ecl@hocsj.UUCP (09/25/84)
DARKER THAN YOU THINK by Jack Williamson
A book review by Mark R. Leeper
All the bad news about this book (in the Blue Jay Books edition)
concerns the cover: it is out of keeping with the style of the rest of the
book, it cannot be carried around in polite society (or even at work), it
curls, and it bears the price of $8.95 for a novel that has been around 36
years and is not particularly rare. The good news is that once you get past
the cover, the book is a sheer joy. David Klein did all the art and his
interior illustrations deserve awards. The book is profusely illustrated
with marvelous scratchpad art that captures the feel of the Forties and the
dark menace of the novel. Williamson is best known for SF and when you come
right down to it, this is a decent SF novel with engaging "what-if" ideas.
But over that is layered a horror-fantasy in the best traditions of A. E.
Merritt. For years I've enjoyed attempts to explain traditional
supernatural creatures in scientific terms. This is one of the three
stories I've recommended (along with Matheson's I AM LEGEND and Kneale's
QUATERMASS AND THE PIT). I particularly recommend it in this edition. You
can't tell a book by it's cover.
(Evelyn C. Leeper for)
Mark R. Leeper
...ihnp4!lznv!mrl