JAROCHA-ERNST@RU-BLUE.ARPA (07/10/85)
From: Chris Jarocha-Ernst <JAROCHA-ERNST@RU-BLUE.ARPA> I suppose I'm one of the "avid fans" of Colin Wilson's works that Mark Leeper mentioned. While I like his work, I don't think he's the greatest thing since indoor plumbing or whatever. He has his flaws: he's opinionated, sexist, elitist (or, at least, he comes across that way in his books). However, he's also very intelligent. "Philosopher" is as good a term as any. So, a few corrections from someone who (thinks he) knows better: Wilson and August Derleth weren't friends until AFTER Wilson wrote THE MIND PARASITES. Mark was right about the "Outsider"/OUTSIDER connection. Wilson wrote a book (THE STRENGTH TO DREAM: LITERATURE AND THE IMAGINATION), in one chapter of which he took Lovecraft to task for HPL's own literary failings. Derleth read this and then asked Wilson if he thought he could do a better job with the Cthulhu Mythos. Wilson responded with THE MIND PARASITES, which Derleth's Arkham House published. Wilson's literary and philosophical concerns have been, ever since THE OUTSIDER, his 1st book, was published in 1955, those aspects of human existence that set apart some people from the mainstream of human society. There's a theme that should be familiar to SF-LOVERS everywhere. Wilson concentrates on topics that the mass of society finds "lurid" or "sensational", most notably, sex, violence, and magic. His non-fiction and fiction alike have been attempts to explain why those topics appeal to some and not to others. His THE OCCULT is generally considered to be an important work about the nature of magic and magicians (i.e., sorcerers). He considers himself "a novelist of ideas". Of the three works Mark mentioned, I would agree that THE SPACE VAMPIRES is the weakest. If the title (and that of MP) is "lurid", well, that's part of what he's talking about, isn't it? I was very surprised to learn someone had tried to turn this into a film. As Mark said, the book's strong point is its ideas, not its plot. BTW, when was Kirlian photography discredited? On what grounds? Mark, I'd be interested to know what 48 books came ahead of MIND PARASITES in your local SF group's discussion, and why. I consider the book to be one of the most important (and enjoyable) I've ever read; I usually reread it every few years -- doesn't take more than an evening or two of concentrated reading. I originally picked it up because of my interest in Lovecraft. While he plays fast-and-loose with the Cthulhu Mythos, he certainly uses it in interesting ways. And, Mark, if you like stories where magic is revealed to be unexplained science, you should look up "The Return of the Lloigor" in TALES OF THE CTHULHU MYTHOS. Again, it plays fast-and-loose, but Derleth thought it good enough to include in that collection (even if it does "reinterpret" one of his own Mythos additions, Lloigor), and it is in some sense a forerunner of MIND PARASITES. (While I also enjoyed PHILOSOPHER'S STONE, it can't be considered a true Mythos story -- it plays TOO fast-and-loose.) I cannot recommend Wilson to many (those "specialized tastes", I guess). Certainly, those readers who prefer outright escapism or books sans self- critical protagonists won't like him. But if you like sex, violence, magic, AND intelligent philosophy, give him a try. Chris -------
leeper@mtgzz.UUCP (m.r.leeper) (07/17/85)
>From: Chris Jarocha-Ernst <JAROCHA-ERNST@RU-BLUE.ARPA> > >I suppose I'm one of the "avid fans" of Colin Wilson's works >that Mark Leeper mentioned. While I like his work, I don't >think he's the greatest thing since indoor plumbing or >whatever. He has his flaws: he's opinionated, sexist, >elitist (or, at least, he comes across that way in his >books). That covers my opinion. >So, a few corrections from someone who (thinks he) knows >better: > >Wilson and August Derleth weren't friends until AFTER Wilson >wrote THE MIND PARASITES. Mark was right about the >"Outsider"/OUTSIDER connection. Wilson wrote a book (THE >STRENGTH TO DREAM: LITERATURE AND THE IMAGINATION), in one >chapter of which he took Lovecraft to task for HPL's own >literary failings. Derleth read this and then asked Wilson >if he thought he could do a better job with the Cthulhu >Mythos. Wilson responded with THE MIND PARASITES, which >Derleth's Arkham House published. That is my bad memory again. You are right. I went back to the intro to MIND PARASITES and discovered I had combined the host and the challenger into a single person. Sorry. > >BTW, when was Kirlian photography discredited? On what >grounds? Don't quote me. My memory got me into trouble once already this article, but I think that I heard the effect had something to do with moisture or water vapor. In any case, the effects should be easily reproducible and hence could studied in the laboratory and I think we would have heard if there really was anything to this sort of spirit photography. > >Mark, I'd be interested to know what 48 books came ahead of >MIND PARASITES in your local SF group's discussion, and why. Well, the list is, I think, lost at this point, but it was many from the list of most popular that showed up recently on the net. >I consider the book to be one of the most important Interesting word. Why "important?" >(and enjoyable) I've ever read; I certainly agree with enjoyable. Though few enough seem to agree with me. > >I cannot recommend Wilson to many (those "specialized >tastes", I guess). Certainly, those readers who prefer >outright escapism or books sans self- critical protagonists >won't like him. But if you like sex, violence, magic, AND >intelligent philosophy, give him a try. Well said. Mark Leeper ...ihnp4!mtgzz!leeper
boyajian%akov68.DEC@decwrl.ARPA (07/18/85)
From: boyajian%akov68.DEC@decwrl.ARPA (JERRY BOYAJIAN) > From: Chris Jarocha-Ernst <JAROCHA-ERNST@RU-BLUE.ARPA> > Of the three works Mark mentioned, I would agree that THE SPACE VAMPIRES > is the weakest. Then I have some good reading ahead of me. I first read THE SPACE VAMPIRES when it first came out in hardcover in 1976, and I enjoyed it quite a bit. I just re-read it after seeing LIFEFORCE and *still* enjoyed it. I've had his other two novels for years, but never got around to reading them. I'll try and work them into my reading schedule sometime soon. > While he plays fast-and-loose with the Cthulhu Mythos, he certainly uses > it in interesting ways. And, Mark, if you like stories where magic is > revealed to be unexplained science, you should look up "The Return of the > Lloigor" in TALES OF THE CTHULHU MYTHOS. Again, it plays fast-and-loose, > but Derleth thought it good enough to include in that collection (even if > it does "reinterpret" one of his own Mythos additions, Lloigor), and it > is in some sense a forerunner of MIND PARASITES. Actually, THE SPACE VAMPIRES is also a "fast-and-loose" Mythos story. The vampires called themselves the Ubbo-Sathla, which was a contribution to the Mythos by Clark Ashton Smith. Wilson's usage wasn't quite what Smith had in mind, but... --- jayembee (Jerry Boyajian, DEC, Acton-Nagog, MA) UUCP: {decvax|ihnp4|allegra|ucbvax|...} !decwrl!dec-rhea!dec-akov68!boyajian ARPA: boyajian%akov68.DEC@DECWRL.ARPA <"Bibliography is my business">