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Pulp Fiction of the 1920s and 1930s
From their origin at the end of the nineteenth century to their decline in the 1950s, "pulp" magazines entertained the masses with lurid stories in such genres as adventure, Western, romance, crime, fantasy, horror, and science fiction. Readers seeking a deeper understanding of the genre can focus on the Critical Readings essays, that explore it in depth through a variety of critical approaches. Among the contributors are S.T. Joshi, Jeffrey H. Shanks, Andrew J. Wilson, Garyn Roberts, and Richard Bleiler. Each essay is 2,500 to 5,000 words in length, and all essays conclude with a list of "Works Cited," along with endnotes. Additionally, a section on archived material comprises six articles culled from a trio of Salem Press reference books Survey of Modern Fantasy Literature (1983), Magill s Guide to Science Fiction & Fantasy Literature (1996), and Masterplots Short Story Series, revised edition (2004) that have critically charted the most significant works of science fiction, fantasy, and horror. The works covered in this section belong to the big three of Weird Tales Robert E. Howard, H. P. Lovecraft, and Clark Ashton Smith as well as preeminent contributors C. L. Moore and Seabury Quinn. Additional Additional Works on; Pulp Fiction; Bibliography; Contributors; About the Editor; Index.
230 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2013
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August 24, 2014
Over the decades, I've read many of the stories by the authors discussed in this collection of essays. This collection primarily focuses on the top authors, based on appearances, whose work was publishd in Weird Tales magazine. Thus, we have: Robert E Howard, Clark Ashton Smith, C L Moore, Henry Kuttner, H P Lovecraft and others.
In many ways, reading this collection reminded me how fun it was to read many of these stories of weird horror and of the supernatural. However, after about the fifth essay, I found that I was losing interest, due to the fact that there's a great deal of repetition in the mentioning of certain writers and of their influences.
Still, I'd recommend this book for any devout reader of the weird fiction. But, I'd recommend it to be read at a pace of one or two essays at a time. It's certainly not a straight-through read.
I'm also constantly reminded as to how difficult it can be to obtain many of the stories discussed in this book. For instance, Seabury Quinn's novellas have never been collected. Others can be easily found, but one can expect to pay a premium to the rare book dealer.
It'd be nice to find all of these authors, and their stories, in affordable availability.
In many ways, reading this collection reminded me how fun it was to read many of these stories of weird horror and of the supernatural. However, after about the fifth essay, I found that I was losing interest, due to the fact that there's a great deal of repetition in the mentioning of certain writers and of their influences.
Still, I'd recommend this book for any devout reader of the weird fiction. But, I'd recommend it to be read at a pace of one or two essays at a time. It's certainly not a straight-through read.
I'm also constantly reminded as to how difficult it can be to obtain many of the stories discussed in this book. For instance, Seabury Quinn's novellas have never been collected. Others can be easily found, but one can expect to pay a premium to the rare book dealer.
It'd be nice to find all of these authors, and their stories, in affordable availability.
Displaying 1 of 1 review