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The Horror from the Hills
Frank Belknap Long. The Horror From the Hills. Sauk City: Arkham House, 1963. Dust jacket, with art by Richard Taylor.
First edition, variant with copyright notice affixed to the title leaf verso. As originally published the copyright notice was inadvertently left off the copyright page. Examples with the copyright notice affixed are actually scarcer than those without.
"This unusually powerful and imaginative story concerns a hideous stone idol brought from China, and an age-old entity which uses that idol as a material tenement to bend humanity to its evil will. The spawn of remote stars and unholy dimensions, Chaugnar Faugn could incarn itself at its pleasure in dimensions lower than its own and loose horror upon the world. "Mr. Long writes, 'This novel is in some respects a period piece, for it was written inside a Time Capsule traveling through the intangible dimensions conjured up by such masters of the macabre as Arthur Machen, Algernon Blackwood, M.P. Shiel, M.R. James and, of course, Lovecraft. And above all me, as I traveled, another dark-shrouded figure seemed to hover--the towering ghost of Edgar Allan Poe. I am very glad that it is to appear in book form at last, for there are visions of strangeness and beauty which come to us when we are quite young and remain with us until we are too old to dream. They are visions we like to share.'"
First edition, variant with copyright notice affixed to the title leaf verso. As originally published the copyright notice was inadvertently left off the copyright page. Examples with the copyright notice affixed are actually scarcer than those without.
"This unusually powerful and imaginative story concerns a hideous stone idol brought from China, and an age-old entity which uses that idol as a material tenement to bend humanity to its evil will. The spawn of remote stars and unholy dimensions, Chaugnar Faugn could incarn itself at its pleasure in dimensions lower than its own and loose horror upon the world. "Mr. Long writes, 'This novel is in some respects a period piece, for it was written inside a Time Capsule traveling through the intangible dimensions conjured up by such masters of the macabre as Arthur Machen, Algernon Blackwood, M.P. Shiel, M.R. James and, of course, Lovecraft. And above all me, as I traveled, another dark-shrouded figure seemed to hover--the towering ghost of Edgar Allan Poe. I am very glad that it is to appear in book form at last, for there are visions of strangeness and beauty which come to us when we are quite young and remain with us until we are too old to dream. They are visions we like to share.'"
110 pages, Hardcover
First published June 1, 1963
About the author
Frank Belknap Long
500 books104 followersAka Lyda Belknap Long.
Frank Belknap Long Jr. was a prolific American writer of horror fiction, fantasy, science fiction, poetry, gothic romance, comic books, and non-fiction. Though his writing career spanned seven decades, he is best known for his horror and science fiction short stories, including early contributions to the Cthulhu Mythos. During his life, Long received the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement (at the 1978 World Fantasy Convention), the Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement (in 1987, from the Horror Writers Association), and the First Fandom Hall of Fame Award (1977).
Frank Belknap Long Jr. was a prolific American writer of horror fiction, fantasy, science fiction, poetry, gothic romance, comic books, and non-fiction. Though his writing career spanned seven decades, he is best known for his horror and science fiction short stories, including early contributions to the Cthulhu Mythos. During his life, Long received the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement (at the 1978 World Fantasy Convention), the Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement (in 1987, from the Horror Writers Association), and the First Fandom Hall of Fame Award (1977).
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
July 10, 2013
Closer to 3.5 stars. Nice mythos story, although some of the passages were a bit overwritten, serving as a bit of a distraction from mood and atmosphere. The dream sequence, which I understand was taken from Lovecraft directly, and recounted by Long, was outstanding.
While not mind blowing, I would certainly read more of Long.
While not mind blowing, I would certainly read more of Long.
May 17, 2020
https://archive.org/details/Weird_Tal...
https://archive.org/details/WeirdTale...
This story is the introduction of Chaugnar Faugn to the Cthulhu Mythos. Belknap had written a poem about Chaugnar earlier on, although it wasn't published in Weird Tales(*) until later.
Lovecraft is just one of those who later on references Chaugnar in their stories.
(*) https://archive.org/details/Weird_Tal...
http://cthulhufiles.com/stories/long/...
Part of Belknap's story is borrowed from one of Lovecraft's dreams, published posthumously (as The Very Old Folk [based on a November 3, 1927 letter to Donald Wandrei]) but told about to Belknap and others through letters. The dream is focused on the Roman proconsul Publius Scribonius and is available here: https://www.hplovecraft.com/writings/...
There's a book mentioned in Belknap's story, Cato's De Re Rustica, which is available in the original Latin as well as an English translation here: https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/...
https://archive.org/details/WeirdTale...
This story is the introduction of Chaugnar Faugn to the Cthulhu Mythos. Belknap had written a poem about Chaugnar earlier on, although it wasn't published in Weird Tales(*) until later.
When Chaugnar Wakes
Frank Belknap Long
(ca. 1926/35)
A billion miles beyond the suns
Which gild the edge of space,
Great Chaugnar dreams, and there is hate
And fury on its face.
Beyond the universe of stars
Where red moons wane and swim,
Great Chaugnar stirs, and heaves its bulk
Upon a crater's rim.
Its ropy arms descend to suck
Dark nurture from the deeps
Of lava-pools within a cone
That shines whilst Chaugnar sleeps.
Explorers from the outer stars
Have glimpsed that glowing cone;
Have glimpsed the vast and silent shape
Asleep upon its throne.
Explorers from the world we know
Have seen that shape in dreams;
Have watched its shadow fall and spread
On dim, familiar streams.
When Chaugnar wakes, its mindless hate
Will send it voyaging far;
It may set Sirius adrift,
Or seek a humbler star.
A humbler star with satellites,
Small planets in its train:
And that is why I kneel and kneel
Before Great Chaugnar's fane.
Lovecraft is just one of those who later on references Chaugnar in their stories.
(*) https://archive.org/details/Weird_Tal...
http://cthulhufiles.com/stories/long/...
Part of Belknap's story is borrowed from one of Lovecraft's dreams, published posthumously (as The Very Old Folk [based on a November 3, 1927 letter to Donald Wandrei]) but told about to Belknap and others through letters. The dream is focused on the Roman proconsul Publius Scribonius and is available here: https://www.hplovecraft.com/writings/...
The cause of the conference was a horror that brooded on the hills. All the townsfolk were frightened, and had begged the presence of a cohort from Calagurris. It was the Terrible Season of the autumn, and the wild people in the mountains were preparing for the frightful ceremonies which only rumour told of in the towns. They were the very old folk who dwelt higher up in the hills and spoke a choppy language which the Vascones could not understand.
There's a book mentioned in Belknap's story, Cato's De Re Rustica, which is available in the original Latin as well as an English translation here: https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/...
December 31, 2016
It's hard not to like this Arkham House book, just for the amazing cover! As a novel, it starts well. The first chapter is chilling, hallucinatory and evocative. Unfortunately, I felt it went nowhere after this. Long just didn't have a story that could sustain even the relatively short length of the book, which is a real shame after that great beginning. The unnecessarily long 'dream sequence', whilst it does contain some powerful imagery, is basically pointless, as are the 'science fiction' elements. This could have been an incredible novel if Long had stuck to the 'rampaging supernatural being' format which Lovecraft employs so well in the Dunwich Horror. Still, glad I read it.
November 26, 2017
This novel, which I started last night and finished this morning before yard chores, is a bitter disappointment.
full review here:
https://jayrothermel.blogspot.com/201...
full review here:
https://jayrothermel.blogspot.com/201...
August 26, 2022
Extremely messy Cthulhu Mythos novel; some good ideas underpin it, but the execution stinks. Full review: https://fakegeekboy.wordpress.com/201...
February 8, 2023
My goodness, this is a doozy. For a horror story, I found myself laughing heartily more than once throughout. Yet, on occasion, when Frank uses flashbacks and expository recollections, the prose for a while shines and some degree of dread can be conjured. This odd mixture of the amateurish overwrought run-on sentences masquerading as intellectual meditations on meta-physics and truly terrifying specters of dread cults, monstrous deities and dismal fates, doesn't make for a completely effective horror.
The, let me say, "of its time", features of the narrative are in the 21st century utterly hilarious. I found myself chuckling for a good ten minutes when it became clear that apparently the Chinese equivalent of a "smoking gun" is a bowl of rice at the crime scene. You know, because those Chinese people just don't go anywhere without that rice! I'm part Chinese myself, and this would have made for a pretty good Mel Brooks skit. Oh, and the hits didn't stop there, the Chinese suspect happened to work at a laundromat, and I learned the little factoid that "Mongolians are as a rule extremely psychic". It is difficult to be horrified by this tale, when half the time you're chuckling to yourself.
If that were the extent of the chaff amongst the prosaic wheat, I could still consider this an above average read. However, it seems Frank couldn't help himself, and decided to extend the narrative far beyond its rightful bounds with a chase of an interdimensional vampire elephant monster across New Jersey, and its defeat with a heavily contrived contraption that has all the subtlety of the most abrupt deus ex machina. This last section of the tale defeats and diffuses the threat of Chaugnar Faugn, rendering the menace of the story before that point meaningless and limp.
Enjoyable when it sticks to a Lovecraftian pattern, but confusingly incompetent as a horror in the sections that were very much Frank's own. It really is too bad, since I very much like the poem "When Chaugnar Wakes". Had the story been more like the poem, it would have been a far better affair.
The, let me say, "of its time", features of the narrative are in the 21st century utterly hilarious. I found myself chuckling for a good ten minutes when it became clear that apparently the Chinese equivalent of a "smoking gun" is a bowl of rice at the crime scene. You know, because those Chinese people just don't go anywhere without that rice! I'm part Chinese myself, and this would have made for a pretty good Mel Brooks skit. Oh, and the hits didn't stop there, the Chinese suspect happened to work at a laundromat, and I learned the little factoid that "Mongolians are as a rule extremely psychic". It is difficult to be horrified by this tale, when half the time you're chuckling to yourself.
If that were the extent of the chaff amongst the prosaic wheat, I could still consider this an above average read. However, it seems Frank couldn't help himself, and decided to extend the narrative far beyond its rightful bounds with a chase of an interdimensional vampire elephant monster across New Jersey, and its defeat with a heavily contrived contraption that has all the subtlety of the most abrupt deus ex machina. This last section of the tale defeats and diffuses the threat of Chaugnar Faugn, rendering the menace of the story before that point meaningless and limp.
Enjoyable when it sticks to a Lovecraftian pattern, but confusingly incompetent as a horror in the sections that were very much Frank's own. It really is too bad, since I very much like the poem "When Chaugnar Wakes". Had the story been more like the poem, it would have been a far better affair.
January 31, 2025
In The Horror from the Hills - which is quite a silly name, because not much happens on the hills to begin with - an archeologist brings back to America the statue of an ancient malevolent god. Well, it doesn't bode well, I can tell you that. It's published in 1963, but it feels written decades earlier. I thought maybe it was an artistic choice, but no, it was actually published prior in 1931 in a serialized form. In Weird Tales! Remember those?
A Lovecraftian story, it features the usual high class gentlemen whose passion is knowledge and science, talking very convincingly in archaic pompous terms and being very sensitive to how things ought to be and are not. They kind of bring a sleeping god in the U.S. and, feeling bad about it, strive to save the world. It made me feel nostalgic for the eras where science and rational thought would solve problems in stories. Well, they do solve it with a death ray, basically a sci-fi bazooka, but Frank Belknap Long is an American author, so it tracks.
Did I like the book? It was strange, like Lovecraftian mythos books usually are, but also weirdly progressive. There is an entire scene where a policeman explains how he is going to solve the crime by finding a Chinaman, spewing all kinds of ridiculously false preconceptions that the main character is disgusted with. And while people are often repulsed, offended or otherwise unwilling to put horrible things into words, the book just feels old, not laughable.
Funny enough, apparently this is an H.P.Lovecraft story, or rather a dream that he recounted to Long, which then published it with Lovecraft's permission almost word for word. Poor Frank wrote all kinds of stuff for decades, but what he is most known for are short stories in the Lovecraft universe. I do not mind that, to be honest.
Bottom line: a fine short story to bring you back to an age where things were very different and remind you that whatever nonsense bothers you today, it shall pass like all things do.
A Lovecraftian story, it features the usual high class gentlemen whose passion is knowledge and science, talking very convincingly in archaic pompous terms and being very sensitive to how things ought to be and are not. They kind of bring a sleeping god in the U.S. and, feeling bad about it, strive to save the world. It made me feel nostalgic for the eras where science and rational thought would solve problems in stories. Well, they do solve it with a death ray, basically a sci-fi bazooka, but Frank Belknap Long is an American author, so it tracks.
Did I like the book? It was strange, like Lovecraftian mythos books usually are, but also weirdly progressive. There is an entire scene where a policeman explains how he is going to solve the crime by finding a Chinaman, spewing all kinds of ridiculously false preconceptions that the main character is disgusted with. And while people are often repulsed, offended or otherwise unwilling to put horrible things into words, the book just feels old, not laughable.
Funny enough, apparently this is an H.P.Lovecraft story, or rather a dream that he recounted to Long, which then published it with Lovecraft's permission almost word for word. Poor Frank wrote all kinds of stuff for decades, but what he is most known for are short stories in the Lovecraft universe. I do not mind that, to be honest.
Bottom line: a fine short story to bring you back to an age where things were very different and remind you that whatever nonsense bothers you today, it shall pass like all things do.
October 22, 2023
“The Horror from the Hills” by Frank Belknap Long was originally serialized in Weird Tales Magazine in January-March of 1931. It was later published in book form by Arkham House in 1963, it formed a sort novel set in the Cthulhu Mythos of H. P. Lovecraft.
This novel introduces the malign entity Chaugnar Faugn. This hideous being originally appears to be a stone idol. This idol is brought from Southeast Asia to New York City, where it is exhibited in a museum. The murder of the night watchman occurs the first night it is put on display, but this is only the beginning of its reign of terror. Chaugnar Faugn is a novel entity created by Long, and its origin is well realized in the novel. The investigators who seek to banish it are typical of Lovecraftian tales, bold men of education and intelligence.
Now for the less positive aspects of the novel. We have the jarring and casual racial stereotypes, that are probably a product of the time the novel was written. We have references to Chinamen and “Hindoos” that we would consider somewhat problematic today. Nothing completely insulting, but not enlightened by today’s standards. The other really negative issue is the long monologs that some characters launch into concerning the nature of the universe, theoretical physics, etc. These get tiresome, and their “scientific” basis really hasn’t aged well.
So, this book has some positives, and some negatives. It’s a solid work in the Cthulhu Mythos by a contemporary of Lovecraft and a member of his circle. Long’s entity is novel and interesting. The book has space to tells its story, but isn’t overly drawn out. Overall, I think fans of the Cthulhu Mythos will find it interesting and worth a read.
This novel introduces the malign entity Chaugnar Faugn. This hideous being originally appears to be a stone idol. This idol is brought from Southeast Asia to New York City, where it is exhibited in a museum. The murder of the night watchman occurs the first night it is put on display, but this is only the beginning of its reign of terror. Chaugnar Faugn is a novel entity created by Long, and its origin is well realized in the novel. The investigators who seek to banish it are typical of Lovecraftian tales, bold men of education and intelligence.
Now for the less positive aspects of the novel. We have the jarring and casual racial stereotypes, that are probably a product of the time the novel was written. We have references to Chinamen and “Hindoos” that we would consider somewhat problematic today. Nothing completely insulting, but not enlightened by today’s standards. The other really negative issue is the long monologs that some characters launch into concerning the nature of the universe, theoretical physics, etc. These get tiresome, and their “scientific” basis really hasn’t aged well.
So, this book has some positives, and some negatives. It’s a solid work in the Cthulhu Mythos by a contemporary of Lovecraft and a member of his circle. Long’s entity is novel and interesting. The book has space to tells its story, but isn’t overly drawn out. Overall, I think fans of the Cthulhu Mythos will find it interesting and worth a read.
September 14, 2023
This is the longest bit of work I’ve ever read from Frank Belknap Long, as I’ve only read two of his Cthulhu Mythos short stories (“The Space-Eaters” and “The Hounds of Tindalos”). His writing in this is very hit or miss for me in a way I don’t remember from those earlier stories - some of his sentences can be super clunky and circumstances can come across as over the top (yet delicious) cheese. The character of Roger Little in particular is up his own butt with how he talks and it’s hard for me to tell how intentional that was on Long’s part.
If it seems like the writing style suddenly improves midway through the book for one chapter, that’s because it suddenly shifts to Lovecraft! He gave his permission to Long to take an excerpt he had written in a letter to a friend about one of his vivid dreams. A very cool little story, and probably one many don’t get to that has now been titled “The Very Old Folk”.
There were also some scenes towards the beginning of the novel involving creepy shenanigans in a museum that were very atmospheric, and those combined with Lovecraft’s contribution help prop up the whole thing.
Now, I think this is still worth it to pick up for Cthulhu Mythos aficionados who are interested in the development of the wider Mythos. This is one of the few works that deals with Chaugnar Faugn directly so it’s worth checking out for that, as he’s a pretty cool Great Old One (weakness to ray guns aside). And since Frank Belknap Long is the creator of this Great Old One this should be considered a foundational work for Chaugnar Faugn.
If it seems like the writing style suddenly improves midway through the book for one chapter, that’s because it suddenly shifts to Lovecraft! He gave his permission to Long to take an excerpt he had written in a letter to a friend about one of his vivid dreams. A very cool little story, and probably one many don’t get to that has now been titled “The Very Old Folk”.
There were also some scenes towards the beginning of the novel involving creepy shenanigans in a museum that were very atmospheric, and those combined with Lovecraft’s contribution help prop up the whole thing.
Now, I think this is still worth it to pick up for Cthulhu Mythos aficionados who are interested in the development of the wider Mythos. This is one of the few works that deals with Chaugnar Faugn directly so it’s worth checking out for that, as he’s a pretty cool Great Old One (weakness to ray guns aside). And since Frank Belknap Long is the creator of this Great Old One this should be considered a foundational work for Chaugnar Faugn.
August 21, 2021
Honestly, I barely managed to finish this book, and I rather wish I had never started it. It’s absolutely *awful*.
The first point is that it’s horribly, utterly and *disgustingly* racist. Not just entirely constructed on the inherently racist assumptions of early 20th century evolutionary science, but *abjectly* and horrendously racist in a way that would be cariacurish if it wasn’t so flatly believable. It resounds with every horrible word, image, assumption, and twisted parody of Asian people, from both China and the Indian subcontinent.
The second is that it is just *bad*. The plot is derivative of everyone from Lovecraft to EF Benson to - I kid you not - *TinTin*, who have all done something more interesting with the central concepts, which are disjointedly mashed together into a barely coherent storyline. The characterisation is so flat that it’s barely extant, with a mishmash of stock characters who stumble confusedly through the rambling storyline. And the writing itself is *painfully* awful, with a mash of cliches getting lost across every page.
I heartily recommend you give this one a miss and chuck it into the dustbin of literary history without regret.
The first point is that it’s horribly, utterly and *disgustingly* racist. Not just entirely constructed on the inherently racist assumptions of early 20th century evolutionary science, but *abjectly* and horrendously racist in a way that would be cariacurish if it wasn’t so flatly believable. It resounds with every horrible word, image, assumption, and twisted parody of Asian people, from both China and the Indian subcontinent.
The second is that it is just *bad*. The plot is derivative of everyone from Lovecraft to EF Benson to - I kid you not - *TinTin*, who have all done something more interesting with the central concepts, which are disjointedly mashed together into a barely coherent storyline. The characterisation is so flat that it’s barely extant, with a mishmash of stock characters who stumble confusedly through the rambling storyline. And the writing itself is *painfully* awful, with a mash of cliches getting lost across every page.
I heartily recommend you give this one a miss and chuck it into the dustbin of literary history without regret.
November 9, 2022
A highly entertaining little novella in the Cthulhu trend, detailing a new deity that proceeds to wreak havoc across the globe. The story is about a mysterious idol, found in China and shipped to a museum in New York, where the chaos really begins. I really enjoyed this one thanks to the flowing writing style which makes all the difference and sticks close to the atmosphere that Lovecraft himself generated. Long packs very lengthy passages of exposition into his narrative, including some scientific theories and a long dream sequence set in ancient Rome, but his pacy descriptions and focus on the classic elements of the Cthulhu Mythos make it all work nicely.
February 20, 2020
The tale of the discovery of the stone idol was gruesome enough. The wasting and desiccation of the discoverer were readily apparent for anyone to see. The horrendous murder of the night guard was proof positive of the horror that had been brought into the light - but only for those who understood the real story...
Frank Belknap Long and H.P. Lovecraft were the best of friends. Chaugnar Faugn is a terrific addition to the list of Old Ones of the shared Cthulhu Mythos.
Frank Belknap Long and H.P. Lovecraft were the best of friends. Chaugnar Faugn is a terrific addition to the list of Old Ones of the shared Cthulhu Mythos.
February 15, 2021
My favourite thing this author wrote.
November 3, 2021
Absolut gar nicht meins, leider sehr schlecht geschrieben und fast schon einschlafend. Der Lovecraft Typische war zwar da aber fast schon ehr wie abgeschrieben leider
September 8, 2023
5-star title. Intriguing set-up. Then a steady decline of unconvincing characters, boring exposition, and weird meta-science. Ultimately, dogshit.
October 14, 2025
3’5 *
Partiendo de un sueño que tuvo Lovecraft (Gente muy antigua), Belknap Long lo extiende para crear un relato interesante y entretenido, muy en la linea de Weird Tales.
Partiendo de un sueño que tuvo Lovecraft (Gente muy antigua), Belknap Long lo extiende para crear un relato interesante y entretenido, muy en la linea de Weird Tales.
July 7, 2025
Reading Cthulhu Mythos stories not written by Lovecraft is like eating at McDonald's in 2025. You go in cause you remember that addictive flavour you were crazy about when young, to then have the most mediocre and disappointing burger in the world. Then you go home, and every couple months you try again cause maybe it'll be good this time.
In a nutshell:
+ Great cosmic and sci-fi concepts.
+ Amazing lore for the Cthulhu Mythos.
- Nonesensical scenes and ending.
- Tone deaf and out of place ideas and dialogues.
In detail:
After being acquainted with the works of pretty much all of his circle of friends, I can confidently say that none of them really understood what Lovecraft was trying to do; and with this entry, that group sadly includes Frank Belknap Long, even if he had a Shyamalan's Sixth Sense moment with The Hounds of Tindalos. Well, either he didn't understand Lovecraft's intentions, or he did, but decided to purposely get away from them in the pursuit of acquiring a more pulpy tone to his own stories. Why did he make that decision? Maybe because writing cheaper, pulpier stories made his ends meet, or maybe because he legitimatelly preferred that style. Whatever the explanation, the results are generally speaking, not very good from my point of view.
There are some really really cool ideas in this novella. Ideas that I could potentially love. Ideas that clearly sprouted from Lovecraft's mentorship and style. Long also has a particular tendency to add his philosophical and scientific ideas to the mix, which makes for an extremely interesting and enjoyable cocktail of sci-fi and horror. Tragically, these great ideas and themes are only bits and pieces of precious gems incrusted in a monumental pile of crap.
SPOILERS WARNING
The thing is, you can't have a terrible, indescribable, all-powerful cosmic entity, more ancient than the Earth, with the ability to create celestial bodies with his breath, to wipe out all life as we know it, TIME ITSELF INCARNATE (these are descriptions from the damn book); and at the same time, have Doc Brown and his friends chase him in a car through the streets of Manhattan, to then Ghostbust him out of Earth with an entropy-reversing laser beam... and then they go get coffees while explaining hyperdimensional beings... dude, Frank, what the fuck did you put in that pipe of yours?
The whole idea behind cosmic horror is that humans are nothing. Our existence doesn't matter, and there's nothing we can do against the cosmic forces that slowly smother the universe. The entities, the monsters, are beings we can't understand. They go beyond us, and any concept we can conceive. The sad souls that know about this either die or go mad, and there's nothing else for us. Therefore, it makes no sense to introduce a cosmic being that's literally described as being pretty much omnipotent, and then have him massacre a bunch of people around the world as if he was Jason in Friday the 13th VIII, to then be banished from the planet by a bunch of dudes with a random sci-fi super machine that looks like it fell out of H. G. Wells's desk. It just doesn't make sense, in any way or form. If humans can easily defeat this cosmic entity, why should I fear it? Either you go full Lovecraft, or stick to a more pulpy, creature feature approach.
Like I said, there's plenty of great concepts here. The entropy-reversing machine concept, with FBL's sci-fi descriptions of how it works like a time-reversing machine (and low-key using General Relativity to sorta explain it) is honestly pretty awesome. The lore-dump about Chaugnar as a sort of Great Old One that used to be an ancient multidimensional force wherein time itself was contained (avatar of Yog-Sothoth? Mhhh?), and that then manifested as a sort of horrid Elephant-like monstruosity worshipped by subhuman savages that turn out to be dimensional "appendages" of this being, who practice horrible rituals and sacrifices atop hills; all of that is so goddamn cool. There are also some pretty grotesque and creepy scenes here and there. There's enough stuff here for a top tier Cthulhu Mythos story. Sadly, it all ends up somewhat squandered by the things discusses above. I hate to say this, cause I say it a lot, and it's kind of unfair considering that all these authors have a ton of merit and talent; but I really wish Lovecraft had written this.
I still like you Frank Belknap Long <3, The Hounds of Tindalos is absolutely amazing, and your fragment in Challenge From beyond was delicious to read.
In a nutshell:
+ Great cosmic and sci-fi concepts.
+ Amazing lore for the Cthulhu Mythos.
- Nonesensical scenes and ending.
- Tone deaf and out of place ideas and dialogues.
In detail:
After being acquainted with the works of pretty much all of his circle of friends, I can confidently say that none of them really understood what Lovecraft was trying to do; and with this entry, that group sadly includes Frank Belknap Long, even if he had a Shyamalan's Sixth Sense moment with The Hounds of Tindalos. Well, either he didn't understand Lovecraft's intentions, or he did, but decided to purposely get away from them in the pursuit of acquiring a more pulpy tone to his own stories. Why did he make that decision? Maybe because writing cheaper, pulpier stories made his ends meet, or maybe because he legitimatelly preferred that style. Whatever the explanation, the results are generally speaking, not very good from my point of view.
There are some really really cool ideas in this novella. Ideas that I could potentially love. Ideas that clearly sprouted from Lovecraft's mentorship and style. Long also has a particular tendency to add his philosophical and scientific ideas to the mix, which makes for an extremely interesting and enjoyable cocktail of sci-fi and horror. Tragically, these great ideas and themes are only bits and pieces of precious gems incrusted in a monumental pile of crap.
SPOILERS WARNING
The thing is, you can't have a terrible, indescribable, all-powerful cosmic entity, more ancient than the Earth, with the ability to create celestial bodies with his breath, to wipe out all life as we know it, TIME ITSELF INCARNATE (these are descriptions from the damn book); and at the same time, have Doc Brown and his friends chase him in a car through the streets of Manhattan, to then Ghostbust him out of Earth with an entropy-reversing laser beam... and then they go get coffees while explaining hyperdimensional beings... dude, Frank, what the fuck did you put in that pipe of yours?
The whole idea behind cosmic horror is that humans are nothing. Our existence doesn't matter, and there's nothing we can do against the cosmic forces that slowly smother the universe. The entities, the monsters, are beings we can't understand. They go beyond us, and any concept we can conceive. The sad souls that know about this either die or go mad, and there's nothing else for us. Therefore, it makes no sense to introduce a cosmic being that's literally described as being pretty much omnipotent, and then have him massacre a bunch of people around the world as if he was Jason in Friday the 13th VIII, to then be banished from the planet by a bunch of dudes with a random sci-fi super machine that looks like it fell out of H. G. Wells's desk. It just doesn't make sense, in any way or form. If humans can easily defeat this cosmic entity, why should I fear it? Either you go full Lovecraft, or stick to a more pulpy, creature feature approach.
Like I said, there's plenty of great concepts here. The entropy-reversing machine concept, with FBL's sci-fi descriptions of how it works like a time-reversing machine (and low-key using General Relativity to sorta explain it) is honestly pretty awesome. The lore-dump about Chaugnar as a sort of Great Old One that used to be an ancient multidimensional force wherein time itself was contained (avatar of Yog-Sothoth? Mhhh?), and that then manifested as a sort of horrid Elephant-like monstruosity worshipped by subhuman savages that turn out to be dimensional "appendages" of this being, who practice horrible rituals and sacrifices atop hills; all of that is so goddamn cool. There are also some pretty grotesque and creepy scenes here and there. There's enough stuff here for a top tier Cthulhu Mythos story. Sadly, it all ends up somewhat squandered by the things discusses above. I hate to say this, cause I say it a lot, and it's kind of unfair considering that all these authors have a ton of merit and talent; but I really wish Lovecraft had written this.
I still like you Frank Belknap Long <3, The Hounds of Tindalos is absolutely amazing, and your fragment in Challenge From beyond was delicious to read.
January 18, 2025
Liked this more on a second read. Frank Belknap Long brought a distinct, pulpy, science-fiction-inflected flair to his friend H. P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos. Compared to the other early writers in the Lovecraft Circle, he had by far the best gift for writing snappy dialog. The long explanations of scientific theories might bore modern readers, but their ominous presentation and action-packed application is riveting. I'd honestly call this one of the best stories from the Mythos's first generation.
April 8, 2014
For my taste, there was much too much exposition in this Lovecraftian work. I finished it perhaps more because of its 110 page count than a need to find out how Long would end the tale. Maybe increase the rating if you like works that challenge your vocabulary.
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