The Harbor-Master: Best Weird Stories of Robert W. Chambers by Robert W. Chambers

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This book is part of Hippocampus Press's The Classics of Gothic Horror series. As such, it does a real service to those wishing to read a bit more Robert W. Chambers -- without going too far into the weeds of his very mixed output.

An introductory essay by editor S.T. Joshi offers a biographical timeline & several insights about Chambers's weird fiction. Even those who don't usually read such pieces might want to make an exception: the essay itself is brief, & the information it provides is substantial. The tales themselves (arranged chronologically) vary greatly in theme & tone. Along with the cornerstone tales of the King In Yellow, there are subtly crafted ghost stories, fantasies with an Eastern flavor (yes, admittedly, these are dated), monster hunts, & historical horrors.

Chambers cannot seem to write women as actual human beings, & his male lead characters are very much of a type -- upper-class adventurers, or at least well-educated ones. His lyrical style holds up quite well, however. Those with an interest in the history of the American Gothic, or simply the King In Yellow, are likely to find this collection worthwhile.



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  C. Derick Varn of The (Dis)loyal Opposition to Modernity recently interviewed weird fiction author & editor Joseph S. Pulver, Sr. 

  Pulver, the editor of A Season in Carcosa (Miskatonic River Press 2012) answers a wide variety of thought-provoking questions ranging from his decades of interest in Robert W. Chambers' King in Yellow mythos to his own writing process.  

  Anyone curious about in Chambers, literary horror, the contribution of poetry to horror, or a remarkably frank writer's mind will likely find this conversation extremely interesting!   

The on-line reviews have started for Blood Will Have Its Season, Joseph S. Pulver Sr.'s first collection of short fiction, prose poems, and poetry.  All are deeply infused with weird noir, and many evoke the disturbing world of Robert W. Chambers' King In Yellow.

The first I'm aware of is here, from the blog of the intriguingly-named Lady Lovecraft.

Noted Lovecraftian editor and scholar Robert M. Price has also checked in, with an Amazon.com review here.

In the grand LJ tradition of putting out the good word for new books by friends, I am happy to report that Joseph S. Pulver, Sr.'s first collection, Blood Will Have Its Season, is out now from Hippocampus Press.

Joe is known to many Lovecraftians as the author of Nightmare's Disciple (the only serial killer Lovecraftian novel I know of!), but this new assortment of short stories, prose poems, and poetry takes another path through the mean streets of his imagination, this time incorporating Robert W. Chambers'  famed King In Yellow mythos.  The result is razor-edged modern noir, with a poetic yet brutal sensibility.  

With an introduction by noted independent scholar S.T. Joshi, and illustrations by Thomas S. Brown and Stanley C. Sargent -- including a killer cover I am a bit too tech-challenged to include here -- Blood Will Have Its Season is a unique addition to the darkest segment of weird literature. 

For a free mind-bending sample, go here.