Night Fear

by Frank Belknap Long, Roy Torgeson (Introduction), Clyde Caldwell (Cover illustration)

Contains:

"Night Fear"
"Humpty Dumpty Had a Great Fall"
"The Man from Nowhere"
"The Unfinished"
"Willie"
"The Mississippi Saucer"
"The Horizontals"
"Two-Face"
"Prison Bright, Prison Deep"
"Johnny on the Spot"
"It's a Touch Life"
"And We Sailed the Mighty Dark"
"The Were-Snake"
"To Follow Knowledge"
"Invasion"
'The Horror from the Hills'

Cover Illustration: Clyde Caldwell

Genres: Horror, Cthulhu Mythos, Short Stories, Fantasy, Fiction

318 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1979

About the author

Aka Lyda Belknap Long.

Frank Belknap Long 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).

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Night Fear may be the best collection of Long's short fiction because it encompasses his whole range from Weird Tales horror to fantasy to traditional science fiction. Long was a friend and associate of Lovecraft in his young days but went on to write a lot of good adventure fiction for decades in all three genres. The earliest story is from a 1925 issue of Weird Tales, but the majority are from '40s and '50s magazines like Astounding, Unknown, Dynamic, Startling, etc. My favorite is his 1931 Lovecraftian short novel from Weird Tales, The Horror from the Hills, but there are several very enjoyable pieces like Humpty Dumpty had a Great Fall, Two-Face, and The Mississippi Saucer.

[Jean-marcel · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's been a long time since I read any of these stories, and perhaps I'll revisit the booksomeday and do a more thorough review. For now though, I just have to say that I had pretty high expectations for this author because I do like "this sort of thing", normally. I expected pulpy, but in my experience so far, Belknap-Long is far below the standard of many of his contemporaries. I admire those contemporaries very much and really do get a rush from reading their work, but Frank's just excessive in all the wrong ways, and the things he wants me to really feel and take seriously come off very silly. I realize perfectly well that some people out there will feel exactly the same about Lovecraft et al, but when I read this guy, all I get is the sense of a hack struggling with concepts beyond his abilities.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

A superb collection of Long's work that should have received more attention when it was printed, showcasing Long's work in his maturity. Just to cite my own favorites from the book "Two-Face", "Humpty Dumpty Had a Great Fall" and "Johnny on the Spot" are equal to anything in THE HOUNDS OF TINDALOS (aka THE EARLY LONG) and superior to the stories reprinted in THE RIM OF THE UNKNOWN. It is a mystery to me why the latter appeared in hardcover from Arkham House and this one merely in paperback.

The books is also very useful in containing the Lovecraftian novel THE HORROR FROM THE HILLS, though this work becomes rather silly by the end.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

I know Frank Belknap Long has long had various admirers among Lovecraftian fans. But, if this volume is a good representative sample of his work, I think Long is, at best, a mediocre sci-fi and horror writer. Night Fear has some fairly interesting and somewhat creepy ideas. But Long's execution is often clunky, his characters are usually a bit wooden, including their dialogue, and he spends far too much time giving pseudo-scientific explanations for things that happen in his stories.

"The Horror From the Hills" was by far the best story here, and often referenced by Lovecraftians as one of Long's best. I enjoyed it, though it suffered in part from some of the same criticisms I listed above. Nevertheless, a true Lovecraftian should check out this volume at least for this story.

[Alan · Rating 2 out of 5]

An odd little collection mostly made up of Long's 40's/50's-era sci fi tales, written after he emerged from H.P. Lovecraft's shadow. Not bad but nothing classic here. The long 1931 novella "The Horror from the Hills" will attract the most interest, as its rarely reprinted and is a major Lovecraft riff. Unfortunately its some of Long's pulpiest writings - downright embarrassing at times. Not recommended unless you're a Cthulhu Mythos completist.