tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post2039031274354148503..comments2024-03-12T12:38:23.542-04:00Comments on The Kind of Face You Hate: The Kind of Face You SLASH!: Day 4 - Trying to Do Something Positivebill r.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17748572205731857892noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post-28175451420695802332008-10-16T15:51:00.000-04:002008-10-16T15:51:00.000-04:00I recently got a stack of old Campbell paperbacks ...I recently got a stack of old Campbell paperbacks off eBay. I've always enjoyed (most) of his short stories, but was underwhelmed by his early '80s novel <I>The Nameless</I> (made into a decent Spanish film a few years ago). As for the level of awareness of him by horror fans, I think your assessment is fairly spot-on. However, I read Stephen King's <I>Danse Macabre</I> very early on in my horror fan days--I was maybe 14 or 15--and learned about a lot of genre writers I might not have otherwise come across: Straub, James Herbert, Harlan Ellison, Shirley Jackson, JG Ballard, et. al. But I think Campbell's output in the last 10-15 years has been more suspense-type stuff so newer horror fans simply might not be aware of his stuff.Will Erricksonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16285306262078600804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post-19796157019209359932008-10-09T14:04:00.000-04:002008-10-09T14:04:00.000-04:00Hey, Glenn, thanks for stopping by. I don't know ...Hey, Glenn, thanks for stopping by. I don't know Campbell's Video Watchdog column (though, coincidentally, I am currently reading Tim Lucas's <I>Throat Sprockets</I>), but I'll bet it's great. He knows this genre inside out.bill r.https://www.blogger.com/profile/17748572205731857892noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post-22891368765668388902008-10-09T09:09:00.000-04:002008-10-09T09:09:00.000-04:00I mainly know Campbell from his very engaging colu...I mainly know Campbell from his very engaging column, "Ramsey's Rambles," in Video Watchdog. He's got a very interesting sensibility; I'll have to check out his fiction soon.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01637257671221456204noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post-58271468559753703572008-10-07T14:13:00.000-04:002008-10-07T14:13:00.000-04:00Okay, fine, so I was wrong. No one has heard of C...Okay, fine, so I was wrong. No one has heard of Campbell except me and three other people. I get it!<BR/><BR/>Why did I think so few people have heard of Straub? He's books sell very well, after all. Maybe it has to do with the fact that, compared to some of his best-selling contemporaries, he's not that prolific (although, really, he's no slouch), and very few of his books have been made into films.bill r.https://www.blogger.com/profile/17748572205731857892noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post-44281156279619777872008-10-07T11:01:00.000-04:002008-10-07T11:01:00.000-04:00I'm kinda in the slightly more than casual interes...I'm kinda in the slightly more than casual interest in horror, Bill ...<BR/><BR/>I know who Koontz, King, Straub and Barker, and have read all but Koontz, but have not hear of Ramsey Campbell until now.<BR/><BR/>Thanks!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post-29268946784168921272008-10-06T14:56:00.000-04:002008-10-06T14:56:00.000-04:00Yeah, you're right, The Doll Who Ate His Mother do...Yeah, you're right, <I>The Doll Who Ate His Mother</I> doesn't make me think of sci-fi or horror but it sounds like it should. Like it's referring to a cult film from the sixties or something. <BR/><BR/>For years I saw Dean Koontz's name on the books in the grocery store checkout aisle and assumed he was a romance novelist since that was the majority of books there. It was only after years that I realized he was a horror novelist.Greghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05730146625671701859noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post-77987704322963912492008-10-06T11:17:00.000-04:002008-10-06T11:17:00.000-04:00I wasn't really sure what the awareness was of the...I wasn't really sure what the awareness was of the big names in horror beyond King and Koontz, so I kind of guessed. Deep down, I actually didn't think that many people knew about Straub, despite his success, and Barker's star has waned as he writes out fewer and fewer books. So, like I say, I guessed, and figured I was wrong.<BR/><BR/>I don't know what <I>The Doll Who Ate His Mother</I> conjures, but it didn't make me think of SF/horror fromt he 50s and 60s. Beyond making me wonder how literal that title should be taken (before I read it), it made me think of a writer trying -- and succeeding -- to knock you out with a crazy title.<BR/><BR/>The last third of the book really was kind of infuriating. You're right, it did kind of feel like Campbell had achieved what he'd wanted, and stopped caring after that. I'd say it's a consequence of him being a young writer at the time, but I've encountered similar problems with him over and over again, including <I>The Overnight</I>, which is only about five years old.bill r.https://www.blogger.com/profile/17748572205731857892noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post-405748784943873742008-10-06T10:49:00.000-04:002008-10-06T10:49:00.000-04:00you still know who Stephen King is, and maybe Dean...<I>you still know who Stephen King is, and maybe Dean Koontz. If you're a little more aware of the genre, you also know Peter Straub and Clive Barker. But I would think that if all you can manage is a casual interest in horror, you're going to know who Ramsey Campbell is. </I><BR/><BR/>Actually, I think the first four you mentioned are known by everyone but Campbell on the other hand is barely known. I know I'm barely aware of his existence and think of him long after I think of the other four. <BR/><BR/><I><B>The Face That Must Die</B>... ...instantly conjures up visions of cheap science fiction and horror films from the 1950s and 60s</I><BR/><BR/>And <B>The Doll Who Ate His Mother</B> doesn't?<BR/><BR/><I><B>Then he struck until his arm was tired. He could tell he'd done enough, by a change in the quality of the blows.</B></I><BR/><BR/><I>Then the book ends with a long, by-the-numbers, but, nevertheless, occasionally hard to follow climactic showdown, and I found myself putting the book down with considerably disappointment. </I><BR/><BR/>Those two passages kind of go together. Maybe Campbell could tell he'd done enough, and the quality of his story softened.Greghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05730146625671701859noreply@blogger.com