I was disappointed to find that "The Old Gods Waken" is not included in that Manly Wade Wellman book.
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I was disappointed to find that "The Old Gods Waken" is not included in that Manly Wade Wellman book.
It's one of the novels. Only the short stories are in Who Fear's the Devil?Quote:
Originally Posted by megladon8
There are 5 novels. All of which are OOP, of course. I ordered the 4 I was missing this week.
Quote:
Originally Posted by D_Davis
I wonder how the novels compare with the shorts.
The stories are very "monster of the week" in style. Silver John wanders into some small little town in the mountains, meets some of the local folks, hears a bit about some folklore, and then encounters the monster, or breaks a curse, or saves the people from some evil. So while they are formulaic, they are all just so wonderfully told that it doesn't really matter. I'm also consistently surprised by how much heart these have; they are very warm, even if they are also kind of creepy.
I'm interested in the novels, and will be reading The Old Gods Waken soon.
Yeah it's the type of thing I have loved pretty much all my life. I've always, always loved the pulpy sci-fi and adventure stories.
I'm anxious to check out the novels. It looks like the novels are quite brief as well, none extending into 200 pages. Hopefully they're just like longer versions of the short stories.
I love the way the first Silver John story opens...
"Where I've been is places, and what I've seen is things, and there've been times I've run off from seeing them, off to other places and things. I keep moving, me and this guitar with the silver strings to it, slung behind my shoulder. Sometimes I've got food with me and an extra shirt maybe, but most times just the guitar, and trust to God for what else I need."
Wellman is a great writer. Very simple and elegant, and his ear for the deep southern dialect rings true.
"Monster, 1959" is a pretty interesting little spin on the King Kong story.
The monster, "K.", is, well, kind of pathetic. It has so little thought power or understanding of itself or its world that you can't help but pity it for being unaware of how very alone it is.
It's interesting how Maine communicates K.'s discovery of some rather confusing emotions (even some very primitive "thoughts"), as well as K.'s complete inability to process these happenings in its mind.
K. is a primal being who runs entirely on instinct and reflex, and who is suddenly compelled to do things that it wouldn't normally do, and doesn't know why. And it doesn't know that it doesn't know why.
That sounds pretty cool, meg.
Who Fears the Devil? by Manly Wade Wellman
It would seem the Manly Wade Wellman's Silver John stories were tailored made for me. Silver John is a guitar-playing, God-fearing, humanity-loving, traveling balladeer who roams around the Appalachian mountains fighting evil (both natural and supernatural) and writing wrongs. Think of H.P. Lovecraft by way of Uncle Remus, with a bit of Lansdale and King. As a matter of fact, I'd be surprised if both Lansdale and King weren't highly influenced by Wellman.
These stories make up what is a uniquely American fantasy, as the legends and myths are drawn from Appalachian folklore and an American-brand of Christianity. There are giants bigger than Paul Bunyan, strange creatures like the Behinder (no one has ever seen one because it always attacks from behind), witch-men cursing with the hoodoo, Satan, perhaps, Jesus makes an appearance, and all manner of evil, scary, wondrous beings.
The stories themselves are episodic in nature, entirely monster-of-the-week in their formula. I would heed the editor's suggestion and read one or two here or there, rather than digging into them all in a few sittings. So while some may argue that the stories are too samey, I would argue that Wellman had a singular idea with Silver John and perfected and nailed the execution.
Wellman's voice rings true with authenticity. Silver John's narration reads and sounds exactly how I think a character from the deep south would. The dialog is quaint without being sappy, and the descriptions of things are kind of rough around the edges, but also full of folksy insight.
In addition to the longer form stories in this collection, there are also little micro-stories (probably around ~300 words) that act as transitions and little asides. These are neat, especially "The Stars Down There," which is really one of the coolest things I've read.
If you are looking for something unique, and different, something that stands out in the glut of the fantasy and horror genres, then definitely pick up Who Fears the Devil? It is thoroughly enjoyable.
Darker Than You Think, by Jack Williamson
That's it! I was on the fence about this one, but I just can't stomach the writing. The dialog is simply atrocious. And no, I don't think it's an affected, stylistic choice. It's just poorly written. The point that tipped the scale was when Barbee and April Bell met for dinner. Will Barbee is trying to learn about April, a mysterious young woman, and is prodding her with questions about her past.
She gives in saying, "For you I'll drop my painted veil," and after telling Will Barbee about her past, finishes with, "It's that cheap ugly background that I built my illusion to hide."
Yuk!
Who talks like that? It's all so very amateurish. And thus far, the entire thing has been like that. Characters say the most on-the-nose thing they can say, and act in ways that are not not natural, in ways that only serve the plot; they aren't characters, but are, instead, plot devices.
That this is considered a "Fantasy Masterwork" leads me to question the choices of the imprint.
***
Anyhow, that poor decision was replaced by:
http://img1.fantasticfiction.co.uk/images/n1/n7615.jpg
Read the first 50 pages on the way home from work, and it is amazing. I am totally in love with Manly Wade Wellman's style and storytelling. He really is the original Lansdale, only without the misanthropy, and a more positive outlook on religion. The Silver John tales are simply wonderful examples of uniquely American fiction. I love the Appalachian setting, the southern dialog, and John as a character.
I am definitely going to be collecting everything by Manly Wade Wellman I can get my hands on. Bank account be damned! This dude was truly amazing.
I just ordered:
Selected Stories of Manly Wade Wellman #3
Selected Stories of Manly Wade Wellman #4
Stranger on the Heights
I can safely say that I like this Silver John novel even more than the short stories. Wellman takes things slow, and lets the language of the people and the setting take over.
I love the dialog, and descriptions used here, but I could see some people having trouble with them. They are folksy to their core, and yet the sound true and genuine. I don't get the sense that Wellman was faking it to appeal to a certain audience, like Sarah Palin probably does.
At one point, Silver John describes a woman as "being taller for a woman than he was for a man." I love that.
Wellman is also saying something interesting about religion, and about how different people worship in different ways.
It's all really good.
Is that the first of the Silver John novels? Or do they not really need to be read in any particular order?
I love that cover.
This is the third. The first is The Old Gods Waken. They're kind of like the Hap and Leonard books, in that each novel is a self-contained story, but John makes mention of his past adventures. In this one there have been more than a few callbacks to some of the short stories I read, and a few things that I'm not familiar with.Quote:
Originally Posted by megladon8
Quote:
Originally Posted by D_Davis
But nothing that leaves you feeling totally lost and wanting to drop it and wait 'til you read the previous books?
Oh no. At one point John says that something reminded him of some Druids he ran across up on Wolter Mountaint, and I think that's from The Old Gods Waken, but I haven't read that yet. That's about the extent of the continuity.Quote:
Originally Posted by megladon8
Quote:
Originally Posted by D_Davis
Very cool. So again, your "monster of the week" comparison is pretty apt. Like "X-Files" episodes, they'll occasionally make mention of previous encounters, but nothing that makes it impossible to follow what's going on.
Yeah, exactly.Quote:
Originally Posted by megladon8
A lot of the other series' in the "Planet Stories" line (collecting works of old pulp authors) seem really neat.
It'd be interesting to check some more of them out.
Me, too. I might subscribe for a year.Quote:
Originally Posted by megladon8
I want to get this one:
http://paizo.com/image/product/catal...O8021_500.jpeg
YES! That's actually the one I have saved in my Amazon wishlist to throw on my next order.
I thought you'd like that one.Quote:
Originally Posted by megladon8