| Author | Message | ||
     John Llewellyn Probert (John_l_probert) Username: John_l_probert Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 90.199.0.226 |
I'm currently reading the Side Real Press book Nacht Mahr, which is a collection of stories by this German author whose only previous story I had read was 'The Execution of Damiens' in Pan Horror 3. Has anyone else read it? Or more specifically is anyone else a fan? Some of these stories are just marvellous - proper horror stories, often with a serious and considered sexual element to them. And the translations are (I presume) excellent - at least the style of the prose appeals to me greatly. I've reviewed the stories I've read so far over at the Vault of Evil site and don't worry - I have no intention of cluttering up this board with my thoughts on all the books I read but to save people the effort here are my thoughts so far: I've no idea how many have invested in this Side Real volume but it really is a lovely piece of work - beautifully bound and printed and an absolute pleasure to read. As to the stories: Carnival in Cadiz : Who would believe it - a walking tree? The slight tale that kicks of this volume had me worried that I'd bought a collection of surreal, slightly off-kilter but not particularly horrific stories, even though there's some decent sardonic social commentary in here. I was, however,much better served by: Mamaloi : How much outrageousness is it possible to fit into one story? HHE is obviously having a go at the record here. The central character is a womaniser (but only girls over the age of eight!) fraudster and thorough scoundrel who gets himself mixed up in all sorts of horrific voodoo shenanigans. Enough blood, chicken abuse and child murdering to make even Dennis Wheatley say 'Now that's going a bit far' and mean it, the prose here is absolutely smashing - lean, nasty and to the point such that while you know it's all pulp it's actually quite affecting. Happy ending? Of course not. Good thing too. The Death of Baron Jesus Maria von Friedel: So, is the Baron a man or a woman? I have no idea and by the end of this neither will you. I understand that this is a truncated version of this story so maybe the lengthier one explains things a bit more. But the central idea is, again, deliciously outrageous. Gentleman of the Bar : Get together and discuss how people behave when they're executed. Deliciously, wonderfully cruel and clinical. John Hamilton Llewellyn's End : Oh brilliant - just brilliant. Some cracking lines and an ending that had me chuckling with horrific glee. I'd recommend people try this first to see if you'd get on with HHE's style. The Dead Jew : Gets the award for most un-PC story title of the year, and the story itself will probably upset a few people too. But it's 'proper horror' we have here and the coach ride which takes up the end of the story is an example of the blackest humour. | ||
| Mick Curtis (Mick) Username: Mick Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.177.115.127 |
I only know 'The Execution of Damiens', but it's many, many years since I've read it. I've never read anything else by the man, but this all sounds intriguing. Where did you get your copy, John? | ||
| Mick Curtis (Mick) Username: Mick Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.177.115.127 |
Ooh, found it and ordered it! | ||
| Richard_gavin (Richard_gavin) Username: Richard_gavin Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 69.157.37.4 |
Hi, John, Though I haven't yet picked up the Side Real volume, I am tremendous fan of HHE. He had a wonderful command of language, a sense of humour that was blacker than pitch, and an imagination that was unapologetically gruesome. In short: Hanns was my kind of people. I'll have to pick up this new edition when monies allow it. I'm giddy about the fact that Side Real will be releasing a series of Ewers titles in English. | ||
| Huw (Huw) Username: Huw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 218.168.185.161 |
Glad you are enjoying it, Lord P! I've been a fan of Ewers for years, ever since reading the marvelous story 'The Spider' (influenced by Erckmann-Chatrian's earlier tale 'The Invisible Eye'). Nachtmar is a lovely book. I also have the novels Alraune and The Sorcerer's Apprentice (early editions from Bodley Head, if memory serves), and the (now extremely hard to find) collection that was published about ten years ago. This last collection has a picture of Ewers showing his dueling scar - it's like something out of a Hammer film! | ||
| Huw (Huw) Username: Huw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 218.168.185.94 |
I've just been reading 'Mamaloi' again, and the following quote (from one disapproving brother to another) is fantastic: "Be silent, wretched brother, be silent. My eyes look into a cesspool of indescribable filth." I must remember that line next time I argue with my brother... John, have you read anything by Jean Ray? If not, I imagine you would love his stuff. | ||
| John Llewellyn Probert (John_l_probert) Username: John_l_probert Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 90.199.0.36 |
Huw - I've not read any Jean Ray - aren't Ex Occidente doing a book of his? I'm also meaning to catch up on my Erckmann-Chatrian. I've got their Ash-Tree book but I've never read it. Recently I read Michel Parry's four volume 'Reign of Terror - Great Victorian Horror Stories' and I've discovered quite a few authors I need to read more of, E-C being two of them! Oh, and if you buy the HHE volume direct from Sidereal you get a tipped-in photo of the author. I think he's got a duelling scar but it's hard to see. The introduction to the book is fabulous as well. After all, how on earth could I resist an author who 'pursued both women and duelling as was the fashion of the time' ? | ||
| Huw (Huw) Username: Huw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 218.168.185.94 |
John, I bought Nachtmahr from the publisher (I ordered two copies - one for me and one for my dad), so I have the tipped-in photo, but you can't see the scar, as it's on his left side, which is in shadow in this particular picture. The photo of him in the earlier collection published by Runa-Raven is quite something - honestly, he looks like he's just stepped out of a period Hammer film! You can see the scar on his left cheek (I'll see if I can find the photo online anywhere). It's a gorgeous book, isn't it? I can't wait for the others in the series, assuming they go ahead with them. I'm particularly eager to read Vampire and his other collections. Yes - Ex Occidente are bringing out a big Jean Ray collection (should be out about now, in fact), but unfortunately it omits a few of his very best stories. I have them in other collections, but they are very rare, so it's a shame for people who will be reading Ray for the first time not to be able to read such classics as 'The Mainz Psalter' and 'The Shadowy Street'. Erckmann-Chatrian are wonderful. Read their story 'The Invisible Eye' alongside Ewers's 'The Spider' and see what you think... | ||
| Hubert (Hubert) Username: Hubert Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 78.22.231.91 |
Ah, Side Real finally managed to get the OK from the Ewers estate . . . Glad you people like my translations! | ||
| Huw (Huw) Username: Huw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 218.168.185.94 |
Here you go, Lord P - it's not anything like as clear as the photo in Strange Tales, but you can get an idea of what I mean about him looking like someone from an old period film:http://www.geocities.com/baron_maria/ | ||
| Huw (Huw) Username: Huw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 218.168.185.94 |
Whoa, Hubert: I didn't realise you were the translator - good job! | ||
| Hubert (Hubert) Username: Hubert Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 78.22.231.91 |
The Ewers job goes back to 2000-2001. After 'my' Jean Ray book for Midnight House in 1999 John Pelan wanted to do another one straightaway. We agreed on Ewers and I think Allan Koszowski actually made a cover illustration at this point. It was going to be called The Spider and Less Manageable Horrors, but we failed to get the permission from Dr Kugel - he simply did not deign to reply. John Pelan must have felt discouraged by this. He sold the translations to Side Real and the latter asked for a couple more tales. That was in 2005. In the end a few tales from my original bunch were omitted and a couple more were added, perhaps at the instigation of the estate. | ||
| John Llewellyn Probert (John_l_probert) Username: John_l_probert Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 90.203.130.167 |
Hubert - excellent job! Only a couple of days ago I was reading excerpts from this volume as a JLP bedtime treat and the avid listener commented on the quality of the translation. Huw - thanks for that. It is a good photo isn't it? I also didn't realise until I checked the website again that there are going to hopefuly be further volumes! Hooray! | ||
| Hubert (Hubert) Username: Hubert Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 78.22.231.91 |
Thanks, John. I may do something with Ewers' difficult-to-find 534-page novel Fundvogel. I'm not sure there's any supernaturalism in it, apparently it's a pretty decadent affair with plenty of references to the 'Cabaret' atmosphere of the Weimar republic. So many books, so little time . . . | ||
| Hubert (Hubert) Username: Hubert Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 78.22.231.91 |
I see Fundvogel has been done by a Joe bandel. Hey-ho. | ||
| John Llewellyn Probert (John_l_probert) Username: John_l_probert Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 90.208.48.66 |
And just in case anyone wants to see what I thought of the rest of the volume: JLP's Thoughts on Sidereal's Nachtmahr Part 2 The Spider: An utter classic. An unrelenting allegory of sexual obsession told with the kind of light touch and undercurrent of extreme horror that I love. Anyone who is a fan of classic horror will love this and should, nay MUST read it! I even read this out loud as a bedtime story to someone (in my best velvet jacket). My Burial: HHE in very playful mood. The narrator (seemingly) dies and then proceeds to relate the rather amusing circumstances of his attempted burial. From the Diary of an Orange Tree. Man in asylum thinks he's turning into aforementioned Jaffa-bearing vegetation. And why? Because of a woman, of course! The Tophar Bride: Next is a weird one, unsettling, disturbing and with no easy answers. Fans of obtuse enigmatic horror willl go for this. I don't normally like these kinds of stories but what I've read so far has made me a bona fide HHE fan and it's pretty bloody good as well. The Typhoid Mary: I've said brilliant too many times in this review but this one really is as well - a brilliant allegory for the way in which people are so quick to blame their own inadequacies on others. Loved it. Edgar Allan Poe: Bit of a peculiar one to end on, here's a kind of essay-cum-'praise poem' to EAP and the 'depravity of creativity' in general. One of HHE's arguments in this being that to be creative one needs to be some sort of a rake. Surely not? And that's it. I loved this book & I've written to Mr Sidereal to let him know. Turns out there are going to be more proposed volumes which is good news. | ||
| Huw (Huw) Username: Huw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 218.168.180.51 |
John, I knew you'd love 'The Spider'! It's the story that made me interested in Hanns Heinz Ewers in the first place, and still one of my absolute favourites. Now read Erckmann-Chatrian's story 'The Invisible Eye' (also the title of the collection) and see if you notice any similarities... |