Friday, May 11, 2018

King of Elfland's Daughter!

     So I recently jumped back into reading Appendix N literature, since I have a backlog of books I own but have not read. Her is what I think of Lord Dunsany's King of Elfland's Daughter, published in 1924.

What a read! The style of prose was a change of pace, along with the use of vocabulary that was refreshing. I have read of HP Lovecraft singing his praises, stating his dream cycle stories were Dunsanian. There is a faerie tale quality that is a break from the hack and slash of Howard or action adventure of Burroughs. If you have a chance to read this, and you want something a bit different, give it a shot. I have one other of his books, but decided to read something different.
     Good ole Manly Wade Wellman! This is the second Wellman novel (Also the second Silver John) that I have read, the first being The Hanging Stones (published in 1984. After Dark, published in 1980, was a bit more confrontational than I recall Hanging Stones to be. It has John and his friends confronting and ancient race that wants to subvert humanity. Silver John uses his knowledge of folk lore and a book called The Long Lost Friend to great effect. Once you get used to the way characters speak, ie nair is never, hair is hear, hark is to call out, the pages zip along. Well worth searching used bookstores or even the internet.

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