Pretty good classic horror. ( )

Hmm...well, I believe I can safely say that The Terror has an intriguing premise combining horror, sci-fi and wartime propaganda, and early on there's some very real tension as Arthur Machen describes the first victims of the title phenomenon (and the ensuing media blackout). Soon, however, the book becomes a series of plodding episodes which don't appear to be leading anywhere in particular. In 1917, to be fair, the horror novel was still in an essentially experimental stage, and The Terror is less interesting on its own terms than for its position in genre history (as the midpoint between Ambrose Bierce's "The Damned Thing" and Daphne du Maurier's "The Birds"). I wouldn't recommend this one to anybody but hardcore Machen fanatics; "The Great God Pan" it ain't.

Two and a half stars. ( )

A good novella, though very peculiar. I had inklings of things that were part of the mystery, but could not see my way to the answer, and it was only once the characters themselves put things together that I would be able to.

I thought this was going to be a weird tale, and changed my mind about what kind of weird tale as the revelations came along, but in the end I think it actually isn't. It's got a very Victorian sensibility and doesn't really seem to fit the frame of the weird tale. It seemed early on as though it might bring in alien influences on almost Lovecraftian lines.

Unfortunately, the premise doesn't stand up to much scrutiny without an awful lot of morality-based-supernatural handwaving of how any of it would actually work, but hey. ( )

This was an interesting and entertaining read; the narrator's voice feels like the voice of a grandfather telling you something he finally needs to let go of, though he knows you may not be ready for the tale. Even with this relatively calm tone, though, there are still moments when I got goosebumps from the strangeness within the pages that seemed so incongruous (and yet real) when matched with the voice. I'd recommend this to fans of Agatha Christie books, early Stephen King, and Sherlock Holmes tales (it's got that kind of a flavor). Make sure, though, that you don't read the introduction first. On a side note, this is a very short read--I think the atmosphere was heightened for me by my taking the time to sit and read it through in one sitting, though that wasn't originally my plan.

Recommended. ( )