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3.32 AVERAGE
3.32 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
some of the stories are worse than others, but the good ones carry the book. it helps that i'm a sucker for cosmic horror manifesting in fairytales
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
mysterious
slow-paced
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Eerie collection of cosmic horror short stories. The first one, The Great God Pan, is pretty phenomenal. The Green Book and the Black Stone ones were also fun, but after a while the stories become very samey and I found myself getting a little bored lmao.
Machen is rightly seen as an influential grand-daddy of horror, famously influencing H.P. Lovecraft, who went on to influence generations of authors himself. Writing on the cusp of the 19th to 20th century, Machen is a model of Victorian values, such as:
- Painfully reserved affection between the sexes
- Confidence that our Modern Age, or at least the White Christian English parts of it, is far more civilized than any other pitiable races/cultures/religions
- Solution of the mystery being elucidated condescendingly by a paternalistic rich guy
- Women being basically owned by the men in their lives, and being grateful because those men (sometimes) aren't murderous creeps
- The burgeoning dissatisfaction with science and Enlightenment thinking
I find this last one interesting, because while some folks sought respite in the loving arms of hokum like spiritualism or religious fundamentalism, Machen took a road slightly less traveled. He went apeshit for The Faerie Realm.
Most of the stories at least touch on faeries, and in many, the entire revelation of the story is an unveiling of their wily handiwork.
A Fragment of Life is interesting in particular, because the first half is entirely mired in the everyday tedium of a young couple's life. We spend an absurd amount of time watching them go back and forth about buying furniture and appliances, which makes the eventual reveal of the supernatural a welcome change. First, their kooky aunt arrives with sordid tales of her husband's affair, followed by the reveal of her cult affiliation, and then her husband (the alleged philanderer) shows up and explains that "Bitch be cray," so they institutionalize her. Because... you know... The Patriarchy. And after that zany aside, we discover... Surprise! The protagonist has been descended from the Faerie the whole time!
...
I think. Honestly, it could have been more metaphorical and dealing with his spiritual awakening, but after reading several other works that had Legit Faerie Bizness, it was hard to take it that way.
I enjoyed the collection, and if you're a fan of classic weird fiction, it's definitely worth seeking out. Most of the stories were eerie and interesting, and had moments of surprising humor at times.
A few of them even had the same pair of upper-class twits seeking out and solving the supernatural mysteries, which made me wish Machen had gone further with the theme. It would have ended up a charming Jeeves & Wooster meets Cosmic Horror series.
Come to think of it, I think that's still something this world needs.
- Painfully reserved affection between the sexes
- Confidence that our Modern Age, or at least the White Christian English parts of it, is far more civilized than any other pitiable races/cultures/religions
- Solution of the mystery being elucidated condescendingly by a paternalistic rich guy
- Women being basically owned by the men in their lives, and being grateful because those men (sometimes) aren't murderous creeps
- The burgeoning dissatisfaction with science and Enlightenment thinking
I find this last one interesting, because while some folks sought respite in the loving arms of hokum like spiritualism or religious fundamentalism, Machen took a road slightly less traveled. He went apeshit for The Faerie Realm.
Most of the stories at least touch on faeries, and in many, the entire revelation of the story is an unveiling of their wily handiwork.
A Fragment of Life is interesting in particular, because the first half is entirely mired in the everyday tedium of a young couple's life. We spend an absurd amount of time watching them go back and forth about buying furniture and appliances, which makes the eventual reveal of the supernatural a welcome change. First, their kooky aunt arrives with sordid tales of her husband's affair, followed by the reveal of her cult affiliation, and then her husband (the alleged philanderer) shows up and explains that "Bitch be cray," so they institutionalize her. Because... you know... The Patriarchy. And after that zany aside, we discover... Surprise! The protagonist has been descended from the Faerie the whole time!
...
I think. Honestly, it could have been more metaphorical and dealing with his spiritual awakening, but after reading several other works that had Legit Faerie Bizness, it was hard to take it that way.
I enjoyed the collection, and if you're a fan of classic weird fiction, it's definitely worth seeking out. Most of the stories were eerie and interesting, and had moments of surprising humor at times.
A few of them even had the same pair of upper-class twits seeking out and solving the supernatural mysteries, which made me wish Machen had gone further with the theme. It would have ended up a charming Jeeves & Wooster meets Cosmic Horror series.
Come to think of it, I think that's still something this world needs.
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated