Author Topic: Short Stories and their Authors  (Read 1194 times)

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kurashu

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Short Stories and their Authors
« on: May 05, 2011, 02:04:59 PM »
I find that short stories have been consuming more and more of my reading lately. Probably because I don't get much free time to read and short stories are, well, short (I feel like I need a meme here). Anyways, I thought I'd share some of my favorite authors and stories I've read lately.

H. P. Lovecraft
"Memories and possibilities are ever more hideous than realities." - H. P. Lovecaft, Herbest West: Re-AnimatorI am withdrawing to write a book. And another time: I am withdrawing to construct a labyrinth. Every one imagined two works; to no one did it occur that the book and the maze were one and the same thing." Luis Borges, The Garden of Forking Paths

More than anyone else, Borges influenced me most lately. His ideas are intensely fascinating. The Garden of Forking Paths touches on by the idea of forking timelines based on choices made (well before this was a respected theory, at least, maybe even before it was a hypothesis) but more importantly hypertext: the idea that making a choice won't elminate the other possibilities and you can infinitely fold it back on itself. It's crazy. Another work that blew my mind, for whatever reason, is Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote. Maybe because it made some of House of Leaves make sense. In fact, reading Labyrinths made a lot of House of Leaves make sense. We also have the Library of Babel and The Circular Ruins in the Labyrinths collection.

Favorite Stories: Just buy Labyrinths. Seriously. It's genius.

Bozwevial

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Re: Short Stories and their Authors
« Reply #1 on: May 05, 2011, 02:22:30 PM »
Arthur Machen's "The Great God Pan" is wonderful if you like Lovecraft. As for more contemporary stuff, Neil Gaiman's "Snow, Glass, Apples" is also excellent.

Prime32

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Re: Short Stories and their Authors
« Reply #2 on: May 05, 2011, 02:53:39 PM »
As for more contemporary stuff, Neil Gaiman's "Snow, Glass, Apples" is also excellent.
Got a collection of his short stories a while back, and that was included. I agree.
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Hallack

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Re: Short Stories and their Authors
« Reply #3 on: May 05, 2011, 03:19:50 PM »
I've been reading some shorts too and the interwebs led me to this guys stuff.  I've enjoyed it a good deal.  Some of it is very Lovecraftian and other more technopunk.  The Locked and Loaded and Krug stories are the ones I've enjoyed most.

http://cbaughman.com/

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kurashu

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Re: Short Stories and their Authors
« Reply #4 on: May 05, 2011, 04:51:22 PM »
Arthur Machen's "The Great God Pan" is wonderful if you like Lovecraft.


I've read about Pan in looking for more Lovecraft style stories. My intrests have been piqued by William Hope Hodgson's The Nightlands and House on the Borderlands. I've been trying to get into Robert Howard, too, but his horror stories seem lackluster.