Fearful Rock & Other Precarious Locales: Selected Stories of Manly Wade Wellman (Volume 3) [Hardcover]

Manly Wade Wellman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2001

Fearful Rock and Other Precarious Locales is the 3rd volume of Night Shade Books' five volume "Selected Stories of Manly Wade Wellman." This volume is made up of eight novella length stories. It reprints Wellman's "Judge Pursivant" and "Sergeant Jaeger" stories, as well as a lost classic that has not been reprinted since its original publication in Strange Stories, in 1939. In addition, it features an introduction by Wellman's long time friend, Stephen Jones, who provides a heartwarming bit of historical perspective on Wellman, and the influential shadow that his work as cast over the genre. Contents: * Introduction by Stephen Jones * Fearful Rock * Coven * Toad's Foot * For the Love of a Witch * The Hairy Ones Shall Dance * The Black Drama * The Dreadful Rabbits * The Half-Haunted * Some Notes on the Texts by John Pelan

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this third volume of a projected five-book selection of the fantastic fiction of versatile Weird Tales veteran Wellman (d. 1986), the collected adventures of two series characters provide sterling examples of the craft of the author, who as a raconteur could elevate the pulp horror thriller to an uncommon level of sophistication. The title story, one of three to feature Sergeant Jaeger, an ex-Union soldier turned minister, is an eerie tale of an occult horror that takes root in the wilderness along the Missouri-Arkansas border at the height of the Civil War. Built solidly from elements of the Southern Gothic, regional folklore, classic supernatural fiction and the grim history of Quantrill's Raiders, it and companion novella "Coven" blend spooky atmospherics surprisingly well with two-fisted heroics that keep the pages turning. Four tales involving debonair occult detective Keith Hilary Pursuivant approach their similar supernatural themes from a more learned and scholarly angle.They ring intriguing variations on the werewolf theme ("The Hairy Ones Shall Dance") and give Wellman a chance to pen credible excerpts from a "lost" verse drama by a supernaturally sustained Lord Byron ("The Black Drama"). These stories were frequently a cut above the work of Wellman's contemporaries, and they still provide a pleasing frisson of terror more than half a century after they were written.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 300 pages
• Publisher: Night Shade Books (November 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1892389215
• ISBN-13: 978-1892389213
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,270,494 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Heroic Weird Horror from Pulp Master, October 15, 2008

By 

rampageous_cuss (Under Billy Penn's Hat) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Fearful Rock & Other Precarious Locales: Selected Stories of Manly Wade Wellman (Volume 3) (Hardcover)

This is a volume (3) in the five-volume "Selected Stories of Manley Wade Wellman" published by Night Shade Books. The series reprints Wellman's weird short stories and novellas originally published in magazines such as the famed "Weird Tales;" the full-length books are not included.

Wellman favored heroic characters conquering evil; his most famous creation, John the Balladeer (or "Silver John") stars in the volume V collection "Owls Hoot in the Daytime." This volume contains eight novella-length stories featuring Sergeant Jaeger ("Fearful Rock," "Coven," and "Toad's Foot") and Judge Pursuivant ("The Hairy Ones Shall Dance," "The Black Drama," "The Dreadful Rabbits," and "The Half-Haunted") as well as a historical fiction set in the Jamestown colony, "For the Love of a Witch."

Jaeger is a former Union sergeant who, like many Wellman heroes, acts as a sort of mentor and savior of characters who become embroiled in occult difficulties, in this case in the post-Civil War period. Pursuivant is a sort of 'elder-occultsman' who performs the same role in a "contemporary" (1950s - '60s) time period.

Manley Wade Wellman's concerns are very different from Lovecraft, C.A. Smith, or Robert E. Howard. Wellman's main theme is almost always the power of good and the inferiority of evil; his stories are more occult adventure than horror per se. They rely heavily (and wonderfully) on setting and characterization. If you like these stories, be sure to try the ones featuring Silver John (Wellman's best IMHO), and you'll certainly like Volume I, "The Third Cry to Legba and Other Invocations."

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's not Silver John, but it's great, November 6, 2005

By 

John Oconnor "Wrong Reverend Pope John the Me... (Ohio) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Fearful Rock & Other Precarious Locales: Selected Stories of Manly Wade Wellman (Volume 3) (Hardcover)

Anything by Manly Wade Wellman is worth reading. This is no exception. He was so great at regional horror as well as traditional horror and even Lovecraftian horror. Please, if you love good horror, get all 5 of Wellman's books from Night Shade Books. They are all well bound, good looking books and they all have Wellman's wonderful prose.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book, March 16, 2005

By 

Dr Bloodmoney "Dr Bloodmoney" (Washington DC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fearful Rock & Other Precarious Locales: Selected Stories of Manly Wade Wellman (Volume 3) (Hardcover)

This is a wonderful book from Night Shade Books. They always put in such loving care to their products. I love the bindings, the paper, and the typeset. Overall, lovely.