The Lay of the Land

Westward laid the incredibly level stretch of the grassy ground of the Xurdimur. Ten thousand miles straight across, flat as a table top, broken only here and there by clumps of forests, ruins of cities, waterholes, the tents of the nomadic savages, herds of wild animals, packs of grass cats and dire dogs, and the mysterious and undoubtedly imaginary "roaming islands," great clumps of rock and dirt that legend said slid of their own volition over the plains. How like this planet, he thought, that the greatest peril to navigation should be one that existed only in the heads of the inhabitants.

The Green Odyssey, Philip José Farmer

Description of the Planet Xurdimur

“To stretch to the horizon was something on this planet. The plain was the flattest Green had ever seen. He could scarcely believe that it ran unbroken for thousands of miles. But it did, and from his high point of view he could see in a vast circle. It was a beautiful sight. The grass itself was tall and thick-bodied, about two feet high and a sixteenth of an inch through. It was a bright green, brighter than earthly grass, almost shiny. During the rainy season, he was told; it would blossom with many tiny white and red flowers and give a pleasing perfume.”

The Green Odyssey, Philip José Farmer

Allan Quatermain: The Zulu Trilogy - H. Rider Haggard

As I slowly transition to the plans I have for the New Year I am pulling together another reading list, this will be my early and mid-winters reading list. I have wanted to get back the character of Allan Quatermain and will add these three novels to this list.

These three novels-Marie, Child of Storm, and Finished-form the Zulu Trilogy in which the Zulu wizard, Zikali, gains his revenge on the Zulu nation and its king, Cetawayo.

P.S. I realize that images have been rather scarce in this month posts and I do have some that could be posted, but then I must first write a corresponding post. It has lately been a bit difficult to get this done.

Book of Thoth

'"Here it is," he said, and took down and opened the book on the table. "This passage may interest you." He laid his finger upon it.

His son bent over the book and read the following:—

"Hai, the evil man, was a shepherd. He had said: 'O, that I might have a book of spells that would give me resistless power!' He obtained a book of the Formulas.... By the divine powers of these he enchanted men. He obtained a deep vault furnished with implements. He made waxen images of men, and love-charms.[22] And then he perpetrated all the horrors that his heart conceived."

"Flinders Petrie," said Dr. Cairn, "mentions the Book of Thoth as another magical work conferring similar powers."

"But surely, sir—after all, it's the twentieth century—this is mere superstition!"

"I thought so—once!" replied Dr. Cairn. "But I have lived to know that Egyptian magic was a real and a potent force. A great part of it was no more than a kind of hypnotism, but there were other branches. Our most learned modern works are as children's nursery rhymes beside such a writing as the Egyptian Ritual of the Dead! God forgive me! What have I done!"'

Chapter III: The Ring Of Thoth, Brood Of The Witch-Queen, Sax Rohmer

Beyond The Black River

Beyond The Black River is another text in Robert E. Howard’s Conan series. In this text Conan is fighting the Pict’s and the forces of hell recently released by the Pictish wizard, Zogar Sag.

“Then Balthus forgot his exasperation as his ears were outraged by the most frightful cry he had ever heard. It was not human, this one; it was a demoniacal caterwauling of hideous triumph that seemed to exult over fallen humanity and find echo in black gulfs beyond human ken.”

Chapter 1: Conan Loses His Ax, Beyond the Black River, Robert E. Howard

Elizabeth Flanagan-A Host of Characters

And though amidst the calm of thought entire,
Some high and haughty features might betray
A soul impetuous once—'twas earthly fire
That fled composure's intellectual ray,
As Etna's fires grow dim before the rising day.

Gertrude of Wyoming

Elizabeth Flanagan is a character found in James Fenimore Cooper the Spy. The story tells of a revolutionary era spy. Although not the only uncouth individual mentioned within the text she is the first female character with this attribute.

‘Elizabeth Flanagan, her hotel," an ebullition of the wit of some of the idle wags of the corps. The matron, whose name had thus been exalted to an office of such unexpected dignity, ordinarily discharged the duties of a female sutler, washerwoman, and, to use the language of Katy Haynes, petticoat doctor to the troops. She was the widow of a soldier who had been killed in the service, and who, like herself, was a native of a distant island, and had early tried his fortune in the colonies of North America. She constantly migrated with the troops; and it was seldom that they became stationary for two days at a time but the little cart of the bustling woman was seen driving into the encampment loaded with such articles as she conceived would make her presence most welcome. With a celerity that seemed almost supernatural, Betty took up her ground and commenced her occupation. Sometimes the cart itself was her shop; at others the soldiers made her a rude shelter of such materials as offered; but on the present occasion she had seized on a vacant building, and, by dint of stuffing the dirty breeches and half-dried linen of the troopers into the broken windows, to exclude the cold, which had now become severe, she formed what she herself had pronounced to be "most illigant lodgings." The men were quartered in the adjacent barns, and the officers collected in the "Hotel Flanagan," as they facetiously called headquarters. Betty was well known to every trooper in the corps, could call each by his Christian or nickname, as best suited her fancy; and, although absolutely intolerable to all whom habit had not made familiar with her virtues, was a general favorite with these partisan warriors. Her faults were, a trifling love of liquor, excessive filthiness, and a total disregard of all the decencies of language; her virtues, an unbounded love for her adopted country, perfect honesty when dealing on certain known principles with the soldiery, and great good nature. Added to these, Betty had the merit of being the inventor of that beverage which is so well known, at the present hour, to all the patriots who make a winter's march between the commercial and political capitals of this great state, and which is distinguished by the name of "cocktail." Elizabeth Flanagan was peculiarly well qualified, by education and circumstances, to perfect this improvement in liquors, having been literally brought up on its principal ingredient, and having acquired from her Virginian customers the use of mint, from its flavor in a julep to its height of renown in the article in question. Such, then, was the mistress of the mansion, who, reckless of the cold northern blasts, showed her blooming face from the door of the building to welcome the arrival of her favorite, Captain Lawton, and his companion, her master in matters of surgery.’

The Spy, James Fenimore Cooper

Fictional Military Maps

“To be weak is to invite war: to be strong is to prevent it.”

The Invasion by William Le Queux

While reading The Invasion by William Le Queux I came across the series of maps that Le Queux created for his text. This is my second reading of a story that envisions Britain being invaded by Germany. My first text was The Battle of Dorking, first published in 1871.

Germany's Points of Embarkation
Battle of Royston, Sunday Sept. 9th
Position on the Evening of September 11 for the Battle of Chelmsford
Battle of Harlow; 1st Phase, about 5 A. M. Sept. 13th
Battle of Harlow Final Phase
German Attack on the Lines of London
The Bombardment and Defenses of London on Sept. 20th & 21st
London after the Bombardment
The Defenses of South London on Sept 26th

The full text and all the maps of The Invasion by William Le Queux can be found here:

My Fall 2017 Reading List

We are now in the month of October and in the Fall season. Here is yet another reading list.

1. Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrel, Susanna Clarke (hard copy)
2. Spies of the Kaiser: Plotting the Downfall of England, William Le Queux
   
3. The Great White Queen a Story of Treason, William Le Queux
   
4. Moonchild, Aleister Crowley
   
5. The Spy, James Fenimore Cooper
   
6. Beyond the Black River, Robert E. Howard
   
7. Jewels of Gwahler, Robert E. Howard
   
8. The Invasion, William Le Queux
   
9. Rasputin the Rascal Monk, William Le Queux
10. Moriarty: The Hound of the D'Urbervilles, Kim Newman

Strange Phenomena

By Warren, Ambrose William, 1781?-1856, engraver. [Public domain],
via Wikimedia Commons

This another quote from Wells alternate historty novel The War in the Air.

"And that was only the beginning of a succession of strange phenomena in the heavens—cylinders, cones, pear-shaped monsters, even at last a thing of aluminium that glittered wonderfully."

The War in the Air, H. G. Wells

Another Reading List, my spring 2017 Reading List

I recently found this list of epubs that I had intended to download. This list is part of a larger one that I created some time ago. I have since downloaded the others. Most of the titles seem to of SCIFI types; however you might be a few horror titles in the mix.

The Misplaced Battleship, Harry Harrison
Plaque Ship, Andre Norton
The Crowded Earth, Robert Bloch
The Thing in the Attic, James Blish
Under the Arctic Ice, Harry Bates
Seed of the Arctic Ice by Harry Bates
Raiders of the Universe, Donald Wandrei
The War in the Air, H.P. Wells
The Airlords of Han, Philip Francis Nowlan

Beyond Lies the Wub

Beyond Lies the Wub is a short story that was written by Philip K. Dick about a trading mission to Mars. The story picks-up with the ship’s crew (earthlings) finishing their loading of various Martian animals onto the ship. The last creature was a Wub, an intelligent creature which could read the minds of humans. Wubs are large, cumbersome, sluggish, sedentary, and docile creatures.

“The slovenly wub might well have said: Many men talk like philosophers and live like fools.”

The original image can be found here.

"We are a very old race," the wub said. "Very old and very ponderous. It is difficult for us to move around. You can appreciate that anything so slow and heavy would be at the mercy of more agile forms of life. There was no use in our relying on physical defenses. How could we win? Too heavy to run, too soft to fight, too good-natured to hunt for game—"

Beyond Lies the Wub, Philip K. Dick

My Mid and Late Winter Reading List

• The Hill of Dreams, Arthur Machen
• Youth, Isaac Asimov (short story)
• The Yellow Claw, Sax Rohmer
• Beyond Lies the Wub, Philip K. Dick
• The Mystery Ship, Percy F. Westerman
• The People of the Mist, H. Rider Haggard
• The Apartment Next Door, William Andrew Johnston
• The House of Whispers, William Le Queux
• The Willows, Algernon Blackwood
• The House of Souls, Arthur Machen (collection of four short stories)

Vesuvius, King of the Trolls

“Vesuvius was the King of the trolls and the supreme ruler of Marda. Vesuvius smiled wide, his troll face grotesque, misshapen, twice the size of a human’s, with two long fangs, like tusks, that emerged from his mouth, and beady red eyes which enjoyed watching people suffer.”

Chapter Twelve, Rise of the Dragons, Morgan Rice

F. M. E. C. 3

Federal Male Rehabilitation Camp No. 3: Where prisoners end up in a “‘Cerea flexibilitas’ (extreme catatonic state”). They Twinkled Like Jewels is a short story, dystopian in nature, written by Philip José Farmer.

They Twinkled Like Jewels by Philip José Farmer

Looking for the Things that go Bump in the Night

To celebrate the ghoulish holiday of Halloween I have created list, a directly of sorts, featuring the books I have read over the past year. These stories feature ghosts, the supernatural, the occult and all things ghoulish.

1. Brood of the Witch Queen, Sax Rohmer
2. The Boats of the ‘Glen Carrig’, William Hope Hodgson
3. The Centerville Ghost, Oscar Wilde
4. The Ghost Kings, H. Rider Haggard
5. The Ghost Pirates, William Hope Hodgson
6. The Great God Pan, Arthur Machen
7. The Green Eyes of Bâst, Sax Rohmer
8. The House on the Borderland, William Hope Hodgson
9. The King in Yellow, Robert W. Chambers
10. The Land of Mist, Arthur Conan Doyle
11. The Phantom Ship, Frederick Marryat
12. The Slayer of Souls, Robert W. Chambers
13. The Story of the Inexperienced Ghost, H. G. Wells

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 Let me not fail to mention the posts that I made of my readings of H. P. Lovecraft.

The Riddle of the Sands; Maps and Charts

I just completed my reading of “The Riddle of the Sands”, which was edited by Erskine Childers (1870-1922). I read the text as an Epub and didn’t get to read the Preface or get to view the accompanied maps and charts. As you know I love my maps and charts.

“The Riddle of the Sands” is a record of secret service that had been recently achieved (1902). The preface will give you some of the details. For the full story I highly recommend this novel. The novel starts off a bit slowly, but if you are like me and like a good sea yarn you will appreciate all the navigation details, and will come to appreciate the knowledgeable seamanship of captain Davies.

Preface

"A WORD about the origin and authorship of this book:

In October last (1902), my friend 'Carruthers' visited me in my chambers, and, under a provisional pledge of secrecy, told me frankly the whole of the adventure described in these pages. Till then I had only known as much as the rest of his friends, namely, that he had recently undergone experiences during a yachting cruise with a certain Mr 'Davies' which had left a deep mark on his character and habits.

At the end of his narrative—which, from its bearing on studies and speculations of my own, as well as from its intrinsic interest and racy delivery, made a very deep impression on me—he added that the important facts discovered in the course of the cruise had, without a moment's delay, been communicated to the proper authorities, who, after some dignified incredulity, due in part, perhaps, to the pitiful inadequacy of their own secret service, had, he believed, made use of them, to avert a great national danger. I say 'he believed', for though it was beyond question that the danger was averted for the time, it was doubtful whether they had stirred a foot to combat it, the secret discovered being of such a nature that mere suspicion of it on this side was likely to destroy its efficacy.

There, however that may be, the matter rested for a while, as, for personal reasons which will be manifest to the reader, he and Mr 'Davies' expressly wished it to rest.

But events were driving them to reconsider their decision. These seemed to show that the information wrung with such peril and labor from the German Government, and transmitted so promptly to our own, had had none but the most transitory influence on our policy. Forced to the conclusion that the national security was really being neglected, the two friends now had a mind to make their story public; and it was about this that 'Carruthers' wished for my advice. The great drawback was that an Englishman, bearing an honoured name, was disgracefully implicated, and that unless infinite delicacy were used, innocent persons, and, especially, a young lady, would suffer pain and indignity, if his identity were known. Indeed, troublesome rumours, containing a grain of truth and a mass of falsehood, were already afloat.

After weighing both sides of the question, I gave my vote emphatically for publication. The personal drawbacks could, I thought, with tact be neutralized; while, from the public point of view, nothing but good could come from submitting the case to the common sense of the country at large. Publication, therefore, was agreed upon, and the next point was the form it should take. 'Carruthers', with the concurrence of Mr 'Davies', was for a bald exposition of the essential facts, stripped of their warm human envelope. I was strongly against this course, first, because it would aggravate instead of allaying the rumours that were current; secondly, because in such a form the narrative would not carry conviction, and would thus defeat its own end. The persons and the events were indissolubly connected; to evade, abridge, suppress, would be to convey to the reader the idea of a concocted hoax. Indeed, I took bolder ground still, urging that the story should be made as explicit and circumstantial as possible, frankly and honestly for the purpose of entertaining and so of attracting a wide circle of readers. Even anonymity was undesirable. Nevertheless, certain precautions were imperatively needed.

To cut the matter short, they asked for my assistance and received it at once. It was arranged that I should edit the book; that 'Carruthers' should give me his diary and recount to me in fuller detail and from his own point of view all the phases of the 'quest', as they used to call it; that Mr 'Davies' should meet me with his charts and maps and do the same; and that the whole story should be written, as from the mouth of the former, with its humours and errors, its light and its dark side, just as it happened; with the following few limitations. The year it belongs to is disguised; the names of persons are throughout fictitious; and, at my instance certain slight liberties have been taken to conceal the identity of the English characters.

Remember, also that these persons are living now in the midst of us, and if you find one topic touched on with a light and hesitating pen, do not blame the Editor, who, whether they are known or not, would rather say too little than say a word that might savour of impertinence."

E. C.
March 1903

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Accompanied Maps and Charts (The preface, maps and charts are not available in the epub version.)

Map A—General Map
Chart A—Chart to Illustrate the Stranding of the 'Dulcibella,' etc.
Map B—Map of East Friesland
Chart B—Chart of Juist, Memmert, and Part of Norderney
Sketch—Memmert Salvage Depot

Other Influencers of H.P. Lovecraft

Although I have mentioned one of the following texts in my The Work and Influences of H. P. Lovecraft post my research has uncovered a few others that I would like to mention:

Tales of Three Hemispheres, Lord Dunsany, and especially the following three interlocked stories within this volume:
    Idle Days on the Yann
    A Shop in Go By Street
    The Avenger of Perdondaris
The Dammed Thing, Ambrose Bierce
The Hyborian Age, Robert E. Howard
The Great God Pan, Arthur Machen

All four of these texts are available from Project Gutenberg.

Regulations for the Pirates of the South China Sea

Screenshot of the epub’s front cover which was found on the Project Gutenberg site.

I had previously posted a similar and abbreviated list of these regulations sometime ago.

"Being chief captain, Chang Paou robbed and plundered incessantly, and daily increased his men and his vessels. In order to maintain some sort of order in the midst of mayhem Paou issued the three following regulations:—

First:

If any man goes privately on shore, or what is called transgressing the bars, he shall be taken and his ears be perforated in the presence of the whole fleet; repeating the same act, he shall suffer death.

Second:

Not the least thing shall be taken privately from the stolen and plundered goods. All shall be registered, and the pirate receive for himself, out often parts, only two; eight parts belong to the storehouse, called the general fund; taking anything out of this general fund, without permission, shall be death.

Third:

No person shall debauch at his pleasure captive women taken in the villages and open places, and brought on board a ship; he must first request the ship's purser for permission, and then go aside in the ship's hold. To use violence against any woman, or to wed her without permission, shall be punished with death."

History of the Pirates Who Infested the China Sea from 1807 to 1810

My Early Spring Reading List

I have given up my Denial Defoe reading for now and have added a few Pulp novels. Four Dr. Fu-Manchu novels toward the bottom of the list represent the pulp novels and there are my usual adventure and sea yarns within the mix.

The Mutineers, Charles Hawes
The Ghost Ship: A Mystery of the Sea by John C. Hutcheson
The Secret of the Island by Jules Verne
The Empire of the Ants, H. G. Wells
The Ghost Kings, Henry Rider Haggard
The Curse of Capistrano (The Mark of Zorro), Johnston McCulley
The Baum Plan for Financial Independence and Other Stories, John Kessel
In Search of the Unknown, Robert William Chambers
The Filibusters, Charles John Cutcliffe Wright Hyne
Dutch Courage and Other Stories, Jack London
Alias the Lone Wolf, Louis Joseph Vance
The Insidious Dr. Fu-Manchu, Sax Rohmer
The Return of Dr. Fu-Manchu,  Sax Rohmer
The Hand of Fu-Manchu,  Sax Rohmer
The Golden Scorpion, Sax Rohmer

Dr Jekyll’s Potion

We really do not know the true nature of Dr. Jekll’s portion, but we do know of its results. Dr. Jekll’s portion allowed the doctor transform in to his alter-ego which he, Dr. Jekll’s named Mr. Hyde. As Dr. Jekyll was a refined, friendly and effectual individual, Mr. Hyde was reserved, ineffective and sadistic.

The potion consisted of the following components: a few minims of a red tincture, and a small chemical envelope of powders. When first mixed the mixture was first of a red hue and as the crystals melted the color brightened in color and threw off small fumes of vapors. The ebullition ceased and the compound changed to a dark purple and then more slowly to a watery green. It was not until thus that the portion could be taken.

Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde