Black Wings VI: New Tales of Lovecraftian Horror

Black Wings #6

by S.T. Joshi (Editor), Ann K. Schwader, Darrell Schweitzer

This sixth volume of S. T. Joshi’s acclaimed Black Wings series demonstrates as never before how infinitely malleable are H. P. Lovecraft’s weird conceptions. The twenty-two stories and poems in this book run the gamut of modes and genres, but each of them is fueled by elements large and small drawn from Lovecraft’s inexhaustibly rich corpus of writing.

Cosmicism is central to Lovecraft’s imaginative vision, and it oftentimes is manifested in tales of archaeological horror. In this volume, stories by Ann K. Schwader, Lynne Jamneck, Don Webb, and Stephen Woodworth treat this motif in varying and distinctive ways. Lovecraft’s work is also infused with a profound sense of place, as he himself was attached to the familiar locales of his native New England but also travelled widely in search of new vistas to stimulate his imagination. Here, stories by Tom Lynch, Aaron Bittner, W. H. Pugmire, and Darrell Schweitzer summon up the landscapes of diverse realms in America to tease out the horrors embedded in them.

Alien creatures are featured in many of Lovecraft’s greatest tales. In this volume, William F. Nolan, Nancy Kilpatrick, Steve Rasnic Tem, Jonathan Thomas, and Jason V Brock summon up multiform monsters inspired by Lovecraft’s notions of hybridism and alien incursion. The forbidden book theme is deftly handled by Caitlín R. Kiernan, and the notion of other worlds lying just around the corner from our own is the subject of stories by Donald Tyson and Mark Howard Jones. Finally, David Hambling cleverly adapts Lovecraftian concepts to the locked-room detective story.

In commemorating the incredible efflorescence of weird poetry in our time, this book presents poems by four leading contemporary poets—Ashley Dioses, K. A. Opperman, Adam Bolivar, and D. L. Myers. Each of their works fuses skilful use of rhyme and metre with compact evocations of Lovecraftian themes. H. P. Lovecraft’s work is likely to continue inspiring writers for many generations, and this volume presents a vivid snapshot of what can be said in this idiom by sensitive and talented authors.

CONTENTS
Introduction S. T. Joshi
Pothunters Ann K. Schwader
The Girl in the Attic Darrell Schweitzer
The Once and Future Waite Jonathan Thomas
Oude Goden Lynne Jamneck
Carnivorous William F. Nolan
On a Dreamland’s Moon Ashley Dioses
Teshtigo Creek Aaron Bittner
Ex Libris Caitlín R. Kiernan
You Shadows That in Darkness Dwell Mark Howard Jones
The Ballad of Asenath Waite Adam Bolivar
The Visitor Nancy Kilpatrick
The Gaunt Tom Lynch
Missing at the Morgue Donald Tyson
The Shard Don Webb
The Mystery of the Cursed Cottage David Hambling
To Court the Night K. A. Opperman
To Move Beneath Autumnal Oaks W. H. Pugmire
Mister Ainsley Steve Rasnic Tem
Satiety Jason V Brock
Provenance Unknown Stephen Woodworth
The Well D. L. Myers

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Lovecraftian, Anthologies, Cthulhu Mythos, Science Fiction

314 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2017

About the author

Sunand Tryambak Joshi is an Indian American literary scholar, and a leading figure in the study of Howard Phillips Lovecraft and other authors. Besides what some critics consider to be the definitive biography of Lovecraft (H. P. Lovecraft: A Life, 1996), Joshi has written about Ambrose Bierce, H. L. Mencken, Lord Dunsany, and M.R. James, and has edited collections of their works.

His literary criticism is notable for its emphases upon readability and the dominant worldviews of the authors in question; his The Weird Tale looks at six acknowledged masters of horror and fantasy (namely Arthur Machen, Algernon Blackwood, Dunsany, M. R. James, Bierce and Lovecraft), and discusses their respective worldviews in depth and with authority. A follow-up volume, The Modern Weird Tale, examines the work of modern writers, including Shirley Jackson, Ramsey Campbell, Stephen King, Robert Aickman, Thomas Ligotti, T. E. D. Klein and others, from a similar philosophically oriented viewpoint. The Evolution of the Weird Tale (2004) includes essays on Dennis Etchison, L. P. Hartley, Les Daniels, E. F. Benson, Rudyard Kipling, David J. Schow, Robert Bloch, L. P. Davies, Edward Lucas White, Rod Serling, Poppy Z. Brite and others.

Joshi is the editor of the small-press literary journals Lovecraft Studies and Studies in Weird Fiction, published by Necronomicon Press. He is also the editor of Lovecraft Annual and co-editor of Dead Reckonings, both small-press journals published by Hippocampus Press.

In addition to literary criticism, Joshi has also edited books on atheism and social relations, including Documents of American Prejudice (1999), an annotated collection of American racist writings; In Her Place (2006), which collects written examples of prejudice against women; and Atheism: A Reader (2000), which collects atheistic writings by such people as Antony Flew, George Eliot, Bertrand Russell, Emma Goldman, Gore Vidal and Carl Sagan, among others. An Agnostic Reader, collecting pieces by such writers as Isaac Asimov, John William Draper, Albert Einstein, Frederic Harrison, Thomas Henry Huxley, Robert Ingersoll, Corliss Lamont, Arthur Schopenhauer and Edward Westermarck, was published in 2007.

Joshi is also the author of God's Defenders: What They Believe and Why They Are Wrong (2003), an anti-religious polemic against various writers including C. S. Lewis, G. K. Chesterton, T. S. Eliot, William F. Buckley, Jr., William James, Stephen L. Carter, Annie Dillard, Reynolds Price, Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, Guenter Lewy, Neale Donald Walsch and Jerry Falwell, which is dedicated to theologian and fellow Lovecraft critic Robert M. Price.

In 2006 he published The Angry Right: Why Conservatives Keep Getting It Wrong, which criticised the political writings of such commentators as William F. Buckley, Jr., Russell Kirk, David and Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, Phyllis Schlafly, William Bennett, Gertrude Himmelfarb and Irving and William Kristol, arguing that, despite the efforts of right-wing polemicists, the values of the American people have become steadily more liberal over time.

Joshi, who lives with his wife in Moravia, New York, has stated on his website that his most noteworthy achievements thus far have been his biography of Lovecraft, H. P. Lovecraft: A Life and The Weird Tale.

Reviews

[James Moore]

Another great lovecraftian horror anthology, more consistently good than the first one and only one or two bad ones. The poetry in the style of lovecraft was very nice too.

For the individual stories:
Pothunters was an enjoyable read but I did feel like I was missing some context to it.
The girl in the attic was a very dreamy and experimental vignette that turned out excellent.
The Once and Future Waite was an intriguing twist on the Thing on the Doorstep with a mystery that slotted into place in a very satisfying manner let down by the authors views on gender leaking in a genuinely baffling way that almost went against what I assume his intent was.
Oude Goden was awful and felt like a lecture.
Carnivorous was a nice and simple work of lovecraft, solid but not notable.
Teshtigo Creek was another nice to the point story with an unexpected ending.
Ex Libris was excellent as expected of Kiernan who seems to write the best stories for these anthologies.
You shadows that darkness dwell nicely captured the fever dreamish feel these environments can provoke.
The visitor was weird.
The gaunt was another good one with a slow burn revelation that works well.
I really enjoyed Missing at the Morgue, noir and lovecraft go well together.
The shard and the mystery of the cursed cottage were both great twists on Lovecraftian ideas.
I did not enjoy To Move Beneath Autumnal Oaks.
Mister Ainsley was another one with a nice twist and tie in.
Satiety was godawful and had prose so horrifically purple and on the nose that I couldn't even finish it.
Provenance unknown had that creeping horrific realisation that epitomises Lovecraftian fiction down to a T.
All of the poems were great too especially The Well.

All in all this is a strong anthology I would recommend to all enjoyers of Lovecraftian fiction.

[Joel]

At the top: Pothunters, Teshtigo Creek, Ex Libris, Missing at the Morgue, The Shard.
At the opposite side of the top: Oude Goden, You Shadows that in Darkness Dwell, The Gaunt, To Move Beneath Autumnal Oaks, Satiety.
Out of the four poems the only one I cared for was To Court the Night.

[Abe]

Not Bad At All

Decent collection of stories here as well as some poetry. While I don't get into reading poetry, or seek it out, I like that it was included in this collection for those that do. This is honestly the first collection of short stories I have ever read that included poetry written in genre which is pretty cool. I will definitely be reading the previous five volumes and looking forward to future editions.

Hopefully, Joshi continues to seek out new expressions to include in future anthologies because exposure to new ideas and styles is important and necessary. This is more crucial now than it ever has been as stories are the way to get into the minds of those who may never be exposed to ideas be they simple or complex. It only takes one sentence to start a perceptual shift in a person's mind. This book is a framework for how that should be done and while it should not be copied ad nauseum doing it more frequently throughout other genres certainly wouldn't hurt.

[Kerry McManus]

Overall a very strong anthology, and one I would certainly recommend! Most of the stories managed to hit the spot, with only a few being a let down. The anthology includes poetry, which is a nice touch if you're into it but it didn't do much for me.

My favourites were 'pot hunters' (really enjoyed the atmosphere), 'carnivorous' (had a fun, sort of campy feel while still curating dread), 'teshtigo creek', and 'ex libris' (most certainly my favourite; everything about it was pretty much perfect!)

Unfortunately some stories really brought my rating down - I found 'satiety' wholly unreadable. It was less of a story to me than a poorly worded political rant. 'The Once and Future Waite' was also rather disappointing.

[Larry]

Another pretty-good collection of Cthulhu Mythos stories. I'm getting so I trust that anything from S. T. Joshi is going to be pretty good.

[Arthur B]

Finds the anthology series grinding deeper into the rut it has created for itself. Full review: https://fakegeekboy.wordpress.com/202...

[Lilian]

This did NOT hit

[Jaide Reynolds]

I'm biased, as I am a fan of eldritch horror, and a fan of short stories. There was a lot to love and a little bit to dislike.

[Jonathan]

Hands down this series is my favorite. The quality and tenor of the short stories is amazing. I hope to see volume 7 published on Kindle soon.

[Bill Borre]

"To Court the Night" by K. A. Opperman - The protagonist makes his way to a graveyard hoping for a necrophile encounter when he discovers the young lady in the coffin is still breathing. He is interrupted by his muse with a laugh. He turns back to bid goodbye to the young lady only to discover her liveliness was an illusion and there is only a rotted corpse in the coffin. He flees into the woods to take his place among the ghouls.

"Teshtigo Creek" by Aaron Bittner - Jim is infected with a slug-like thing that takes up residence in his nasal cavity after he steps on something in Teshtigo Creek but an old man with knowledge of the creature enters Jim's apartment and coaxes the thing out before it lays its eggs. When Jim asks why he has done this the old man collects it and turns to leave before answering "Because it isn't time yet."

"Mister Ainsley" by Steve Rasnic Tem - Mr. Ainsley shows a young man around his deceased wife's garden while telling him about how they met when he washed up upon the beach, wounded, and with little memory. Mr. Ainsley is a deep one and after the death of his wife he is becoming more and more unhuman which eventually leads to him consuming the young man.

"Carnivorous" by William F. Nolan - Martha and Dave take a job carrying for strange carnivorous plants. Dave doesn't like being in the greenhouse so Martha handles their care and feeding until she takes ill and is briefly hospitalized. When Dave tries to substitute for her he gets devoured.

"Oude Goden" by Lynne Jamneck - The narrator ponders the question if Earth was better off ruled by the Old Ones than the Devil because they didn't hate. They simply didn't care.

"The Ballad of Asenath Waite" by Adam Bolivar - This is a poem where the protagonist describes his friend Edward's marriage to a woman which brings him to an unfortunate end.

"The Gaunt" by Tom Lynch - After Dalton burns Bishop's wife and daughter Bishop murders Dalton's son Peter to make a bargain with a supernatural entity for revenge.

"The Shard" by Don Webb - The narrator describes Gla'aki's fate for humanity once he emerges from the bottom of the lake.

"The Well" by D. L. Myers - This short poem could have been inspired by "The Color Out of Space".

[Seth Tomko]

Children of a lesser Cthulhu

There are a few pretty good pieces in this collection, but many of them are mediocre or feel like first drafts of better stories. There are more than a few that I'm hard pressed to call "Lovecraftian" in any sense because they could just as well have been stories about werewolves or other, conventional terrors. A couple stories are just bad and not worth the reading. If you're just down for anything Lovecraftian, get this collection at a deep, deep sale.

[Dan Johnson]

As always, an enjoyable selection of stories, for the most part. Only one of the tales and poems did I actually not care for. S.T. Joshi continues to introduce me to more weird fiction.

[Elizabeth]

Fabulous. Not a dud in the whole collection! I loved the first and last stories in particular.