Customer Reviews

The Complete Pegana (Call of Cthulhu Fiction)

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Many of Dunsany's most eerie and effective stories are collected in this excellent collection. TIME AND THE GODS is probably his single best work, and all of the stories from that long out-of-print masterpiece are to be found here. This should be enough to persuade Dunsany enthusiasts in favor of this volume.

For those who haven't read Dunsany, he is one of fantasy's true masters; many have imitated his archaic, elaborate style, but none have succeeded in capturing the peculiar Dunsany magic without being artificial. Dunsany's strange meditations on time, destiny, prophecy, and fate are reminiscent of Borges, and his prose is rich and (as noted) perilous to imitate.

S. T. Joshi's introduction somehow makes it seem as if Dunsany's chief merit were his influence on Lovecraft, but it is more correct to say that Lovecraft's chief merit is his influence on others, while Dunsany remains a neglected literary master, one of the few writers ever to capture wonder and mystery at their most elemental in wrappings of elaborate, aristocratic prose.

Dunsany is a master of language and of myth. Reading his prose reminds me of listening to Bach; seeing light through stained-glass windows.

Anything by Dunsany (John Edward Moreton Drax Plunkett, Lord Dunsany) is worth reading; the Complete Pegana is exceptional. There is something in Dunsany's construction of an alternate world of gods and men, of the Great god, who made the world and then slept; and the lesser gods, who fear the Creator will someday awake...which resonates with other great human myths. Lord Dunsany never fails to delight.

This is fantasy for grown-ups; not too sweet. Thought provoking and original, with timeless themes and characters that evoke something fundamental.

This is one book I'd take with me to the proverbial desert island.

Lord Dunsany was one of the key figures in the development of modern fantasy and this book gives a rare chance to see where it all began. It presents the entire contents of two books - "The Gods of Pegana" (1905) and "Time and the Gods", along with three excellent related stories. Pegana offers a genuine artifical mythology, in wonderful, sonorous language - if you enjoy reading myths and legends, you'll probably enjoy this. The first volume consists of short, spare tales from the beginning of the world on, looking even to the end. Many of the stories in the second volume are more elaborate, as are the three linked "Beyond the Fields We Know" pieces, which are among Dunsany's finest work. Reading "Idle Days on the Yann", for example, it is not hard to feel yourself drifting along as the narrator voyages through strange and wonder-full lands. This is a very welcome publication - the author can be very hard to find in print - and a great read. Hopefully readers will feel inspired to try some of Lord Dunsany's later collections and books - "The King of Elfland's Daughter", for example, is just back in print.

If you enjoyed Tolkien's prose for its lyric imaginary you surely love Dunsany. These are the roots of the modern fantasy genre and it's amazing the depth, beauty and dream-like atmosphere of Dunsany's creations; all that without drawn out descriptions or tiring dialogues. These are short tales, more reminiscent of Arabian Nights and even fairy tales, although punctuated by the author's strong impressions on religion and the place of man on the world.

OK.... where to begin...? It's weird. VERY weird.

The Complete Pagana is a book of mythology from some other world, and reads like African or Native American fables, ("So-and-so went to the sea and asked...." etc.). There are a number of characters (godlings) and I often found myself going, "What? Who?" after reading a section.

I won't lie to you: I picked this book up because it was Chaosium Fiction, so I assumed it would be C'thulhu-like. I was wrong; the only similarity is that The Complete Pegana also deals with the impact of gods among mortals. I'm not a quick reader, and this book took me a lot longer than it should have.

But that's my only complaint.

Excellente edition. Well worth it. Great introduction and print.

For dunsany maniacs like myself or the curious reader.

I bought this after years of seeing Dunsany recommended and referenced by other Lovecraftian materials I have.

The book is presented in three sections. Two of them are actually previously published short books of invented mythology (as though there were any other kind) that are widely renowned amongst the cognoscenti as works of rare beauty.

I can't tell you what the third section involves because I found the first two so tooth-achingly tedious I couldn't force myself to continue reading.

I find it hard to believe that even at the turn of the 20th century this grinding nonsense had as much appeal as the critics are claiming for the work. In the first book I found myself wondering why Dunsany bothered - the stuff he was writing seemed a pastiche of existing creation myths. The repetitive and pompous style also worked against me.

The second book (another creation myth) was much more innovative, but was ruined for me by the adoption of the archaic, repetitive, biblical style in which it was presented. It was a challenge just to keep my eyes open. By the time the Gods had finished inventing day and night I just wanted them all to go far, far away and take the girl's ball with them.

I must lack the required sensitivity to fully appreciate the material. Or to find any redeeming value in it at all, come to that.

I can't remember the last time I couldn't finish a book, but this one beat me. I'll probably never know whether Dunsany's later work was startlingly good because I find myself falling asleep every time I so much as look at the cover of The Complete Pegana.