W. H. Pugmire's Monstrous Aftermath: Stories in the Lovecraftian Tradition was published by Hippocampus Press in August 2015.
Information about W. H. Pugmire:
W. H. Pugmire is a self-confessed “Lovecraft fan-boy” whose books include The Fungal Stain (Hippocampus Press, 2006), The Tangled Muse (2011), Uncommon Places (Hippocampus Press, 2012), and Bohemians of Sesqua Valley (2013). He lives in Seattle with a house full of cats from Ulthar.
Click here to visit W. H. Pugmire's official website.
Information about Monstrous Aftermath: Stories in the Lovecraftian Tradition:
For decades, W. H. Pugmire has been one of the foremost exponents of Lovecraftian fiction. In an array of works ranging from exquisitely crafted sonnets to delicately perfumed prose-poems to richly textured novellas, Pugmire has channeled the work of H. P. Lovecraft with a sensitivity and penetration that few have equaled. This new collection displays Pugmire's many strengths as a writer. Here we have stories inspired not only by Lovecraft but by Oscar Wilde and Robert W. Chambers. Many of them are set in the Sesqua Valley, that magical realm in the Pacific Northwest that Pugmire has devised as a parallel to the constellation of New England towns - Arkham, Innsmouth, Dunwich, and others - that Lovecraft fashioned in his tales of the Cthulhu Mythos.
The capstone to the collection is a substantially revised version of Pugmire's classic prose rendering of Lovecraft's Fungi from Yuggoth sonnet cycle. This work, Some Unknown Gulf of Night, exhibits the full range of Pugmire's imagination - an imagination triggered by literature and infused with the quintessence of his own aesthetic sensibility. As a bonus, Lovecraft's poem is included so that readers can appreciate Pugmire's wondrous transmutation of verse into prose that is scarcely less poetic than the original.
A REVIEW OF W. H. PUGMIRE'S MONSTROUS AFTERMATH: STORIES IN THE LOVECRAFTIAN TRADITION
W. H. Pugmire probably needs no introduction to readers who are familiar with weird fiction and especially Lovecraftian weird fiction. His literary weird fiction stories can be called the cornerstones of contemporary weird fiction, because they're excellent stories that have impressed many critics and readers. If there are readers out there who have somehow managed not to read W. H. Pugmire's stories, this short story collection offers an excellent starting point, because it's a quality collection (I can guarantee that once you've read this collection, you'll want to read more stories by the author).
Because I'm a big fan of well written weird fiction, I was deeply impressed by this collection. I've read many weird fiction collections, but I've seldom come across such intense and beautifully written collections as this one. It's easy for me to praise this collection, because all of the stories were good and the prose was beautiful.
I honestly think that W. H. Pugmire is - and always will be - one of the best and most talented authors of horror and weird fiction. He's in a league of his own when it comes to writing Lovecraftian weird fiction, because only a handful of modern authors have been able to achieve what he has achieved with his stories. He has contributed a lot to Lovecraftian weird fiction and nobody can deny his importance to the genre.
Monstrous Aftermath: Stories in the Lovecraftian Tradition wonderfully demonstrates the writing skills of W. H. Pugmire and the range of his imagination. When you read this collection you'll notice that the driving force behind the stories is love and fascination for weird fiction, literary strange fiction and the uncanny - this can be seen on every page of this short story collection.
Monstrous Aftermath: Stories in the Lovecraftian Tradition contains the following stories:
- Within Your Unholy Pit of Shoggoths
- Your Weighing of My Heart
- The Tomb of Oscar Wilde
- These Harpies of Carcosa
- An Ecstasy of Fear
- Darkness Dancing in Your Eyes
- Beyond the Wakeful Senses
- Ye Unkempt Thing
- Half Lost in Shadow
- Circular Bone
- Jester of Yellow Day
- This Splendor of the Goat
- Monstrous Aftermath
- An Element of Nightmare
- Some Unknown Gulf of Night
- Fungi from Yuggoth (by H. P. Lovecraft)
These diverse stories range all the way from dark fantasy to Lovecraftian weird fiction. They feature excellent prose, macabre happenings, intriguing characters and plenty of weirdness.
Here's a bit more information about the stories and my thoughts about them. Please note that these tiny synopses are only brief glimpses into the stories and their purpose is to demonstrate what to expect from them.
"Within Your Unholy Pit of Shoggoths":
- A story about Simon and Doris who are intrigued by Edward Pickman Derby's prose-poem sequence 'Pit of Shoggoths', which seems to be a poetic road map to a sacred place deep within in the woods.
- An excellent story with a good atmosphere and strangely compelling eroticism.
"Your Weighing of My Heart":
- This is an interesting short story that features captivating imagery and surreal grotesquery.
- A well written short story.
"The Tomb of Oscar Wilde":
- A story about Yakov and the celebration of Rosh Chodesh, which is is the name for the first day of every month in the Hebrew calendar, marked by the birth of a new moon (Rosh Chodesh is considered a minor holiday).
- The author writes fascinatingly about the happenings and uses beutiful poetry in this story.
"These Harpies of Carcosa":
- An excellent tale about an artist whose dreams and visions of Carcosa end up on canvas.
- A well written story to readers who have enjoyed reading stories by Robert W. Chambers.
"An Ecstasy of Fear":
- A story about Sarah who arrives in Sesqua Valley and meets her friend, a poet called Akiva, who has moved to Sesqua Valley.
- An excellent weird fiction story with a fantastic ending.
"Darkness Dancing in Your Eyes":
- A story about Enoch Blake and his memories about his master who was an alchemist.
- In my opinion, this beautifully written tale is slightly reminiscent of Clark Ashton Smith's stories.
"Beyond the Wakeful Senses":
- A story about Samuel and Amos who share interest in disturbing things that most men have never even dared to dream about.
- This is a macabre yet beautiful story with excellent prose.
"Ye Unkempt Thing":
- A thrilling story about a reverend who writes weird fiction and Enoch Coffin who is an eccentric artist.
- This is one of the best weird fiction stories I've read this year, because the author brings the darker and weirder side of New England alive with his prose.
"Half Lost in Shadow":
- A story about a man who looks after the cottage of an old sea captain called the Terrible Old Man.
- An eloquent, compelling and beautifully written story.
"Circular Bone":
- A short and well written poem.
"Jester of Yellow Day":
- A story about a man who is accused of murdering a clown.
- A good and atmospheric story.
"This Splendor of the Goat":
- A story about Monique and her fascination with Shub-Niggurath, the Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young.
- A splendid and wonderfully macabre story about Sesqua Valley.
"Monstrous Aftermath":
- In this story, a man intends to write a novel about a painter, Honoré Radin, and visits the room where the painter lived.
- An excellent story with a strong atmosphere.
"An Element of Nightmare":
- In this story, Simon Gregory Williams meets young Ezra Klum who arrives in Sesqua Valley and wants to find his grandmother's books.
- This is an excellent story about Sesqua Valley.
"Some Unknown Gulf of Night":
- This is a prose-poem sequence inspired by H. P. Lovecraft's "Fungi from Yuggoth".
- "Some Unknown Gulf of Night" was originally published by Arcane Wisdom, but this revised and expanded version contains several thousand words original to this collection.
- This revised and expanded version is a veritable feast of Lovecraftian weirdness.
- If you're familiar with Lovecraft's "Fungi from Yuggoth", you'll love this story.
"Fungi from Yuggoth" (by H. P. Lovecraft):
- This magnificent sequence of 36 sonnets is a must-read for fans of H. P. Lovecraft.
- It's nice that this poem has been published in this collection, because it's connected to "Some Unknown Gulf of Night".
- I won't go into details about the contents of this poem, because most readers already know what kind of a poem it is, but I'll mention that it contains references to many various themes that appear in the author's short stories.
"An Ecstasy of Fear" is an excellent story about Sesqua Valley. As many experienced weird fiction readers already know, Sesqua Valley is a fictional location in the Pacific Northwest of the United States and is an equivalent to Lovecraft's Arkham/Dunwich/Innsmouth nexus. The author writes fascinatingly about Sarah and her experiences in Sesqua Valley, because she noticed that her friend, Akiva, had changed since he came to Sesqua Valley. The valley seems to have affected her friend by giving him new and sinister inspiration. Sarah experiences strange sensations in the valley and witnesses weird happenings.
"Ye Unkempt Thing" is a story that features all of the elements that make W. H. Pugmire's weird fiction stories excellent. The author writes captivatingly about the reverend who writes horror fiction and the eccentric artist, Enoch Coffin. By writing about the reverend and his experiences, the author adds an intriguing level of horror and weirdness to the story. The reverend's experiences are fascinatingly strange and the ending of the story is brilliant.
"Some Unknown Gulf of Night" is an amazing achievement. I personally consider it to be a masterpiece of poetic literary prose, because the author's fascination with Lovecraft's "Fungi from Yuggoth" can be seen in it. I especially enjoyed how the author's numbered segments were connected to the numbered sonnets in Lovecraft's poem. This superb story alone is enough reason to buy this collection.
Sesqua Valley is a magnificent creation and a modern equivalent to Lovecraft's New England towns. The different places within the valley range from the twin-peaked Mount Selta to the Hungry Place (and such Outer Gods as Nyarlathotep and Shub-Niggurath are known to the valley's residents). In my opinion, the places that the author writes about are among the most unique and captivating places ever created in weird fiction stories, because there's something otherworldly and hauntingly beautiful and mythical about them that intrigues me.
I have to mention that "An Ecstasy of Fear", "This Splendor of the Goat" and "An Element of Nightmare" have awakened a desire in me to read more stories about Sesqua Valley. I intend to read all of the author's Sesqua Valley stories, because I'm intrigued about this setting and the ancient mysteries, horrors and eldritch beings and cosmic forces associated with it.
When I read this collection, I noticed that the author seems to have been influenced greatly by H. P. Lovecraft, Robert W. Chambers, Lord Dunsany, Henry James, Oscar Wilde and other similar authors, because echoes of their works can be found in these stories. I found it fascinating that the author was capable of creating the same kind of atmosphere in his stories as these authors did in their stories.
The quality of the prose is truly stunning, because W. H. Pugmire writes beautiful and eloquent literary prose in the fashion of old masters of weird fiction and uses expressions that are seldom used in modern fiction. In my opinion, W. H. Pugmire belongs to the small group of authors who truly understand what classic weird fiction is all about and how it's possible to write it in a modern yet classical way.
The author easily creates a fascinatingly sinister and macabre atmosphere and lures his reader into a world of terrifying sensations and eerie happenings. His descriptions of the places and surroundings are beautiful and they evoke images of Lovecraftian towns and remote areas in the reader's mind.
The cover art by Matthew Jaffe looks wonderfully strange. It effectively evokes feelings of dread and a sense of something ancient and primal that has survived throughout the ages.
W. H. Pugmire's Monstrous Aftermath: Stories in the Lovecraftian Tradition is essential reading material to fans of Lovecraftian weird fiction and old-fashioned weird fiction. If you love weird fiction, don't hesitate to buy this short story collection, because it's one of the best and most impressive weird fiction collections of the year. It features stories that will impress those who settle for nothing less than the very best in weird fiction - it's high quality from start to finish.
Highly recommended!