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3.46 AVERAGE
3.46 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The premise is interesting, but the convoluted execution with too many unnecessary dudes telling parts of the story to one another created a weirdly layered matryoshka of framing devices that sapped the tension completely after the first chapter. I know Arthur Machen was one of Lovecraft’s influences, but Lovecraft honestly does this whole “eerie things from Beyond” thing to much better effect (see the story “From Beyond”).
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
If you haven't read this novella before, plunge in. Don't stop and think ahead- just treat it as a dream and you'll experience the story in its full glory.
For now my opinion of this book is pretty low. I didn't care for the narration at all. I found it hard to pay attention because I was overly bored. I listened to this on audible so I may revisit it in print. Some books are not meant to be listened to. Maybe this is one.
Supposedly one of the greatest horror novellas of all time, The Great God Pan is... admittedly creative. It contains a touch of mystery and suspense and oblique fantasy, the likes of which (is pretty easy to see) inspired H.P. Lovecraft and other similar titans in literary horror.
Not really my taste, though. Insidious and admittedly scary to think about in conception, but the execution was so confusing and muddled that I reached the end and went, "That's all?"
Not really my taste, though. Insidious and admittedly scary to think about in conception, but the execution was so confusing and muddled that I reached the end and went, "That's all?"
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
we love an evil woman making all sorts of calamities befall all the Victorian high society dandies. The infernal birth coming from Dr. Raymond's experiment w Mary was compelling, v v influential when you read this with Lovecraft in mind, and in fact Machen uses some of the techniques that LC would become famous for in his intentionally vague descriptions of the most horrific events and monsters (leaving the scariest parts to the imagination). The idea of the god Pan (which we are never sure that is exactly what it is that was brought forth, but is the theory Raymond posits) was v haunting and I wanted that aspect to be taken a bit further. Machen's prose is v straightforward and easy to follow. The characters aren't too distinct (as far as personality/ voice) which made it sometimes hard to tell people apart but this wasn't too bad. I think this is partially bc it was important that it was a particular kind of Victorian dandy that was under attack in this story and so all of the rational, refined, male characters needed to reflect this ethos and embody this archetype. This brings me to the bad woman herself, kind of exacting an indirect revenge for the treatment of her mother Mary,, I loved her. Just like Lovecraft, this is a case where through the hatred/ horror/ backwards ideas that an author might have about a demographic of ppl (women in this case,and ofc just like LC its not like these authors were unique or that extreme in their opinions when put in historical context) that author actually empowers that group in ways that they may not have intended. Like obviously this was supposed to be about the horror of the wild woman or the woman who is bold, speaks her mind, emasculates men etc. And bc Machen is writing from a place of genuine horror at that archetype, he is able to imbue Helen with a genuine power that would not have been as potent otherwise, if it weren't coming from that genuine place of hatred/ fear. Also the inscription on the ancient Roman stone that they found, the dark wedding, the god of the abyss, these little hints were rly sick and once again reminded me of Lovecraft. Also Helen's death (even though it sucks that she inevitably had to be punished but thats more real than if she had gotten away) was so so well done, the description of how she transforms from human to beast to "worse than a beast", from male to female, her body dividing and coming back together before eventually settling into that gelatinous substance...chills. V good story. I think this will be my last of the weird fic/ gothic fic for awhile though.
I actually really liked this one, it managed to evoke that unpleasant (and at the same time pleasant) feeling of a decent horror story, despite obviously being a bit aged in the way it approaches the topic. Very interesting and entertaining.
medium-paced