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Discussion of Issue #2

FH Forum :: Featured content of Fantastic Horror :: Past Issues :: FH#2 :: "Burkhardt's Masterpiece" by Jack Faber
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AuthorTopic: "Burkhardt's Masterpiece" by Jack Faber (Read 387 times)
Hodgson
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"Burkhardt's Masterpiece" by Jack Faber
« Thread Started on Jul 31, 2007, 4:35pm »		[Quote]
Hello, and welcome to the public discussion forum of Fantastic Horror. The topic of this thread is "Burkhardt's Masterpiece" by Jack Faber, featured in Issue #2.

Writers and artists love to get feedback, especially when it's thoughtful and constructive. Please take a moment to share your thoughts, and help keep the Fantastic Horror community alive!

If you haven't read 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.
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Re: "Burkhardt's Masterpiece" by Jack Faber
« Reply #1 on Aug 4, 2007, 7:02am »		[Quote]
bravo! i knew this story was special the first time i skimmed it in the contributors' workshop. now i've read it 3-4 times and each reading has impressed me a little more deeply. i'll just hand this over right now:
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my ego insists that kenneth burkhardt is partially a caricature of moi. we're both reclusive, analytical, given to perceptions of corruption and entropy in all things. he has the advantage of initiative, though. i don't think i'd ever attempt an opus magnum on the scale of his dueling encyclopediae. on the other hand, maybe that laziness will spare me a fate like his. so i'm happy to let the similarities fade there.

more important than my personal ties to the main character are the many ties between this story and others in the realm of fantastic horror. those who have read our previous issues will recognize themes from our classic reprints as well as our original features. for this reason, i think i'll have to say that 'burkhardt's masterpiece' is thus far the most definitive piece of fiction to come out of FH. again i say bravo to hodgson, and to anyone who hasn't read the story yet, i say PHOOEY ON YOU! NOW GO!

« Last Edit: Aug 4, 2007, 11:14am by JJ Burke »Link to Post - Back to Top  IP: Logged
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Re: "Burkhardt's Masterpiece" by Jack Faber
« Reply #2 on Aug 19, 2007, 3:34pm »		[Quote]

My original response to this piece was that Kafka would be impressed.

I have to change that to jealous. In a perfect world, this is what writing would be.
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Re: "Burkhardt's Masterpiece" by Jack Faber
« Reply #3 on Aug 19, 2007, 7:54pm »		[Quote]
JJ, Burkhardt himself wasn't based on you, but you inspired his character in a roundabout way. I wanted to write something that would tie in a little bit with the other writing here at FH, so I latched onto the image of the plateau surrounded by a canyon in Coyman. That said, it seemed only fair to "cite" the image by using a variation on your name. I came across a name in the encyclopedia, that of a critic of an evidently hyper-intellectual cast--a Kenneth Burke or Burkhardt.

From there, I added whatever seemed complementary. The house was based on one I read about in Architectural Digest. The basic imagery you're already familiar with--Damned Thing, Dunwich Horror, White Powder, Derelict, Valdemar, etc. I was happy with it when I wrote it and I'm really pleased that it's been well-received.
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Re: "Burkhardt's Masterpiece" by Jack Faber
« Reply #4 on Aug 19, 2007, 8:03pm »		[Quote]
I don't have the issue of AD anymore, but I managed to find a picture of the house and a link to a story about it.

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http://www.abqjournal.com/homes/172825homes05-09-04.htm

You can't see the ramps or the irregularity of the house's length, but that was also in the AD article--along with the furniture that was fixed in place.
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Re: "Burkhardt's Masterpiece" by Jack Faber
« Reply #5 on May 22, 2008, 8:57am »		[Quote]
Very nicely done indeed, much enjoyed this.

Po
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Re: "Burkhardt's Masterpiece" by Jack Faber
« Reply #6 on Sept 12, 2008, 2:04pm »		[Quote]
2 recent developments i must expose.

in the trailer for this year's remake of the day the earth stood still, at about 1:22 there is something that immediately reminds me of this story:

(gah.. stupid ads)

also, i've found text-to-speech software (ghostreader) with a voice so dignified it does justice to the writing of jack faber:
http://www.fantastichorror.com/audio/excerpt-burkhardtsmasterpiece.mp3

but it even makes mediocre writing sound good! i don't know if it's mac only but we could have some fun with this.
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Re: "Burkhardt's Masterpiece" by Jack Faber
« Reply #7 on Sept 12, 2008, 5:37pm »		[Quote]
That's one hashed semi--and the movie looks like it might be good.

I definitely like the machine-reading of Burkhardt. I'm afraid it's more effective than my own! I seem to have the same difficulty that Borges complained of--a nearly intractable monotony of voice. . . . But I try every so often anyway, at SLM4 will perhaps regrettably show. Anyway, if the machine gets good reviews from others, I might download a copy and tinker with it.

About the ad--I've been seeing that one for a while. It seems that the archetypal writer is a rather blase-looking kind of guy.
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