tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24105665159760156012024-03-05T20:07:39.391-06:00Grim Reviews<center>Illuminating HP Lovecraft, Weird Fiction, and Other Dark Phenomena</center>Grim Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08127215730542852678noreply@blogger.comBlogger1072125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2410566515976015601.post-77398217057467112422011-12-05T10:30:00.020-06:002011-12-05T10:30:00.955-06:00An Interview With Mark Valentine About Book Collecting<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/SYsL7BUO6c4" width="640"></iframe> <br />
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Tartarus Press continues its excellent series of videos about bibliophilia in this interview with Mark Valentine about book collecting. In it, the longtime scholar, editor, and fiction author discusses his own appreciation for this literary past time, as well as several names that should ring familiar to any weird fiction fanatic. The video seemingly coincides with new efforts by the publisher to expand its influence in the online realm.<br />
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It's not just social media or Youtube either. Tartarus' line of ebooks continues to swell. Just recently, ebook forms of Valentine's own <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005NIO5B4/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grimrevi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B005NIO5B4" rel="nofollow">The Collected Connoisseur</a> </i>appeared, along with an electronic re-issue of Mark Samuels' well regarded collection, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00632M4SA/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grimrevi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00632M4SA" rel="nofollow"><i>The White Hands</i></a>.<br />
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-Grim Blogger<br />
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<noscript>&lt;br /&gt; &lt;img src="http://wms.assoc-amazon.com/20070822/US/img/noscript.gif?tag=grimrevi-20" alt="" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt; </noscript>Grim Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08127215730542852678noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2410566515976015601.post-5971456390561109512011-11-28T10:00:00.021-06:002011-11-28T10:00:02.667-06:00Review: Historical Lovecraft<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0986686409/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grimrevi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=0986686409" rel="nofollow"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-oB4805lr4cuqDQYZeJ9kUJJDECdz4Byd6_93WMXG00ZHlVrbL1mL_3pu9KB2pE58xoxHT5mL9JTGLhekSWURVd7vQZw0EG8ZUCmjr4UqAYVy5JTbGQK09rn4764tTWEVioNWiLyM9io/s320/Historical+Lovecraft+Tales+of+Horror+Through+Time+by+Silvia+Moreno-Garcia+and+Paula+R+Stiles.jpg" width="212" /></a></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">By any measure, H.P. Lovecraft functioned well as an amateur historian, or at least as a great admirer of the past. Innsmouth Free Press' new anthology, <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0986686409/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grimrevi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=0986686409" rel="nofollow">Historical Lovecraft: Tales of Horror Through Time</a>,</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> does a superb job of reviving the Lovecraftian appreciation for bygone epochs. Unlike alternate anthologies based around a specific time, place, or theme, </span><i>Historical Lovecraft</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> places original horrors all across the map.</span></div><div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b>Horrors New and Old</b></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">Silvia Moreno-Garcia and Paula R. Stiles have used their editorial talents to great effect with this volume. The book is a balanced collection of tales from all eras: ancient, medieval, and modern. Rather than centering around HPL's own colonial New England or familiar European locales, we are introduced to the antiquated natives of cultures all across the world, and experience fear through their unique perspectives.</div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The impressive and diverse lineup of </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0986686409/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grimrevi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=0986686409" rel="nofollow"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">Historical Lovecraft</span></i></a><span style="font-weight: normal;"> begins in the paleolithic era with Andrew G. Dombalagian's tale, “The God Lurking in Stone.” A mentally retarded man haunts his sister as he communes with gods far older than mankind. More familiar ancient places come alive in the succeeding millenia. </span> </div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">In “If Only to Taste Her Again,” E. Catherine Tobler brings a horror from the Nile to the court of Egyptian ruler Hatshepsut, while Daniel Mills' “Silently, Without Cease” pulls back the curtains on a portrait of dying Byzantine Emperor Justinian as he bargains with a personification of the ravaging plague. Both authors excel at authentically duplicating the historic scenery and infamous personages that have ascended into the ranks of legend. Toler and Mills effectively twist the already nightmarish mysteries of the past into contorted abominations reflected back through a decidedly Lovecraftian prism.</div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">Moving on, a Spanish Inquisitor attempts to interrogate a blasphemous horror from the New World in William Meikle's brilliant tale, “Inquisitor.” This story nicely illustrates the cross cultural potency concealed in many of these tales, which inject real terror into history's crucial transforming times and places. Inquisitors are certainly interesting on their own, but the hapless churchman who encounters something worse than a demon in this story also experiences a fate a hundred times more entertaining than a re-hash about the evils of extreme Catholicism with a Lovecraftian edge.</div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b>Strange, Far Places</b></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The major driver behind the success of the stories in </span></span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0986686409/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grimrevi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=0986686409" rel="nofollow"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">Historical Lovecraft</span></i></a><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> is the editors' commitment to bringing together a truly global sampling of Lovecraftian horrors. For instance, Sarah Hans' “Shadows of the Darkest Jade” follows two Buddhist monks who encounter a far away village seething with evil. Hans shoves us into ancient madness without turning back.</span></span></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">“An Uninterrupted Sacrifice” brings forth the unusual offerings inspired by religious practices in ancient South America. H.P. Lovecraft would probably find it difficult to imagine a story based on his work without a Westerner in sight. This story proves that good Lovecraftiana can arise from authentically alien sources, and places like ancient Peru actually serve to enhance the exotic feeling.</div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">Travis Heermann's “An Idol for Emiko” returns us to Asia, this time during the rise of Japan's Tokugawa Shogunate. More than mere samurai and oriental wonders are on display here. Lovecraft's infamous deep ones make an appearance, filling a small coastal village with predictable horrors, but getting to the gruesome end has never been stranger through early modern Japanese eyes.</div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">In more modern times, “Red Star, Yellow Sign” by Leigh Kimmel infuses Lovecraftian themes into a relatively obscure historical event: the murder of Leningrad Mayor Kirov during the Stalinist era. The incredible mystery and myriad conspiracies surrounding Kirov's demise are made stranger still by introducing R'lyeh into the equation. Kimmel thoroughly captures the paranoia and totalitarian horror intrinsic in Soviet society, and her firm historical knowledge and knack for horror makes this a candidate for best story in the book, amid strong competition.</div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">It seems that history and Lovecraftian horror will always walk hand in hand, since it has been that way from the beginning of the Cthulhu Mythos. Fortunately, the historic backdrops only grow richer and curiouser as time passes. </span></span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0986686409/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grimrevi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=0986686409" rel="nofollow"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">Historical Lovecraft: Tales of Horror Through Time</span></i></a><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> furthers that evolution along its natural track, and for this reason, it's not to be missed.</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">-Grim Blogger </span></span></div><br />
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<noscript>&lt;br /&gt; &lt;img src="http://wms.assoc-amazon.com/20070822/US/img/noscript.gif?tag=grimrevi-20" alt="" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt; </noscript>Grim Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08127215730542852678noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2410566515976015601.post-53418335891338634582011-11-25T14:45:00.015-06:002011-11-25T15:06:08.107-06:00LORE: A Quaint and Curious Volume of Selected Stories<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0984773002/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grimrevi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=0984773002" rel="nofollow"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinKzcwndHaSIiOGt6_VkyfpbBLT2Gw1a43aNudjSKiG4GEAYa8kVyP2uEW3xNlQqIhU-OEuFv7LnK7TCK6T_1LIDUSz8PF5eO5-E4EMEWTGFYwBFyrGZaPiWEGBV70ZZ-E5NbjUhEbZ7Y/s320/LORE+A+Quaint+and+Curious+Volume+of+Select+Stories.jpg" width="207" /></a></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">It's not everyday that bygone weird fiction journals from the past couple decades are resuscitated, but <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0984773002/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grimrevi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=0984773002" rel="nofollow"><i>LORE: A Quaint and Curious Volume of Selected Stories</i></a><span style="font-style: normal;"> does exactly that. The 1980s and 1990s experienced a tremendous flowering of brilliance in the broad field of literary horror, and Lovecraftian fiction specifically. In fact, the pioneering efforts of these unforgettable 'zines and journals arguably led to the strong position this genre enjoys today online.</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><i>LORE</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> was one such effort that garnered a small, but devoted following in the late 1990s. Now, editors Rod Heather and Sean O'Leary have pieced together the finest samples from the magazine's history. Lovecraftian readers and weird fiction fans will find plenty to admire in these pages.</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-style: normal;">Tales by recognizable names such as Harlan Ellison, Jeffrey Thomas, Brian Lumley, and Robert M. Price abound, rare items that haven't seen the light of day again since the 'zine closed its doors. This latest incarnation of </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0984773002/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grimrevi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=0984773002" rel="nofollow"><i>LORE: A Quaint and Curious Volume of Selected Stories</i></a><span style="font-style: normal;"> brings back several award winning tales, and some experimental efforts that are too interesting to pass up. “The Challenge from Below” by Robert M. Price, Peter Cannon, Donald R. Burleson, and Brian McNaughton is particularly creative, conceived as a Lovecraftian round robin story by several veteran observers in the field.</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-style: normal;">Best of all, it seems this volume is merely the debut for a resurgent publishing imprint called The LORE Firm. This new enterprise aims to build on the little acknowledged success of the old publication by bringing out new content in both print and online media. What better way to build interest than by reminding readers of the predecessor's wonders?</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0984773002/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grimrevi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=0984773002" rel="nofollow"><i>LORE: A Quaint and Curious Volume of Selected Stories</i></a><span style="font-style: normal;"> is a treasure trove of hidden Lovecraftiana and weirdism. Hopefully, it constitutes a firm starting point for new explorations that will prove just as impressive.</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-style: normal;">-Grim Blogger </span></div><br />
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<noscript>&lt;br /&gt; &lt;img src="http://wms.assoc-amazon.com/20070822/US/img/noscript.gif?tag=grimrevi-20" alt="" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt; </noscript>Grim Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08127215730542852678noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2410566515976015601.post-42683828233771190272011-11-14T10:00:00.018-06:002011-11-14T10:00:12.485-06:00The Orphan Palace by Joseph S Pulver<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1907681116/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grimrevi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=1907681116"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB21-NdDV0OICwujVSaf910L80YPd92qWkEmlp2ZHM7JoZT1H2dTLZZlB3ki626lW03ImZCokQBXvUKoWZNjTNlJr4BpxnIYkw5kuv0Bgm8V1muduSNJL7yvpIhYbv2GF4SKHhFyFI9c4/s1600/The+Orphan+Palace+by+Joseph+S+Pulver+Jr.jpg" /></a></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Following closely on the heels of Joseph S. Pulver's unsettling short story collection, <a href="http://grimreviews.blogspot.com/2011/06/review-sin-ashes-by-joseph-s-pulver.html"><i>Sin & Ashes</i></a><span style="font-style: normal;">, his latest effort has appeared in the form of </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1907681116/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grimrevi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=1907681116"><i>The Orphan Palace</i></a><span style="font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1907681116/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grimrevi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=1907681116" rel="nofollow">.</a> This new Chomu Press novel melds the nightmarish fantasies originated by authors like H.P. Lovecraft and Robert W. Chambers with Pulver's unmistakeable mind tripping. Fire, terror, and fringe characters come together maniacally in this genre bending storm.</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-style: normal;">Horror is exactly what most Pulver fans are after, and rightfully so, since he is a trustworthy master of it. His latest novel gives his devotees exactly what they are looking for – whether they know it or not. Like a blood stained Santa Clause, he knows how to gift words that are concealed knives, balancing a multi-verse of hells for maximum impact.</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-style: normal;">This book brings together otherworldly threats with the all too real underworlds of seedy orphanages, arson, and murder. Pulver makes us question realities, and wonder whether a parcel of our non-fiction world bears a resemblance to his madhouse built on pillars of untarnished horrors.</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1907681116/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grimrevi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=1907681116" rel="nofollow"><i>The Orphan Palace</i></a><span style="font-style: normal;"> is a strong and swift descent into jarring lunacy, with hell spawned characters who are guaranteed to haunt the mind long after the pages go untouched. Pick up a copy, if you want to surrender to the entanglements of dark illusion and visceral frights.</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-style: normal;">-Grim Blogger </span></div><script src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/s/link-enhancer?tag=grimrevi-20&o=1" type="text/javascript">
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<noscript>&lt;br /&gt; &lt;img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/s/noscript?tag=grimrevi-20" alt="" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt; </noscript>Grim Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08127215730542852678noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2410566515976015601.post-9672248014879493152011-11-03T10:00:00.030-05:002011-11-03T10:00:01.960-05:00Understanding Ghost Stories: Books by ST Joshi and Andrew SmithReading ghost stories provides a familiar chill to many readers, but only a select few want to delve deeper, burrowing into a thorough understanding of what drives the spectral tale. Today, with weird fiction scholarship more vibrant than ever before, that journey doesn't have to happen alone. Two outstanding study aids published in recent years head up a multiplying field. Look to S.T. Joshi's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0977173488/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grimrevi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=0977173488" rel="nofollow"><i>Warnings to the Curious</i></a><span style="font-style: normal;"> and Andrew Smith's </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0719074460/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grimrevi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=0719074460" rel="nofollow"><i>The Ghost Story 1840-1920: A Cultural History</i></a><span style="font-style: normal;"> for proof of ghostly energies in literature.</span><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0977173488/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grimrevi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=0977173488" rel="nofollow"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2MOyHDU7nBi5iHEjGG7MIwo1Q6Du9pLXV6VQgmCaLAoYDrCvL33vqkeC4S0R4mG7OyAjZDRPQVSx9XaJMPbdozL4zuE24zTO6x6tIUmr0UtOs6LtASLRZecZek9ZnCAu8GYWSyBeWVLM/s1600/Warnings+to+the+Curious+A+Sheaf+of+Criticism+on+MR+James+by+ST+Joshi+and+Rosemary+Pardoe.jpg" /></a></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-style: normal;">S.T. Joshi Shines the Light on Jamesian Demons</span></b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0977173488/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grimrevi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=0977173488" rel="nofollow"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">Warnings to the Curious: A Sheaf of Criticism on M.R. James</span></i></a><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> recalls the glory days when most scholarship focusing on literary horror occurred in obscure journals. Aside from H.P. Lovecraft, M.R. James enjoyed zealous attention to his supernatural works. </span></span><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">Ghosts and Scholars</span></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> was a long running publication devoted to unveiling the many mysteries he left behind, headed by Rosemary Pardoe, who joins Joshi in editing this volume. The two wizened Jamesian observers have assembled a diverse array of discourse on M.R. James' most celebrated stories.</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Unlike </span></span><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">Ghosts and Scholars</span></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">, which occasionally delved into minutiae that was only decipherable by absolute Jamesian fanatics, Joshi's scholarly collection is much more accessible. Occult, historic, and erotic tensions are explored as deep and relevant influences behind James' work. In many ways, gaining added insight into the forbidden knowledge fearfully communicated by M.R. James does nothing to dispel his demons.</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Instead, </span></span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0977173488/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grimrevi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=0977173488" rel="nofollow"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">Warnings to the Curious</span></i></a><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> peels back the layers of beautiful illusion responsible for obscuring pure horror in James' tales. The demons, ghosts, and less definable terrors are then revealed in all of their alien glory. This book collects the most well thought and illuminating studies of James' fiction to date, and it should remain master for some time.</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0719074460/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grimrevi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=0719074460" rel="nofollow"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibVgHvivuge-nIi7tUJvmDOfn_cZCFY4ssJxy1B79MKdIITlyIKZt76cC1x-AwGfLELmlumDK5tHOXonwPzsd-RLnox-9l_WiynGFGvOHkvSiK_rSxI9WJ21yy3chGFCMCaAmt3ZKbMmo/s1600/The+Ghost+Story+1840+-+1920+by+Andrew+Smith.jpg" /></a></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-style: normal;">Andrew Smith Uproots Ghostly Terrors</span></b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">By the time </span></span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0719074460/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grimrevi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=0719074460" rel="nofollow"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">The Ghost Story 1840-1920</span></i></a><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> ends, M.R. James' ascent to the spectral throne of literary horror is just nearing its peak. This fat volume by Andrew Smith attempts to pierce the historic origins of the ghost story in the United Kingdom and beyond. More importantly, Smith lets loose an important bridge rarely completed in scholarship that's strictly centered around the weird.</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Smith's haunted history talks about not merely James and Sheridan Le Fanu, but household names such as Charles Dickens and Henry James. Whatever other conclusions this book draws, no one can ignore its ability to place spectral fiction in the forefront of art and society. Smith's revelations are always tied back to the mainstream literary scene, political events, and economic turmoils that influenced the rise of the British ghost story, perhaps the same elements that were influenced in turn by a new and fearful aesthetic.</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">For a product of academia, </span></span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0719074460/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grimrevi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=0719074460" rel="nofollow"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">The Ghost Story 1840-1920</span></i></a><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> is pleasantly readable to the average horror fan. Smith capably connects crucial figures and events back to phantoms, without droning on like an absent minded professor.</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Understanding ghost stories isn't easy. It's conceivable that the most devoted weird horror readers could spend a lifetime contemplating the nuances of uncanny play between the dead and the living. Thanks to study props like these, at least they won't have to ponder in isolation.</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">-Grim Blogger </span></span></div><br />
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<noscript>&lt;br /&gt; &lt;img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/s/noscript?tag=grimrevi-20" alt="" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt; </noscript>Grim Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08127215730542852678noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2410566515976015601.post-42945437060360739512011-10-24T09:00:00.048-05:002011-10-24T09:00:10.672-05:00Escape to Hell by Muammar Gaddafi<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1CzmeQ664utWE2YDoYfOAeMeyT7qLtKHJPIf6lgm_ZquJpvJM_8WEdIhNn0ItvxP7Hrq2P19eoMtdleuMWh3wUs4dB6U30OW1zr1tLNv499J3cvwufk1fEqeGolf5LjtfRa5Sn-MWsuw/s1600/Muammar+Gaddafi+Escape+to+Hell.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1CzmeQ664utWE2YDoYfOAeMeyT7qLtKHJPIf6lgm_ZquJpvJM_8WEdIhNn0ItvxP7Hrq2P19eoMtdleuMWh3wUs4dB6U30OW1zr1tLNv499J3cvwufk1fEqeGolf5LjtfRa5Sn-MWsuw/s200/Muammar+Gaddafi+Escape+to+Hell.jpg" width="145" /></a></div><br />
Last week, many were shocked to see the violent demise of Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi. There were plenty of notable events in his obituary, but buried in the depths of his many undertakings is his brief career as a fiction writer. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/185782346X/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grimrevi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=185782346X" rel="nofollow"><i>Escape to Hell and Other Stories</i></a> is Gaddafi's sole speculative fiction collection, originally penned in his native language, and then translated into English. Curiously, the book reportedly includes a wide variety of surrealist, horrific, and science fiction elements.<br />
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Earlier this year, I mused on the possibility of a despot like <a href="http://grimreviews.blogspot.com/2011/04/kim-jong-il-set-to-publish-weird-horror.html">Kim Jong Il writing a collection of weird horror stories</a>. Imagine my surprise to find out about this Gaddafi collection. It also begs the question of what's so terribly compelling about artwork created by such powerful and controversial figures? Obviously, it must be some exotic quality. Weird fiction authors such as <a href="http://grimreviews.blogspot.com/2010/10/reggie-oliver-turns-novelist.html">Reggie Oliver</a> have used the idea to great effect in stories like "The Complete Symphonies of Adolf Hitler."<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/185782346X/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grimrevi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=185782346X" rel="nofollow"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs80kXZ53b3IpGCfsQjpvw9roodWJxBt_u9lQnO4kFscTq0gg0ZgVWZhWnycOmTAYPbFgCd8Eq-Lt7YeugBgMlAPbmF5m6xxlDZ_GSS2IgXzQdXLgnW_8BZYxNv8zY5XuY7E8jDTmSiIc/s1600/Escape+to+Hell+by+Muammar+Gaddafi.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Perhaps it's a melding of real life horror with literature, and the rare ability to see such men (and women) exposed and unguarded in the way that only creative fiction can provide. Although Gaddafi's alternative career choices will probably always overshadow his literary merits, it may not be surprising if <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/185782346X/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grimrevi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=185782346X" rel="nofollow"><i>Escape to Hell</i></a> garners wider attention in the coming years. The iron fisted are hastily condemned, while their motivations and mindsets remain enigmatic, however warped they may seem.<br />
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If it were possible to strip away the political context and examine figures like Gaddafi as artists, truly bizarre insights might emerge. Yet, divorcing such works from their lives is impossible, particularly at this stage. Nevertheless, the stories and other types of artwork they leave behind are sure to provoke thoughts and chills in equal measure for anyone who dares to pick up their work.<br />
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-Grim Blogger<br />
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<noscript>&lt;br /&gt; &lt;img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/s/noscript?tag=grimrevi-20" alt="" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt; </noscript>Grim Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08127215730542852678noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2410566515976015601.post-52253144743984513232011-10-19T10:00:00.040-05:002011-10-19T10:00:06.021-05:00The Shadow of the Unknown Lovecraftian Anthology<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1617061441/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grimrevi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=1617061441" rel="nofollow"><i>The Shadow of the Unknown</i></a> is the latest anthology to emerge from a real grassroots level in the Lovecraftian arena. Though some of the names aren't yet quite as well known as more established writers, one never knows when they are looking at the next generation of successors to the two or three Lovecraftian waves who have issued out of the literary leaves since Lovecraft exited this earthly plane. This latest book collects nearly thirty tales inspired by the modern weird and its finest attendants.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9vvWmLiDiTV9JN-oL_HhiYS9Grk1cG64Y8zDnuB-noZYOIwXug3aXJTmtNQ9qkEHiN06VGoldI33Yw90A4EM2stMySLeV86WbIepIhj7bOy4Mw_RsJhmzPfpa75kMsdzzcGIVLA_HU3k/s1600/The+Shadow+of+the+Unknown+Anthology.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9vvWmLiDiTV9JN-oL_HhiYS9Grk1cG64Y8zDnuB-noZYOIwXug3aXJTmtNQ9qkEHiN06VGoldI33Yw90A4EM2stMySLeV86WbIepIhj7bOy4Mw_RsJhmzPfpa75kMsdzzcGIVLA_HU3k/s320/The+Shadow+of+the+Unknown+Anthology.jpg" width="248" /></a></div><br />
Going into untested waters isn't always easy, particularly when Lovecraftian fiction is one sub-genre with a history marred by crude pastiches. Still, the endorsement of important rising authors like Jeffrey Thomas indicates that <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1617061441/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grimrevi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=1617061441" rel="nofollow"><i>The Shadow of the Unknown</i></a> is one more effort that's helping re-polish Lovecraft's legacy up to a glowing aura. Consider picking up this anthology for a look at genuine home grown horror with an HPL inspired bent.<br />
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-Grim Blogger<br />
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<noscript>&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br /&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/s/noscript?tag=grimrevi-20" alt="" /&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br /&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; </noscript>Grim Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08127215730542852678noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2410566515976015601.post-52444442826836544472011-10-14T20:30:00.040-05:002011-10-14T20:55:21.552-05:00The Political Immortality of Cthulhu and the Federal Reserve<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjprzjuP7Yqnzf5wFw6SmdUamG6Sub4boUDBuBZvvcjKtDqvz9YUCbbJ4QRwjI-XrQEZrmilGAmze76B98yZr1klke1eAx6WJRA_uCjMaG6tlkObzbBKXvWWOgutdUjkobB00iUlL9BLh8/s1600/Cthulhu+and+the+Federal+Reserve.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjprzjuP7Yqnzf5wFw6SmdUamG6Sub4boUDBuBZvvcjKtDqvz9YUCbbJ4QRwjI-XrQEZrmilGAmze76B98yZr1klke1eAx6WJRA_uCjMaG6tlkObzbBKXvWWOgutdUjkobB00iUlL9BLh8/s320/Cthulhu+and+the+Federal+Reserve.jpg" width="214" /></a></div><br />
About one hundred years ago in the United States, the creation of the Federal Reserve took center stage as a major issue, when Great Cthulhu was barely a speck in H.P. Lovecraft's brain (or so we're told). Now, nearly a century later, the Fed is back in the limelight, and so is the Cthulhu like symbolism around it. Right now, Presidential candidates from Obama to Ron Paul and Rick Perry alternatively defend and deride the Fed, espousing alternating perceptions of it as a benevolent financial overseer or a conspiratorial monster. Who does that remind you of?<br />
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The incredible longevity of Cthulhuvian forms in relation to the banking system is interesting and certainly noteworthy. It seems to reinforce something inherently loathsome about chilling creatures with tentacles who lurk in the depths, and the dreadful parasitism in modern finance. The dark, the unknown, and the alien nature of the Cthulhu like octopus is weird and frightening, making it a suitable representative of institutions with little public trust or comprehension.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZQFx0Z4fmfIp-KSaNeA-P-PwEd9zZ3P-bJUA4jHwgu8QT0TAuHMVROilL_1iYXGG4vQfN-wfSRcZAnB7Z8I3x6bwcrWnElQDwRFWKnsHa6yDhmeUuBj3MTciKhkYbT9ynpIOS9ZEklkI/s1600/Voted+for+Cthulhu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZQFx0Z4fmfIp-KSaNeA-P-PwEd9zZ3P-bJUA4jHwgu8QT0TAuHMVROilL_1iYXGG4vQfN-wfSRcZAnB7Z8I3x6bwcrWnElQDwRFWKnsHa6yDhmeUuBj3MTciKhkYbT9ynpIOS9ZEklkI/s320/Voted+for+Cthulhu.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
There are enough conspiracies and nefarious occurrences swirling around the Fed to make a Cthulhu cultist blush. Books like <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/091298645X/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grimrevi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=091298645X" rel="nofollow"><i>The Creature from Jekyll Island</i></a> provide plenty of real life nightmare fuel. Regardless of what one thinks about the Fed, in an election year, political ire is so high toward Ben Bernanke and his system that more direct Cthulhu comparisons may be coming.<br />
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One final curiosity: H.P. Lovecraft shared his state with Senator Nelson Aldrich, the powerful Rhode Island politician behind bringing the Federal Reserve into existence. At one point, Lovecraft and Aldrich both lived in Foster, Rhode Island, just outside of Providence. Today, both are buried in Swan Point Cemetery. Further shadows of a conspiracy? You decide.<br />
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-Grim Blogger<br />
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<noscript>&lt;br /&gt; &lt;img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/s/noscript?tag=grimrevi-20" alt="" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt; </noscript>Grim Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08127215730542852678noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2410566515976015601.post-61910309571860546092011-10-07T10:00:00.047-05:002011-10-07T10:00:00.137-05:00Bibliomania Meets Weird Horror Fiction<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/7h7-aIZRhhs" width="560"></iframe> <br />
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Many thanks to <a href="http://www.tartaruspress.com/index.htm" rel="nofollow">Tartarus Press</a> owner and author Ray Russell for this fine mini-documentary on his book collection. Bibliomania strikes when least expected, even though it has become more expected in weird horror than in many other genres. Undoubtedly a product of limited print runs and deluxe editions, the average literary horror devotee is also a lover of well made books and obscure tomes.<br />
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Russell's video is the first known video record of this phenomenon. His intense collecting interest in Arthur Machen and other writers is discussed at length, while handsome shots of the books in question materialize. Rare volumes by Thomas Ligotti, Mark Valentine, and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1606600044/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grimrevi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399377&creativeASIN=1606600044" rel="nofollow">Edgar Allan Poe with Harry Clark's celebrated illustrations</a> sit not far from the Machen books. An impressive collection, without question.<br />
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It's little wonder that Tartarus has always carried a strong sense of identity. The rich history behind their operation seems to be standing the test of time, especially if the latest developments are any indication. Just recently, Tartarus issued the latest short story collection by Reggie Oliver, <i>Mrs. Midnight and Other Stories</i>, which met out-of-print status at a breakneck pace.<br />
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-Grim Blogger<br />
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<noscript>&lt;br /&gt; &lt;img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/s/noscript?tag=grimrevi-20" alt="" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt; </noscript>Grim Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08127215730542852678noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2410566515976015601.post-9142767821487937512011-10-02T10:00:00.017-05:002011-10-02T10:00:01.983-05:00The Thinking Cthulhu Idol<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiyyVyUktggdAlfFnVIrnJE8qL2Pxme9cWz0o5ctq3dl3qONgdeQBU0zbMLtkHt6reTqG-qJh80SDugAIFNbHKz5gzjXcumsitqDirwx39WuK-k3HwHEEeVqchFfruNcefuPOfORI3wTw/s1600/The+Thinking+Cthulhu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiyyVyUktggdAlfFnVIrnJE8qL2Pxme9cWz0o5ctq3dl3qONgdeQBU0zbMLtkHt6reTqG-qJh80SDugAIFNbHKz5gzjXcumsitqDirwx39WuK-k3HwHEEeVqchFfruNcefuPOfORI3wTw/s320/The+Thinking+Cthulhu.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
For Cthulhu cultists bored with traditional busts and idols, the Cthulhu Thinker statue is a fine way to mix it up. Etsy artist Thorssoli has crafted this alternate vision of the Greatest Old One, which doubles as a book end. Statues depicting H.P. Lovecraft's most recognizable creation have exploded in recent years.<br />
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From high end Cthinkers to <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003IMILEO/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grimrevi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=B003IMILEO" rel="nofollow">Wacky Cthulhu Bobble Heads</a> for the masses, Lovecraftian decor is no longer out of reach for anyone. Check out the <a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/82563718/cthulhu-thinker-bookend-statue" rel="nofollow">Cthulhu Thinker</a> if you need an unorthodox guardian for your ominous tomes.<br />
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-Grim Blogger<br />
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<noscript>&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br /&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/s/noscript?tag=grimrevi-20" alt="" /&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br /&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; </noscript>Grim Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08127215730542852678noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2410566515976015601.post-11246733518888077542011-09-28T08:00:00.019-05:002011-09-28T08:00:15.170-05:00Review: Link Arms With Toads! by Rhys Hughes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1907681086/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grimrevi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=1907681086" rel="nofollow"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxxIYlop51tuXAAZBzJTFJ-8Xj2OalyHYBm7kkxAFxxSCv229oKfrsvgtaR4PgaWEH758aoatzbVa2xi5DiY5YjEWAWmj74WZby_1r4IE28wg1sGH57ThcrAbK7kHoRgwbARV7Hb75L94/s320/Link+Arms+With+Toads+by+Rhys+Hughes.jpg" width="212" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Rhys Hughes is a prolific writer, but his matching unfettered imagination is an even more impressive quality. His latest collection from Chomu Press, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1907681086/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grimrevi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=1907681086" rel="nofollow"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Link Arms With Toads!</i></a>, reveals the limitless probing by Hughes into spheres few other authors would venture into. You can never quite know what to expect after the title of each tale washes over you. Hughes’ stories are a diverse stage, where whimsy, horror, and rich fantasy take the center in equal measure.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The Unimagined and the Re-Imagined</b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">In his dedication, Rhys Hughes describes his latest collection as “a showcase of Romanti-Cynical stories.” Such a label isn’t far off the mark, but it entails so much more than mere Romanticism and Cynicism, perhaps hidden in the deceptive, hyphenated voids between these genres. Many of these yarns twist otherwise mundane settings into otherworldly vistas vaguely reminiscent of sci-fi and fantasy landscapes.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">“The Taste of the Moon” is a perfect example. For Hughes, sending his dimension crossing explorers to chart the mysteries of time and space is too simple, and perhaps overdone. These Khormanauts explore the recesses of Indian restaurants, bent on unraveling the inexplicable business expansionism of these curry houses, equipped with yogurt-filled tanks for survival.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">In “Lunarhampton,” Hughes explores the absurdity of Birmingham city establishing a lunar colony, with woefully outmoded technologies and bureaucratic dreams. Readers inevitably find equal measures of comedy and bleakness mixed together. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1907681086/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grimrevi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=1907681086" rel="nofollow"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Link Arms With Toads!</i></a> routinely showcases maddening, humorous paradoxes, without becoming ridiculous. The same theme of meaningful absurdism established in “Lunarhampton” continues in tales like “333 and a Third,” where a man hops across various planes of existence, always ending up in living quarters that are too cramped. The more things change, the more they stay the same. However, in Hughes worlds, even these damning similarities are stunning to observe.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Top Tier Horror Parodies, Re-Spun</b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Though it’s not a pure collection of the macabre, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1907681086/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grimrevi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=1907681086" rel="nofollow"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Link Arms With Toads!</i></a> serves generous pools of uncanny blackness unlikely to disappoint weird horror fans. Rhys Hughes is a master of parodying some of the greatest names in literary horror. His pastiches are serious, but they carry an equally sardonic tone, alongside inimitably Hughesian ideas that sweep familiar terrors into stranger territory.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">“Pity and Pendulum” harkens back to Edgar Allan Poe’s famous ode to psychological and physical torture. Hughes arguably illuminates greater horrors lurking in the dungeons than Poe did, and then he establishes an effective sequel to this classic tale, revealing the unlikely fate of the infamous pit. In “Number 13 ½,” readers receive a convincingly written ghost story in the tradition of M.R. James. Worldly spooks and mysticism about unlikely numbers are brought into a parallel universe, where the slight, but significant differences unveil a horrific conclusion on an authentically Jamesian scale. As if that’s not enough, Hughes introduces a universe tipping reversal in “Oh Ho!” Here, it’s the specter who becomes haunted, rather than his victims.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">At the end of the day, consider Rhys Hughes one of the more effective serial killers of traditional genres. The dead bodies of science fiction, fantasy, and melancholy horror will never be found on his property because they are melted down and resurrected as the most magnificent Frankenstein like monsters. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1907681086/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grimrevi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=1907681086" rel="nofollow"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Link Arms With Toads!</i></a> demands a certain level of open mindedness to achieve its maximum effect, and those who give it what it deserves will be richly rewarded with a savory course of wholly original fiction.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"> -Grim Blogger</div><script src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/s/link-enhancer?tag=grimrevi-20&o=1" type="text/javascript">
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<noscript>&lt;br /&gt; &lt;img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/s/noscript?tag=grimrevi-20" alt="" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt; </noscript>Grim Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08127215730542852678noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2410566515976015601.post-77676619527994400822011-09-25T10:00:00.017-05:002011-09-25T10:00:05.584-05:00The Earth Rejects Him by Jared Skolnick<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/DcRPedmA4jw" width="640"></iframe> <br />
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An eerily minimalist trailer for <i>The Earth Rejects Him</i> has been uploaded by Lovecraftian film producer Jared Skolnick. Details about this new production are scant, but the inspiration is unsettling enough:<br />
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<blockquote>A young boy discovers a corpse while biking in the woods, then faces unexpected and macabre consequences when he tries to bury it.</blockquote><br />
<a href="http://grimreviews.blogspot.com/2010/04/jared-skolnicks-erich-zann.html">Jared Skolnick previously created</a> an excellent adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft's tale, "The Music of Erich Zann." Look for this latest Lovecraft driven effort to appear sometime in the next year. Although HPL is likely the artistic tip of the spear for this movie, Skolnick states it also takes its cue from the films of Guillermo del Toro and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0001ZX0F6/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grimrevi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=B0001ZX0F6" rel="nofollow">Werner Herzog</a>.<br />
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-Grim Blogger<br />
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<noscript>&amp;amp;lt;br /&amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/s/noscript?tag=grimrevi-20" alt="" /&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;br /&amp;amp;gt; </noscript>Grim Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08127215730542852678noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2410566515976015601.post-33766819640043929382011-09-22T08:00:00.026-05:002011-09-22T08:00:02.276-05:00The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath Comic<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000OUNXGO/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grimrevi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399377&creativeASIN=B000OUNXGO" rel="nofollow"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTBj3CJTCOI4wRnk19C8lGUnaOMI0RT6Xm1k7Q6z0EP5EYwicYCkIrrsDMbaaGiPLMjzkqlgAO6K1ezVo2nZfEl9QkuldxMi1yyUgR6xuFl94zBG1kaDLO8jtodAF0vdt1l65fuhdjt-o/s1600/The+Dream+Quest+of+Unknown+Kadath+Animated+Movie.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Lovecraftian artist Jason B. Thompson is at it again. The man who was once crazy enough to help bring H.P. Lovecraft's epic tale, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000OUNXGO/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grimrevi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399377&creativeASIN=B000OUNXGO" rel="nofollow">“The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath,” to film</a> is pitching a new mega graphic novel that will span all of HPL's dream stories. This ultimate dream cycle collection will translate several Lovecraft tales into ink that are rarely seen in comics: “Celephais,” “The White Ship,” “The Strange High House in the Mist,” and “The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath.” Needless to say, the focus on unifying H.P. Lovecraft's dream cycle in the comics is unique.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">According to Thompson, all four stories that make it into the book will be heavily revised from his original designs, expanded, and made into full color productions. Originally, his well drawn Lovecraft adaptations only saw a limited circulation. His last graphic editions of these tales appeared when HPL was just becoming truly hip to the power of online media, a time when Lovecraftian graphic novels were few and far between.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Jason B. Thompson is also the latest Lovecraftian producer to utilize Kickstarter.com as a method of raising capital for his endeavor. To date, the power fund set up to launch this project is doing surprisingly well. Kickstarter is rapidly becoming a new way for innovators involved with the weird to harness the power of web fundraising as a means to make their nightmares into realities.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Thompson's artistic prowess and appreciation for Lovecraft's fiction is certainly deserving of support. Pick up <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000OUNXGO/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grimrevi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399377&creativeASIN=B000OUNXGO" rel="nofollow"><i>The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath</i></a><span style="font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000OUNXGO/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grimrevi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399377&creativeASIN=B000OUNXGO" rel="nofollow"> on DVD</a> to see what he has to offer. Despite being sold out for years, second hand copies continue to circulate on sites like Amazon. Better yet, <a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/22092473/the-dream-quest-of-unknown-kadath-and-other-storie">chip in to his Kickstart fund</a>, which has already raised over $6,000 at the time of this writing. Like many other fundraisers, his includes special prizes for heavy contributors.</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-style: normal;">-Grim Blogger </span></div><script src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/s/link-enhancer?tag=grimrevi-20&o=1" type="text/javascript">
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<noscript>&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br /&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/s/noscript?tag=grimrevi-20" alt="" /&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br /&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; </noscript>Grim Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08127215730542852678noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2410566515976015601.post-25383628821195569212011-09-17T10:00:00.007-05:002011-09-17T10:00:03.121-05:00Stefan Grabinski Gets an Ebook<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005N4ADPK/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grimrevi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=B005N4ADPK" rel="nofollow"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhowtkCMU6JhJ5uBYiG9hKRQRTUbOjbAyo7ltWOpbWG88Wo_K9tfxyzqXH8oJoe_hju0T6VBdTVPfS0MCiHcyhd8AVDU5XaSStQp-xTgsWX-HsPcuY8M9Kl5f2FJ6vOUjgbp30IHFOS6VM/s320/The+Motion+Demon+by+Stefan+Grabinski.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Weird fiction's migration to the electronic medium is quickening. Polish author Stefan Grabinski is the latest to join the likes of contemporaries and grand masters from literary horror's past on e-book shelves everywhere. Or, more appropriately, the marketplace of Amazon's Kindle, which currently dominates the e-publishing world.<br />
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Grabinski's debut in e-book form arrives with a definitive edition of his collection, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005N4ADPK/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grimrevi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=B005N4ADPK" rel="nofollow"><i>The Motion Demon</i></a>. This edition includes all the contents of the increasingly expensive and out-of-print hardcover published by Ash-Tree Press. Fortunately, unlike some e-book efforts, this is no mere bundle of stories cobbled together by an amateur.<br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005N4ADPK/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grimrevi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=B005N4ADPK" rel="nofollow"><i>The Motion Demon</i></a> is edited by Miroslaw Lipinski, the world's foremost authority on Grabinski translation and scholarly analysis. He has arguably done for the "Polish Poe" what S.T. Joshi managed to do for Lovecraft. Meanwhile, the most affordable English paperback which nicely introduces his strange stories remains <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1903517419/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grimrevi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399377&creativeASIN=1903517419" rel="nofollow"><i>The Dark Domain</i></a> by Dedalus European Classics.<br />
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The curious transition of Stefan Grabinski is just the latest one to round out 2011, as the weird fiction community begins invading e-publishing. This year has also seen small presses like Tartarus dipping into e-books, and a large blast of new titles related to <a href="http://grimreviews.blogspot.com/2011/03/hp-lovecraft-on-kindle-and-weird.html">H.P. Lovecraft on Kindle</a>.<br />
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-Grim Blogger<br />
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<noscript>&lt;br /&gt; &lt;img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/s/noscript?tag=grimrevi-20" alt="" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt; </noscript>Grim Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08127215730542852678noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2410566515976015601.post-20755190746785402042011-09-14T09:00:00.046-05:002011-09-14T09:00:08.787-05:00HP Lovecraft Books: Three Ways to Complete Your CollectionBuying H.P. Lovecraft books to complete a collection is a previously unimaginable experience, thanks to the diverse options now available. From the humble days when HPL’s fiction was tightly controlled by Arkham House, to the explosion of Lovecraft at the publishing presses ever since his work passed into public domain, offering have expanded at a stunning rate. Still, there are only three quick and easy ways to complete a Lovecraftian collection, or at least come extremely close to it. Use these books to complete your personal collection of Lovecraft’s dark fantasies in a cost effective way.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0575081570/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grimrevi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399377&creativeASIN=0575081570" rel="nofollow"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDRzvZLQgdy02har_XeOZc3eA6JykpqovaSm1M2yI0xW4LOZ50zH2Q2nKPCeTBoOjNooR3r6tz4JAyoOP_ea3PA-G5wwe_GAO9ZJpaa3Hge9D5cEa3zotwLTj0idacW6XzVM8H-z_L29A/s320/Necronomicon+The+Best+Weird+Tales+of+HP+Lovecraft.jpg" width="208" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Necronomicon: The Best Weird Tales of H.P. Lovecraft</b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Two fat volumes from Gollancz represent the cheapest way to bring together the Providence author’s best known and most obscure writings. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0575081570/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grimrevi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399377&creativeASIN=0575081570" rel="nofollow"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Necronomicon: The Best Weird Tales of H.P. Lovecraft</i></a> binds together his most well respected efforts, from the fragmentary “Night Gaunts” to late, complex novellas such as “At the Mountains of Madness.” This nearly nine hundred page tome is one heavy paperback, but it is sturdily constructed and nicely illustrated.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">With the arrival of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0575099356/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grimrevi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=0575099356" rel="nofollow"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Eldritch Tales: A Miscellany of the Macabre</i></a>, Gollancz has created a high quality companion volume that taps Lovecraft’s lesser known pieces. In this book, HPL’s juvenile pieces, poetry, and important non-fiction tie ins like “Supernatural Horror in Literature” and “The History of the Necronomicon” cross paths. An excellent sampling of his collaborative and ghost written stories are thrown in for good measure.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Both gigantic volumes are edited by Stephen Jones and illustrated by Les Edwards. Together, they represent the quickest and cheapest path to collecting all of Lovecraft with the fewest books possible.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1453875107/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grimrevi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=1453875107" rel="nofollow"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjogkvtBUMl90DSJ3arqjWipdPR7HPPrBPRBOy-BL-9IuLe32VHVDgSx4UvVuAPNbkbZTO2aI_WEzKYhqYuUNHuOUxRiGiLmmGkPlYKycs2QVUaZDK-NpWMsumIKO9exR0iY3UDATnGSrI/s320/The+Best+of+HP+Lovecraft+Bloodcurdling+Tales+of+Horror+and+the+Macabre.jpg" width="203" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The Del Rey Lovecraft Collections</b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Throughout the 1990s and into the early 2000s, Del Rey’s H.P. Lovecraft books represented a widely acceptable way to obtain his tales in a mass market form. Though these collections are extraordinarily cheap on the mass market, you’ll need four Del Rey books to complete a Lovecraft collection. The big themed collections begin with <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1453875107/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grimrevi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=1453875107" rel="nofollow"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Best of H.P. Lovecraft: Bloodcurdling Tales of Horror and the Macabre</i></a>, a book clearly designed to draw in newcomers.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Under the Del Rey imprint, the saga continues with <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0345384229/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grimrevi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399377&creativeASIN=0345384229" rel="nofollow"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Road to Madness</i></a> and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0345384210/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grimrevi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=0345384210" rel="nofollow"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Dreams of Terror and Death: The Dream Cycle of H.P. Lovecraft</i></a>. These H.P. Lovecraft books constitute themed volumes built around his early fiction and dream addled tales, respectively. They chart an affordable path to a comprehensive collection, and the cover art by Michael Whelan remains nothing short of iconic.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Most recently, Del Rey’s fourth book came out, granting readers access to Lovecraft’s collaborations and ghost written pieces. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0345485726/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grimrevi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399377&creativeASIN=0345485726" rel="nofollow"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Horror in the Museum</i></a> does what a only more expensive Arkham House book was previously able to do. If you’re willing to throw bibliophilic preferences to the wind, snapping up this volume with the other three Del Rey collections is a great way to get all Lovecraft essentials onto your shelves.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1933618140/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grimrevi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399377&creativeASIN=1933618140" rel="nofollow"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir_5vTA2Vz9nmhUbR7ek-AomMVGPvXuj8p_ge0I9fwDLYdRjfclYvHfLn_nmfyocn9nen8nhbd2GjD16vIBOHpChIH8BOZaWIX5OtYG17-6uDWmSj6RV2brqiLrlKV78Cvt0F2yxqfzlo/s1600/HP+Lovecraft+Masters+of+the+Weird+Tale.jpg" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">H.P. Lovecraft: Masters of the Weird Tale</b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Centipede Press is the Lamborghini quality publisher of the horror world, and that extends to their gigantic tome, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1933618140/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grimrevi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399377&creativeASIN=1933618140" rel="nofollow"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">H.P. Lovecraft: Masters of the Weird Tale</i></a>. Don’t think of this 1200 page Cyclopean terror as just a very expensive hardcover. It herds together all Lovecraftian necessities into a slipped case deluxe edition, and pairs it with a separate book of rare HPL photography unavailable elsewhere.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The only downfall of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1933618140/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grimrevi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399377&creativeASIN=1933618140" rel="nofollow"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">H.P. Lovecraft: Masters of the Weird Tale</i></a> is that it may only be a high end avenue to getting nearly all H.P. Lovecraft books in one for a limited time. Centipede Press has limited this museum of a book to three hundred copies. Unless that changes, this miniature Lovecraft library will probably slide into the hands of a few hundred lucky collectors, and live on only as legend. At least, until the next deluxe press dares to place Lovecraft’s fiction into an equally outstanding presentation.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">H.P. Lovecraft books will undoubtedly continue to multiply as the years pass. However, shortcuts that let you complete your collection will probably remain modest, well kept secrets, available only to true Lovecraft fanatics.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">-Grim Blogger </div>Grim Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08127215730542852678noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2410566515976015601.post-4683958647593977882011-09-10T21:30:00.037-05:002011-09-10T21:43:58.143-05:00Dance of the Damned by Alan Bligh Expands Arkham Horror Franchise<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1589949706/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grimrevi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=1589949706" rel="nofollow"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOebGQkNGD9UjEUI2lUzNYkSJOjOBCW4h0eNmQBdURUNZcJYBZMfIW8P3yJzG33bHdAD7mu55FGhz2znN7PXfeJTorTl0oFdeA_9BUcKJXJxxiPuvD2rB2eHnnEyrj8mjtA-_2D2PBy7k/s320/Arkham+Horror+Dance+of+the+Damned+by+Alan+Bligh.jpg" width="198" /></a></div><br />
There are rare times when Lovecraftiana comes full circle. It happened with Chaosium, where the company manufactured H.P. Lovecraft's febrile horrors into a popular franchise of role playing games, only to turn their sights back to the text realm with books. Many of their collections subsequently collected scenarios into full blown stories in the older Cthulhu Mythos tradition.<br />
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Now, Fantasy Flight Games, the entity behind the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1589942108/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grimrevi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399377&creativeASIN=1589942108" rel="nofollow">Arkham Horror board games</a>, appears to be set on doing the same. Their first book, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1589949706/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grimrevi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=1589949706" rel="nofollow"><i>Arkham Horror: Dance of the Damned</i></a>, is slated for a December release. It follows the adventures of a Miskatonic University librarian and bounty hunter as they fight to unravel a supernatural mystery in Lovecraftian Kingsport. This is due to kick off a more comprehensive trilogy called "The Lord of Nightmares."<br />
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Alan Bligh is a writer behind several other books serialized from gaming series. However, he seems to be a newcomer to the circles of Lovecraftian and weird fiction. Hopefully, this will result in a surprise win for Arkham Horror's foray into book form. Lovecraft purists and weird fiction literary fanatics shouldn't expect groundbreaking experiments in supernatural literature with <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1589949706/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grimrevi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=1589949706" rel="nofollow"><i>Dance of the Damned</i></a>, but it's likely to offer gamers and adventurous Lovecraftians a fun ride.<br />
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-Grim Blogger<br />
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<noscript>&lt;br /&gt; &lt;img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/s/noscript?tag=grimrevi-20" alt="" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt; </noscript>Grim Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08127215730542852678noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2410566515976015601.post-89423588647442940552011-09-05T10:00:00.062-05:002011-09-05T10:00:08.714-05:00The Damned Highway: Fear and Loathing in Arkham<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1595826858/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grimrevi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=1595826858" rel="nofollow"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh77SH-wdzLHQbM_1MLalDANzRBFuda8Kb1Diupcc3K-mcUCyLELXKAadT2ehYmek-mNEuOHwNyc2Q9FAhhcwErIk1qJAft_BCInRlYw2ZzSp3VW68uy4sUugSvWU2ZZ5KRHGuXNnpoZFs/s1600/The+Damned+Highway+Fear+and+Loathing+in+Arkham+by+Nick+Mamatas+and+Brian+Keene.jpg" /></a></div><br />
As the Cthulhu Mythos ages, it must probe its tentacles into successively stranger territory to achieve favorable responses from readers. As a result, we get books like <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1595826858/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grimrevi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=1595826858" rel="nofollow"><i>The Damned Highway: Fear and Loathing in Arkham</i></a>, written by Nick Mamatas and Brian Keene. Curiously, the volume mashes, inverts, and reconstructs parody not just from H.P. Lovecraft, but from Hunter S. Thompson's infamous drug fueled journey across Las Vegas.<br />
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Like Thompson's living nightmare masquerading as atmospheric mind alteration and social commentary, Keene and Mamatas set out to make Lovecraft's Arkham even tripper than it is by default. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1595826858/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grimrevi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=1595826858" rel="nofollow"><i>The Damned Highway</i></a> actually journeys through multiple Cthulhu hot spots, including Innsmouth and the bewitched hills of New England. The narrative is notable for throwing politics into mix, since few modern Mythos tomes dare to tread in that direction, even if the monstrous corruption exposed is primarily that of the Nixon years.<br />
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There's something oddly humorous and chilling about throwing Nixon and his underlings into an environment seething with cultists. After all, the President is one of the few on record who discussed observing the <a href="http://grimreviews.blogspot.com/2011/07/strange-universe-ritual-in-bohemian.html">ritualistic hijinks in Bohemian Grove.</a><br />
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As far as literary style goes, Keene and Mamatas break their usual boundaries with this book, and that's a good thing. This is a frontal assault on convention. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1595826858/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grimrevi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=1595826858" rel="nofollow"><i>The Damned Highway: Fear and Loathing in Arkham</i></a> snaps the chains around familiar Lovecraftiana, and pushes both authors into uncharted territory. While any Lovecraft fan hopes the Cthulhu Mythos won't devolve into parody-upon-parody, well executed and imaginative tales like this one can play a pivotal role that innovates and entertains.<br />
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-Grim Blogger<br />
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<noscript>&lt;br /&gt; &lt;img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/s/noscript?tag=grimrevi-20" alt="" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt; </noscript>Grim Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08127215730542852678noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2410566515976015601.post-9425632086072675462011-09-01T10:00:00.030-05:002011-09-01T10:00:09.994-05:00The Spoken Word: Arthur Machen and Algernon Blackwood on Tape<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSooDsUMwM-ksjVkaISg7U3zM0CyZ2rWjXpRinaMd1065WINwtJmjw6KFldqtoUuXG8X0zWOTikhLVMqRdF9Pes6A6ONCD2wbPm9avz51ygXd2aurngmzujUGn0vLGB_4aIMWzpbuXKzc/s1600/Arthur+Machen+1937.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSooDsUMwM-ksjVkaISg7U3zM0CyZ2rWjXpRinaMd1065WINwtJmjw6KFldqtoUuXG8X0zWOTikhLVMqRdF9Pes6A6ONCD2wbPm9avz51ygXd2aurngmzujUGn0vLGB_4aIMWzpbuXKzc/s320/Arthur+Machen+1937.jpg" width="197" /></a></div><br />
Ever wondered what some of weird fiction's finest writers sounded like? Wonder no more. A newer CD collection of voice recordings called, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0712305416/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grimrevi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=0712305416" rel="nofollow"><i>The Spoken Word: British Writers</i></a>, carries the ghostly whispers of Algernon Blackwood and Arthur Machen. Literary horror masters from the UK and abroad are known to have produced limited recordings, but they are usually confined to family estates, as in the case of Robert Aickman. This CD captures what is believed to be Machen's only voice imprint left for posterity, and one of the handful produced by Blackwood that's still easily accessible.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEHKBDfwWfwlN5AhuROzhwvVxE8YpJc4jC3CEaMrPZX92PwdXkrb7WMax_8lzyAG0q8_rLzFdyW0Ap4JygNEMT6VNDbBKE_dPy4JVlG2eSIo48vp-kuKb4pLmLIgGXhVTIWLnJTO6t_Os/s1600/Algernon+Blackwood+at+Rest.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEHKBDfwWfwlN5AhuROzhwvVxE8YpJc4jC3CEaMrPZX92PwdXkrb7WMax_8lzyAG0q8_rLzFdyW0Ap4JygNEMT6VNDbBKE_dPy4JVlG2eSIo48vp-kuKb4pLmLIgGXhVTIWLnJTO6t_Os/s1600/Algernon+Blackwood+at+Rest.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Interesting enough, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0712305416/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grimrevi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=0712305416" rel="nofollow"><i>The Spoken Word</i></a> puts Machen and Blackwood in potent literary territory. They share the stage with Kipling, Conan Doyle, Tolkien, and many other household names. Frankly, products like these do a service to British and world literature. They place weird writers with exceptional talent squarely where they belong - next to literary idols who chose to keep their use of the supernatural comparatively sparse.<br />
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-Grim Blogger<br />
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<noscript>&lt;br /&gt; &lt;img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/s/noscript?tag=grimrevi-20" alt="" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt; </noscript>Grim Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08127215730542852678noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2410566515976015601.post-27627446654368642952011-08-28T10:00:00.038-05:002011-08-28T10:00:02.388-05:00Mrs Midnight Collection by Reggie Oliver Nears Release<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia0qUZAVt4O1Y_kT3ZLkxjSFdsw8n9rGEGWcUt2LKf25YQ1CAlKrx18_6B2lQlzcNUKmpgENx4pdhi7OQFhyphenhyphensDgULsCA0MgwNojQBOlaqMnryaqPOKgtJi36Ex7FDX_XqCSLYOen1BLXM/s1600/Reggie+Oliver+Profile+Picture.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia0qUZAVt4O1Y_kT3ZLkxjSFdsw8n9rGEGWcUt2LKf25YQ1CAlKrx18_6B2lQlzcNUKmpgENx4pdhi7OQFhyphenhyphensDgULsCA0MgwNojQBOlaqMnryaqPOKgtJi36Ex7FDX_XqCSLYOen1BLXM/s320/Reggie+Oliver+Profile+Picture.JPG" width="256" /></a></div><br />
Tartarus Press has announced that the latest short story collection by Reggie Oliver is nearing completion. It should arrive this September, re-introducing Oliver to the short story scene, after he briefly turned his attention to the first novel of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1907681027/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grimrevi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=1907681027" rel="nofollow"><i>The Dracula Papers: The Scholar's Tale</i></a> (read the full <a href="http://grimreviews.blogspot.com/2011/04/review-dracula-papers-book-i-scholars.html"><i>Dracula Papers</i> review here</a>). His latest collection, <i>Mrs. Midnight and Other Stories,</i> indicates that Oliver shows no sign of letting up in the weird short fiction realm, a form that introduced him to eager readers.<br />
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As with other Oliver stories, the titles can suggest almost anything, but why not let the imagination run wild in the meantime? Here's the line up <a href="http://www.tartaruspress.com/mrsmidnight.htm" rel="nofollow">reported by Tartarus</a> for the new volume: "Mrs Midnight", "Countess Otho", "Meeting with Mike", "The Dancer in the Dark", "Mr Pigsny", "The Brighton Redemption", "You Have Nothing to Fear", "The Philosophy of the Damned", "The Mortlake Manuscript", "The Look", "The Giacometti Crucifixion","A Piece of Elsewhere", "Minos or Rhadamanthus."<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">-Grim Blogger</span><br />
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<noscript>&amp;amp;lt;br /&amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/s/noscript?tag=grimrevi-20" alt="" /&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;br /&amp;amp;gt; </noscript>Grim Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08127215730542852678noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2410566515976015601.post-87420862216110628942011-08-25T10:00:00.015-05:002011-08-25T10:00:08.189-05:00Review: Weirdtongue by DF Lewis<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZRFvIHet2Mv0mR7D3iYHVOW0FhSPqrM6VnIG2VvEizxQqKvOL6a8RN54FXBaw7uEDYUILVwV3Huvyce5LP23fcVLMI3LUtAx_Bafl6E9PgjaJNmnOOt_OWDwLfUECcgRnMOl0OUjN4lM/s1600/Weirdtongue+by+DF+Lewis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZRFvIHet2Mv0mR7D3iYHVOW0FhSPqrM6VnIG2VvEizxQqKvOL6a8RN54FXBaw7uEDYUILVwV3Huvyce5LP23fcVLMI3LUtAx_Bafl6E9PgjaJNmnOOt_OWDwLfUECcgRnMOl0OUjN4lM/s1600/Weirdtongue+by+DF+Lewis.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">The name D.F. Lewis may prompt plenty of critical and courteous remarks. Indeed, there’s a lot to say, given his extensive experience in writing strange fiction for several decades, and in providing an outlet for the works of others as editor of the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Nemonymous</i> series. Fortunately, his novella by InkerMen Press, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0956274943/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grimrevi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=0956274943" rel="nofollow"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Weirdtongue: A Glistenberry Romance</i></a>, lends a powerful distillate of what can be expected from Lewis’ work – a sampling that would otherwise be difficult to obtain by surveying the fifteen hundred plus stories he’s estimated to have written. The slim volume offers a journey like no other in weird fiction or outside of it. It is a destroyer of boundaries in every sense, chiseling away the confines of time, space, identity, and conventional literature.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">A Nemophile’s Manifesto</b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">This novella is impossible to define in simple terms, but if it were possible to cross a dream scrambled travelogue with a philosophical tract, you might end up with a similar artifact. While many inevitably focus on its notable wordplay and narrative spider webs, the story’s true power emanates from its heady ideas. The recurring references to Nemophiles as well as the shifting, unstable identities of many characters creates plenty of intellectual fodder.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">In <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0956274943/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grimrevi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=0956274943" rel="nofollow"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Weirdtongue</i></a>, nothing is certain, a notion which is reinforced in each and every character, each of whom uses the book as a bridge from Lewis head into our own. For instance, the narrative opens from the perspective of Gregory Mummerset, a sufferer of dream sickness who is repeatedly visited by the word slinging apparition known as the Weirdmonger. Later, D.F. Lewis’ famous time traveling, globe trekking cat meats seller, Blasphemy Fitzworth, morphs from a Victorian merchant into a meat cart, becoming the very commodity instrument that constitutes his livelihood.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Beyond the surface of these bizarre occurrences is an unmistakable uncertainty principle at work in every way imaginable. Is the entire storyline the product of Mummerset’s febrile dreams, which he never really escapes from? Or perhaps Padgett Weggs, a wandering vagrant, is responsible for the events on display here. Maybe the entirety of the plot is some ghostly echo of the Glistenberry festival itself, shrieking its imaginary history down through the ages, using D.F. Lewis and his novella as an unknowing tour guide.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">In the end, no one can say with any conviction. D.F. Lewis captures the same uncertainty principle wielded by weird fiction masters like Robert Aickman, and uncanny media personalities such as Rod Serling. Yet, it isn’t really fair to liken his work to either gentleman, since Lewis arguably outdoes both in stacking weird layer upon layer, forcing a freakish Tower of Babel into existence for any who care to probe its mysteries.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Recovering in the Narrative Hospital</b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">In some way, every reader who enters the pages of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0956274943/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grimrevi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=0956274943" rel="nofollow"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Weirdtongue</i></a> is invited to undergo a form of literary therapy that just might cure a sickness they may not have known was there. Lewis, like the cat meats seller of his tale, hacks apart the gristly elements of what may have once been independent narratives, arranging together the choicest cuts for our feasting. Still, this volume is not one to gorge on in short order.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The often experimental style that roils its pages is the greatest challenge to bringing the Weirdtongue’s alien ideas into coherence. Lewis isn’t afraid to curl words, insert footnotes, or twist names and places as it suits him. Widespread wordplay punctures the narrative as well, such as the curious references to cell phones, which begin to make sense when understanding the closeness nomophobia (fear of losing mobile phone contact) shares with other terms the author is fond of.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">This type of almost mandated meta-fictional interaction between the book and the “real” world will disinterest some readers and delight others. The same applies to Lewis’ half-parodying self-criticism, introduced most notably through Simplon, who shows up with truncated speech patterns to attack Lewis’ flamboyant, unorthodox, and complicated styles. Should a book that sardonically jeers at itself be taken seriously? Opinions may differ, but there is so much else alive in <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0956274943/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grimrevi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=0956274943" rel="nofollow"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Weirdtongue</i></a> that the answer is yes.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The reading experience needed to get the most out of this novella is a slow, intent one that’s willing to ride the philosophic and word rich waves issued by D.F. Lewis. Perhaps the author knowingly crafted his story with the intent that it would only appeal to a limited, but energetic fan base. However, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0956274943/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grimrevi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=0956274943" rel="nofollow"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Weirdtongue: A GlistenberryRomance</i></a> is ripe for more niche defying and genre traversing readers than may initially be expected. Its emphasis on bold, unsettling concepts unveiled through a rich cast of strange characters and diverse prose makes it a fine candidate for weird horror regulars and beyond. With patience, the jaunt through this particular world of Lewis’ design is an intellectually lucrative one, and so are repeated visits to the ghostly word-chambers of this narrative hospital.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">-Grim Blogger </div><script src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/s/link-enhancer?tag=grimrevi-20&o=1" type="text/javascript">
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<noscript>&lt;br /&gt; &lt;img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/s/noscript?tag=grimrevi-20" alt="" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt; </noscript>Grim Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08127215730542852678noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2410566515976015601.post-10141983661731711012011-08-22T10:00:00.041-05:002011-08-22T10:00:04.032-05:00Eddie: The Lost Youth of Edgar Allan Poe by Scott Gustafson<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1416997644/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grimrevi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=1416997644" rel="nofollow"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd4dvLEBLwt-djM182VHiicK95CrINDgFahFWoblCZrK3E3_p0ZzE7czN9O_AbcCMHL-c3JoPtEHhGmzk6I9ONbboeT-vgo_T07Q2UcZyh480la8RUZLhcW417mm4l65Znx-zx9E-rEvU/s1600/Eddie+The+Lost+Youth+of+Edgar+Allan+Poe+by+Scott+Gustafson.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Books employing Edgar Allan Poe as a character must always veer off into fantasy. Somehow, this is a modest disappointment, since his real life was so tragic, so real, and so bizarre that it makes excellent fodder for the imagination. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1416997644/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grimrevi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=1416997644" rel="nofollow"><i>Eddie: The Lost Youth of Edgar Allan Poe</i></a> by Scott Gustafson must go one step further, for better or worse. <br />
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As a children's volume, the book seeks to present a heroic Poe. It begins well before Poe's troubles like alcoholism set in, effectively masking the more controversial elements of his life from young minds. This allows the author to reinvent the horror master as he pleases. Surprisingly, though, Gustafson's story does not shirk from horror. His version of the youthful Poe is one who deals in intrigue and the macabre equally.<br />
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As a cultural artifact, it's interesting that <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1416997644/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grimrevi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=1416997644" rel="nofollow"><i>Eddie: The Lost Youth of Edgar Allan Poe</i></a> is aimed at children. Too often, Poe is introduced, and then quickly left behind. If there's any conspiracy in American English classrooms today, it's a tendency to avoid dwelling on the bleak prose of scribes like Poe in favor of global diversity with a message that is, in some way, uplifting.<br />
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This is a shame, since Poe's brutal realism and morose imagery is truly different, and far more enlivening than many modern contemporaries. Although Gustafson's contribution won't necessarily lead kids to pessimistic, strange horror, it will certainly introduce or re-introduce Poe, and possibly lead to a greater exploration filled with literary darkness.<br />
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-Grim Blogger<br />
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<noscript>&amp;amp;lt;br /&amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/s/noscript?tag=grimrevi-20" alt="" /&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;br /&amp;amp;gt; </noscript>Grim Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08127215730542852678noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2410566515976015601.post-83660171976401559652011-08-20T10:00:00.060-05:002011-08-20T10:00:06.327-05:00Rare HP Lovecraft Photographs: New Uncanny PicsToday may be the anniversary of H.P. Lovecraft's birth, but the gent writer from Providence is the one who keeps on giving. Thanks to a broadening fan base and easy access over the web, several previously rare photographs have surfaced. The <a href="http://tentaclii.wordpress.com/" rel="nofollow">Tentaclii blog</a> deserves credit for sharing the first two images.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH3jO9CqncZ0FuGSzQ-bAWyXkVHzUYPseBQ8dil9RxO167ZAN_8usPm6jxXkwi54pvnSZHCTjlDLly3qd9OUo0KKas-ZyPBW9gA6WRwVOYeNf7zpX93-ld8OKOt0CJogibv5GhsKPzaVw/s1600/HP+Lovecraft+and+Maurice+Winter+Moe+1936+-+Rare+Photograph.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH3jO9CqncZ0FuGSzQ-bAWyXkVHzUYPseBQ8dil9RxO167ZAN_8usPm6jxXkwi54pvnSZHCTjlDLly3qd9OUo0KKas-ZyPBW9gA6WRwVOYeNf7zpX93-ld8OKOt0CJogibv5GhsKPzaVw/s320/HP+Lovecraft+and+Maurice+Winter+Moe+1936+-+Rare+Photograph.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
A weathered looking H.P. Lovecraft stands next to Maurice Winter Moe, a fellow poet, in this little known picture from 1936. Perhaps it's a mere camera trick, but HPL looks exceptionally gaunt and upright in this pose. Since it was taken just a year before his death, one wonders if the ultimately fatal intestinal distress wasn't already playing on Lovecraft's health. However, this seems a little early, before serious symptoms began to rage, according to sources like S.T. Joshi's exhaustive biography, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0982429673/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grimrevi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=0982429673" rel="nofollow"><i>I am Providence: The Life and Times of H.P. Lovecraft</i>.</a><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY4X5mqwg3xaf55zYyJceWcWXwaElcr4Flw4Eo-AosUDncWXw4OeoouNx37VuGZ5CwFkqoOCljaiwfDrw47kWX6GkKPCtIu4ElmpmBS_aRfKn1_vknkT4fh6XIfPOUKVBK6DgeGqCldUw/s1600/Double+R+Coffee+House+NYC+Lovecraft%2527s+Coffee+Shop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY4X5mqwg3xaf55zYyJceWcWXwaElcr4Flw4Eo-AosUDncWXw4OeoouNx37VuGZ5CwFkqoOCljaiwfDrw47kWX6GkKPCtIu4ElmpmBS_aRfKn1_vknkT4fh6XIfPOUKVBK6DgeGqCldUw/s320/Double+R+Coffee+House+NYC+Lovecraft%2527s+Coffee+Shop.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Meanwhile, a dated photo of New York City's Double-R Coffeehouse appears. In the 1920s, this cafe was a sanctuary for H.P. Lovecraft and his circle. He's not present in this snapshot, but it gives a good indication of this hangout's environment during its heyday. Given his miserable time in the Big Apple, it must have constituted a rare escape from the frightful phobias and disappointing modernity that plagued Lovecraft at every turn. At one point, he penned a poem to it, "On the Double-R Coffeehouse."<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuIqtSPojDM5tSsb22-ULpWrYhKJEwIDWnkQKLGQYoTYR0uTD5sSQLJW273P9XCplEntHT9Yx2JfDXts_jpWsWCq9rWBoPzZKnLRfs5A_6Cr6egkC_bbMVGXvdN-qLsrzEuTc8QpGDpic/s1600/HP+Lovecraft+in+a+Vest+-+Rare+Photograph.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuIqtSPojDM5tSsb22-ULpWrYhKJEwIDWnkQKLGQYoTYR0uTD5sSQLJW273P9XCplEntHT9Yx2JfDXts_jpWsWCq9rWBoPzZKnLRfs5A_6Cr6egkC_bbMVGXvdN-qLsrzEuTc8QpGDpic/s320/HP+Lovecraft+in+a+Vest+-+Rare+Photograph.jpg" width="194" /></a></div><br />
Finally, an unknown photo of a true rarity: Lovecraft without a suit and tie on. This jacketed outfit proves beyond any doubt that the Providence author was capable of expanding his wardrobe and mixing it up, whenever the occasion was right. Only odd instances frozen in time, like his visit to see Robert H. Barlow, captured HPL without his coveted formal wear, as I noted in <a href="http://grimreviews.blogspot.com/2007/12/update-on-lovecraft-photos.html">another post about rare Lovecraft photos</a>. It's always interesting to see the human side of this man, even if it raises the risk of detracting from the mystique.<br />
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-Grim Blogger<br />
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<noscript>&lt;br /&gt; &lt;img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/s/noscript?tag=grimrevi-20" alt="" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt; </noscript>Grim Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08127215730542852678noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2410566515976015601.post-34717180393414369302011-08-19T10:00:00.020-05:002011-08-19T10:00:12.371-05:00Further Woes Hit Baltimore Poe House<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2pbwRh8xz9hjn4wfg74T5bj3g2g7McSep8VC3CGQL21aYllQ-8MLP5LY1JZ7lZtRIpt2dvn9vZ3oy6lHtuDMgJOdKp2u0z_2SHs9hU9aGhH9ktyoHxqq4aODyloQOn5hng4UWMeFJXhk/s1600/Poe+House+in+Baltimore.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2pbwRh8xz9hjn4wfg74T5bj3g2g7McSep8VC3CGQL21aYllQ-8MLP5LY1JZ7lZtRIpt2dvn9vZ3oy6lHtuDMgJOdKp2u0z_2SHs9hU9aGhH9ktyoHxqq4aODyloQOn5hng4UWMeFJXhk/s320/Poe+House+in+Baltimore.jpg" width="237" /></a></div><br />
The money strapped Poe House in Baltimore is once again picking up some national attention. In <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/08/arts/edgar-allan-poe-house-in-baltimore-faces-closing.html?_r=1" rel="nofollow">a recent article, </a>the New York Times sheds light on the painful history of the illustrious building. Though not an opinion piece, it does nothing to suggest a way forward for the house.<br />
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However, there is a nugget of fundraising potential mentioned in the article. As many know, Baltimore's football team, the Ravens, take their namesake from Edgar Allan Poe's famous poem. Perhaps it's time for professional sports to step up and help save horror and history. With a small promotional boost from a team like the Ravens, there's a decent chance that the Poe House would have no trouble getting together what it needs to keep operating.<br />
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-Grim BloggerGrim Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08127215730542852678noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2410566515976015601.post-16409743023462350152011-08-16T10:00:00.047-05:002011-08-16T10:00:07.814-05:00Cliffourd the Big Red God by Kenneth Hite<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1589781252/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grimrevi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=1589781252" rel="nofollow"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgirgjyCGVwFRl1yoqMRke97qjQ80e99H-hev94E_24Itj5wUQDVkCDv-gezki4fnc1WSCWSAW4-sI7PxlhTO53NId2JsQBXpyMWdcO-Zc0jZGjN0a5Ve5E26lyJ_A9yoUkJN8AbEOeVQ8/s1600/Cliffourd+the+Big+Red+God+by+Kenneth+Hite.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Capitalizing on the success of humor in the Cthulhu Mythos, Kenneth Hite's new tome, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1589781252/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grimrevi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=1589781252" rel="nofollow"><i>Cliffourd the Big Red God</i></a>, is one more illustrated oddity to add to a Lovecraftian collection. The book takes its name from the popular children's character, a big red dog, and adeptly parodies the concept. Humor and horror fall into the mix equally. The book is not quite as in depth or original as Hite's earlier work, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1589781031/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grimrevi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399377&creativeASIN=1589781031" rel="nofollow"><i>Where the Deep Ones Are</i></a>, but Lovecraft fans with a kick for Mythos laughs won't be disappointed.<br />
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The faux children's volume is right in line with the Cutethulhu phenomena too. For years, Kenneth Hite has been a leading observer and arguably an instigator of the Lovecraftian parody that tries to soften the Great Old Ones into Great Cartoons. With the popularity of similar art and fiction online, the Cutethulhu movement shows no signs of slowing.<br />
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Consider <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1589781252/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grimrevi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=1589781252" rel="nofollow"><i>Cliffourd the Big Red God</i></a> as the latest installment in Lovecraftiana's curious transition. Fortunately, these comedies turn out better when they are in capable hands like Hite's, and there's certainly more to appreciate in this book than in LOLthulhu like web memes.<br />
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-Grim Blogger<br />
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<noscript>&amp;amp;lt;br /&amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/s/noscript?tag=grimrevi-20" alt="" /&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;br /&amp;amp;gt; </noscript>Grim Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08127215730542852678noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2410566515976015601.post-20705327300388613412011-08-13T10:00:00.021-05:002011-08-13T10:00:07.159-05:00The Great Old Ones: Pinpointing Cthulhu on the Kardashev Scale<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhDHb1eoqbRKOFeu_6lo7aeTo-URQo2hbedEekFIK06ORiwBOktwJarZWucTu5KyqAqgALB1Zpp4ieadoVe8CO6aDPvKOOBzcdArZthRB7827KUOWn7FLzZ5N4cZZpFU-O1dixGMdkXHY/s1600/Cthulhu+Bust+by+Mad+Robot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhDHb1eoqbRKOFeu_6lo7aeTo-URQo2hbedEekFIK06ORiwBOktwJarZWucTu5KyqAqgALB1Zpp4ieadoVe8CO6aDPvKOOBzcdArZthRB7827KUOWn7FLzZ5N4cZZpFU-O1dixGMdkXHY/s320/Cthulhu+Bust+by+Mad+Robot.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The Kardashev Scale is a famous projection of a civilization's development. Analyzing H.P. Lovecraft's Great Old Ones, including Cthulhu, requires unorthodox means. Since Kardashev's estimates include wonders from a lowly industrial age up to godhood level, perhaps his futurist fantasies deserve a closer look in the Lovecraftian arena.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><b>The Kardashev Scale: Power Ranking Civilizations</b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Generally, the Kardashev Scale endorses four civilization types based on how much energy an advanced society harnesses. Type I civilizations can successfully utilize the power of an entire planet. For our purposes, this scale is the most tangible from where humans sit today. Its beginnings are best observed in the fevered dreams of utopian media, like <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1427608415/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grimrevi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=1427608415" rel="nofollow">William Gazecki's film, <i>Future by Design.</i></a></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Type II beings have tapped into the energy offered by an entire solar system, presumably through advanced cosmic engineering constructs backed by even headier principles. Type III is greater yet, wielding almost unimaginable power on a galactic scale. Finally, the scale tops out at Type IV, where an all consuming power controls all the energy available in the whole universe. Think about the near omnipotent architects in <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0575074760/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grimrevi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=0575074760" rel="nofollow">Michael Moorcock's <i>The Dancers at the End of Time</i></a><span style="font-style: normal;"> series.</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzSwK1UmJtArReldQQcsDsB7BOgypXgE6qeweI89bPTojkIQKN9Ro1J9sxoBQ_63afoVcNfJZRugZC0PFxKGuYfxlEPA21kr3l2GNk2etJ_sLE3EhMQya0Cb-8bz8ISiLB8xOfRtB7Xi8/s1600/Kardashev+Civilization+Chart.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzSwK1UmJtArReldQQcsDsB7BOgypXgE6qeweI89bPTojkIQKN9Ro1J9sxoBQ_63afoVcNfJZRugZC0PFxKGuYfxlEPA21kr3l2GNk2etJ_sLE3EhMQya0Cb-8bz8ISiLB8xOfRtB7Xi8/s320/Kardashev+Civilization+Chart.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><b>Pinpointing the Powers of the Great Old Ones</b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">So, where does Cthulhu and the nefarious cabal he belongs to fit in? Presumably, Cthulhu's power is nearly unlimited. The ability to move through and manipulate multiple dimensions, soar through the cosmos, and use energy on a wide scale for warfare with other extraterrestrials makes him seem godly in comparison to mankind. Particularly, the meek post-Great War civilizations of Lovecraft's own day, which hadn't yet split the atom.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Not that nuclear power does much for humanity. Even a tripling of nuclear power plant input wouldn't put us anywhere close to a Type I society on the Kardashev Scale. It's not an effective defense against Cthulhu either, based on the imaginings of many writers. The Greatest Old One (or at least the best known) is hit by a nuke in August Derleth's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0786703415/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grimrevi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=0786703415" rel="nofollow"><i>The Trail of Cthulhu</i></a><span style="font-style: normal;">, and manages to survive without a breaking a runny green sweat.</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">However, is Cthulhu actually all he's cracked up to be? Clearly, Cthulhu may not be a Type IV being, let alone something greater, since he is subject to well known limitations. Virtually imprisoned in R'lyeh until the stars are right, Cthulhu was on the losing side of an ancient battle with alien forces that were seemingly even more powerful than he is. Multi-dimensional or not, it's hard to imagine any real Type III or Type IV power getting bested. Even Azathoth, who often appears superior to Great Cthulhu, seems little more than a stunted Type II being or less.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Then again, it's worth remembering that the Kardashev Scale is meant to measure civilizations, not individuals. If Cthulhu and the other Great Old Ones are merely high ranking members of an immense civilization that spans several universes, they may well be in the Type III-Type IV range. A better estimation will remain elusive, and only based on the unapproved works by subsequent Mythos writers. Lovecraft's lasting gifts are horror and mystery, despite his frequent forays into sci-fi territory, not detailed scientific histories that give away the secrets of his most famous terrors, as S.T. Joshi notes in <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0809531224/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=grimrevi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=0809531224" rel="nofollow">The Weird Tale.</a></i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">In the end, the Kardashev Scale is an amusing thought experiment, but doesn't say much about the Great Old Ones. Not without liberal boundaries and much imagination, anyway. Trying to apply these measurements to Lovecraft's most nightmarish beings seems impossible for boosting any serious artistic or literary analysis, but the clumsiest efforts to classify them are still fun.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">-Grim Blogger </div><script src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/s/link-enhancer?tag=grimrevi-20&o=1" type="text/javascript">
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<noscript>&amp;amp;lt;br /&amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;lt;img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/s/noscript?tag=grimrevi-20" alt="" /&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;br /&amp;amp;gt; </noscript>Grim Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08127215730542852678noreply@blogger.com