The House of Souls [Hardcover]

Arthur MACHEN (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf; Presumed 1st Edition & Printing edition (1928)
• ASIN: B001CSP7PC
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,584,203 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential Reading, August 9, 2001

By 

Richard Cody "witer of fine and not so fine p... (Big Sur, The Golden State) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The House of Souls (Short Story Index Reprint Series) (Hardcover)

Machen (1863-1947) stands as one of the great figures in "weird", or supernatural, literature. This plain but functional reprint of the 1922 U.S. edition of "The House of Souls" contains two of his finest works in the genre - "The White People" and "The Great God Pan".

The book opens with an introduction, penned by Machen, which provides insight into the writing of the pieces within and into Machen himself.

The first of the four novellas, "A Fragment of Life", concerns the awakening of an "ordinary" man to his mystic and real self. This piece, rather subtle and slow moving, may require rereading for full appreciation.

"The White People" takes us into the pages of a journal written by a young girl who has been privy since early childhood, via her nursemaid, to ancient and arcane secrets. The journal is the gist of this story and is quite a gripping mix of fantasy and myth (yes, there is a difference). The narrative framework around the journal introduces us, via the discussion of two protagonists, to Machen's fascinating theories about good and evil.

"The Great God Pan" concerns the appearance of the title entity into the everyday world of men through the agency of a more or less typical "mad doctor"; or, as Machen describes the character, a practitioner of "transcendental medicine".

The fourth and final story, "The Inmost Light", is not among my favorites in the Machen cannon. Nonetheless, the narrative about another doctor dabbling in occult realms is an effective mystery and an enjoyable read.

All in all, an excellent collection from an excellent writer and requisite reading for any serious student of supernatural fiction.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Contains an especial gem, July 30, 2006

By 

Lynn Walker "owlcroft" (Ritzville, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The House of Souls (Paperback)

All of Machen's work is worth reading, but of the four novellas in this collection "A Fragment of Life" is itself entirely worth the price of admission. In this tale, Machen excels himself in creating a moving, human tale, full of wonder and joy (and so unlike his more common "Buckets o' Grue" material). A fine tale, plus three more that are effectively a bonus read.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Some tedium, some excellence, July 4, 2008

By 

Zen Druid (Aloha, OR USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The House Of Souls (Paperback)

I have to admit at the start that I am not a huge Machen fan; I only read him beacause he has influenced the greats, such as Lovecraft. That being said, this is a good book because it contains 2 of his big "classics": "The White People" and "The Great God Pan". These should be familiar to any reader of weird tales. I find The White People to be a little tedious but still should be read by all. The other 2 novellas here are The Inmost Light and A Fragment of Life. I thoroughly enjoyed The Inmost Light because I am a great fan of "The Occult Detective" and this story surely fits that genra. It has a good plot that drives toward a satisfying conclusion. Alas, I cannot say the same for the opening piece "A Fragment of Life". This is a meandering monstrosity that goes nowhere very slowly. I will admit that I never finished it. After slogging through the main couple a)worrying over furnishing a room b)worrying over buying a stove and c)worrying over their mad aunt moving in with them I had had quite enough! Perhaps the end is interesting but I haven't enough time in this lifetime to wade through all the preliminary stuff. The trouble with Machen is that he tends to babble on and this story is an example of him at his worst. But 3/4 of the stories are good. I remain more of a Blackwood fan.