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Atres Artes, v. 1, issue 3, 1946
Page 16
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Fantasy Article Book Review by Sam Moskowitz THE OPENER OF THE WAY: by Robert Bloch, 309 pages, Arkham House, Sauc City, Wisconsin, $3.00 There are some books, like Donald Wandrei's The eye and The Finger that don't "read" good in advance notices, but turn out to be eminently satisfactory good stuff. ((Hollywood terms movies of this type "sleepers. Ed.)) The opener Of The Way is in that class. The average weirdist, informed of a projected Bloch antology is inclined to shrug his shoulders and say: "So what!" But the Bloch selection, like the Wandrei book, is downright satisfying stuff once you have had a chance to look it over. Probably the worst single item in the book is Bloch's intorduction. Bloch, always insistant and always sad as a humorist has underdone his lamentably low standard. Derleth should have written the introduction himself. Bloch's stories may be divided into a number of divisions. Most conspicuous are his very early attempts to imitate H.P Lovecraft, and perpetuate the Cthulhu mythos. Such tales as; "The Shambler From the Stars," "The Opener of the Way, " "The Dark Demon," "The Faceless God are included. These tales, like Derleth's imitations made fair reading when little Lovecraft was obtainable; but now, when twenty-five cents is sufficient to buy a shot of the real thing, they are relegated to the class of "pastiches" such as Derleth's In re: Sherlock Holmes. Of Bloch's early stories, "The Feast in the Abbey" is perhaps the most gruesome. After all, the eating of a delicious meal featured by an unknown variety of meat, then finding out it is the flesh of your own brother, is quite a disconcerting thing. A second category of tales, quite Bloch's own style, but framed in a traditional horror style are represented by: "Slave of the Flames," "The Mannikin," "Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper." These are stories with a bit of punch to them ad will eventually be Bloch's strongest claim to distinction in the weird firld. The best story in the book is "The Strange Flight of Richard Clayton," the powerfully told story of a man who enters a space-ship for a trip to Mars young and eager, and after what seems interminable years in space ((all his instruments were destroyed by the force of the take-off. ed)), emerges, old, gray and decrepit, to die of shock when he learns that the ship has never left the ground and that he has been locked in its windowless interios for but two weeks! Effective also is "One Way Trip to Mars," of recent vintage, whereat a drunk purchases a one'way ticket to Mars and actually ends up rushing "on and on, out of this world." On the whole Bloch's style appears too superficial, the effect he is driving at usually readily apparent, as the New York Times reviewer said: "Over and over again Bloch makes use of such worn out devices as the Egyptian curse, vampirism, demonic possesion, etc. Moreover, he is constantly trying for surprise endings which don't come off." Yet Bloch's style is light and quite easy to tead and there is more entertainment in this book, which turns out to be a bigger money's worth than many so-called " "musts." AD. ad. ANNOUNCING THE FAN PICTORIAL The greatest collection of fan pictures ever gathred together in one mag. The price is not set yet, but we do want fotos, send them in. The negative will not be needed. Booster adds are also needed as cost of this project will be plenty, and we'll have to carry quite a loss. The [ads?] are 35¢ for 1/[4?] page; 50¢ -- 1/2; $1 a whole. RONALD MADDOX, 130 SUMMIT AVE. MONT CLAIRE, N.J. --Page 16--
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Fantasy Article Book Review by Sam Moskowitz THE OPENER OF THE WAY: by Robert Bloch, 309 pages, Arkham House, Sauc City, Wisconsin, $3.00 There are some books, like Donald Wandrei's The eye and The Finger that don't "read" good in advance notices, but turn out to be eminently satisfactory good stuff. ((Hollywood terms movies of this type "sleepers. Ed.)) The opener Of The Way is in that class. The average weirdist, informed of a projected Bloch antology is inclined to shrug his shoulders and say: "So what!" But the Bloch selection, like the Wandrei book, is downright satisfying stuff once you have had a chance to look it over. Probably the worst single item in the book is Bloch's intorduction. Bloch, always insistant and always sad as a humorist has underdone his lamentably low standard. Derleth should have written the introduction himself. Bloch's stories may be divided into a number of divisions. Most conspicuous are his very early attempts to imitate H.P Lovecraft, and perpetuate the Cthulhu mythos. Such tales as; "The Shambler From the Stars," "The Opener of the Way, " "The Dark Demon," "The Faceless God are included. These tales, like Derleth's imitations made fair reading when little Lovecraft was obtainable; but now, when twenty-five cents is sufficient to buy a shot of the real thing, they are relegated to the class of "pastiches" such as Derleth's In re: Sherlock Holmes. Of Bloch's early stories, "The Feast in the Abbey" is perhaps the most gruesome. After all, the eating of a delicious meal featured by an unknown variety of meat, then finding out it is the flesh of your own brother, is quite a disconcerting thing. A second category of tales, quite Bloch's own style, but framed in a traditional horror style are represented by: "Slave of the Flames," "The Mannikin," "Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper." These are stories with a bit of punch to them ad will eventually be Bloch's strongest claim to distinction in the weird firld. The best story in the book is "The Strange Flight of Richard Clayton," the powerfully told story of a man who enters a space-ship for a trip to Mars young and eager, and after what seems interminable years in space ((all his instruments were destroyed by the force of the take-off. ed)), emerges, old, gray and decrepit, to die of shock when he learns that the ship has never left the ground and that he has been locked in its windowless interios for but two weeks! Effective also is "One Way Trip to Mars," of recent vintage, whereat a drunk purchases a one'way ticket to Mars and actually ends up rushing "on and on, out of this world." On the whole Bloch's style appears too superficial, the effect he is driving at usually readily apparent, as the New York Times reviewer said: "Over and over again Bloch makes use of such worn out devices as the Egyptian curse, vampirism, demonic possesion, etc. Moreover, he is constantly trying for surprise endings which don't come off." Yet Bloch's style is light and quite easy to tead and there is more entertainment in this book, which turns out to be a bigger money's worth than many so-called " "musts." AD. ad. ANNOUNCING THE FAN PICTORIAL The greatest collection of fan pictures ever gathred together in one mag. The price is not set yet, but we do want fotos, send them in. The negative will not be needed. Booster adds are also needed as cost of this project will be plenty, and we'll have to carry quite a loss. The [ads?] are 35¢ for 1/[4?] page; 50¢ -- 1/2; $1 a whole. RONALD MADDOX, 130 SUMMIT AVE. MONT CLAIRE, N.J. --Page 16--
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