Love the bit about euphonics and weird fiction. People love to complain about Lovecraft's language but I've always felt that 'cyclopean' and such bring a euphonic strangeness to his work that enhances the overall effect.
Well, it's kind of the whole point, isn't it? I often find the word 'batrachian' falling off my tongue whenever anything piscine comes into view....you have to take the opportunity to use the vocabulary, where's the fun otherwise, right?
The elegance of language, so lost in the contemporary world. I love how in the early days there were different writers we all gleefully lump together today seeming arguing into the ether that they wrote "weird tales" or "strange tales" or "strange fiction" or "phantasmagoria." and others.
Throughout this entire video I was eyeballing that copy of the Saliva Tree. It's beautiful! That's a novella I've really wanted to read ever since I learned that it shared the first Nebula with Zelazny's He Who Shapes.
It's not one of Aldiss' finest in my view, but it is an early example of Recursive SF, which is probably why other writers liked it enough to give it a Nebula. As for the Nebula these days, good grief, don't go near it....
I'm doing King in Yellow on my channel next week and I wish I had that penguin copy, because I read all the stories at the end that really don't connect to the first four at all!
The art style and color palette is similar to the John Wyndham series that Penguin did somewhat recently. I bought those books just for the cover art. Wonder if it's the same person at Penguin responsible for both.
They're more finely delineated though, so I doubt it. I have to say the current Penguin Wyndhams are probably my least favourite jackets for his oeuvre ever- I don't think they really conjure up what the books are like tonally, but each to his or her own, I guess!
You probably already know this, but Gertrude Bennett Barrows is pseud. ( or other way round) of Francis Stevens, author CITADEL OF FEAR (I have it in Paperback Library Fantasy Classics) and HEADS OF CERBERUS (reprinted by Carroll and Graf )
Speaking of trilogies, I've just finished reading the C.S. Lewis "space trilogy", I've a nice edition of it from Easton Press (in three volumes), and about every 5 years or so, I re-read it, it's really more of a pilgrimage for me than a must-read but there it is. Your knowledge of the UK world of SF (including of course the subject of this episode; "weird fiction") never ceases to amaze, and more so because you are riffing rather than reading a pre-written script. BTW, that shirt you are wearing is posh. Cheers, OB!
Excellent, I always look forward to your videos that I enjoy by lounging in my reading chair with an espresso. As luck would have it, I just read “The Exploits of Captain Gault” by WHH and found it delightful.
Forget "weird", the one word that I would use to describe the whole genre is "widdershins". It's such a peculiar word and I think "Widdershins Fiction" would look great on a sign next to the usual science fiction, fantasy and horror sections in our favourite bookshops.
Great two videos. So glad you went over the books too! I also wish that they were A format as the art suggests. Desperately. The prices (over here) seem a little steep for such stripped down novelties, especially since they are competing with SO MANY inexpensive editions. The art being in B with such colorful covers *really* makes them look like Scholastic editions of yore. I'll get one or two, and probably pine for the others as we in the US pine for all old Penguin SF with the op-art covers. . . The Hodgson doesn't appear to be available here, and I will reiterate that the Night Shade Press editions are the way to go in this case. Although lacking the psychedelic art they are freshly typeset approved editions (House on the Borderland is Vol 2) usually for $17.99, but currently are $11.19(!) and contain not only the source of all "Swine-Things" but: All 9 "Carnacki the Ghost Finder" stories, and The Goddess of Death, Terror of the Water Tank, Bouillon, The Mystery of the Waterlogged Ship, The Ghosts of the Glen Doon, Mr Jock Danplank, The Mystery of Captain Chappel, The Homecoming of Captain Dan, Merciful Plunder, The Haunting of the Lady Shannon, The Heathen's Revenge, And some notes and an introduction. Quite the value for the current price. Quite the value for the regular price!
Those Penguins do look very nice all together. I'll definitely buy Claimed! and I'm tempted by the Hodgson, if only because - over the years - I've managed to acquire five different editions of House on the Borderland (the most desirable from Swan River Press, accompanied by an amazing musical soundtrack CD) and it seems churlish not to add another if there's one going. 😉
Weird fiction is something I’ve been reading off and on since I was a wee lad . The saliva tree (bit of an Aldiss fan) was a favourite of mine as a young man.The king in yellow and the house on the boarder land are a couple of books I’ve been meaning to read for a while . I was watching Scott Bradfield recently he was talking about Algernon Blackwood wendigo and ancient sorcerers , I do enjoy sojourns into horror . Hellhouse by Richard matheson is another book I’ve acquired but not got to read yet . Lordy Lordy so many books so little time.😁you are putting some excellent stuff this week Steve on a roll 🫡
"Doozer"...you did a speako. Agree with your weird fiction definition. I'll check my local bookshop for the Penguins today. I live three minutes walk from a Westfield shopping centre, which is great for café choices and groceries, among other things. I resisted Folio's WEIRD STORIES tome. What's the story behind Wordsworth? I bought 50 of their classics back in the day.
@@outlawbookselleroriginal I tended to see them in remaindered shops here. I'm missing titles of course, but now I can't find the same matching shade of blue of the covers of my batch. First world problems. 😁
'Claimed!' is the only title I've Wish-Listed as I'd never heard of Bennett. A very late-Sixties vibe to the series design as a whole, which was nicely unexpected in 2024.
Oh Stephen I must apologize; I've been quite delinquent in my video viewing while away on vacation these past several weeks, only to show up now when to point out what appears to be a misunderstanding. Perhaps it is a misunderstanding on my part, but from what I can see the new Algernon Blackwood book that you hold (with that glorious psychedelic cover, which I will say I suspect most of them are not worth buying and yet I do covet collecting the entire series) is a collection of (The?) 5 John Silence stories: A Physical Invasion, Ancient Sorceries, The Nemesis of Fire, Secret Worship, and, A victim of Higher Space. Whereas the older Penguin of the same title is a different book; a collection with various black panther images on the covers that is/are the tightest collection of necessary Blackwood, containing : A Joshi introduction, Smith an Episode in a Lodging House, The Willows, The Insanity of Jones, Ancient Sorceries, The Man who Found Out, The Wendigo, The Glamour of the Snow, The Man Whom the Trees Loved, and Sand. But as you probably can put your hands on both you are probably in a better position to say. Please let me know before I spend money on either of them. . . BTW Amazon USA seems to only have 3 of the 5 ; missing the Chambers and the Hodgson, but they'll give you the new "Weird Fiction" cover of House on the Borderland if you buy the Kindle ed. King in Yellow is MIA.
The Black Classic Penguin is far bigger, yes- it's a US Penguin so UK availability has always been patchy over here, sadly and like a berk I neglected to pick it up.
Did you ever get round to reading Black Aura by John Sladek? I picked it up around about the same time as you did in a book shop in London. Id say it has elements of the weird. Sladek did a sequel called Invisible Green but I've yet to get a copy.
Mention of The Saliva Tree reminded me of another book Frances Hardinge's The Lie Tree. More YA, fantasy but bordering on weird fiction. Would Marianne Dreams by Catherine Storr count as weird fiction? It made a very good film Paperhouse.
I'd say no to the Stprr, it's not stylistically 'weird' as such, good book though- and an interesting film. Like all of these subgenres people come up with, they are very much rooted in a certain period, they share tone in their prose as opposed to similar content.
@markandresen1 @outlawbookselleroriginal I'm sorry Sir, but I beg to disagree. Noxious though the use of "Iconic" has become, The most overused, least thought about descriptor on the internet today (in my *personal* experience) must be . . . " ** IMPACTFUL** " .
Love the bit about euphonics and weird fiction. People love to complain about Lovecraft's language but I've always felt that 'cyclopean' and such bring a euphonic strangeness to his work that enhances the overall effect.
Well, it's kind of the whole point, isn't it? I often find the word 'batrachian' falling off my tongue whenever anything piscine comes into view....you have to take the opportunity to use the vocabulary, where's the fun otherwise, right?
The elegance of language, so lost in the contemporary world.
I love how in the early days there were different writers we all gleefully lump together today seeming arguing into the ether that they wrote "weird tales" or "strange tales" or "strange fiction" or "phantasmagoria." and others.
Yeah, now the nerd factor insists on a cutesy obsession with meaningless subgenre categories.
Throughout this entire video I was eyeballing that copy of the Saliva Tree. It's beautiful! That's a novella I've really wanted to read ever since I learned that it shared the first Nebula with Zelazny's He Who Shapes.
It's not one of Aldiss' finest in my view, but it is an early example of Recursive SF, which is probably why other writers liked it enough to give it a Nebula. As for the Nebula these days, good grief, don't go near it....
I'm doing King in Yellow on my channel next week and I wish I had that penguin copy, because I read all the stories at the end that really don't connect to the first four at all!
I agree with you, Stephen, 'standalone' is a derisive word, too l feel.
Conflations are hideous and rarely necessary, there's usually an existing word that fits. You sir, are a man of discernment!
The art style and color palette is similar to the John Wyndham series that Penguin did somewhat recently. I bought those books just for the cover art. Wonder if it's the same person at Penguin responsible for both.
They're more finely delineated though, so I doubt it. I have to say the current Penguin Wyndhams are probably my least favourite jackets for his oeuvre ever- I don't think they really conjure up what the books are like tonally, but each to his or her own, I guess!
I once had a collection of MR James short stories which has gone missing. Big fan. "Casting The Runes" !!!
You probably already know this, but Gertrude Bennett Barrows is pseud. ( or other way round) of Francis Stevens, author CITADEL OF FEAR (I have it in Paperback Library Fantasy Classics) and HEADS OF CERBERUS (reprinted by Carroll and Graf )
Speaking of trilogies, I've just finished reading the C.S. Lewis "space trilogy", I've a nice edition of it from Easton Press (in three volumes), and about every 5 years or so, I re-read it, it's really more of a pilgrimage for me than a must-read but there it is. Your knowledge of the UK world of SF (including of course the subject of this episode; "weird fiction") never ceases to amaze, and more so because you are riffing rather than reading a pre-written script. BTW, that shirt you are wearing is posh. Cheers, OB!
Thanks Rick. Iw ear that shirt in my first Paris video posted a few weeks back, check it out.
They are attractively designed; I like the colour scheme, typeface and massive Penguin logo. Shame that there is no introduction though.
Yeah, they clearly decided to save money by not bothering with contextual material.
Excellent, I always look forward to your videos that I enjoy by lounging in my reading chair with an espresso. As luck would have it, I just read “The Exploits of Captain Gault” by WHH and found it delightful.
Excellent work!
Forget "weird", the one word that I would use to describe the whole genre is "widdershins". It's such a peculiar word and I think "Widdershins Fiction" would look great on a sign next to the usual science fiction, fantasy and horror sections in our favourite bookshops.
Anticlockwise Books may then be the name of the fictional bookshop that housed a 'Widdershins' section....
@@outlawbookselleroriginal 🤣🤣
You're a man who knows his own mind and that's cool.
That's the best we can aspire to, I feel. Thanks for the compliment.
Great two videos. So glad you went over the books too!
I also wish that they were A format as the art suggests. Desperately.
The prices (over here) seem a little steep for such stripped down novelties, especially since they are competing with SO MANY inexpensive editions. The art being in B with such colorful covers *really* makes them look like Scholastic editions of yore. I'll get one or two, and probably pine for the others as we in the US pine for all old Penguin SF with the op-art covers. . .
The Hodgson doesn't appear to be available here, and I will reiterate that the Night Shade Press editions are the way to go in this case. Although lacking the psychedelic art they are freshly typeset approved editions (House on the Borderland is Vol 2) usually for $17.99, but currently are $11.19(!) and contain not only the source of all "Swine-Things" but:
All 9 "Carnacki the Ghost Finder" stories, and
The Goddess of Death,
Terror of the Water Tank,
Bouillon,
The Mystery of the Waterlogged Ship,
The Ghosts of the Glen Doon,
Mr Jock Danplank,
The Mystery of Captain Chappel,
The Homecoming of Captain Dan,
Merciful Plunder,
The Haunting of the Lady Shannon,
The Heathen's Revenge,
And some notes and an introduction.
Quite the value for the current price.
Quite the value for the regular price!
I always want everything to be in A Format, as you know!
Those Penguins do look very nice all together. I'll definitely buy Claimed! and I'm tempted by the Hodgson, if only because - over the years - I've managed to acquire five different editions of House on the Borderland (the most desirable from Swan River Press, accompanied by an amazing musical soundtrack CD) and it seems churlish not to add another if there's one going. 😉
This seems fair.
Francis Stevens is the pseudonym of GB Bennett, the male form of Frances, not unusual in those days, of course.
Weird fiction is something I’ve been reading off and on since I was a wee lad . The saliva tree (bit of an Aldiss fan) was a favourite of mine as a young man.The king in yellow and the house on the boarder land are a couple of books I’ve been meaning to read for a while . I was watching Scott Bradfield recently he was talking about Algernon Blackwood wendigo and ancient sorcerers , I do enjoy sojourns into horror . Hellhouse by Richard matheson is another book I’ve acquired but not got to read yet . Lordy Lordy so many books so little time.😁you are putting some excellent stuff this week Steve on a roll 🫡
Scott B is a solid man and knows his onions, he being a real writer. Hell of a nice guy as well.
singleton
stand alone
solo effort
duology
double
doppelganger
triumvirate
treble
trident
sorry had to get that off my chest...
Diptych, Triptych, Tetralogy,
di-pole?. . . yeah. . . dipole
"Doozer"...you did a speako. Agree with your weird fiction definition. I'll check my local bookshop for the Penguins today. I live three minutes walk from a Westfield shopping centre, which is great for café choices and groceries, among other things. I resisted Folio's WEIRD STORIES tome. What's the story behind Wordsworth? I bought 50 of their classics back in the day.
I'm not up to date on Wordsworth these days. We don't stock them where I work. I think they're still about though.
@@outlawbookselleroriginal I tended to see them in remaindered shops here. I'm missing titles of course, but now I can't find the same matching shade of blue of the covers of my batch. First world problems. 😁
Thanks for the ++ cheer sent out to Stephen J! He's top-notch! Please pass on my best!
Yes, Steve is a good guy!
'Claimed!' is the only title I've Wish-Listed as I'd never heard of Bennett. A very late-Sixties vibe to the series design as a whole, which was nicely unexpected in 2024.
It was a pleasant surprise to see it included. And as you say, old chum, a psychedelic tinge....
Peter to the Max as it were
Oh Stephen I must apologize;
I've been quite delinquent in my video viewing while away on vacation these past several weeks, only to show up now when to point out what appears to be a misunderstanding.
Perhaps it is a misunderstanding on my part, but from what I can see the new Algernon Blackwood book that you hold (with that glorious psychedelic cover, which I will say I suspect most of them are not worth buying and yet I do covet collecting the entire series) is a collection of (The?) 5 John Silence stories:
A Physical Invasion,
Ancient Sorceries,
The Nemesis of Fire,
Secret Worship, and,
A victim of Higher Space.
Whereas the older Penguin of the same title is a different book; a collection with various black panther images on the covers that is/are the tightest collection of necessary Blackwood, containing :
A Joshi introduction,
Smith an Episode in a Lodging House,
The Willows,
The Insanity of Jones,
Ancient Sorceries,
The Man who Found Out,
The Wendigo,
The Glamour of the Snow,
The Man Whom the Trees Loved, and
Sand.
But as you probably can put your hands on both you are probably in a better position to say.
Please let me know before I spend money on either of them. . .
BTW Amazon USA seems to only have 3 of the 5 ; missing the Chambers and the Hodgson, but they'll give you the new "Weird Fiction" cover of House on the Borderland if you buy the Kindle ed. King in Yellow is MIA.
The Black Classic Penguin is far bigger, yes- it's a US Penguin so UK availability has always been patchy over here, sadly and like a berk I neglected to pick it up.
Did you ever get round to reading Black Aura by John Sladek? I picked it up around about the same time as you did in a book shop in London. Id say it has elements of the weird. Sladek did a sequel called Invisible Green but I've yet to get a copy.
I have both but not read either yet, am going to this winter. The purchase of 'Invisible Green' was in one of my hay On Wye videos, I think.
Mention of The Saliva Tree reminded me of another book Frances Hardinge's The Lie Tree. More YA, fantasy but bordering on weird fiction. Would Marianne Dreams by Catherine Storr count as weird fiction? It made a very good film Paperhouse.
I'd say no to the Stprr, it's not stylistically 'weird' as such, good book though- and an interesting film. Like all of these subgenres people come up with, they are very much rooted in a certain period, they share tone in their prose as opposed to similar content.
Do you recommend Lloyd Biggle?
I simply haven't read enough to say, if I'm honest.
I raise you, sah, "iconic" as the most insufferable, overused-to-irrelevancy term today.
100%
Yeah, these days everything is 'iconic', especially when it actually isn't!
Sounds 'epic' too@@outlawbookselleroriginal
@markandresen1 @outlawbookselleroriginal I'm sorry Sir, but I beg to disagree. Noxious though the use of "Iconic" has become, The most overused, least thought about descriptor on the internet today (in my *personal* experience) must be . . . " ** IMPACTFUL** " .