READING LIST Part 2

THE READING LIST PART 2
The Books that Restore Me
By Alex Ness
May 15, 2022

THIS LIST VERSUS THOSE OF PART 1

I do not read authors for the same reasons, as should be evidenced by the many different writers in the previous article.  Some delve into psychology, some into human experience, some demand your attention, others are content that the deeper you read, the more you receive back as a reader.  The authors on part 2 are not those I read to know more, learn, or understand the world. The reads might do that, but I am reading them for something else, directly so.  The writers in Part 2 allow me to dream, to go on adventures, to fight evil, to experience different worlds, and to enter realms of fantasy.  To the extent that some are horror writers, that does not mean I am looking to be frightened.  In general, the horror I read isn't based upon gore, or even fear, but intellectual events that could better be described as dark fantasy. 

CLARK ASHTON SMITH

Clark Ashton Smith is listed first, not because he is the finest of writers in this article, but I find that he moves me the most. Some of that is because he writes brief, poetic sounding works, whatever form his work takes.  He was an artist, so there is a visual aspect to all he does.  He was a poet, so his works are economic and powerful, and his prose delves into dark and weird fantasy, in ways that few other writers approach and no one I know of has done better.  Weird Fiction and fantasy should reveal less, than evoke.  His work does that perfectly.

ALAN DEAN FOSTER

Alan Dean Foster is a familiar name here, as he is someone I've written about and interviewed, and his writing moves me.  His concern for the environment led him to write about deeper concepts related, his desire to travel across the galaxy is seen in his adventure tales, and his knowledge and passion for his world, both ancient and modern, past and future, led him to subjects most other writers would not be able to achieve. He is someone I like very much personally, and he has also been very unselfish with communication and advice.  Reading Jed the Dead during my worst gallbladder attack (I was alone, and couldn't take the pain, I thought I was having a heart attack, but had no insurance), and it gave me solace intellectually at least.  So I am very grateful for his work, and kindness over the years.

ROBERT E. HOWARD

Readers of my online work since 2002 are well aware of my appreciation for Robert E. Howard. His work, in prose as well as poetry, captured in evocative form, events that ranged from ancient eras into his era, all with equal energy and creative power. Through Howard's economy of word, there allows a story that is compact, straight to the point, and the action is even more intense. Now some might argue of a need for more developed characters or settings, but for me, going in, the characters he does write speak like you'd expect, do what their traits have suggested, and they do what the reader hopes they might do.

H. P. LOVECRAFT

I've discussed the issues people have with Lovecraft before.  I don't want to spend time reentering that discussion.  But the reasons I like Lovecraft's work is because of his wide spanning knowledge of the stars and astronomy, his ability to understand possible alien outlooks, and a kind of horror that, however dark or dangerous, doesn't rely upon vulgarity or vile displays. It works on an intellectual level for me due to my ideas about first contact, from a historical perspective, and regarding power relationships between different people groups, also from a historical perspective.  That Lovecraft was a fine poet is another reason I like his work.

LORD DUNSANY

I have read reviews of Dunsany's work, and in the present day, most Americans find it too flowery, or archaic in language. I apologize if this is predictable, but those are the reasons I love his work, in addition to the man's enormous imagination. He had a lush, eloquent lexicon, as well as a kind of mind and depths of intellect that he understands and creates worlds that feel real, all the while writing fantasy.  The dynamism between his characters and settings can create a feeling of mystic or mythical power.  He wrote plays, novels, poetry and articles about Chess.  His ability to world build through his fantasy writing thrills me.

ANNE RICE

What I love about Anne Rice's works is her ability to infuse her works with a romantic beauty, and utilize concepts that are a lot darker than you might think. Her vampires are neither evil nor good, but tragic and filled with an awareness of a life that comes from no longer being able to die. Her perceptive outlooks towards of immortality allowed her to give the reader more than normal emotive responses, but a further understanding of what it might mean to never die naturally.  And her relationships give more questions.  What happens when mortals are loved by or love immortals. What happens when a 12 year old girl becomes a vampire and never ages beyond 12 years old?  Could she love fully, is it pedophilia, is an immortal able to mature, or just gather knowledge and hope to develop wisdom? Ramses the Damned is a mummy, but he is released into the world and hungers for all that had been out of reach in his mummy form.  Immortality can lead to wisdom, or something worse, a malevolent spirit that spent eons planning for his release.  I do enjoy Rice's work, and find her works especially entertaining.

BRIAN LUMLEY

The reasons I like Brian Lumley's work is found in many aspects of what he writes, how he writes and what interests him. His works featuring the Cthulhu mythos add to the great collective in ways other writers haven't done themselves. He considers the mind of the human facing indescribable power, and the darkness of the mind dealing with the puny humans. I am a fan of the restraint he uses describing evil and danger.  But unlike Lovecraft's characters facing Cthulhu beings, his humans might die, they might go mad, but if they are able to hurt the enemy, they do not often back down. It is perhaps the case that the reason I like Lumley's work is that I've read so many different writers writing in that universe, and all seem to try to evoke Lovecraft rather than tap a vein of their own. Lumley is absolutely unique in the world of Cthulhu writers. His vampire works are well written, but they do not move me nearly as much as the Cthulhu works of Lumley. And, despite being a retired military policeman, he has a very soft side, perhaps contributing to his being a poet.I 've not read anything by Lumley that I disliked, but as I've written, I do have my preferences.

About Getting Reviews from Me

I can be found on Facebook, Twitter or through email Alexanderness63@gmail.com. I accept hard copies, so when you inquire at any of these places, I'll follow through by telling you my street address. I no longer have a post box, although I regret that.  It was a crushing defeat to no longer have a p.o. box, when I came to realize I was getting so little product it made no sense to pay for the privilege to not receive mail at both my home and at the post office. If you send hard copies for review I will always review them, but if you prefer to send pdf or ebooks to my email, I will review these at my discretion. I don't share my pdf/ebooks, so you can avoid worry that I'd dispense them for free to others.



MY LINKS:


My Poetry AlexNessPoetry.Blogspot.Com

Published Work  AlexNessPoetry.Blogspot.Com/2007/01/My-Work.html

Amazon Page Amazon.com/author/AlexNess

Cthulhu Horror CthulhuDarkness.Blogspot.Com

Atlantis & Lost Worlds AlexNessLostWorlds.Blogspot.Com

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