My goal is to read 365 stories in 2018. Opening week, I stayed on track!
This week I read the following:
1/1/18: “Merrick,” by Ben Boulden
1/2/18: “A Scandal in Bohemia,” by Arthur Conan Doyle
1/3/18: “Wolfshead,” by Robert E. Howard
1/4/18: “A Chance to Get Even,” by Lawrence Block
1/5/18: “The Red-Headed League,” by Arthur Conan Doyle
1/6/18: “The Dream Snake,” by Robert E. Howard
A couple of singles, and two tales each from The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and The Horror Stories of Robert E. Howard. I also read three poems by Howard. (“A Song of the Werewolf Folk,” “Up, John Kane,” and “Remembrance.”)
“Merrick” is Western inspired by Richard Stark’s Parker novels, with the title character being cheated of his share of the proceeds of a robbery, and going after it. It felt like the first chapter or two of a novel, not a self-contained short story. Judging by the author’s afterword, perhaps it eventually will be.
“A Chance to Get Even” is centered around a poker game. The plot or similar has been used many times before and the poker lingo is so heavy that it left me a bit lost, and I’ve played at least some poker. Good luck if you haven’t. Not one of Lawrence Block’s better efforts, although serious poker players will undoubtedly enjoy it more than I did.
How wonderful to read Sherlock Holmes again! I read The Valley of Fear not too long ago (a novel where Holmes is off-screen for large portions), but this is the first time I’ve read the short stories in thirty years or close to it. Both stories are great. I should have known better, but for a moment I caught myself thinking that there was no way that Doyle could pull off “The Red-Headed League” convincingly. Of course he did. What a terrific story.
“Wolfshead” is a werewolf tale. It’s got some original ideas, but “original” is not necessarily synonymous with “good.” It does show off a young Howard’s universe-creation skills, as he gives a sense of a much larger and adventure-filled world beyond the castle and the immediately-surrounding environs where the story takes place. Fun, but not essential.
“The Dream Snake,” on the other hand, is not terribly original, but it’s the better tale by far because Howard does a terrific job creating atmosphere. I noticed here his skill at adding small details that enhance the immersive experience of his best stories.
My plan for the coming weeks is the same–keep plugging away at the Holmes and Howard books, interspersed with one-offs from other sources. Most of the short fiction I have on hand is crime or Weird Tales type stuff, so I need to get myself some variety. Project Gutenberg, here I come.
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