The Weaver Reads reviewed Shadows of Carcosa by Arthur Machen
Goodreads Review of Shadows of Carcosa: Tales of Cosmic Horror
5 stars
This is an outstanding collection of the early classics of cosmic horror. The texts within lean towards novella in length, although there are plenty of short stories too. Not all of them deal with Carcosa, but it’s true that most of the writers did write, so to speak, in the shadow of Carcosa. Ambrose Bierce’s shadow hangs long overhead.
The single best work in here is Algernon Blackwood’s “The Willows.” It’s jaw-dropping and, perhaps, the single most horror-inducing piece of fiction I’ve ever read. Other stand-out pieces are Bierce’s own “Moxon’s Master,” R. W. Chambers’s “the Repairer of Reputations,” Arthur Machen’s “The White People,” and H. P. Lovecraft’s “The Colour Out of Space.”
The texts straddle the primal and the alien, and this is what makes them so good.
I came to this text while watching the first season of True Detective, and the inspiration is clear.
Highly recommend.
