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If you haven't read the the story yet, STOP RIGHT HERE and go read it!! This discussion may contain spoilers. At the end of the story, you'll find a link back to this thread.
A monkey riding a dog is probably the awesomest thing that could ever happen.
krakenten Director of Public Morals member is offline
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Re: "Song of Shub-Niggurath" by Richard Eline « Reply #1 on May 31, 2007, 6:08pm »
The Thousand Young, nobody knows what they are, why they are, where they are, or when. All we know it they're not a good thing. And btw, in the first days of Greyhound racing, little monkeys in jockey suits were put on the dogs. The monkeys were not amused. Many greyhounds, despite the famed docility of the breed, are killing machines with anything smaller than they are, cats, rats, rabbits, lapdogs and, of course monkeys. Thank God, it didn't last long. (adopt a greyhound, it's good karma, and they make wonderful, loving pets-they don't like to run any more than any other dog, they shed little, drool not at all, rarely bark and love their people with a whole and noble heart.)
krakenten Director of Public Morals member is offline
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Re: "Song of Shub-Niggurath" by Richard Eline « Reply #3 on Jun 1, 2007, 9:31am »
Gee, maybe I'm going to be the first to write Cthulhupunk! It's time to bring the Mythos into the modern world-some are doing that already-and admit that the kind of people who will investigate the forbidden are not likely to be Maryknoll nuns! (Though the Maryknolls are pretty gutsy, they've lost a number of sisters in the line of duty, and their courage should be saluted by all). I'm starting on the next one, a nasty-ol'-book story, but I can't promise not to refer to boinking somewhere in it, if needed. I do love the old ones, but they are just too musty for contemporary readers, at least as a steady diet. Tell me where the catch is, maybe I can suggest a fix to satisfy everybody.
krakenten Director of Public Morals member is offline
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Re: "Song of Shub-Niggurath" by Richard Eline « Reply #5 on Jun 1, 2007, 5:45pm »
Say a prayer for the Maryknolls, anyway, they have sisters in Central America facing the most dreadful dangers from death squads, rebeldes and loathesome diseases. Our lives are enriched by so many brave men and women who go to the places we don't want to think about and try to help the most wretched and oppressed. And those people are always alone, even in a crowd.
Joined: Feb 2007 Gender: Male Posts: 3,427 Location: Southern California
Re: "Song of Shub-Niggurath" by Richard Eline « Reply #6 on Jun 3, 2007, 11:56am »
if you click the link for this story, you will encounter a 'content warning.' during group discussion, some of us expressed concern regarding the (implied) sex scene involving the main characters. this spawned a new thread which is ongoing here. if you have anything to add to that debate, please join in with your response.
regarding this story specifically, i can say that it's chock-full of weirdness, both real and imagined. if you don't know anything about york county, pennsylvania, this story is an unsettling introduction thereto. if you're already familiar with the area, your impressions might assume an odd tilt after you've read 'song of shub-niggurath.' you have been warned!
A monkey riding a dog is probably the awesomest thing that could ever happen.
krakenten Director of Public Morals member is offline
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Re: "Song of Shub-Niggurath" by Richard Eline « Reply #7 on Jun 3, 2007, 3:54pm »
My favorite thing in this is the fact that York County is indeed in transition. As the Maryland/DC suburbs become too expensive for many people to live in, and the handy presence of Rte 83, a fourlane straight to Baltimore is there as a temptation, condos and apartments are springing up like toadstools around a shallow grave. Things are being disturbed. Read, "Haunted York County", one of a series of such books sold for various locales, the supernatural is strongly rooted here, and in a form much more sinister than the simple magics of the Amish. Just stand on a street corner, anywhere in York, at night, and feel the menace that waits in the dark. It's an angry place, full of bitter deeds and horrid sins. Next story will go a little deeper. Keep the warning handy, you'll need it again!
krakenten Director of Public Morals member is offline
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Re: "Song of Shub-Niggurath" by Richard Eline « Reply #10 on Jun 9, 2007, 10:30am »
Next entry, "The Prague Quarto" coming soon, real soon. Why do so many people hate Paris Hilton? A fellow from another site I visit met her while she was doing an episode of "The Simple Life", at a friends house. He said she was fun to be around, and not at all bitchy, unlike Nicole Ritchie, who has more issues than National Geographic. It's not right, and I refer to the traditions of American law, such as it is, to release someone from jail, then put them in again the next day without any misconduct on their part. Not done. Not right.
Joined: Feb 2007 Gender: Male Posts: 3,427 Location: Southern California
Re: "Song of Shub-Niggurath" by Richard Eline « Reply #11 on Jun 10, 2007, 9:13pm »
it was pretty unprofessional and (perhaps inadvertently) cruel on the sheriff's part... but i despise everything paris hilton stands for, and therefore can't muster any real sympathy. worse things have happened to better people.
A monkey riding a dog is probably the awesomest thing that could ever happen.
Jesus Prime •Energy Conservation Czar member is offline
Chicken! Fight like a robot!
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Re: "Song of Shub-Niggurath" by Richard Eline « Reply #12 on Jun 11, 2007, 10:53am »
Plus, Joe Schmoe would have gotten far more for drinking and driving. But I hate Paris Hilton because ugly people should not make porno tapes like that.
krakenten Director of Public Morals member is offline
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Re: "Song of Shub-Niggurath" by Richard Eline « Reply #13 on Jun 12, 2007, 8:21pm »
Brace yourselves for "The Prague Quarto", I'm doing research for it now. Gonna be a bitter cup, but I think it'll shape up. And keep the content warning handy!
A monkey riding a dog is probably the awesomest thing that could ever happen.
krakenten Director of Public Morals member is offline
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Re: "Song of Shub-Niggurath" by Richard Eline « Reply #15 on Jul 4, 2007, 6:14pm »
Yes, I love series fiction, you can develop characters, running jokes and situations slowly, let people get comfortable with them. I'm taking my Mythos from 'Encyclopedia Cthuliana" with the option to make small changes as needed. How do you like it so far?
Re: "Song of Shub-Niggurath" by Richard Eline « Reply #16 on Jul 19, 2007, 8:43am »
Love it and so glad to hear you are planning a series. Otherwise, what a waste of a whole encyclopedia of material! The warning of "some material may be..." is a good idea. Sometimes I prefer not to encounter any risky material and with the warning I can make an informed choice. In this case, I thought the explicit implied scene ( or implied explicit scene) was worth including in the story. I think you can go two ways ( no innuendo intended )with the sexuality of the narrator in a series like this one.The author here has chosen to make his protagonist's sex life as earthy and elemental as his surroundings. Another interesting choice would be to make the narrator chaste, which could open up all sorts of other story lines. Either way, the sex angle is integral here, not gratuitous as far as I can see.
Joined: Feb 2007 Gender: Male Posts: 3,427 Location: Southern California
Re: "Song of Shub-Niggurath" by Richard Eline « Reply #17 on Aug 13, 2007, 3:42am »
i've always been kind of indifferent to sex scenes. i guess they add a level of 'danger' to the storytelling (risquι derived from the french to risk), which is indispensable to certain audiences. in popular horror, fans typically don't complain if some T&A sneaks onto the screen/page in between the frights.
there's an ongoing discussion in the 'Gratuitous or not...' thread that might help us form more of a policy for the future. i'm not a big fan of policies, but it might be the only way to have fairness if we're ever dealing with a large volume of submissions...
Re: "Song of Shub-Niggurath" by Richard Eline « Reply #20 on May 20, 2008, 7:01am »
OKay, after just not that long ago reading Brian Keene's book (Dark Hollow), I thought this was much more enjoyable. It is like a decent mix of that book and Wilson's "Repairman Jack" novels (with a smattering a Lovecraft-ish seasonings) I enjoyed the characters and the narrative went along without a hitch that I noticed. I had went to the next part, believing it might be a continuation from this story-- but same character, new situation. Despite having read several various tomes and grimoires, The Long Lost Friend (as both you and Keene mentioned it, as well as shared a few similar terms-- as in pow-wow magick for example); I am going to assume that such a book exists. Perhaps I will look it up at some point.
"Eight dollars for Beer Nuts? This room *is* evil!"
-1408-
krakenten Director of Public Morals member is offline
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Re: "Song of Shub-Niggurath" by Richard Eline « Reply #21 on May 23, 2008, 7:01pm »
"The Long Lost Friend " does indeed exist, as does "The Sixth and Seventh Books of Moses", both tomes are available in chapbook form and are used to this day in Hexarie.
The Amish say that they abominate sorcery, and perhaps they do, the pow-wow tradition seems most deeply rooted in York County, where there a few Amish.
You can buy both books from any well stocked occult website
And thanks for your kind words
(Pow-Wows, or the Long Lost Friend is indeed available from Amazon.com, if you're curious about it)
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and so glad to hear you are planning a series. Otherwise, what a waste of a whole encyclopedia of material!
)with the sexuality of the narrator in a series like this one.The author here has chosen to make his protagonist's sex life as earthy and elemental as his surroundings. Another interesting choice would be to make the narrator chaste, which could open up all sorts of other story lines. Either way, the sex angle is integral here, not gratuitous as far as I can see.