5 CENTIPEDE PRESS LIBRARY OF WEIRD FICTION VOLS: Stoker/Aickman/Bierce/Machen/Lo

Description: 5 Centipede Press Library of Weird Fiction volumes: Arthur Machen, Bram Stoker, Robert Aickman, Ambrose Bierce & Frank Belknap Long. Lakewood, CO; Centipede Press; 2018-2023. All are 1st edition hardcovers. Publisher descriptions: ARTHUR MACHEN: Anglo-Welsh writer Arthur Machen (1863-1947) was a pioneering author of weird fiction. When “The Great God Pan” was published in 1894, it shocked the readers of Victorian England, who reviled it as the product of a diseased mind. The next year, Machen published The Three Impostors, an episodic novel that featured such classic segments as “Novel of the Black Seal” and “Novel of the White Powder” and cemented his reputation as a writer who believed that science was stripping away the veils of mystery from the universe. In many stories such as “The White People” and “The Red Hand,” Machen propounded the notion of the “Little People” — a race of stunted, pre-human creatures lurking in the dark corners of the world. These Little People were the source of the myths about fauns, leprechauns, and fairies — but they were far more baleful than these benign entities. In 1914 Machen gained notoriety for “The Bowmen,” a pseudo-factual piece about the ghosts of ancient British soldiers coming to the rescue of a beleaguered regiment in World War I. The story was taken as a true account in spite of Machen’s repeated denials. In 1917 he published the short novel The Terror, a grim tale of animals revolting against the supremacy of humanity. This volume features a large quantity of Machen’s best fiction, early and late. Also included are some of Machen’s provocative introductions to his books, along with bibliographical information on all the works included. The volume has been edited by S. T. Joshi, a leading authority on weird fiction. Joshi is the author of The Weird Tale (1990), The Modern Weird Tale (2001), and Unutterable Horror: A History of Supernatural Fiction (2012). Edition information Introduction by S. T. Joshi.Massive, 700-page, low-cost edition of Machen’s best stories.Ribbon marker, head and tail bands, full black cloth binding.Embossed Arthur Machen signature on front board.Gorgeous dustjacket.Many photographs of Arthur Machen. Pricing: SOLD OUT.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------BRAM STOKER: Bram Stoker (1847-1912) has attained universal celebrity for his novel Dracula (1897), the most notable and influential novel of vampirism ever written. But Dracula is only one of several important works written by Stoker over his long career. Although he spent much of his life as the personal secretary for the famous actor Sir Henry Irving, he became well known in his own right for novels and stories that cover a wide range of motifs in weird fiction. This volume features the best of Stoker’s writings. The centerpiece of the book is Dracula, a novel that continues to fascinate readers more than a century after its publication. From the opening pages, when Jonathan Harker ventures to Castle Dracula in the wilds of Transylvania, to the spectacular conclusion, in which the evil count is chased back to his native soil and destroyed by a band of valiant men, the novel is a thrilling read while also dealing with issues of sexuality and religion. In addition, this volume includes the novel The Jewel of Seven Stars (1903), an unforgettable novel of Egyptian horror. The concluding scene, where a scholar engages in a “Great Experiment” — the magical resurrection of a mummified pharaoh-queen whom he has unearthed — is one of the most potent episodes in weird fiction. Stoker also wrote a number of short stories, gathered in such collections as Under the Sunset (1882) and the posthumous Dracula’s Guest and Other Weird Stories (1914). Included here are “The Judge’s House,” “The Squaw,” “The Burial of the Rats,” and “Dracula’s Guest,” originally designed as the second chapter of Dracula but later removed. The volume has been edited by S. T. Joshi, a leading authority on weird fiction. Joshi is the author of The Weird Tale (1990), The Modern Weird Tale (2001), and Unutterable Horror: A History of Supernatural Fiction (2012). Edition information Introduction by S. T. Joshi.Massive, 782-page, low-cost edition of Stoker’s best stories.Includes two complete novels: Dracula and The Jewel of Seven Stars.Ribbon marker, head and tail bands, full black cloth binding.Embossed Bram Stoker signature on front board.Gorgeous dustjacket.Photographs of Bram Stoker.Published November 2019.ISBN 978-1-61347-237-8.Book size 5¾ × 9 inches.Number of pages: 782. Pricing: SOLD OUT.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ROBERT AICKMAN: In the decades following his death, British writer Robert Aickman (1914-1981) has emerged as one of the pioneering authors of weird fiction in the later twentieth century. During his lifetime, he published eight collections of tales, beginning with We Are for the Dark (1951) and concluding with Intrusions (1980). In his fiction, Aickman evolved a distinctive idiom emphasizing subtlety and the slow, gradual accumulation of weird atmosphere. He was a master of English prose, writing with effortless fluency and never requiring violence of diction or incident to create powerful horrific effects. He himself referred to his narratives as “strange tales,” signifying his scorn of the standard motifs of conventional supernatural fiction. While some stories utilize such well-worn themes as the resurrection of the dead (“Ringing the Changes”) or vampirism (“Pages from a Young Girl’s Journal”), others create the sense of weirdness from the sheer oddity of the scenario: the harrowingly bland office worker in “Meeting Mr. Millar,” or the inscrutable residents of a home for the elderly in “The Hospice.” Many of his tales — including “The Swords” and “Letters to the Postman” — feature covert or overt sexuality, as Aickman continually expressed his fascination with “the eternal feminine.” This selection of eighteen of Aickman’s best weird tales demonstrates why he has become such an influential voice in contemporary weird fiction: his supple, oblique prose, the strangeness of his weird conceptions, and his sure grasp of narrative pacing have made him far more popular than he was in his own day. The volume has been edited by S. T. Joshi, a leading authority on weird fiction. Joshi is the author of The Weird Tale (1990), The Modern Weird Tale (2001), and Unutterable Horror: A History of Supernatural Fiction (2012). Edition information Introduction by S. T. Joshi.Massive, 686-page, low-cost edition of Aickman’s best 18 stories.Ribbon marker, head and tail bands, full black cloth binding.Embossed Robert Aickman signature on front board.Gorgeous dustjacket.Many photographs of Robert Aickman.Published April 2019.ISBN 978-1-61347-234-7.Book size 5¾ × 9 inches.Number of pages: 686. Pricing: SOLD OUT.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------AMBROSE BIERCE: Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914?) was the leading American writer of weird fiction between Edgar Allan Poe and H. P. Lovecraft. A prolific journalist and fierce satirist, Bierce brought a distinctly sardonic and misanthropic vision to his short fiction. After serving in some of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War, he wrote dozens of tales of psychological terror using the war as a backdrop. Among these are such famous stories as “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,” “Chickamauga,” and “One of the Missing.” In these tales, Bierce etched with unsparing realism the fear, alarm, and apprehension that soldiers feel in the heat of battle. Bierce applied his psychological acumen to tales of “civilians” as well. In such stories as “The Suitable Surroundings,” “A Watcher by the Dead,” and “The Man and the Snake,” Bierce pungently depicted the sensations of characters beset by fears of death. He also employed his keen analysis of human foibles in tales of the supernatural, such as “The Death of Halpin Frayser,” a hideous account of incest and revenants; “The Middle Toe of the Right Foot,” a chilling story of supernatural revenge; and “The Eyes of the Panther,” a tale of possible metempsychosis. Bierce also wrote such pioneering tales as “The Damned Thing,” about an invisible monster, and “Moxon’s Master,” which broaches the possibility of artificial intelligence. A distinctive branch of Bierce’s fictional work are his political fantasies, where he utilizes his cynicism in regard to American political institutions and politicians in creating imaginary realms in the manner of Jonathan Swift and Voltaire. This collection presents a generous selection of Bierce’s weird fiction, with introduction and bibliography. The volume has been edited by S. T. Joshi, a renowned expert on weird fiction. Joshi is the author of The Weird Tale (1990), The Modern Weird Tale (2001), and Unutterable Horror: A History of Supernatural Fiction(2012). Edition information Introduction by S. T. Joshi.Massive, 728-page, low-cost edition of bierce’s best stories.Ribbon marker, head and tail bands, full black cloth binding.Embossed Ambrose Bierce signature on front board.Handsome dustjacket.Photographs of Ambrose Bierce.Published April 2021.ISBN 978-1-61347-288-0.Book size 5¾ × 9 inches.Number of pages: 728. Pricing: SOLD OUT.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------FRANK BELKNAP LONG:As the inexorable custodian to H. P. Lovecraft’s legacy, Frank Belknap Long spent much of his life in the shadow of one of weird fiction’s founding fathers, wearing the burden like an albatross about the neck. Theirs was a bond forged in the underwater caverns of R’lyeh, but unlike Lovecraft, Long was unable to surface a worshipped idol. As such, his name has remained synonymous with the visionary author, leaving Long’s talent as a shape-shifting leviathan underrated and grossly misjudged. But he deserves to stand alone on the merits of his own voice, praised for its menacing and cryptic nature, posing questions of his characters that none can seem to answer. Although he’s known as an early purveyor to the Cthulhu mythos with stories like “The Eye above the Mantel,” which caught Lovecraft’s attention, Long’s ability can be measured in more than just comparisons to his dear friend. As the crowning achievement among his work, “The Hounds of Tindalos” perpetuates the myth that freeing the mind through hallucinogens will also free the body. No matter the number of liberating doors it opens, it’s bound to let in a few stray fiends. And even though “The Space-Eaters” features Lovecraft himself (fondly named Howard), it contains some of Long’s most indispensably dark humor, paying tribute to the timeless art of story synthesis. Using the ocean as a setting for misanthropic exploits, Long charted well outside the bounds of human decency. Both “The Ocean Leech” and “Second Night Out” involve sea-faring vessels accosted by merciless demons craving human flesh for no other reason than to bask in the excesses of their own pleasure. Though, their nature can also be an intense psychological probing as found in the “Dark Awakening” and “The Cottage Tenant,” which have an added family dynamic to increase the stakes and immediacy for resolution. Long also taps into archeological fanaticism, delving into its mysterious past, rife with situations that pin the subject matter on its head. That mystical exoticism can be found in tales like “The Dog-Eared God,” “The Were-Snake,” and “A Visitor from Egypt.” They exercise Long’s penchant for reimagining the history behind coveted treasures that never should have been disturbed. Sacrificial alters, mummified remains, ritualistic voodoo, and deity discussions pockmark these temple walls. But it’s only when the characters fall asleep that the ghouls come out to play. With scenes and settings hinting toward the subjugated spirits of the past, Long’s stories manifest a gestating revival within his characters. But the forces of evil that may have been long forgotten never really went away. They laid dormant until Long enacted his heathen sorcery and exhumed them from the hallowed grounds where no creature is beyond his grasp. And no character is ever safe. The volume has been edited by S. T. Joshi, a leading authority on weird fiction. Joshi is the author of The Weird Tale (1990), The Modern Weird Tale (2001), and Unutterable Horror: A History of Supernatural Fiction (2012). Edition information Introduction by S. T. Joshi.Massive, 800-page, low-cost edition of Long’s best horror and weird stories.Ribbon marker, head and tail bands, full black cloth binding.Embossed Frank Belknap Long signature on front board.Handsome dustjacket.Many photographs of Frank Belknap Long.Published May 2022.ISBN 978-1-61347-300-9.Book size 5½ × 9 inches.Number of pages: 808.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Machen, Aickman, Bierce & Long volumes are still sealed in original publishers shrinkwrap. The Stoker volume is fine in fine dj. It was never issued shrinkwrapped. FREE DOMESTIC Media Mail shipping or $49.90 Priority Mail domestic shipping. 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