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The Library Lovecraftian #4
The Horror On The Beach
It reached the bottom of the steps and seemed to hesitate. Dave reminded himself that this was only a part of whatever monstrosity rested on the floor above, fishing for them. Then, slowly, it began to move again. Towards their little hiding place, their last refuge of sanity. He prayed silently to the others, not daring to whisper. Don't scream. Whatever you do, think, feel, don't scream. As though she read his thoughts he noticed that Julie had placed her other hand tighly over Flip's mouth. It wasn't necessary. The boy had fainted.
He dimly recalled the distant voice of Martin Birch, screaming over the phone. "It's all around the house!"
44 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 1978
About the author
Alan Dean Foster
490 books1,922 followersBestselling science fiction writer Alan Dean Foster was born in New York City in 1946, but raised mainly in California. He received a B.A. in Political Science from UCLA in 1968, and a M.F.A. in 1969. Foster lives in Arizona with his wife, but he enjoys traveling because it gives him opportunities to meet new people and explore new places and cultures. This interest is carried over to his writing, but with a twist: the new places encountered in his books are likely to be on another planet, and the people may belong to an alien race.
Foster began his career as an author when a letter he sent to Arkham Collection was purchased by the editor and published in the magazine in 1968. His first novel, The Tar-Aiym Krang, introduced the Humanx Commonwealth, a galactic alliance between humans and an insectlike race called Thranx. Several other novels, including the Icerigger trilogy, are also set in the world of the Commonwealth. The Tar-Aiym Krang also marked the first appearance of Flinx, a young man with paranormal abilities, who reappears in other books, including Orphan Star, For Love of Mother-Not, and Flinx in Flux.
Foster has also written The Damned series and the Spellsinger series, which includes The Hour of the Gate, The Moment of the Magician, The Paths of the Perambulator, and Son of Spellsinger, among others. Other books include novelizations of science fiction movies and television shows such as Star Trek, The Black Hole, Starman, Star Wars, and the Alien movies. Splinter of the Mind's Eye, a bestselling novel based on the Star Wars movies, received the Galaxy Award in 1979. The book Cyber Way won the Southwest Book Award for Fiction in 1990. His novel Our Lady of the Machine won him the UPC Award (Spain) in 1993. He also won the Ignotus Award (Spain) in 1994 and the Stannik Award (Russia) in 2000.
Foster began his career as an author when a letter he sent to Arkham Collection was purchased by the editor and published in the magazine in 1968. His first novel, The Tar-Aiym Krang, introduced the Humanx Commonwealth, a galactic alliance between humans and an insectlike race called Thranx. Several other novels, including the Icerigger trilogy, are also set in the world of the Commonwealth. The Tar-Aiym Krang also marked the first appearance of Flinx, a young man with paranormal abilities, who reappears in other books, including Orphan Star, For Love of Mother-Not, and Flinx in Flux.
Foster has also written The Damned series and the Spellsinger series, which includes The Hour of the Gate, The Moment of the Magician, The Paths of the Perambulator, and Son of Spellsinger, among others. Other books include novelizations of science fiction movies and television shows such as Star Trek, The Black Hole, Starman, Star Wars, and the Alien movies. Splinter of the Mind's Eye, a bestselling novel based on the Star Wars movies, received the Galaxy Award in 1979. The book Cyber Way won the Southwest Book Award for Fiction in 1990. His novel Our Lady of the Machine won him the UPC Award (Spain) in 1993. He also won the Ignotus Award (Spain) in 1994 and the Stannik Award (Russia) in 2000.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 24, 2017
This was a pretty silly little piece of horror schlock that pastiches a stereotypical Lovecraft plot (mysterious coastal house with dark history is purchased by innocent family, only to inadvertently awaken ancient evil) but transporting it to sunny California rather than dreary New England. A small press chapbook, I thought it looked pretty funny when I picked it up for a couple bucks at one of our local Sci-Fi bookstores a few years ago, so I thought it’d be a fun beach read on a California trip last October. Well, it was quick!
Definitely a guilty pleasure, if you’ve ever delved into Lovecraftian pastiches, you know what’s going to happen pretty much from the start. When I say it is Lovecraftian, though, it’s easy to see it as far more influenced by Derleth’s conceptions of the Cthulhu Mythos, including Cthulhu’s penchant for devouring human souls, and the hordes of cultists who appear to lack any discernible motivation. There is definitely a ‘70s late night movie vibe going throughout that can be amusing if you’re into that sort of thing.
Definitely a guilty pleasure, if you’ve ever delved into Lovecraftian pastiches, you know what’s going to happen pretty much from the start. When I say it is Lovecraftian, though, it’s easy to see it as far more influenced by Derleth’s conceptions of the Cthulhu Mythos, including Cthulhu’s penchant for devouring human souls, and the hordes of cultists who appear to lack any discernible motivation. There is definitely a ‘70s late night movie vibe going throughout that can be amusing if you’re into that sort of thing.
October 25, 2013
While this doesn't measure up to H. P. Lovecraft's work overall, it does have Cthuluan moments of suspense and otherworldly tension. It does lack the mystery--things are described too clearly and explained too well to match Lovecraft. Also, I don't know what it was exactly, the tone or the pacing, or the names or actions of the characters, but this story just screamed 'written in the 80's' to me (even though it predates them by a couple years). Enjoyable if you're a fan, but I wouldn't recommend going out of one's way to read it.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews