Funny thing: I actually recommended this story before I finished it, and while I still stand by my recommendation... I'm not sure whether or not I should have expected that ending.
"Last handed back Mrs. Marsh’s letter. Miss Pilliner’s long and ceremonious approach was lulling him into a mild stupor; he wondered faintly when she would come to the point, and what the point would be like when she came to it, and, chiefly, what on earth this rather dull family history could have to do with him."
i read the first story + ya i think almost the most interesting thing about it is the 'how metaphorical is this even' angle and that was what i liked about it, also the moral, which is that everything you love will crumble and die, rip
i will read the second story shortly and in advance can i reinstate my entry for Eric Stenbock's 'The Other Side' in2 next weeks draw thankyou
i enjoyed the second story a lot. perfectly executed twist; just enough information given, precisely the right amount withheld. also i know where Orphan ripped off their plot from now!!
I will second the Stenbock vote, even if the points don't matter here.
And yes, it is interesting to observe how many later horror and suspense tropes Machen predicated in his writing. "The Bright Boy" is an unusual one in that it relies on nearly no supernatural pretext, depending on how you interpret it, where most of his other stories are much more mythic or alien in subtext. It does, however, use the classic ambiguous set-up where he does, as you say, show and withhold just enough to keep you on your toes until the other shoe drops. "The Great God Pan" does this extremely well, although the plot is even more sophisticated; and "The White People" is... more about escalation than light and shade. It just gets scarier.
actually, szilard wrote about this (the probablistic nature of the second law, i mean) way back in... 1925, wow! But Asimov might not have heard of it, being a chemist, and also because it's a weird old paper
I vote for Sunny's last suggestion, although I will personally submit Thomas Ligotti's "Mrs. Rinaldi's Angel" as well if we're not just going by votes.
Comments
Oh, good, that was intentional.
Yeah, what's the worst that can happen?
This guy is doomed.
i will read the second story shortly and in advance can i reinstate my entry for Eric Stenbock's 'The Other Side' in2 next weeks draw thankyou
Assassin poems, Poems that shoot
guns. Poems that wrestle cops into alleys
and take their weapons leaving them dead
Assassin poems, Poems that shoot
guns. Poems that wrestle cops into alleys
and take their weapons leaving them dead
anyway
probably more existential-dready than my boring math factz
It was interesting. I don't have much else to offer as input though.
Assassin poems, Poems that shoot
guns. Poems that wrestle cops into alleys
and take their weapons leaving them dead