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Worse Things Waiting
Collected here for the first time in book form are the best fantasy tales of one of the genre`s greatest writers, Manly Wade Wellman. Twenty-eight stories and two poems, selected from hundreds of stories and dozens of magazines - the cream of almost half a century of fantasy writing.
3000 copies printed
3000 copies printed
352 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1973
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 15, 2010
My trip through the various Night Shade Manly Wade Wellman collections got interrupted when my library got me a copy of the old Carcosa collection collection Worse Things Waiting instead.
In addition to having one of the best titles for a short story collection ever, Worse Things Waiting is a good stand-in for a genuine Best Of Manly Wade Wellman. A few of the stories were ones I'd read before, such as "Up Under My Roof" (a favorite), "Frogfather," "The Kelpie," "The Witch's Cat," and "School for the Unspeakable," and with several of the others I probably spoiled at least parts of my dinner of the other Night Shade books. There's some great stuff among the new-to-me material, including the novella "Fearful Rock" (Wellman is full of great titles) and a story of Poe encountering a vampire with a novel weakness in "When it was Moonlight."
In addition to having one of the best titles for a short story collection ever, Worse Things Waiting is a good stand-in for a genuine Best Of Manly Wade Wellman. A few of the stories were ones I'd read before, such as "Up Under My Roof" (a favorite), "Frogfather," "The Kelpie," "The Witch's Cat," and "School for the Unspeakable," and with several of the others I probably spoiled at least parts of my dinner of the other Night Shade books. There's some great stuff among the new-to-me material, including the novella "Fearful Rock" (Wellman is full of great titles) and a story of Poe encountering a vampire with a novel weakness in "When it was Moonlight."
January 17, 2019
Manly Wade Wellman had a long career...contributing stories to Weird Tales, Unknown, and Strange Stories, among others. Wellman also created the character of Silver John, who wandered the Appalachian mountains of North Carolina - armed only with his guitar strung with silver, and his belief in God.
"Worse Things Waiting" is a collection of Short Stories primarily published in "Wierd Tales" from the
late 1920s thru the 1950s. Wellman was an adept writer, and set many, if not all of his stories in the South, some set around the period of the Civil War.
The book is split into 4 chapters - Pages from a Memory Book, Gray Voices, The Night Side of History, and Longer in the Telling. I enjoyed most of the stories, but felt the chapter "Night Side of History" contained the weakest stories.....this chapter contained several stories based on the American Indian and their beliefs - and could not truly be considered horror stories, but fantasy.
This collection was originally published by Carcosa House in the 1980s (Karl Edward Wagner was a part owner)...and certainly worth a look if you enjoy pulp fiction. Wellman published a second book for Carcosa - Lonely Vigils...which as far as I know has not been released. I found "Vigils" to be a better book.....
"Worse Things Waiting" is a collection of Short Stories primarily published in "Wierd Tales" from the
late 1920s thru the 1950s. Wellman was an adept writer, and set many, if not all of his stories in the South, some set around the period of the Civil War.
The book is split into 4 chapters - Pages from a Memory Book, Gray Voices, The Night Side of History, and Longer in the Telling. I enjoyed most of the stories, but felt the chapter "Night Side of History" contained the weakest stories.....this chapter contained several stories based on the American Indian and their beliefs - and could not truly be considered horror stories, but fantasy.
This collection was originally published by Carcosa House in the 1980s (Karl Edward Wagner was a part owner)...and certainly worth a look if you enjoy pulp fiction. Wellman published a second book for Carcosa - Lonely Vigils...which as far as I know has not been released. I found "Vigils" to be a better book.....
March 11, 2021
Despite its reputation, I found nothing in this book to get excited about. Maybe they were exciting 75 years ago but not today. Also illustrator Coye has gone out of his way to produce the ugliest drawings imaginable.
February 23, 2019
An assemblage from ‘Weird Tales’ and other pulp horror, fantasy and fiction publications, from a writer and contemporary of Lovecraft and Howard. With few exceptions Wellman spins unique yarns with characters and creatures not seen elsewhere, including Gardinel’s (living houses/shelters). The book is broken down into three groupings, horror/fiction, Native American folklore and finally the Fearful Rock/Coven stories (these are the only two tales that share a location and characters). I would hazard to say that this is North Carolina’s best known pulp fiction author, and this book a great start for this author.
January 21, 2023
Hyvin epätasainen kokoelma kauhutarinoita lahjakkaalta kirjailijalta. Osa on yhä iskeviä, osa paremmat päivänsä nähneitä ja osa ei niin kovin onnistuneita.
Suosittelen Wellmanin tuotantoon tutustumiseen Paizo -kustantamon Who Fears the Devil?—The Complete Silver John kokoelmaa, sen lukemisesta ainakin jää hyvällä mielelle.
Suosittelen Wellmanin tuotantoon tutustumiseen Paizo -kustantamon Who Fears the Devil?—The Complete Silver John kokoelmaa, sen lukemisesta ainakin jää hyvällä mielelle.
October 31, 2022
The good stories in this were really good, but the bad ones were just as bad, if not worse. Worse Things Waiting indeed.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews