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Dark Imaginings
Dark Imagingings is both an eloquent demonstration of the power of fantasy and a pioneering illumination of the Gothic style. In these sixteen tales the shadowy hues of the Gothic are blended with the vivid shades of the fantastic to produce effects as uncanny and eerie as any in the realm of letters. whether the reader is transported into the selfcontained worlds of wonder, sent back into the darkest reaches of time, or faced with nightmare horror amid the chillingly familiar landscape of the contemporary scene, one element is constant: Each of these sixteen masterpieces offers an experience as inescapable and unforgettable as a dream of terror come hauntingly true.
Contents include; Lila the Werewolf by Petrer Beagle / The Crowd by Ray Bradbury / The Troll by T. H. White / The Haunter of the Dark by H. P. Lovecraft / The Dance of Death by Algernon Blackwood / Smith and the Pharaohs by H. Rider Haggard / The Habitants of Middle Islet by William H. Hodgson / The Brown Hand by Arthur Conan Doyle / Darkness Box by Ursula K. Le Guin / from "Three Hearts and Three Lions" by Poul Anderson / The Unholy Grail by Fritz Leiber / The Enchantress of Sylaire by C. A. Smith / Werewoman by C. L. Moore / The Mirrors of Tuzun Thune by Roberrt E. Howard / The Woman of the Wood by A. Merritt / Cross Purposes by George MacDonald.
Contents include; Lila the Werewolf by Petrer Beagle / The Crowd by Ray Bradbury / The Troll by T. H. White / The Haunter of the Dark by H. P. Lovecraft / The Dance of Death by Algernon Blackwood / Smith and the Pharaohs by H. Rider Haggard / The Habitants of Middle Islet by William H. Hodgson / The Brown Hand by Arthur Conan Doyle / Darkness Box by Ursula K. Le Guin / from "Three Hearts and Three Lions" by Poul Anderson / The Unholy Grail by Fritz Leiber / The Enchantress of Sylaire by C. A. Smith / Werewoman by C. L. Moore / The Mirrors of Tuzun Thune by Roberrt E. Howard / The Woman of the Wood by A. Merritt / Cross Purposes by George MacDonald.
348 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1978
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About the author
Robert H. Boyer
10 books23 followersBob Boyer, A Mercifully Brief Introduction:
I have recently completed work on the second and enhanced edition of THE MAGIC NECKLACE OF AL-ANDALUS. It will be out in 2021. The following biography highlights my personal and professional background from which this novel and my earlier work spring.
Reading, writing, traveling, and teaching Have always attracted me. Being a teacher has enabled me to combine all four activities, with my first love being teaching. When I was a freshman at La Salle High School in my hometown of Philadelphia, I decided that I would be a teacher. I have never looked back.
I retired in 2005, after forty-four years of teaching: four years in high school, three years as a graduate teaching assistant, and the last thirty-six years teaching English at St. Norbert College in Northeastern Wisconsin. I still enjoy teaching occasionally, most recently in the Learning for Life Program at the University of Wisconsin Green Bay. I remain connected with St. Norbert College in De Pere, Wisconsin.
Teaching has afforded me opportunities for travel, often with my family. I have taught in Canton, Ohio, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in Phoenix, Arizona, in Philadelphia, and in Northeastern, Wisconsin. I was fortunate to earn a fellowship to study at Oxford University in England, with my wife and four children along. Later on, courses that I taught, or research that I did, took me to Nicaragua (during their civil war), to El Salvador (just after their civil war), twice to Spain, and six times to the Philippines. I spent two sabbatical semesters in Spain (my thanks to St. Norbert College), and I was a Visiting Professor in Manila, the Philippines, for a memorable semester. A friend referred to me as “an adventurer.”
The teaching and travel have resulted in a number of books. Prior to THE MAGIC NECKLACE OF AL-ANDALUS, my most recent book was SUNDAYS IN MANILA, a travel memoir based on my experiences in the Philippines. That country and the many friends and acquaintances I have made there keeps drawing me back. I also write a monthly column for “VIA TIMES Newsmagazine,” a Philippine-American publication out of Chicago. You can find me, including a recent picture, on their web site (www.viatimes.com). All of my earlier books are edited collections of Fantasy Literature or are about Fantasy Literature and some of the people who write it. You can find many of these books listed in my Goodreads Author Profile.
THE MAGIC NECKLACE OF AL-ANDALUS is my first original work of fiction. It is a Historical Fantasy Novel set primarily in medieval Spain during the height of the Arab Ascendancy there from the 10th through the 12th Centuries. The story has been percolating in my mind and imagination ever since I was a graduate student at the University of Pennsylvania and studied Medieval European Literature, which then covered mainly British literature and its Italian and French influences.
I continued to enjoy and later to teach medieval literature but with a growing sense of uneasiness with its antisemitism and bitter crusades against Islam. The antisemitism was more disturbing to me than the conflict with Islam; Islam was a foe, sometimes even cast as a noble foe in a war in which its heroes could occasionally be victorious. Once, in a moment of perhaps guilty frustration about these matters, I visited a medieval history friend and colleague and asked him, "was there ever a time when Jews, Muslims, and Christians actually got along together?" His answer: "Yes, medieval Spain during the Arab Ascendancy. You should go there." I did, and THE MAGIC NECKLACE OF AL-ANDALUS is the result.
Finally I owe whatever success I have achieved as teacher and writer to my family, especially my wife of 56 years, who has been my best audience, inspiration, and critic.
I have recently completed work on the second and enhanced edition of THE MAGIC NECKLACE OF AL-ANDALUS. It will be out in 2021. The following biography highlights my personal and professional background from which this novel and my earlier work spring.
Reading, writing, traveling, and teaching Have always attracted me. Being a teacher has enabled me to combine all four activities, with my first love being teaching. When I was a freshman at La Salle High School in my hometown of Philadelphia, I decided that I would be a teacher. I have never looked back.
I retired in 2005, after forty-four years of teaching: four years in high school, three years as a graduate teaching assistant, and the last thirty-six years teaching English at St. Norbert College in Northeastern Wisconsin. I still enjoy teaching occasionally, most recently in the Learning for Life Program at the University of Wisconsin Green Bay. I remain connected with St. Norbert College in De Pere, Wisconsin.
Teaching has afforded me opportunities for travel, often with my family. I have taught in Canton, Ohio, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in Phoenix, Arizona, in Philadelphia, and in Northeastern, Wisconsin. I was fortunate to earn a fellowship to study at Oxford University in England, with my wife and four children along. Later on, courses that I taught, or research that I did, took me to Nicaragua (during their civil war), to El Salvador (just after their civil war), twice to Spain, and six times to the Philippines. I spent two sabbatical semesters in Spain (my thanks to St. Norbert College), and I was a Visiting Professor in Manila, the Philippines, for a memorable semester. A friend referred to me as “an adventurer.”
The teaching and travel have resulted in a number of books. Prior to THE MAGIC NECKLACE OF AL-ANDALUS, my most recent book was SUNDAYS IN MANILA, a travel memoir based on my experiences in the Philippines. That country and the many friends and acquaintances I have made there keeps drawing me back. I also write a monthly column for “VIA TIMES Newsmagazine,” a Philippine-American publication out of Chicago. You can find me, including a recent picture, on their web site (www.viatimes.com). All of my earlier books are edited collections of Fantasy Literature or are about Fantasy Literature and some of the people who write it. You can find many of these books listed in my Goodreads Author Profile.
THE MAGIC NECKLACE OF AL-ANDALUS is my first original work of fiction. It is a Historical Fantasy Novel set primarily in medieval Spain during the height of the Arab Ascendancy there from the 10th through the 12th Centuries. The story has been percolating in my mind and imagination ever since I was a graduate student at the University of Pennsylvania and studied Medieval European Literature, which then covered mainly British literature and its Italian and French influences.
I continued to enjoy and later to teach medieval literature but with a growing sense of uneasiness with its antisemitism and bitter crusades against Islam. The antisemitism was more disturbing to me than the conflict with Islam; Islam was a foe, sometimes even cast as a noble foe in a war in which its heroes could occasionally be victorious. Once, in a moment of perhaps guilty frustration about these matters, I visited a medieval history friend and colleague and asked him, "was there ever a time when Jews, Muslims, and Christians actually got along together?" His answer: "Yes, medieval Spain during the Arab Ascendancy. You should go there." I did, and THE MAGIC NECKLACE OF AL-ANDALUS is the result.
Finally I owe whatever success I have achieved as teacher and writer to my family, especially my wife of 56 years, who has been my best audience, inspiration, and critic.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
May 28, 2022
This is a very good scholarly anthology of fantasy stories that's broken into two sections, Gothic High Fantasy and Gothic Low Fantasy. I had a much better understanding of the terms after having read the book, though I may not always have agreed with the assigned categories. The stories are arranged chronologically by publication. The High Fantasy entries are by George MacDonald, A. Merritt, Robert E. Howard (a Kull story, The Mirrors of Tuzun Thume), C.L. Moore (Werewoman, my favorite in this section), Clark Ashton Smith, Fritz Leiber, Poul Anderson (an excerpt from Three Hearts and Three Lions, which is a fine novel, but I don't like excerpts in anthologies), and Ursula K. LeGuin. The Low Fantasy contents are from Arthur Conan Doyle, William Hope Hodgson (The Habitants of Middle Islet, another favorite), H. Rider Haggard, Algernon Blackwood, H.P. Lovecraft (The Haunter of the Dark), T.H. White, Ray Bradbury, and the book winds up with Peter Beagle's haunting Lila the Werewolf. Each story is accompanied by intelligent commentary and interesting biographical information about the author, and the book is nicely illustrated by James Cagle. It's an excellent introductory volume.
February 7, 2015
The librarian in the small town I grew up is a witch. She had a magic ability to know exactly the book that I needed to read even when I didn't know how to begin asking for it. Going through a transitional period where I was shedding the fantasy novels of my youth with no idea of what to read, this came along. A mix of high and low Gothic fantasy that has stuck with me ever since, even if I had to return this book to the library. I'm searching for a copy of my own now, because this book needs a place on my shelf.
This is the book that introduced me to the writing of George Macdonald, who remains a curious interest of mine. The story "Cross-Purposes" continues to influence my writing.
This is the book that introduced me to the writing of George Macdonald, who remains a curious interest of mine. The story "Cross-Purposes" continues to influence my writing.
May 25, 2009
An absolutely wonderful collection of 16 gothic fantasy stories. Includes story from well known masters of the genre such as H.P. Lovecraft and T.H. White. Contains a well written introduction to the genre helping the reader to understand the differance between high and low fantasy and the process used to seek out the selections for the book. Each author chosen has a mini biography before their story giving the reader a bit of the authors background, other works and the reason why their selected story fits into this collection. A perfect introduction for anyone entering into the genre or consider them self a well read gothic fantasy fan.
October 5, 2017
Excellent collection of stories! Full review later...
May 5, 2023
Cool, retro illustrations and cover, but the contents are sadly lacking. Basically an anthology of poorly-written pulp stories (is that redundant?).
July 1, 2023
A solid short story collection. There are a couple standouts and no real stinkers.
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September 24, 2008great collection of "gothic" fiction. lovecraft, howard, blackwood and more.
January 22, 2016
Gothic fantasy tales from some of the masters
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews