Sunday, August 5, 2012

William Hope Hodgson: Master of the Weird Tale


I first discovered the work of William Hope Hodgson through my good friend and connoisseur of Weird Fiction, ontheborderland.  I started with The House on the Borderland, and it was a very quick addiction - didn't take me long to read through everything our library had.  Which wasn't much, sadly, but I've been able to find books elsewhere.  And believe me he is a Master - I have to wonder where some of his visions came from.



In 2008, Centipede Press honored Hodgson in it's Masters of the Weird Tale series.  This fine press limited edition collection includes "all of Hodgson’s finest. short fiction and his most important novels, including The House on the Borderland, The Ghost Pirates, The Night Land, and The Boats of the Glen Carig. In addition, there are twenty of Hodgson’s best tales"  (table of contents available upon request).



In addition it features illustrations and artwork by contemporary artists Stephen Fabian and Ian Miller as well as images by the late scifi/fantasy illustrator Hannes Bok.  All of whom did a great job of capturing Hodgson's weirdness in visual form.


Both Fabian and Miller are well-known for their macabre styles and their long portfolios of book covers and illustrations in the science fiction, fantasy and weird fiction realms. I encourage you to visit their websites to see the incredible talent that was harnessed for this publication.