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Gods, Men and Ghosts: The Best Supernatural Fiction of Lord Dunsany
The world of the supernatural is explored in this anthology of tales about the bizarre and occult
260 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 1971
About the author
Lord Dunsany
603 books767 followersEdward John Moreton Drax Plunkett, eighteenth baron of Dunsany, was an Anglo-Irish writer and dramatist, notable for his work in fantasy published under the name Lord Dunsany. More than eighty books of his work were published, and his oeuvre includes hundreds of short stories, as well as successful plays, novels and essays. Born to one of the oldest titles in the Irish peerage, he lived much of his life at perhaps Ireland's longest-inhabited home, Dunsany Castle near Tara, received an honourary doctorate from Trinity College, and died in Dublin.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
July 11, 2023
An excellent sampling of Lord Dunsany's writing. I have always loved the Jorgens stories, of the tall tales told in taverns genre. I also really liked the first section of stories which I found more accessible than the Gods section or the second section. I tend to like the more concretely written stories than those which use a more drifting style which evokes far away tales of old. However, even those have some stories I love, like the wonderful Chu-Bu and Sheepish. Either way, you get a good look at some of Dunsany's best fantasy.
May 29, 2015
I had this book in my home as a child, but I had to read some other stuff first to truly appreciate it. HP Lovecraft's Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath, Jack Vance's Eyes of the Overworld, I reread The Hobbit as an adult and fell in love again, and then I understood a predecessor to them all, Lord Dunsany. High fantasy masquerading as a penny dreadful, a self-referential proto-Vance with the wit and narrative speed of PG Wodehouse. Not flowery, not sparse, always just right. The subject matter ranges from burglars vs. gnoles to the dangers of keeping too many idols to barbarian adventure in the vein of Howard to the Romantic epic- but the knight fights with a sword fashioned from the dragon itself, sharpened with one eye and the other set in the hilt to watch out for the bearer. Lord Dunsany is an author's author, which is to say old and mostly forgotten.
May 16, 2017
I found this collection unbalanced but still rather delightful. Many of Dunsany's short fantasy pieces suffer from the short story format itself. His enormous affection for bestowing fanciful names upon men, monsters, and places means that the stories don't have the universality of classic fairy tales, but due to their short length they also can't luxuriate in Tolkien-esque world-building.
The high points of the collection are well worth these annoyances, though. The 'Jorkens' series, its title character a 19th century English club bore full of stories about stumbling through encounters with the occult, is a pleasure. Dunsany's god cycle is properly mythic, with 'Concerning Sith - The Destroyer of Hours' being a particular favorite of mine.
The high points of the collection are well worth these annoyances, though. The 'Jorkens' series, its title character a 19th century English club bore full of stories about stumbling through encounters with the occult, is a pleasure. Dunsany's god cycle is properly mythic, with 'Concerning Sith - The Destroyer of Hours' being a particular favorite of mine.
March 24, 2017
This is a wonderful collection of fantasitc and supernatural stories from the 18th irish baron Edward Plunkett aka "Lord Dunsany". He may be forgotten today( not quite). He influenced writers like H.P. Lovecraft, Clark Ashton Smith and Rober E. Howard. This compilation consists of his Heroic Fantasy, Weird, Supernatural horror and dreamland stories and are a fun re-read and appreciation of the authors I enjoy reading today. Illustrated by Sidney Sime's orginal plates and reproduced for this publication Edited E.F Bleiler, Dover
October 31, 2011
While the haunting illustrations by Sime would alone give this volume a five star rating, the selection of Dunsany stories contained therein doubles that merit. This book is composed of a broad cross section of Dunsany's works, with each period being represented by several tales. This is perfect for an introduction to a man whose work spans everything from weird fiction, mythopoeia, and adventure.
November 29, 2020
Forse non ero pronto, ma è stato abbastanza pesante.
Un'importante informazione: la maggioranza degli scritti non sono fantastici, sono fantasy, che è un'altra cosa.
Ci sono comunque dei bei racconti come "Il Bureau d'Echange de Maux" o " I fantasmi" che sembrano davvero usciti fuori dalla penna di un Gautier o Maupassant, ma il resto è un territorio ancora inesplorato per me (e a cui sinceramente, ora come ora, non mi voglio avvicinare).
Probabilmente chi ha letto anche solo un racconto di quest'autore sapeva già a cosa si andava incontro con questa antologia ma io, che l'ho sentito citato in qualsiasi antologia fantastica, non mi aspettavo una tale sorpresa che, a lungo andare (i racconti sono tanti!), mi è stata sgradita.
Un'importante informazione: la maggioranza degli scritti non sono fantastici, sono fantasy, che è un'altra cosa.
Ci sono comunque dei bei racconti come "Il Bureau d'Echange de Maux" o " I fantasmi" che sembrano davvero usciti fuori dalla penna di un Gautier o Maupassant, ma il resto è un territorio ancora inesplorato per me (e a cui sinceramente, ora come ora, non mi voglio avvicinare).
Probabilmente chi ha letto anche solo un racconto di quest'autore sapeva già a cosa si andava incontro con questa antologia ma io, che l'ho sentito citato in qualsiasi antologia fantastica, non mi aspettavo una tale sorpresa che, a lungo andare (i racconti sono tanti!), mi è stata sgradita.
August 7, 2023
Lord Dunsany’s Gods, Men and Ghosts is a largely good, but uneven collection of his short stories.
Dunsany’s imagination is visibly immense and awesome. A common thread across the stories is what we see in our dreams and imaginations.
The length of the short stories is varied and I believe the stories and the collection suffers because of this.
Split into multiple sections, I enjoyed the Jorkens stories the most - a blowhard narrating tales in a tavern about his bumbling encounters with the occult and mysterious. I can see how it influenced Clarke’s Tales of the White Hart and other authors as well.
The turn-of-the-century English is charming and a bit tedious in equal measure.
All in all, a collection that showcases Lord Dunsany’s fertile imagination.
Dunsany’s imagination is visibly immense and awesome. A common thread across the stories is what we see in our dreams and imaginations.
The length of the short stories is varied and I believe the stories and the collection suffers because of this.
Split into multiple sections, I enjoyed the Jorkens stories the most - a blowhard narrating tales in a tavern about his bumbling encounters with the occult and mysterious. I can see how it influenced Clarke’s Tales of the White Hart and other authors as well.
The turn-of-the-century English is charming and a bit tedious in equal measure.
All in all, a collection that showcases Lord Dunsany’s fertile imagination.
December 10, 2020
As Michael Dirda once wrote, "What I wouldn’t give to be 14 years old again, on Christmas break from school, and reading, for the first time, GODS, MEN AND GHOSTS, Bleiler’s selection from Lord Dunsany’s gorgeously written and clever fantasies." This is a lovingly curated, endlessly fascinating little collection of the master fantasist's works, covering the range of his talents, from adventure to Gothic, fairy tale to myth: an absolutely perfect book.
June 28, 2016
Es asombroso como, después de tantos años de haber sido creadas, las historias de Lord Dunsany siguen tan vivas y sorprendentes como en su nacimiento. Este libro es una recopilación de sus mejores historias dividida en cuatro ejes temáticos; hombres, héroes y maravillas, Jorkens y dioses, así que abarca varios ejemplos de su obra. De este modo es muy fácil analizarlas temáticamente, ya que en algunas de ellas es más evidente su gran imaginación que en otras, rozando altas cotas dentro de lo fantástico y que fácilmente se pueden ligar a Lovecraft, su alumno más avanzado. Otro punto a considerar es el excelente dominio narrativo que tenía, patente en historias como "Una historia de tierra y mar", que es uno de los relatos más emocionantes que he leído en mi vida y donde las cualidades narrativas de Dunsany están en un punto máximo.
Como fan de Lovecraft, desde luego que uno de los motivos por los cuales lo leí fue para tratar de encontrar esos relatos que tanto influenciaron al genio de Providence, y no he salido decepcionado. Desde menciones a las "Montañas de la locura", paseos por esos reinos oníricos de los que Lovecraft se apropió, antecedentes de la nomenclatura empleada posteriormente por los adeptos del Círculo Lovecraftiano, etcétera. Desde luego que no se puede decir que exista en el libro algún trazo de "horror cósmico", sin embargo este está muy patente, sobre todo en los relatos de la última sección.
¡Imperdible!
Como fan de Lovecraft, desde luego que uno de los motivos por los cuales lo leí fue para tratar de encontrar esos relatos que tanto influenciaron al genio de Providence, y no he salido decepcionado. Desde menciones a las "Montañas de la locura", paseos por esos reinos oníricos de los que Lovecraft se apropió, antecedentes de la nomenclatura empleada posteriormente por los adeptos del Círculo Lovecraftiano, etcétera. Desde luego que no se puede decir que exista en el libro algún trazo de "horror cósmico", sin embargo este está muy patente, sobre todo en los relatos de la última sección.
¡Imperdible!
April 20, 2020
I loved this, am gutted that it's finished and am very reluctant to give it back to the generous friend who sent it my way. I suppose The L.D. means I've got the loan a little longer. Anyway, these are short stories, mostly fantastical adventure stories inspired in great part by the author's travels and his evident interest in religion and mysticism. It's not all five star stuff, but the bulk of it is great, often hilarious; several pieces are really top notch. There are one or two shorts that were a bit tricky to get through though - even a bit boring at times. I found some parts of the Gods section a little more tiresome than the rest. I don't know which story was my favourite, but there's one about a pirate who sails his ship into the Sahara desert which I can't imagine every forgetting; much of it reminded me of Italo Calvino. The Jorkins collection is hilarious; are there others? I need to seek out more Lord Dunsany. I'm amazed he isn't better known. I'd never heard of him before. Have you? Makes one wonder what other gems are lying around in friends' houses.
January 1, 2008
Anyone who is a fan of modern fantasy, or even of not-so-modern fantasy, would do well to look into reading some of Lord Dunsany's work. I have seen him compared to Terry Pratchett, and while he doesn't go in for quite the same sort of obvious humor that Pratchett does, I think it's a fair comparison. I am reminded, too, of some of Fritz Leiber's work, particularly with stories like "The Sword of Welleran", or "Chu-bu and Sheemish". Read it.
November 10, 2009
Brilliant stories of fantasy and the supernatural. I suspect Philip Pullman got the idea of his characters having souls in the shapes of animals that follow them about, in his Dark Materials novels, from the story The Ghosts in this collection. Dunsany was one of the great masters of the form.
January 5, 2013
The short stories are bizarre and well done but the turn of the century style of writing is a little hard to overcome. The gods section was less than what I expected.
Want to read
February 3, 2024Read so far:
*The three sailors' gambit
*The three infernal jokes
*The exiles' club
*Thirteen at table
*The wonderful window
*The Bureau d'Echange de Maux (aka The shop that exchanged evils)
The ghosts --2
The probable adventure of the three literary men
The coronation of Mr. Thomas Shap
Poor old Bill
The hoard of the gibbelins --2
How Nuth would have practised his art upon the Gnoles
Chu-bu and Sheemish
*A story of land and sea
*The distressing tale of Thangobrind the jeweller, and of the doom that befell him
*The sword of Welleran
*The fortress unvanquishable, save for Sacnoth
The injudicious prayers of Pombo the idolator
How Plash-Goo came to the land of none's desire
*Bethmoora
Idle days on the Yann --2
*The hashish man
A narrow escape
The sign
The Neapolitan ice
Jorkens consults a prophet
The walk to Lingham
*How Ryan got out of Russia
A mystery of the East
The gods of Pegana
Time and the gods
The coming of the sea
The secret of the gods
In the land of time
***
*The kith of the elk folk
*The Widow Flynn's apple tree
*The bride of the man-horse
Where the tides ebb and flow --2
A daughter of Rameses --2
*Our distant cousins
*A large diamond
*Autumn cricket
*Witch wood
*The punishment
*In a dim room
*The strange drug of Dr. Caber
*The electric king
*How Jembu played for Cambridge
*Mrs. Mulger
*The three sailors' gambit
*The three infernal jokes
*The exiles' club
*Thirteen at table
*The wonderful window
*The Bureau d'Echange de Maux (aka The shop that exchanged evils)
The ghosts --2
The probable adventure of the three literary men
The coronation of Mr. Thomas Shap
Poor old Bill
The hoard of the gibbelins --2
How Nuth would have practised his art upon the Gnoles
Chu-bu and Sheemish
*A story of land and sea
*The distressing tale of Thangobrind the jeweller, and of the doom that befell him
*The sword of Welleran
*The fortress unvanquishable, save for Sacnoth
The injudicious prayers of Pombo the idolator
How Plash-Goo came to the land of none's desire
*Bethmoora
Idle days on the Yann --2
*The hashish man
A narrow escape
The sign
The Neapolitan ice
Jorkens consults a prophet
The walk to Lingham
*How Ryan got out of Russia
A mystery of the East
The gods of Pegana
Time and the gods
The coming of the sea
The secret of the gods
In the land of time
***
*The kith of the elk folk
*The Widow Flynn's apple tree
*The bride of the man-horse
Where the tides ebb and flow --2
A daughter of Rameses --2
*Our distant cousins
*A large diamond
*Autumn cricket
*Witch wood
*The punishment
*In a dim room
*The strange drug of Dr. Caber
*The electric king
*How Jembu played for Cambridge
*Mrs. Mulger
January 10, 2024
“Боги Пеґани”, “Боги і час” Дві міфотворчі збірки Лорда Дансейні, котрі я прочитав нещодавно і сам не розумію, як ��бходився без цього автора стільки часу. Друга вдала спроба після Блейка, створити унікальний пантеон богів, котрий своїм багатством та унікальністю не гірший від грецького чи індійського. Магічно-філософські історії-притчі що за стилем нагадують Біблійний Старий заповіт і щось суто Дансейнівське – епічне і водночас трікстерське. Цей світ створений у сні Мана Юд Сушая, він має свою трійцю : Кіба, Мунґа і Сіша. Є тут свій Вселенський Потоп і бог усіх вод Слід, є малі домашні боги, і собаки часу, Йохарнет Лехей – бог снів, а Лімпанґ-Танґ бог радості і музики. Це світ в котрий хочеться повертатися знову і знову, його обожнював Борхес з Лавкрафтом і його щиро полюбив я.
December 12, 2015
The Jorkens stories and those from the books of wonder were the best. I was let down by the final section of stories about the gods.
May 11, 2023
Read:
The Fortress Unvanquishable, Save for Sacnoth - 1/5
The Three Sailors' Gambit - Jul 22. 3/5.
The Fortress Unvanquishable, Save for Sacnoth - 1/5
The Three Sailors' Gambit - Jul 22. 3/5.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews