Frank Belknap Long "The Horror from the Hills"
A rare and interesting collection from the master of weird fiction. In the US it was strangely titled "Odd Science Fiction", published in an obscure paperback without mentioning that the title novella originally appeared in 1931 "Weird Tales"; at least in England it was properly titled "The Horror from the Hills". Frank Belknap Long - The member of the Lovecraftian school of the weird and macabre tales, highly visual and entertaining writer, though the quality of his output declined with the demise of the pulps. During the pulp era, however, his stories were highly entertaining, thrilling pieces. ---------------------------------------------- Frank Belknap Long "The Horror from the Hills" © Weird Tales, Jan-Feb 1931 Odd Science Fiction, Belmont 1964 Night Fear, 1979 --/ third place sf novella --/ adventure award --/ wonder award --/ awesome scale --/ rare find When I started to read "The Horror from the Hills" I was expecting a great deal of vintage Lovecraft-ian atmosphere and wide-eyed sense of wonder (it was published first in "Weird Tales" in 1931), and the story lived up to all these expectations, and more. Technically, it is science fiction as well as fantasy, as it rationalizes its thrills as travel between multiple dimensions by means of some intimidating machine. "Unspeakable" and "unmentionable" beings (all decked out in a true H. P. Lovecraft's descriptive style) abound in this novella, flaunting their blob-like, octopus-like and living hills-like manifestations - all wrapped up in a greatly entertaining mix. A blob-buster indeed, from the golden period of "Weird Tales": ancient mysteries, horror in a museum, mad scientist with his multi-dimensional machine, spectral "Others" haunting past and present, hills come alive... A classic. review: 11-Nov-07 (read in 2007) ---------------------------------------------- Frank Belknap Long "The Flame of Life" © Future, June 1959 Odd Science Fiction, Belmont 1964 --/ fourth place sf story --/ romance award --/ wonder award --/ rare find Very cool story, very romantic - a flame of love versus the kind of radioactive mysterious glow from space, enveloping the ex-astronaut. Frank Belknap Long is a ticket to solid, highly visual pulp entertainment. An unexpected and rare treat from the sadly declining days of good old "Future" pulp magazine. review: 11-Nov-07 (read in 2007) ---------------------------------------------- Frank Belknap Long "Giant in the Forest" © Science Fiction Quarterly, Feb 1955 Odd Science Fiction, Belmont 1964 ---------------------------------------------- READ OTHER REVIEWS FOR THIS WRITER Labels: Features |
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"SF&F Reading Experience" is part of "Dark Roasted Blend / Thrilling Wonder" family of sites. We try to highlight the most entertaining and rewarding science fiction and fantasy, with emphasis on memorable reader experience, not necessarily general acceptance by the critics. Have fun, and delve into our extensive ratings and reviews! Most reviews are written by Avi Abrams, unless otherwise noted. Reviews also appear on our unique historical retrospective page Wonder Timeline of Science Fiction. Feel free to submit your own review, if a particular story is not listed here. All major OFFICIAL AWARDS are highlighted in BLUE ("winner" has a letter "W" by it, otherwise it is a runner-up only) Our PERSONAL AWARDS (ratings) are highlighted in RED and PURPLE: --/ first place : --/ second place : --/ third place : --/ fourth place : --/ cool : (equal to fifth place) ALL "BEST OF" LISTS ARE LOCATED HERE These awards are given in the following categories: - novel : - series : - novella : - story : - collection : Also, there are our personal STYLE / GENRE SPECIFIC AWARDS. These reflect the story's content and the lasting impression on the reader: --/ wonder award sense-of-wonder, "visual intensity" and inventiveness --/ idea award originality of idea / concept --/ adventure award exhilarating plot, excitement / action --/ style award outstanding literary qualities, inimitable style --/ romance award intense and beautiful love / relationships --/ humour award funny and cool --/ emotion award touching, lasting impression, sensitivity --/ shock value altogether wild --/ awesome scale mind-boggling; further enhances sense-of-wonder --/ rare find very hard to locate, mostly from old pulps, never reprinted, etc. Again, please feel free to leave your own review or comment under every writer's entry; also recommend us other stories you liked. |
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