Scan barcode
lakserk's review
4.0
A refreshing dose of occult fiction that shies away from the opulent introspection, decadence, and the obsession with human condition that seem to be the purview of a large part of today’s weird fiction, and instead focuses (for the most part) on plot and lore. It’s the first time that I read something from the late Ron Weighell and I was thrilled (alas I am some years late to his twice out-of-print major collection, The White Road).
Weighell’s prose is practically structured and pretty easy to tread through, without lacking in the literary department. The stories move from the M.R. Jamesian ("Now Feel that Pulse No More") to the occult epic (the novella-long "The Tears of the Gods") and everything in between. The paranormal takes many faces and is touched upon with the proper awe and reverence. There is a love for the trappings of the occult, which at some points becomes obsession ("Into the Mysteries (an excerpt)"), and at certain parts the writer tends to get lost in atmosphere and stylized form ("Suburbs of the Black Lyre"), but most of the stories of this collection are gold.
D’Arca: 4/5 (A mansion in Venice and the lure of magic, now and then)
The World Entire: 5/5 (Where three boys enter the house of an old Jewish gentleman)
The Counsels of Night: 4/5 (Garden renovations reveal a buried folly built according to some very specific instructions)
Suburbs of the Black Lyre: 2.5/5 (Of different types of divination)
Now Feel that Pulse No More: 5/5 (A church boy infiltrates a derelict house. Really touching and atmospheric ghost fiction)
The Mouth of the Medusa: 4/5 (Droughts reveal Roman ruins with a grotesque font)
An Image of Truth: 3/5 (A light-hearted short story inspired from Machen, concerning a tobacco cult)
The Four Strengths of Shadow: 3.5/5 (Investigating the library of a Rennaisance architect in Venice)
The Tears of the Gods: 4.5/5 (Following a secret society from the Rennaisance to mid-20th century)
Into the Mysteries (an excerpt): 2/5 (An alternate history piece based on an interesting idea but the execution is tedious)
Afterword (Loved it. I wish more writers commented on their stories)
Weighell’s prose is practically structured and pretty easy to tread through, without lacking in the literary department. The stories move from the M.R. Jamesian ("Now Feel that Pulse No More") to the occult epic (the novella-long "The Tears of the Gods") and everything in between. The paranormal takes many faces and is touched upon with the proper awe and reverence. There is a love for the trappings of the occult, which at some points becomes obsession ("Into the Mysteries (an excerpt)"), and at certain parts the writer tends to get lost in atmosphere and stylized form ("Suburbs of the Black Lyre"), but most of the stories of this collection are gold.
D’Arca: 4/5 (A mansion in Venice and the lure of magic, now and then)
The World Entire: 5/5 (Where three boys enter the house of an old Jewish gentleman)
The Counsels of Night: 4/5 (Garden renovations reveal a buried folly built according to some very specific instructions)
Suburbs of the Black Lyre: 2.5/5 (Of different types of divination)
Now Feel that Pulse No More: 5/5 (A church boy infiltrates a derelict house. Really touching and atmospheric ghost fiction)
The Mouth of the Medusa: 4/5 (Droughts reveal Roman ruins with a grotesque font)
An Image of Truth: 3/5 (A light-hearted short story inspired from Machen, concerning a tobacco cult)
The Four Strengths of Shadow: 3.5/5 (Investigating the library of a Rennaisance architect in Venice)
The Tears of the Gods: 4.5/5 (Following a secret society from the Rennaisance to mid-20th century)
Into the Mysteries (an excerpt): 2/5 (An alternate history piece based on an interesting idea but the execution is tedious)
Afterword (Loved it. I wish more writers commented on their stories)
More...