knox
The October Country: unattributed
The Children of Cthulhu: Dave McKean
Cthulhu's Reign: unattributed
