Hashish Man and Other Stories [Paperback]

Edward John Moreton Dunsany (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1996

In this collection of 23 short stories, one of the original masters of early-twentieth-century science fiction and fantasy is introduced to a new generation of readers. Fanciful tales of strange adventure in imaginary exotic locales and depictions of otherworldly grim creepiness abound.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 150 pages
• Publisher: Manic D Press (October 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0916397459
• ISBN-13: 978-0916397456
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,201,475 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Best Dunsany Anthology in Print, January 11, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Hashish Man and Other Stories (Paperback)

This, to my knowledge, is the only volume in print thatcontains a representative selection of Dunsany's short stories. What'smore, the editor did a good job of choosing some of the very best ofDunsany's short fiction. Those who bother to read his introduction, however, will wish that the editor had spent a little more time and thought on this part of the book. The gratuitous jab at Dunsany's later novels is out of place.

But intelligent readers shouldn't let introductions trouble their enjoyment of the greatest ever writer of fantastic fiction. As you will find, the encomiums addressed to Lord Dunsany's prose by writers such as W. B. Yeats, Cabell, and Lovecraft are well merited -- even Lovecraft's hyperbole! (Even the present author's hyperbole, too.) Dunsany's style was both lovely and unique. Rather than modeling his prose on latinate lines, as some masters of English prose have done, he took the King James Bible as his examplar. Combining the simplicity and homeliness this language with his own profound response to beauty, he produced some the loveliest prose you'll ever read. In fact, he sometimes unfortunately produced very lovely prose about nothing much at all. However, when Dunsany dealt with topics of substance, as in his later novels such "The King of Elfland's Daughter" and "The Charwoman's Shadow", the result is nearly perfect. (Both volumes are in print and available from fine booksellers everywhere.)

Dunsany should be read by much wider audience than at present. Not only should he be better known among fantasy enthusiasts, but he should be read by all lovers of belles lettres. It's in the latter camp that he truly belongs. Classifying Dunsany with Mercedes Lackey or Terry Brooks is, in addition to being extremely distressing for the present author even to imagine, on a par with mixing Dom Perignon with one of those cheap orange flavored beverages that have never been anywhere near a citrus grove. So, DON'T DO IT. If you're looking to read something vital and marvelous, something that will stir your sense of beauty and wonder, read Dunsany.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Tales of the dreamer, April 30, 2002

By 

E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Hashish Man and Other Stories (Paperback)

Lord Dunsany's works are gradually coming back into print, a great relief to someone who has liked his works for a long time. The pre-Tolkien fantasy authors are too often neglected because of their different style, but any person who appreciates beautiful language will appreciate Dunsany's unique fantasies.

This includes such stories as "Charon," a brief story about the ferryman of the dead; the rather odd "Three Infernal Jokes"; "The Guest," about a young man who launches into a strange monologue; "Thirteen at Table," about a strange house and a fox-hunt; "Three Sailors' Gambit" is somewhat more prosaic, the tale of three sailors in a pub; "The Exiles' Club" is the story of a sumptuous but somehow strange and sinister house in London; "Where the Tides Ebb and Flow" is a dream -- and a darn disturbing one at that, where a young man dreams that "I had done a horrible thing, so that burial was to be denied me either in soil or sea, neither could there be any hell for me"; "The Field" is at first mysterious and then saddening, where someone visits a beautiful field where he senses something terrible; "A Tale of London," where a sultan asks his hashish-eater to tell him about the far-off city of London; "Narrow Escape" tells what occurs when an evil magician decides to obliterate London; "Bethmoora" is the reminiscences of an exotic city that no longer exists; "Hashish Man" is something of a sequel to "Bethmoora," in which a man tells the narrator about how he uses hashish to travel to the city of Bethmoora. "How An Enemy Came to Thlunrana" is how a mighty wizards' citadel was overcome by an unexpected means; "In Zaccarath" is the story of a mighty, beautiful, and seemingly everlasting city and its king; "Idle City" is a very odd one, about a polytheistic/monotheistic city, now very lonely-looking; "The Madness of Andelsprutz" is another story about a "dead" city, in which the narrator is told how a certain city became "soulless".

"Secret of the Sea" is about a very sad sailor; "Idle Days on the Yann" is exactly what it sounds like, a pleasantly plotless but beautifully written story about sailing on the mythical Yann River; "A Tale of the Equator" is about the foreseeing of a magnificent city; "Spring in Town" is about the arrival of a season; "In the Twilight" is the beautifully-written vision of a man whose boat had capsized; "Wind and Fog" is a slightly odd little story about the North Wind and some fog; "A Story of Land and Sea" is the sequel to a story in Book of Wonder, more about Captain Shard; "After the Fire" is what happens when a dark star collides with the world, and what other creatures see in man's temples; "Assignation," the last story in the collection, is about what a poet and Fame have to say to one another.

As for this edition: I must agree with the previous reviewer who commented on the lame cover and unfortunate title, as well as the fact that the binding could be better. That's why it rates four out of a potential five stars. I will also warn buyers that several of these stories appear in other anthologies, so don't be surprised if you bump into things you already have. Many are from the "Last Book of Wonder" or "Dreamer's Tales" and overall they tend to the less fantastical stories.

Dunsany's prose tends to be dreamy, lush, and unabashed in its Eastern tone. There's no starkness here. Despite the title of the collection, there is minimal drug use and it is definitely not recommended by Dunsany's works. His story vary widely in range, but this is an excellent collection and well worth finding.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An incredible collection from one of the greats, May 31, 1999

By 

W.B. Van Huss ([e-mail]) (U.S.A.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hashish Man and Other Stories (Paperback)

It amazes me that so little of Dunsany's work remains in print. He definately ranks among the greatest to ever set pen to paper, in my opinion. This collection of stories is sort of a cross-section of his fantasy work without dwelling on his Pegana mythology too much. No one has ever put words together quite like this man. His influence on Lovecraft and others of the Weird Tales canon is clearly visible in 25+ pieces represented in this compilation. The reader of Dunsany is lulled into his world slowly as if under the influence of some strange and alien drug. Led through whole histories and fables of a world that lies "beyond the fields we know" and when you run out of pages and are forced back into a much less colorful reality of traffic jams and convienence store food these tales leave you yearning to visit his world again. In other words, I'm a big fan and if you like the old school of fantasy, sci-fi, and horror (i.e.Poe, Lovecraft, Bierce, C.A. Smith, Ellison, Bradbury, etc.) then give this a try and I seriously doubt you will be disappointed.