An interesting story, comparable to "La Horla" by Guy de Maupassant about an invisible and one-way untouchable ghostly haunting that seems not to go away until the object of its affection is dead. Professor Guildea is a successful academic who cares only about his research and not a bit about human affection or companionship (he could have done well in 2019) however he strikes a friendship with a priest, Father Murchinson, who becomes his main confidant when mysterious things happen.
Guildea sees a human-looking shadow sitting on a park bench in front of his house (one of the doors to Hyde Park is just in front) and upon checking and finding nothing feels that an invisible presence which seems to be in love with him has moved to his house and has been petting and training his parrot. After discussing and showing signs to Father Murchinson, Guildea goes to Paris to escape but there he is touched by the shadow, erotically, in the midst of his speech and he collapses. Upon return he tells Murchinson that the shadow now follows him everywhere and snuggles against him in the bed and on the stairs. Father Murchinson tells Guildea to give love back to the shadow, but he refuses and one night, while Murchinson also sees a shadow on the same bench, Guildea is dead of a heart attack with a horror expression on his face back in the house.
Although this is a horror story, just barely out of the Victorian age, and a pretty good one at that, I propose another explanation. Hichens was gay in real life and it must not have been easy for him at the time. He did live a long life (died at 86), but he probably felt many small deaths (not orgasms) during his life as a gay man in Victorian England. Guildea is gay and Murchinson is his love object, but he cannot admit that to himself since gay is bad at the time. So he concocts this shadow which replaces the sexual intimacy that he wants to have with Murchinson. However, the stronger the gay love becomes, the more Guildea denies it and pushes it away, leading eventually to his death (symbolically?) because he denies the strongest aspect of his personality. If this is the case, then Hichens should be getting way more credit for this story than he currently is.
Sunday, August 18, 2019
"The Great God Pan" by Arthur Machen
Arthur Machen has been described as one of the last Victorian gentlemen, wearing a cape well into the 1930s. H.P. Lovecraft pays great respect to him in his seminal work about the history of supernatural horror in literature (a must read starting point for any horror lover). Apparently this novel, as appreciated and as glorified today for its thematic, narrative and structural value (often imitated) was denounced and the author harshly criticized, condemned, even on the verge of destroying the author's further career, and all of that because of the "hints" of various sexual activities. These hints of "activities" would barely cause a modern reader to pause, were apparently enough for the stuck up, pole-up-the-rectum Victorian literary critics to foam from their mouths in anger and bile, condemning and vilifying the author.
The novel starts with a crazy professor, Raymond, calling his rational friend, Clarke to witness a brain surgery on a 17 year old girl Mary which will enable her to see the supernatural world. It is slightly implied that Mary is having a sexual relationship with Raymond, and that he doesn't care much about her, considering her inferior. I am sure the modern feminists are getting a fit of blinding rage when reading those pages. Nevertheless, the operation is successful, kind of; Mary "sees" and goes mad. Years later there is a girl of 12 or so, Helen, who is sent to live with a rural family by a rich relative, who turns out to be Raymond (we find at the end of the book - don't read this blog if you dislike spoilers), and Helen is the child of Mary and the Great God Pan, which is not like the actual Pan from Greek mythology (if you read the myths), but more like Lucifer or Satan, and the baby is more like the "Rosemary's Baby."
Well, Helen seems to like having sex with Fauns, Satyrs and other forest thingies, even at a tender age, and involves couple of of other country children in her adventure, some of whom go mad, while other disappear in the forest. Eventually she marries a country gentleman (when she is around 19) and makes him sell all his assets and give her the money which she uses to travel around the world and take part in orgies with humans and others, while her country husband becomes a beggar and dies of hunger and fear, eventually.
Helen becomes Mrs. Beaumont later in life and a great staple in London High Life, with the small detail that everyone she fucks commits a suicide afterwards. Several "high born" gentlemen (who don't mind fucking around, apparently) end in this way until the hero of the book, Villiers, with another guy, Austin, who is there just to fill empty space it seems, confront Helen with a noose telling her to kill herself or they will expose her to the police. As improbable as it sounds, she does kill herself, and her body changes forms between female and male, beasts, half-beasts, etc. until finally rests in an amorphous form of black jelly. Now we see where Lovecraft got his inspiration for the Shoggoth.
It is a well written novella with very frequent uses of "unspeakable", "indescribable" and similar Lovecraftian exaggerations of things that today would be considered very mundane compared to the sick psychological horror that causes mental trauma and pathological conditions in the modern readers.
The novel starts with a crazy professor, Raymond, calling his rational friend, Clarke to witness a brain surgery on a 17 year old girl Mary which will enable her to see the supernatural world. It is slightly implied that Mary is having a sexual relationship with Raymond, and that he doesn't care much about her, considering her inferior. I am sure the modern feminists are getting a fit of blinding rage when reading those pages. Nevertheless, the operation is successful, kind of; Mary "sees" and goes mad. Years later there is a girl of 12 or so, Helen, who is sent to live with a rural family by a rich relative, who turns out to be Raymond (we find at the end of the book - don't read this blog if you dislike spoilers), and Helen is the child of Mary and the Great God Pan, which is not like the actual Pan from Greek mythology (if you read the myths), but more like Lucifer or Satan, and the baby is more like the "Rosemary's Baby."
Well, Helen seems to like having sex with Fauns, Satyrs and other forest thingies, even at a tender age, and involves couple of of other country children in her adventure, some of whom go mad, while other disappear in the forest. Eventually she marries a country gentleman (when she is around 19) and makes him sell all his assets and give her the money which she uses to travel around the world and take part in orgies with humans and others, while her country husband becomes a beggar and dies of hunger and fear, eventually.
Helen becomes Mrs. Beaumont later in life and a great staple in London High Life, with the small detail that everyone she fucks commits a suicide afterwards. Several "high born" gentlemen (who don't mind fucking around, apparently) end in this way until the hero of the book, Villiers, with another guy, Austin, who is there just to fill empty space it seems, confront Helen with a noose telling her to kill herself or they will expose her to the police. As improbable as it sounds, she does kill herself, and her body changes forms between female and male, beasts, half-beasts, etc. until finally rests in an amorphous form of black jelly. Now we see where Lovecraft got his inspiration for the Shoggoth.
It is a well written novella with very frequent uses of "unspeakable", "indescribable" and similar Lovecraftian exaggerations of things that today would be considered very mundane compared to the sick psychological horror that causes mental trauma and pathological conditions in the modern readers.
Saturday, February 9, 2019
"Season of Storms" by Andrzej Sapkowski
This is the last book about the Witcher Geralt of Rivia. It was written in 2013, the previous volume, "The Lady of the Lake" being finished in 1999 (half a decade before the first Witcher game by CD Project RED was released). Since the plot logically finished in "The Lady of the Lake", Sapkowski went back and wrote this timeline somewhere between the different stories of "The Last Wish", just after Geralt and Yennefer broke up, and a couple of years before they get back together (in another story in "The Last Wish"). Ciri is barely mentioned.
Geralt and Dandelion find themselves in the kingdom of Kerrack, where some political games are being played, and of course there is a sorceress involved, Coral, and her beautiful assistant Mozaik. Geralt is being framed by Coral, and he gets imprisoned, and his Witcher swords stolen. Eventually she frees him (it was a 'game') and has sex with him for several weeks.
He gets used by a local criminal to fight a beast in the arena for others entertainment and gets sent to a wizards castle where they manufacture different 'inventions' like half-trolls-half-dwarves and different giant lizards and spiders to be used as guards. Unfortunately the wizards in the castle are mostly crazy psychopaths who kill over 40 people in surrounding villages for their own entertainment, having their dwarf trolls tear 5 year old children in half.
Geralt finds the truth, and kills some of the greatest offenders, but leaves the castle with the rest of them, to go back to Kerrack for the wedding of the old king, because he was blackmailed by the kings younger son, who tries to kill Dandelion. The king learns about the plots agains him by his sons, and exiles them both, however the third son comes back and kills his father becoming king.
Coral runs away from the kingdom, and Mozaik has about two weeks of sex with Geralt, before he leaves her alone in their bed one morning, never to return. Yennefer buys Geralt's sword which were auctioned in Novigrad, and Geralt continues on his adventures with Dandelion. Oh, Nimue is in the book too, 105 years after Geralt's death in 1378, just going on her way to Aretuza to become a sorceress.
Geralt and Dandelion find themselves in the kingdom of Kerrack, where some political games are being played, and of course there is a sorceress involved, Coral, and her beautiful assistant Mozaik. Geralt is being framed by Coral, and he gets imprisoned, and his Witcher swords stolen. Eventually she frees him (it was a 'game') and has sex with him for several weeks.
He gets used by a local criminal to fight a beast in the arena for others entertainment and gets sent to a wizards castle where they manufacture different 'inventions' like half-trolls-half-dwarves and different giant lizards and spiders to be used as guards. Unfortunately the wizards in the castle are mostly crazy psychopaths who kill over 40 people in surrounding villages for their own entertainment, having their dwarf trolls tear 5 year old children in half.
Geralt finds the truth, and kills some of the greatest offenders, but leaves the castle with the rest of them, to go back to Kerrack for the wedding of the old king, because he was blackmailed by the kings younger son, who tries to kill Dandelion. The king learns about the plots agains him by his sons, and exiles them both, however the third son comes back and kills his father becoming king.
Coral runs away from the kingdom, and Mozaik has about two weeks of sex with Geralt, before he leaves her alone in their bed one morning, never to return. Yennefer buys Geralt's sword which were auctioned in Novigrad, and Geralt continues on his adventures with Dandelion. Oh, Nimue is in the book too, 105 years after Geralt's death in 1378, just going on her way to Aretuza to become a sorceress.
Thursday, January 24, 2019
"The Lady of the Lake" by Andrzej Sapkowski
Nimue, as the Lady of The Lake says her real name is, appears as a major character in the first Witcher game by CD Projekt Red and you can even bed her if you do the right sequence of actions and dialogue options. Not, so in the book. The Lady of the Lake together with a oneiromancer lady, a few centuries in the future, are trying to figure out the exact events that happened around the lodge of sorceresses, Ciri and the wars, as in their time they only exist as archaeological evidence and in well-censored books. They are able to discern most of the events as they really happpened, not as the censored books describe them, and pinpoint the exact time that Ciri will pass through their time and space, as Ciri can travel through both. They both witness Ciri appearing in the sky above their lake for the moment, and then disappearing again in another timespace jump. Nimue has regular sex with the King Fisher in the book, while in the game that is only vaguely hinted at. Maybe so Geralt doesn't get offended? As every man likes to think that the women he's ploughing waited their entire lives just for him, and no other did even come close to qualifying.
In another world Ciri meets Galahad who wants to take her to Camelot to meet King Arthur. Borrowing much? Seems like a ploy to increase word count. Hey Sapkowski, isn't it enough that you lifted a gazzilion things straight out of Tolkien and Moorcock? And you had the guts to ask CD Project Red for more money, after you declined any profit and merchandise sharing outright and asked to be paid fully in advance? You didn't think Polish devs could whip out an amazing game? Better than the books, that's for sure! And that crappy Polish movie and series (let's hope Netflix doesn't completely screw it up, like with Altered Carbon).
Anyway, I digress. Everything here is just my personal, non-binding, time-specific opinion, in any case. So we go back to where we left things in the other book. Leo Bonhart is now at Vilgefortz' castle, and it seem the two of them are sharing the role of the 'main villain' in this series. But fear not, our heroes get to the castle eventually, but not before Ciri, who somehow just walks in (???) and surrenders her weapons, so that Vilgefortz can expressly tie her to the "raping chair" and proceed to tell her how he will impregnate her with his own sperm, but through a glass apparatus, as she's not worthy to receive his penis inside, and then cut out her placenta while she is still alive and pregnant. Bonhart wants to rape her here (he had many chances before), but Vilgefortz shushes him away.
Not to worry, Geralt and company are here, after spending a great time in Touissant (go play Witcher 3, Blood and Wine DLC for a feel), the land of wine, sex and some honey. Of course, our little fellowship from last time goes head-first into Vilgefortz castle and most of them manage to get themselves killed in the process. Ciri kills Leo, but it is a bit of anti-climatic, since it doesn't last long, and Ciri is definitely not vengeful (or deranged) enough to make this passage more entertaining. After all, that animal Leo Bonhart was one of the most vicious, cruel and deranged murderers in the entire series of books, which do not lack deranged murderers, quite on the contrary. Well, Ciri just slashes his throat and walks away not even watching him die choking on his own blood.
Neveryoumind. Geralt eventually reaches Vilgefortz, which is very unimpressive as villains go, and after some mediocre fight, with Yennefer, cuts him in half. Regis dies unfortunately. So also do Milva, Cahir and Anguilleme. Sad.
The book continues for another 50 pages after the defeat of Vilgefortz and it is mostly about political intrigue, the lodge of sorcerresses, politics, Ciri and Geralt trip of revenge and reward, etc. Geralt and Yennefer get killed at some peasant uprising (after surviving pretty much the entire world of monster and enemies in the last 7 books). Ciri maybe revives them. Maybe not. At the end Ciri leaves with Lancelot for Camelot. Or does she???
In another world Ciri meets Galahad who wants to take her to Camelot to meet King Arthur. Borrowing much? Seems like a ploy to increase word count. Hey Sapkowski, isn't it enough that you lifted a gazzilion things straight out of Tolkien and Moorcock? And you had the guts to ask CD Project Red for more money, after you declined any profit and merchandise sharing outright and asked to be paid fully in advance? You didn't think Polish devs could whip out an amazing game? Better than the books, that's for sure! And that crappy Polish movie and series (let's hope Netflix doesn't completely screw it up, like with Altered Carbon).
Anyway, I digress. Everything here is just my personal, non-binding, time-specific opinion, in any case. So we go back to where we left things in the other book. Leo Bonhart is now at Vilgefortz' castle, and it seem the two of them are sharing the role of the 'main villain' in this series. But fear not, our heroes get to the castle eventually, but not before Ciri, who somehow just walks in (???) and surrenders her weapons, so that Vilgefortz can expressly tie her to the "raping chair" and proceed to tell her how he will impregnate her with his own sperm, but through a glass apparatus, as she's not worthy to receive his penis inside, and then cut out her placenta while she is still alive and pregnant. Bonhart wants to rape her here (he had many chances before), but Vilgefortz shushes him away.
Not to worry, Geralt and company are here, after spending a great time in Touissant (go play Witcher 3, Blood and Wine DLC for a feel), the land of wine, sex and some honey. Of course, our little fellowship from last time goes head-first into Vilgefortz castle and most of them manage to get themselves killed in the process. Ciri kills Leo, but it is a bit of anti-climatic, since it doesn't last long, and Ciri is definitely not vengeful (or deranged) enough to make this passage more entertaining. After all, that animal Leo Bonhart was one of the most vicious, cruel and deranged murderers in the entire series of books, which do not lack deranged murderers, quite on the contrary. Well, Ciri just slashes his throat and walks away not even watching him die choking on his own blood.
Neveryoumind. Geralt eventually reaches Vilgefortz, which is very unimpressive as villains go, and after some mediocre fight, with Yennefer, cuts him in half. Regis dies unfortunately. So also do Milva, Cahir and Anguilleme. Sad.
The book continues for another 50 pages after the defeat of Vilgefortz and it is mostly about political intrigue, the lodge of sorcerresses, politics, Ciri and Geralt trip of revenge and reward, etc. Geralt and Yennefer get killed at some peasant uprising (after surviving pretty much the entire world of monster and enemies in the last 7 books). Ciri maybe revives them. Maybe not. At the end Ciri leaves with Lancelot for Camelot. Or does she???
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