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Acolyte, v. 1, issue 4, Summer 1943
Page 26
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[[underline]]BOOK REVIEW[[end underline]] ******* [[underline]]The Dream-quest of Unknown Kadath[[end underline]] by H. P. Lovecraft. (Previously unpublished, this novel will be featured in the new Lovecraft omnibus, [[underline]]Beyond The Wall Of Sleep[[end underline]], to be published this coming September by Arkham House, Sauk City, Wisconsin. The editors of [[underline]]The Acolyte[[end underline]] wish to thank August Derleth for the loan of the typescript.) -oOo- To appreciate [[underline]]The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath[[end underline]] requires several readings; at first, it leaves one somewhat unsatisfied. [[underline]]Kadath[[end underline]] is a rather peculiar melange, and suffers somewhat from faulty technique. Though written in much the same general style as Lovecraft's pure fantasies, it extends more than 40,000 words, and is not subdivided into chapters or sections. As a result, there are many dull spots and anticlimaxes, and taken as a whole the novel raises hob with common conceptions of unity. [[underline]]Kadath[[end underline]] as a novel is nothing; as realistic depiction of a long dream it is magnificent--the very passages that mar it as a conventional story add convincingly to its dream-like quality. Any actual dream moves from one event to another with a complete illogic--digressions, fantasms, inanities pointlessly following one another, pathos cheek-by-jowel with low comedy, until we either awaken or drop into a deeper, more anesthetic slumber. [[underline]]Kadath's[[end underline]] seemingly almost purposeless ramblings present this dream-like effect admirably, and in addition the story contains some of the finest writing Lovecraft ever did. The earlier stages of Randolph Carter's "dream-quest" teem with passages breathtaking in their fantastic beauty; and the arduous climb of Mount Ngranek, the kidnapping of Carter by the night-gaunts, and the subsequent adventures in lightless N'kai carry a most convincing atmosphere of terror. Then the final trip across the Plateau of Leng, culminating in the meeting with Nyarlathotep, can easily stand comparison with nearly any of Lovecraft's other denouements. It is a real pleasure to renew our acquaintence with Randolph Carter and Richard Upton Pickman, the latter degenerated into a ghoul much as was foreshadowed in [[underline]]Pickman's Model[[end underline]]. Carter is of course his usual mystic self, forever trying to tear aside the veil of the unknown. [[underline]]Kadath[[end underline]] is a particularly important story from the standpoint of the "Cthulhu myth-pattern". Written in 1926-27, it represents the transitional stage in Lovecraft's compositions. His earlier stories, though gradually building up the idea of "outsideness", contained comparatively little mention or description of the malign entities fumbling at the gateway. [[underline]]The Call of Cthulhu[[end underline]], written in late 1926, marked the final abandonment of the dream world of the earlier fantasies, and struck out boldly into new concepts. [[underline]]Kadath[[end underline]], the last of the fantasies, manages to knit the fragments of mythos contained in the earlier stories into a homogeneous whole, and in addition furnishes the background for most of Lovecraft's later allusions to the Plateau of Leng and Kadath-In-The-Cold-Waste. Lovecraft's successful experiment in dream-portrayal should have been published long ago. While it is not likely ever to win the popular acclaim accorded such tales as [[underline]]The call of Cthulhu[[end underline]], [[underline]]The Outsider[[end underline]], [[underline]]The Music of Erich Zann[[end underline]], and others of H.P.L.'s acknowledged masterpieces, [[underline]]The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath[[end underline]] is certain to be cherished by fantasy fans. Fandom is indebted to August Derleth for including this previously unobtainable story in the forthcoming omnibus. (FTL) EDITORIAL (cont. from page 1). WE PARTICULARLY WISH TO THANK Lee Baldwin for sponsoring the cover of this issue. Thanks also the various gentlemen who gave us reprint permission. FTL -- 26 --
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[[underline]]BOOK REVIEW[[end underline]] ******* [[underline]]The Dream-quest of Unknown Kadath[[end underline]] by H. P. Lovecraft. (Previously unpublished, this novel will be featured in the new Lovecraft omnibus, [[underline]]Beyond The Wall Of Sleep[[end underline]], to be published this coming September by Arkham House, Sauk City, Wisconsin. The editors of [[underline]]The Acolyte[[end underline]] wish to thank August Derleth for the loan of the typescript.) -oOo- To appreciate [[underline]]The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath[[end underline]] requires several readings; at first, it leaves one somewhat unsatisfied. [[underline]]Kadath[[end underline]] is a rather peculiar melange, and suffers somewhat from faulty technique. Though written in much the same general style as Lovecraft's pure fantasies, it extends more than 40,000 words, and is not subdivided into chapters or sections. As a result, there are many dull spots and anticlimaxes, and taken as a whole the novel raises hob with common conceptions of unity. [[underline]]Kadath[[end underline]] as a novel is nothing; as realistic depiction of a long dream it is magnificent--the very passages that mar it as a conventional story add convincingly to its dream-like quality. Any actual dream moves from one event to another with a complete illogic--digressions, fantasms, inanities pointlessly following one another, pathos cheek-by-jowel with low comedy, until we either awaken or drop into a deeper, more anesthetic slumber. [[underline]]Kadath's[[end underline]] seemingly almost purposeless ramblings present this dream-like effect admirably, and in addition the story contains some of the finest writing Lovecraft ever did. The earlier stages of Randolph Carter's "dream-quest" teem with passages breathtaking in their fantastic beauty; and the arduous climb of Mount Ngranek, the kidnapping of Carter by the night-gaunts, and the subsequent adventures in lightless N'kai carry a most convincing atmosphere of terror. Then the final trip across the Plateau of Leng, culminating in the meeting with Nyarlathotep, can easily stand comparison with nearly any of Lovecraft's other denouements. It is a real pleasure to renew our acquaintence with Randolph Carter and Richard Upton Pickman, the latter degenerated into a ghoul much as was foreshadowed in [[underline]]Pickman's Model[[end underline]]. Carter is of course his usual mystic self, forever trying to tear aside the veil of the unknown. [[underline]]Kadath[[end underline]] is a particularly important story from the standpoint of the "Cthulhu myth-pattern". Written in 1926-27, it represents the transitional stage in Lovecraft's compositions. His earlier stories, though gradually building up the idea of "outsideness", contained comparatively little mention or description of the malign entities fumbling at the gateway. [[underline]]The Call of Cthulhu[[end underline]], written in late 1926, marked the final abandonment of the dream world of the earlier fantasies, and struck out boldly into new concepts. [[underline]]Kadath[[end underline]], the last of the fantasies, manages to knit the fragments of mythos contained in the earlier stories into a homogeneous whole, and in addition furnishes the background for most of Lovecraft's later allusions to the Plateau of Leng and Kadath-In-The-Cold-Waste. Lovecraft's successful experiment in dream-portrayal should have been published long ago. While it is not likely ever to win the popular acclaim accorded such tales as [[underline]]The call of Cthulhu[[end underline]], [[underline]]The Outsider[[end underline]], [[underline]]The Music of Erich Zann[[end underline]], and others of H.P.L.'s acknowledged masterpieces, [[underline]]The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath[[end underline]] is certain to be cherished by fantasy fans. Fandom is indebted to August Derleth for including this previously unobtainable story in the forthcoming omnibus. (FTL) EDITORIAL (cont. from page 1). WE PARTICULARLY WISH TO THANK Lee Baldwin for sponsoring the cover of this issue. Thanks also the various gentlemen who gave us reprint permission. FTL -- 26 --
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