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Creatures of Another Age
The discovery of fossils of extinct species like the pterodactyl, iguanodon, and woolly mammoth during the nineteenth century caused an upheaval in the scientific world and challenged long-held religious beliefs about the creation and history of the world. But it also sparked the imaginations of countless writers, and it wasn’t long before these prehistoric monsters began to appear in stories of adventure, science fiction, fantasy, and horror, as well as in more surprising forms, such as a ballad sung by an ichthyosaurus or a mock Elizabethan verse drama with a cast of primordial creatures.
This volume collects some of the most fascinating Victorian writing on dinosaurs and other prehistoric monsters, including stories, poems, drama, and essays, and features contributions by well known names like Arthur Conan Doyle, George Sand, and Jack London, along with many other once-popular but now-forgotten writers, and includes a new introduction by Richard Fallon.
This volume collects some of the most fascinating Victorian writing on dinosaurs and other prehistoric monsters, including stories, poems, drama, and essays, and features contributions by well known names like Arthur Conan Doyle, George Sand, and Jack London, along with many other once-popular but now-forgotten writers, and includes a new introduction by Richard Fallon.
224 pages, Hardcover
First published April 27, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 28, 2021
really more on the 4.5 side.
full post here:
http://www.oddlyweirdfiction.com/2021...
I have to be honest here and say that when I first heard about this book, I was a wee bit iffy as to whether I'd be reading it, since a) my interest in paleontology has generally been limited to the nonfictional side of things and b) I'm not much of a creature-involved story kind of reader. But because it is from Valancourt and they haven't yet steered me wrong, I took a chance and it paid off. Even before finishing, I was so impressed that I started looking online everywhere for more of this sort of thing, resulting in a few novels written in the general time frame as the selections here in Creatures of Another Age, noted in the introduction as being
"between the 1830s, when the popularity of geology and paleontology skyrocketed, up to the end of the First World War, when cinema began to offer its own primordial prospects."
The authors included in this collection, as the editor also states, "took geoscientific research to original and creative places," resulting in "necromantic fantasies, time-travel narratives, political poetry, weird fin-de-siècle short stories, and even pseudo-Elizabethan verse drama." Not only does this book make for hours of fun reading, but it also opens a window or two into scientific and social concerns/anxieties of the time, both in the UK and here in the US.
Not uncommonly for me, my favorite stories were those written by authors I knew absolutely nothing about and whose work I didn't even know existed. Hands down the strangest, most off-the-charts different (and in my mind for those reasons the best) of these is the work of an obscure writer by the name of Wardon Allan Curtis, "The Monster of Lake LaMetrie." But there are also several pieces by more familiar writers as well, including selections by George Sand, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Jack London, Arthur Conan Doyle and Thomas Hardy. While not all of the entries included here worked for me personally (as is always the case), in putting this collection together editor Richard Fallon hopes that readers will "see the distant past in a strange new light," and that's exactly what happened to me here. Very much recommended. What a great idea for a book!!
full post here:
http://www.oddlyweirdfiction.com/2021...
I have to be honest here and say that when I first heard about this book, I was a wee bit iffy as to whether I'd be reading it, since a) my interest in paleontology has generally been limited to the nonfictional side of things and b) I'm not much of a creature-involved story kind of reader. But because it is from Valancourt and they haven't yet steered me wrong, I took a chance and it paid off. Even before finishing, I was so impressed that I started looking online everywhere for more of this sort of thing, resulting in a few novels written in the general time frame as the selections here in Creatures of Another Age, noted in the introduction as being
"between the 1830s, when the popularity of geology and paleontology skyrocketed, up to the end of the First World War, when cinema began to offer its own primordial prospects."
The authors included in this collection, as the editor also states, "took geoscientific research to original and creative places," resulting in "necromantic fantasies, time-travel narratives, political poetry, weird fin-de-siècle short stories, and even pseudo-Elizabethan verse drama." Not only does this book make for hours of fun reading, but it also opens a window or two into scientific and social concerns/anxieties of the time, both in the UK and here in the US.
Not uncommonly for me, my favorite stories were those written by authors I knew absolutely nothing about and whose work I didn't even know existed. Hands down the strangest, most off-the-charts different (and in my mind for those reasons the best) of these is the work of an obscure writer by the name of Wardon Allan Curtis, "The Monster of Lake LaMetrie." But there are also several pieces by more familiar writers as well, including selections by George Sand, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Jack London, Arthur Conan Doyle and Thomas Hardy. While not all of the entries included here worked for me personally (as is always the case), in putting this collection together editor Richard Fallon hopes that readers will "see the distant past in a strange new light," and that's exactly what happened to me here. Very much recommended. What a great idea for a book!!
April 11, 2021
Valancourt does it again! This was a fantastic collection of short pieces, mostly from the turn of the 20th century, related to the boom in paleontology, with the discovery of fossils and, especially, dinosaurs. Many of the themes here, and even some story points, are similar to ones found in the black and white horror films of the 1950s, with scientists finding frozen creatures from another time, which unthaw or otherwise revive to wreak havoc on the modern world.
This is a wider-ranging anthology than some, including poetry, a satirical short play, some sprightly essays, and some creepy, scary stories about survivals from the distant past. There are a few strong tales from famous names like Jack London and Arthur Conan Doyle (whose interest in the subject was obvious from "The Lost World"), but some of my favorites were from lesser known authors. Plus a fascinating fairy tale by George Sand, all about molecules and prehistory! Highly recommended.
This is a wider-ranging anthology than some, including poetry, a satirical short play, some sprightly essays, and some creepy, scary stories about survivals from the distant past. There are a few strong tales from famous names like Jack London and Arthur Conan Doyle (whose interest in the subject was obvious from "The Lost World"), but some of my favorites were from lesser known authors. Plus a fascinating fairy tale by George Sand, all about molecules and prehistory! Highly recommended.
May 14, 2021
A fantastic collection of late 19th and early 20tg century writings on prehistoric creatures feature well known authors such as Arthur Conan Doyle, Jack London, Thomas Hardy and criminal underrated writers Clotilde Graves and Hannah Flagg Gould. The diversity of authors is only matched by the literary forms that range from poems, short stories and verse drama
July 21, 2025
3.5. The poems were pretty bad, even by 19th c standards. The stories were better, though disturbingly, when confronted with the Last Living Dinosaur, the male hero without fail immediately sets out to hunt and kill it. The editor notes this in the introduction to the last story, when the dinosaur is left to live but only as a personification of the hero's own sorrow. What the heck, humans.
September 6, 2021
2.5 stars
Oops, clearly I'm not that into reading/posting if I find a good TV show or if I focus on movies. Let's get back to books now, and all the way to the prehistoric age!
I'm usually more mindful about my book purchases, but I'm only human and sometimes I make mistakes. Creatures caught my eye because of the beautiful cover, but I've also been meaning to read Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World, so I thought it would be fun to start with this.
Clearly I overestimated how much I would like to read dinosaur poetry or scientific articles. I generally like Valancourt's publishing choices, though, and there were still pieces that stood out: The Monster of Lake Lametrie is kind of Doctor Moreau-ish and has a creepy ending, whereas The Dragon of St. Paul's is an entertaining adventure about London getting attacked by a pterodactyl. There was a Doyle story as well, but I'm expecting The Lost World to be better.
Oops, clearly I'm not that into reading/posting if I find a good TV show or if I focus on movies. Let's get back to books now, and all the way to the prehistoric age!
I'm usually more mindful about my book purchases, but I'm only human and sometimes I make mistakes. Creatures caught my eye because of the beautiful cover, but I've also been meaning to read Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World, so I thought it would be fun to start with this.
Clearly I overestimated how much I would like to read dinosaur poetry or scientific articles. I generally like Valancourt's publishing choices, though, and there were still pieces that stood out: The Monster of Lake Lametrie is kind of Doctor Moreau-ish and has a creepy ending, whereas The Dragon of St. Paul's is an entertaining adventure about London getting attacked by a pterodactyl. There was a Doyle story as well, but I'm expecting The Lost World to be better.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews