Customer Reviews

Beneath the Moors and Darker Places

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Beneath the Moors and Other Places exhibits the plethora of talents that Brain Lumley, the personification of what a short story writer should be, brings with him, showcasing exactly why he is considered by some, myself included, as one of the best storytellers readers can have the been fortune of running across. Besides the fact that he can take anything that crosses his path, from the ordinary things strewn about your house, those microscopic worms that you studied in science classes, or that pesky outerworldly terror that your next-door neighbor seems to drag out on rain days, and make it frightful, he also has an inner eye for detail, one that allows him to convey surroundings with remarkable detail. This is easily seen any time he divests the surroundings of his newest horror, taking some blank canvas and giving contours and colorations most authors forget and making you, the immersed reader, actually feel its chest heaving life. Besides that, the detail within the inner workings of both the background and the characters themselves, the believability with which they are portrayed, is remarkable, making even the shortest of tales teem with a cast that you can actually feel suffering.

Within this collection itself are some highly notable pieces, including the much acclaimed Lovecraftian pieces Dagon's Bell, The Fairground Horror, the Rising of Surtsey, plus the short Novel, Beneath the Moors, and the ones I favor, David's Worm and The Sun, The Sea, and The Silent Scream. This mingle together in a lovely fashion, taking different aspects of horrors that are both physical and psychologial and placing them in a stew that o so well.
Shortly breaking down some of the inclusions and listing the rest at the end, they are:

David's Worm, a story about the lowly planarian worm that David, a scientist's son, sees upon a slide, notices is alive, and lovingly liberates by letting it go into a pond behind his home. Here it feeds and grows, taking on the abilities and mentalities of many of the things it consumes before finally wobbling onto land and confronting David and his family as well. I personally found this story entertaining because it shows why some things make good additions to a slideshow and shouldn't be freed and why I would only play fetch with a cute little blob like Planny if I had a kid to bait it with, plus the ending is wonderfully cruel device that sent a tiny shiver down my entertained spine. As a reader, I truly appreciate that.

Dagon's Bell, is a tale about the wonders of home acquisition and what sometimes lurks beneath our wonderful abodes. Here, a home once possessed by a man thought to be a bit crazed becomes vacant when he, disappearing altogether, can no longer display the wonders of shotgun love to an adoring public and a newly married couple decides that this place, an extensive fixer-upper, would be a dream come true. Little do they know that somewhere beneath the grounds the sounds of a bell, Dagon's Bell, can be heard when the tide is right, and it brings with it things that really don't make good dinner guests. This story has a lovely rendition of manifestation inside it that I enjoyed, plus a bit of background that is pretty tasty, not to mention that the story itself, teeming with a bit of madness that Lovecraft would enjoy, comes across really well.

The Sun, The Sea, and The Silent Scream, is a lovely recount depicting the joys of vacationing in places where the water isn't intestable and where tiny parasites, enjoyable crablike entities that like to get on and in their hosts, infest everything. Besides simply entertaining the reader, it actually works as a textbook of sorts, teaching you the merits of staying at places not considered "out of the way" and also showing you why your food preparers, a sometimes overlooked by the less picky of sorts, should be mistrusted without exception.

The Fairground Horror, deals with the great tentacled one's priests and the mark they bare. It begins by focusing on Hodgson's Funfair and a man named Anderson Tharpe who has recently added a new freak-house frontage called "Tomb Of The Great Old Ones." Within it are the normal oddities that freakshows like to use, the cons that have been sold throughout the ages, but there are also some other things, pieces taken from his younger brother, Hamiliton. Without delving too much into it, this is basically a lesson in why you should try to play with things belonging to the sleeping old one, and why you should never trust anyone wearing a hairpiece.

Also included in this book are The Second Wish, A Thing About Cars, Rising of Surtsey, Big 'C' and Beneath the Moors, all good pieces that deserve attention and will no doubt appeal to the outermost terror because of my careless neglect.

To say that the stories manifesting here are worth reading is, quite simply, an understatement of the foulest sort. With the mistreatment of a child's kindness, the rising of undersea horrors, fairs that have no need of falsified unicorns to have truly unique sideshows, and vile creatures that burrow under one's skin, this collection warms the heart in a way that only the most special of collections can. Personally, it makes me feel like singing Christmas carols.

Many horror novelists and filmmakers have tried to capture the essence of the Cthulhu mythos, but most fail even when the effort attempts to pay homage to Lovecraft. BENEATH THE MOORS AND DARKER PLACES succeeds in achieving the essence of Lovecraft's works and paying respect to the master supernatural writer yet feels fresh. Brian Lumley includes a potent novella (BENEATH THE MOORS) not published since the 1970s (at least in the United States) and a new gripping ending to the powerful "Second Wish". The other seven stories are terse thrillers too. The reader has nine taut tales in which each one entertains the audience in a manner Lovecraft and other horror grandmasters would have been proud to claim authorship. Fans of Mr. Lumley (see Necroscope) or Mr. Lovecraft will relish this trip to darker places.

Harriet Klausner

A marvelous anthology which allows us to see a talent grow and develop. Lumley has a very effective touch. The first story in the anthology, "David's Worm", hit so hard I had to put the book down for a few days before trying the next. Masterfully done.

I *really* appreciate the fact this book is so well-constructed. So many of today's hardbacks have a squishy feel to them; this doesn't. It's solidly put together and I am confident it will survive future readings and re-readings.

Highly recommended.

this book was a blast. if youre a fan of horror (sometimes very graphic horror) order it today. Big C is one of the more original sci-fi/horror stories i've ever read. fantastic.

Please note that the low rating is for the transfer to Kindle ebook. I like the book itself and Lumley's writing in general. This transfer however is bad...it looks like a ripped off scan that you'd find on a download site. Almost all the commas have become apostrophes, at some places I's have become 1's, some words are just completely mangled. It's distracting to read and pretty disappointing for a $10 ebook!

Typical Lumley writing, which is enjoyable. The Lovecraft influence is obvious in this collection so if you enjoy the H.P. stories, then you will probably enjoy these.

Brian Lumley is an excellent writer. That is fact. He has sold millions of books in his career. These stories are basically from early in his career, though, when he was writing very derivative, but very effective, Lovecraft pastiches. If you are a fan of HP Lovecraft, you will probably love this book. If you are not, then you will hate it. I loved it, and am glad that these stories are out in this edition.

Overall I found this a pretty good collection. "The Fairground Horror", Dagon's Bell", and "Rising with Surtsey" are very good Lovecraft-inspired tales, "Beneath the Moors" would be but it goes on too long. "David's Worm" is creepy, and "The Second Wish" is very good. "The Thing About Cars" is more about insanity than horror. "The Sun, the Sea and the Silent Scream" was disappointing after a good start. "The Big C" keeps this collection from a higher rating, the story was poor and there was no need for the bad language that slipped in at one point.

All the stories (well maybe one) in this book are seething with Lovecraft: just read Lovecraft, nevermind this trite slop. Come on Lumley, evil crocodile statues? Wow. Don't let the cover decieve you...