# Heads-up for the Lovecraft and Merritt fans

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heads-up-for-the-lovecraft-and-merritt-fans/277459>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [December 1, 2004, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heads-up-for-the-lovecraft-and-merritt-fans/277459 "2004-12-01T05:41:28Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Hunter\_Hawk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/50afbb/32.png) [@Hunter\_Hawk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hunter_Hawk)\
**Post date:** [December 1, 2004, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heads-up-for-the-lovecraft-and-merritt-fans/277459/1 "2004-12-01T05:41:28Z")

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Bison Books has another one out that looks good–[The Nightmare and other tales of dark fantasy](http://unp.unl.edu/bookinfo/4404.html) by Francis Stevens. Stevens was one of the early authors of what the editor calls “dark fantasy” (i.e., the sort of adventure/fantasy you’d find in Merritt or _Weird Tales_), and this is a set of short stories and novellas that have apparently never been collected before. Lovecraft speaks highly of her work.

I haven’t had a chance to read this book yet, but I’ve read a couple of her novels. They show their age in much the same way as Merritt’s work does, but are still worth reading. If you’re into this sort of thing, you might want to check out this book, since I’m not sure her other works are easily available.

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**Author:** ![Meurglys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@Meurglys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meurglys)\
**Post date:** [December 1, 2004, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heads-up-for-the-lovecraft-and-merritt-fans/277459/2 "2004-12-01T12:41:41Z")

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It’s a pretty big collection and has pretty interesting Forwards, etc. but I’ve not yet dived in. It’s (almost) next on my list!

I have the three novels that got re-issued a while back but I’m pretty sure they’re all OOP now. (They were published by Carol & Graf, iirc)

/aside

For excellent modern weird fantasy I recommend **John C. Wright** ’s _The Last Guardian of Everness_ - it’s my favourite fantasy book this year… it’s a little bit like Dunsany writing Amber…

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**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\
**Post date:** [December 1, 2004, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heads-up-for-the-lovecraft-and-merritt-fans/277459/3 "2004-12-01T15:42:32Z")

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Over in a Yahoo group there’s much talk about a Library of America edition of Lovecraft, to be edited by Peter Straub.

Does that put HPL in the much vaunted “canon”?

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**Author:** ![Number](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/number/32/242_2.png) [@Number](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Number)\
**Post date:** [December 1, 2004, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heads-up-for-the-lovecraft-and-merritt-fans/277459/4 "2004-12-01T18:13:34Z")

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Darn. For just a second I thought Stephin Merritt was going to start writing songs for The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets. What could be better than irresistably-catchy indie pop songs about Lovecraftian horrors?

I guess I’ll just have to pick up a Gothic Archies CD instead.