Jesse’s Reviews > The House on the Borderland and Other Mysterious Places: The Collected Fiction of William Hope Hodgson, Volume 2 > Status Update
Jesse
is on page 429 of 496
“The Mystery of Captain Chappell”
This is a murder mystery where the policeman is a far worse detective than his uncle, a bootmaker, who he pushes for leads. This one has a racist epithet, a relative rarity in the Hodgson stories I’ve read. The murderer, a black man, gets his revenge on three English pirates who more than likely cut his tongue out ages ago, and the uncle is happy that he gets away with it.
— Mar 13, 2025 03:44PM
This is a murder mystery where the policeman is a far worse detective than his uncle, a bootmaker, who he pushes for leads. This one has a racist epithet, a relative rarity in the Hodgson stories I’ve read. The murderer, a black man, gets his revenge on three English pirates who more than likely cut his tongue out ages ago, and the uncle is happy that he gets away with it.
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Jesse’s Previous Updates
Jesse
is on page 479 of 496
“The Heathen’s Revenge”
This is a horribly ugly colonial story to end the tale on. The tone is ambiguous as to whether Hodgson is sympathetic to the natives given how gung-ho his MC is in beating them for information. Given that the “revenge” involves beating and then apparently raping the missionary’s wife while a circle of intense flame separates the missionary (not the MC) from her, well, who knows?
— Mar 14, 2025 10:28AM
This is a horribly ugly colonial story to end the tale on. The tone is ambiguous as to whether Hodgson is sympathetic to the natives given how gung-ho his MC is in beating them for information. Given that the “revenge” involves beating and then apparently raping the missionary’s wife while a circle of intense flame separates the missionary (not the MC) from her, well, who knows?
Jesse
is on page 471 of 496
“The Haunting of the Lady Shannon”
Another nautical tale, this one based no doubt on the problems Hodgson encountered with officers as a merchant seaman who abused and terrorized their sailors. After another authored display of senseless violence perpetrated by the officers, the ship appears to be haunted as the second mate dies mysteriously. BUT—it’s not haunted; this is not one of those stories.
— Mar 14, 2025 10:03AM
Another nautical tale, this one based no doubt on the problems Hodgson encountered with officers as a merchant seaman who abused and terrorized their sailors. After another authored display of senseless violence perpetrated by the officers, the ship appears to be haunted as the second mate dies mysteriously. BUT—it’s not haunted; this is not one of those stories.
Jesse
is on page 457 of 496
“Merciful Plunder”
We get a bit further from the mysteries to the anatomy of a prison break, from Captain Mellor pumping his French friend callously for information so that he can be beyond suspicion for the freeing of 20 Greek youths who are to be brutally executed. It’s a pretty good thriller that is informed by Hodgson’s seafaring experience, a fun read! Like, Hodgson was a reliably great writer.
— Mar 14, 2025 09:36AM
We get a bit further from the mysteries to the anatomy of a prison break, from Captain Mellor pumping his French friend callously for information so that he can be beyond suspicion for the freeing of 20 Greek youths who are to be brutally executed. It’s a pretty good thriller that is informed by Hodgson’s seafaring experience, a fun read! Like, Hodgson was a reliably great writer.
Jesse
is on page 445 of 496
“The Home-Coming of Captain Dan”
This is a documentary of the affairs of a ne’er-do-well at his town, starting with him getting drummed out and then later him returning extravagantly as a pirate, and then him leaving his fortune to his old girlfriend. It’s not exactly driven by mystery; this is more of a sub-plot to his bitterness with how the town moved on in the past twenty years.
— Mar 13, 2025 08:38PM
This is a documentary of the affairs of a ne’er-do-well at his town, starting with him getting drummed out and then later him returning extravagantly as a pirate, and then him leaving his fortune to his old girlfriend. It’s not exactly driven by mystery; this is more of a sub-plot to his bitterness with how the town moved on in the past twenty years.
Jesse
is on page 413 of 496
“Mr. Jock Danplank”
Nothing supernatural, here. This is a story about an inheritance left to the estranged but newly favored nephew while the crafty but villainous nephew tries to find it as it’s a buried treasure. Jock has a fun foil in his wife, the American Mog, who helps him battle Cousin Billy in their duel of digging up the garden as Jock wants to beat Billy without involving the police.
— Mar 12, 2025 08:26PM
Nothing supernatural, here. This is a story about an inheritance left to the estranged but newly favored nephew while the crafty but villainous nephew tries to find it as it’s a buried treasure. Jock has a fun foil in his wife, the American Mog, who helps him battle Cousin Billy in their duel of digging up the garden as Jock wants to beat Billy without involving the police.
Jesse
is on page 393 of 496
“The Ghost of the Glen Doon”
Another derelict wreck. This time a young man dies as a result of a bet. It’s a creepy business, but the format is kind of familiar now. There is a credible “ghost”, but at the end of the day it turns out that it’s counterfeiters who have taken to using the old, presumed haunted boat shell as their haunt.
— Mar 12, 2025 03:36PM
Another derelict wreck. This time a young man dies as a result of a bet. It’s a creepy business, but the format is kind of familiar now. There is a credible “ghost”, but at the end of the day it turns out that it’s counterfeiters who have taken to using the old, presumed haunted boat shell as their haunt.
Jesse
is on page 378 of 496
“The Mystery of the Water-Logged Ship”
Another naval adventure. In this one, a ship finds a derelict floating in the ocean. They try to tow it to shore, but the first three skeleton crews trying to toe the line disappear. It turns out that the derelict is actually a disguised, electrically-powered pirate vessel that was built to ravage the shipping lanes, which was scheduled to be carrying gold.
— Mar 12, 2025 01:55PM
Another naval adventure. In this one, a ship finds a derelict floating in the ocean. They try to tow it to shore, but the first three skeleton crews trying to toe the line disappear. It turns out that the derelict is actually a disguised, electrically-powered pirate vessel that was built to ravage the shipping lanes, which was scheduled to be carrying gold.
Jesse
is on page 363 of 496
“Bullion”
Hodgson is in his element here with a story that starts out about what might be a haunting on a ship but turns out to be… a complicated smuggling plot!! Well, more like a theft plot, where stowaways—I guess—are systematically attempting to steal some amount of gold from a large shipment. The crew is quick to figure out that someone is trying to steal the gold, but the full plot comes later.
— Mar 11, 2025 08:08PM
Hodgson is in his element here with a story that starts out about what might be a haunting on a ship but turns out to be… a complicated smuggling plot!! Well, more like a theft plot, where stowaways—I guess—are systematically attempting to steal some amount of gold from a large shipment. The crew is quick to figure out that someone is trying to steal the gold, but the full plot comes later.
Jesse
is on page 353 of 496
“Terror of the Water Tank”
Two mysterious murders at an old water tank. The intrigue comes from the MC collaring the wrong man due to circumstantial evidence. As it turns out, there’s some kind of mutant snake that has lived in the tank for some years that has killed the two men. It’s not exactly a totally scientific solution but it works! One of the plainer mysteries.
— Mar 11, 2025 07:34PM
Two mysterious murders at an old water tank. The intrigue comes from the MC collaring the wrong man due to circumstantial evidence. As it turns out, there’s some kind of mutant snake that has lived in the tank for some years that has killed the two men. It’s not exactly a totally scientific solution but it works! One of the plainer mysteries.
Jesse
is on page 339 of 496
“The Goddess of Death”
Two lads look into a story of a statue that comes alive at night to murder locals. For a time, it’s credible that there may be something to it as a supernatural phenomenon. The guys gather some of the locals, though, and manage to discover that it’s actually an infuriated high priest of Kali who is wreaking vengeance among the locals for the theft of the statue, years ago.
— Mar 11, 2025 04:24PM
Two lads look into a story of a statue that comes alive at night to murder locals. For a time, it’s credible that there may be something to it as a supernatural phenomenon. The guys gather some of the locals, though, and manage to discover that it’s actually an infuriated high priest of Kali who is wreaking vengeance among the locals for the theft of the statue, years ago.
