Ancient Sorceries and Other Weird Stories Algernon Blackwood 9781543104837 Books
Download As PDF : Ancient Sorceries and Other Weird Stories Algernon Blackwood 9781543104837 Books
Algernon Blackwood's spooky stories remain as dark, chilling and readable today as the time they were first published at the beginning of the 20th century.
Algernon Blackwood was well-regarded in life as a master of the short horror story. Intertwining the supernatural and unexplained into a series of compelling narratives, the reader is left confused, scared and thrilled by the occurrences that puzzle, traumatize and terrify his characters. His deft use of ambiguous endings leave the reader to interpret what may have happened.
This superb anthology contains many of Blackwood's finest and scariest tales. The full list is as follows, in order of their appearance
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
Sand
Algernon Blackwood was an enormous influence on H.P. Lovecraft (who himself would term Blackwood a 'master' of the craft of supernatural storytelling) and other horror authors. Together with strange and frightening tales, he was an enthusiastic author of essays and plays. As well as the 'weird' fiction for which he was famed, Blackwood would also write ordinary stories and tales aimed at younger audiences.
Ancient Sorceries and Other Weird Stories Algernon Blackwood 9781543104837 Books
Considering H. P. Lovecraft said, “Of the quality of Mr. Blackwood’s genius there can be no dispute; for no one has ever approached the skill, seriousness, and minute fidelity with which he records the overtones of strangeness in ordinary things and experiences,” I was expecting him to be more like Lovecraft. But, funnily enough, Blackwood’s writing is rather accessible (I dare say more that Stoker, even), and some of his stories, albeit strange, are reminiscent of Stephen King’s more original short stories and novellas.“The Willows” is my favorite story in this collection, and clearly an influence on H. P. Lovecraft—but it should go without saying that it’s strange; the terror is in what you don’t know but suspect. “The Wendigo” is the most accessible of the bunch, reminiscent of Dan Simmons’ “The Terror,” but all the stories are solid and vastly different in theme and genre. A special shoutout goes to “The Man Whom the Trees Loved,” which feels like something Bradbury wouldn’t written.
I do recommend this collection. But I would read only one novella/short story at a time; I started to get a little overwhelmed toward the end—based on its lengthiness and my antsiness to read other books. That’s why it’s not a perfect 5-Star.
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Tags : Ancient Sorceries and Other Weird Stories [Algernon Blackwood] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. <b>Algernon Blackwood's spooky stories remain as dark, chilling and readable today as the time they were first published at the beginning of the 20th century.</b> </br> Algernon Blackwood was well-regarded in life as a master of the short horror story. Intertwining the supernatural and unexplained into a series of compelling narratives,Algernon Blackwood,Ancient Sorceries and Other Weird Stories,CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform,1543104835,FICTION Ghost
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Ancient Sorceries and Other Weird Stories Algernon Blackwood 9781543104837 Books Reviews
I collect these ghost stories.
Great collection
This edition comes with the following stories
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 Tress Loved/Sand
I didn't know any of Algernon Blackwood work previously; however, after reading several H.P. Lovecraft stories and looking for similar themes I ended up giving him a try. Each story has a unique ambient and a special feeling, for me "The Willows" is the best of the pack but that is of course a personal opinion.
I can say though that his writing style can place you right in the middle of the story. This is a special and appreciated talent he had as our imagination has been somehow diminished by our visual "TV-like" era. To write about visceral and nature inspired fear is a difficult feat, Blackwood does it greatly.
You'll not regret reading him.
If you are a fan of H.P. Lovecraft, this book is absolutely indispensable. Blackwood skillfully uses remote landscapes to evoke a sense of dread in his readers at the sheer power and malevolence of ancient natural forces. He slowly unveils information in a way that keeps the reader turning the pages in a haunting style that is rarely encountered in more modern writing styles. "The Willows", "The Wendigo", and "Ancient Sorceries" are the best stories in the volume. I highly recommend this collection.
I am very glad I came across this book. Blackwood is a terrific storyteller and these shorts are lots of fun to read. They are very unique and mix lots of creepy and fantastic elements together in order to create exciting tales that, frankly, tell better than some modern short fiction stories I have read! What a imaginative author. Great read at a great price.
PS- I have several of the Penguin Classics that involve the eerie and fantastic fiction of authors from the past, such as Clarke Ashton Smith and HP Lovecraft. They are all enjoyable. Fun introductions to the authors if you haven't read them before. Some of these authors are the inspiration for the many weird and scary elements and ideologies involved in our various formats of media today.
I can't help but wonder if the reason Algernon Blackwood lacks the kind of name recognition H.P. Lovecraft has today is due to the difference in where they root their horror. Both were clearly masters of the weird tale, but Lovecraft (when he wasn't cultivating terror based on personal degeneration) located his bleak and cosmic horrors at great distances of either time or space. Blackwood, on the other hand, sees the same impersonal force as something that constantly surrounds us in Nature, which manifests (in this collection, at least) variously in swamps, deserts, forests, and snow-capped mountain ranges. Perhaps, in this era of omnipresent electrical lighting, it's more difficult for people who've never truly been in the dark of a forest to feel a frisson of terror at "The Wendigo." Having never heard ash fall in a fire miles from the nearest town or felt the forest settling about them, they might simply think, "Meh, trees. What's the big deal?" and move on.
This is not to underrate the quality of Blackwood's prose - several of the stories contained in this collection are fantastic, though editor S.T. Joshi's choices for what to include do give you the very strong impression that he just wanted to demonstrate how Blackwood's natural terrors looked in every possible environment (it's the only reason I can think for "Sand" showing up here, as it's a complete clunker, and a low-point on which to close out the volume). "The Willows," "The Wendigo," and "The Man Whom the Trees Loved" are all excellent stories, and "The Insanity of Jones" has one of the best opening paragraphs since "The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents," though the story as a whole doesn't live up to that initial promise.
Perhaps as the whole climate change thing gets out of hand and we're increasingly faced with the reality of an all-powerful, abstract force that doesn't even see us as it sweeps us aside, Blackwood's strand of natural horror will come back into vogue. Until such time as things get truly Roland Emmerich, I suggest reading this one by firelight in the dark outside, and remembering that we never truly conquered Nature - we just managed to dodge it for a while.
Considering H. P. Lovecraft said, “Of the quality of Mr. Blackwood’s genius there can be no dispute; for no one has ever approached the skill, seriousness, and minute fidelity with which he records the overtones of strangeness in ordinary things and experiences,” I was expecting him to be more like Lovecraft. But, funnily enough, Blackwood’s writing is rather accessible (I dare say more that Stoker, even), and some of his stories, albeit strange, are reminiscent of Stephen King’s more original short stories and novellas.
“The Willows” is my favorite story in this collection, and clearly an influence on H. P. Lovecraft—but it should go without saying that it’s strange; the terror is in what you don’t know but suspect. “The Wendigo” is the most accessible of the bunch, reminiscent of Dan Simmons’ “The Terror,” but all the stories are solid and vastly different in theme and genre. A special shoutout goes to “The Man Whom the Trees Loved,” which feels like something Bradbury wouldn’t written.
I do recommend this collection. But I would read only one novella/short story at a time; I started to get a little overwhelmed toward the end—based on its lengthiness and my antsiness to read other books. That’s why it’s not a perfect 5-Star.
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