Jesse’s Reviews > The Dream of X and Other Fantastic Visions: The Collected Fiction of William Hope Hodgson, Volume 5 > Status Update
Jesse
is on page 283 of 448
“Captain Dan Danblasten”
I thought, hey, I’ve read this before…because I have! This is a rewrite of “The Homecoming of Captain Dan”, featured in the second volume of this collection. I am not entirely sure what the differences may be, except maybe Dan’s speckling his speech with French sailing idioms. Pretty much every story beat is the exact same.
— Oct 29, 2025 05:59AM
I thought, hey, I’ve read this before…because I have! This is a rewrite of “The Homecoming of Captain Dan”, featured in the second volume of this collection. I am not entirely sure what the differences may be, except maybe Dan’s speckling his speech with French sailing idioms. Pretty much every story beat is the exact same.
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Jesse
is on page 435 of 448
“R.M.S. “Empress of Australia””
How an account of a horrible earthquake in Japan in 1923 ended up published as a William Hope Hodgson story, considering that he died in WWI, is beyond me. The account in this story appears to be a factually accurate rendering of the actual event, as far as it’s reflected in Wikipedia. In that respect, it’s at least interesting as a history lesson.
— 13 hours, 47 min ago
How an account of a horrible earthquake in Japan in 1923 ended up published as a William Hope Hodgson story, considering that he died in WWI, is beyond me. The account in this story appears to be a factually accurate rendering of the actual event, as far as it’s reflected in Wikipedia. In that respect, it’s at least interesting as a history lesson.
Jesse
is on page 428 of 448
“The Raft” by C.L.
This is not a Hodgson tale, but rather one published under his name. It’s a Sargasso story and the feel of it gives it away as not Hodgson’s work, let alone the modern horror ending. Four survivors are stuck on a raft and are picked off by a giant octopus. It ends with a boat poised to rescue the remaining two the next day, but each man understands that only one man will be saved.
— 14 hours, 14 min ago
This is not a Hodgson tale, but rather one published under his name. It’s a Sargasso story and the feel of it gives it away as not Hodgson’s work, let alone the modern horror ending. Four survivors are stuck on a raft and are picked off by a giant octopus. It ends with a boat poised to rescue the remaining two the next day, but each man understands that only one man will be saved.
Jesse
is on page 421 of 448
“The Crew of the Lancing”
I don’t know what’s different between this story and the primary version of the demons of the sea, but it’s a decent horror story and is unique among Hodgson’s stories in having what appears to be a black protagonist. The author doesn’t dwell on the crew’s racial-based insults (or his nickname).
— 18 hours, 50 min ago
I don’t know what’s different between this story and the primary version of the demons of the sea, but it’s a decent horror story and is unique among Hodgson’s stories in having what appears to be a black protagonist. The author doesn’t dwell on the crew’s racial-based insults (or his nickname).
Jesse
is on page 410 of 448
“The Storm”
Another alternate take, but I think that the “mainstream” version of this story / prose poem did a better of portraying the ocean as a monstrous, eldritch horror. It’s still loaded with a lot of poetic descriptors from Hodgson.
— 20 hours, 7 min ago
Another alternate take, but I think that the “mainstream” version of this story / prose poem did a better of portraying the ocean as a monstrous, eldritch horror. It’s still loaded with a lot of poetic descriptors from Hodgson.
Jesse
is on page 408 of 448
“Captain Gunbolt Charity and the Painted Lady”
I guess this started out here and then got adapted to a Captain Gault piece. It feels like it’s pretty much the same, but there may be something more in the philosophy of art as Hodgson expresses it, the struggle between art and artifice.
— 20 hours, 13 min ago
I guess this started out here and then got adapted to a Captain Gault piece. It feels like it’s pretty much the same, but there may be something more in the philosophy of art as Hodgson expresses it, the struggle between art and artifice.
Jesse
is on page 387 of 448
“An Adventure of the Deep Waters”
This is I suppose an alternate version of one of the Sargasso Sea stories, where a ship runs afoul of a giant octopus. It’s paced pretty well and the way that Hodgson builds to the reveal with the mist blowing away is pretty effective. It’s kind of fun returning to Sargasso after it was such a huge part of the first collection.
— Oct 30, 2025 08:50AM
This is I suppose an alternate version of one of the Sargasso Sea stories, where a ship runs afoul of a giant octopus. It’s paced pretty well and the way that Hodgson builds to the reveal with the mist blowing away is pretty effective. It’s kind of fun returning to Sargasso after it was such a huge part of the first collection.
Jesse
is on page 375 of 448
“The Dumpley Acrostics”
This is basically the ending of the one Carnacki tale about a book forgery, but just the climax so that it’s devoid of tension. I imagine that the general idea is that the plot twist was the most important aspect to copyright, which is why it’s generally what survives in these “copyright versions” and not the window dressing that makes reading so enjoyable.
— Oct 30, 2025 08:35AM
This is basically the ending of the one Carnacki tale about a book forgery, but just the climax so that it’s devoid of tension. I imagine that the general idea is that the plot twist was the most important aspect to copyright, which is why it’s generally what survives in these “copyright versions” and not the window dressing that makes reading so enjoyable.
Jesse
is on page 369 of 448
“The Last Word in Mysteries”
The secret of this story is familiar but the main plot point, the MC’s fiance being kidnapped by smugglers, does not. Then again, I may have forgotten something from the second volume. It’s whatever; as short, two-page stories go, Bierce’s works carried more weight.
— Oct 30, 2025 07:45AM
The secret of this story is familiar but the main plot point, the MC’s fiance being kidnapped by smugglers, does not. Then again, I may have forgotten something from the second volume. It’s whatever; as short, two-page stories go, Bierce’s works carried more weight.
Jesse
is on page 367 of 448
“Senator Sandy MacGhee”
This is a Captain Gault adventure, but it’s unrecognizable if it’s from the initial run. Gault is not the main character, here, but an accomplice of Senator Sandy MacGhee, who gets one over on the officials by leading them to fake jewelry in a broad feint, thus drawing attention off of everyone walking off the ship with the actual goods.
— Oct 30, 2025 07:09AM
This is a Captain Gault adventure, but it’s unrecognizable if it’s from the initial run. Gault is not the main character, here, but an accomplice of Senator Sandy MacGhee, who gets one over on the officials by leading them to fake jewelry in a broad feint, thus drawing attention off of everyone walking off the ship with the actual goods.
Jesse
is on page 364 of 448
“The Dream of X”
I know that some people believe that cutting this 400 page novel down to 40 pages gives it a focus that it was lacking. The way in which it has been edited is frankly distracting, cutting out so much of the Hellscape that X (and Naani) traverses. BUT. The climax of this story still gave me goosebumps and brought tears to my eyes—and it wouldn’t have happened without those cut pages.
— Oct 29, 2025 10:56AM
I know that some people believe that cutting this 400 page novel down to 40 pages gives it a focus that it was lacking. The way in which it has been edited is frankly distracting, cutting out so much of the Hellscape that X (and Naani) traverses. BUT. The climax of this story still gave me goosebumps and brought tears to my eyes—and it wouldn’t have happened without those cut pages.
