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The Second Wish and Other Exhalations
This may be The Second Wish, but it's the third witch's dozen of nerve-rending stories of the macabre from the man who gave you the internationally bestselling Necroscope and Vampire World series. Brian Lumley's The Second Wish and Other Exhalations maintains the nightmarish tradition established by his Fruiting Bodies and Other Fungi and Dagon's Bell and Other Discords to complete a trilogy of terror.
From Lovecraftian tales such as "The House of the Temple", "Rising With Surtsey" and the title story, to such contemporary horrors as "The Sun, the Sea, and the Silent Scream" and "The Luststone", this new collection has been culled from the writings of a true Master of Nightmares.
Remember: in the field of no-holds-barred terror fiction, there's Brian Lumley – and then there's the rest…
Stories included in this collection:
The Second Wish
The Sun, the Sea, and the Silent Scream
De Marigny's Clock
The Luststone
Mother Love
What Dark God?
The Thief Immortal
The House of the Temple
Back Row
Name and Number
Snarker's Son
Rising With Surtsey
David's Worm
From Lovecraftian tales such as "The House of the Temple", "Rising With Surtsey" and the title story, to such contemporary horrors as "The Sun, the Sea, and the Silent Scream" and "The Luststone", this new collection has been culled from the writings of a true Master of Nightmares.
Remember: in the field of no-holds-barred terror fiction, there's Brian Lumley – and then there's the rest…
Stories included in this collection:
The Second Wish
The Sun, the Sea, and the Silent Scream
De Marigny's Clock
The Luststone
Mother Love
What Dark God?
The Thief Immortal
The House of the Temple
Back Row
Name and Number
Snarker's Son
Rising With Surtsey
David's Worm
281 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 13, 2017
7 people are currently reading
103 people want to read
About the author
Brian Lumley
444 books1,359 followersBrian Lumley was born near Newcastle. In 22 years as a Military Policeman he served in many of the Cold War hotspots, including Berlin, as well as Cyprus in partition days. He reached the rank of Sergeant-Major before retiring to Devon to write full-time, and his work was first published in 1970. The vampire series, 'Necroscope', has been translated into ten languages and sold over a million copies worldwide.
He was awarded the World Fantasy Life Achievement Award in 2010.
He was awarded the World Fantasy Life Achievement Award in 2010.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
March 13, 2021
3.5*
The Second Wish/ El Segundo Deseo(relato)
"El monolito ese del que hablas es curioso, sí, una piedra negra… Un tipo de piedra bastante sobrecogedor, ¿eh? Pero Hungría está llena de cosas así, por lo que he leído… Mitos, leyendas, extrañas reliquias de otros tiempos… Según los habitantes de estas regiones trae mala suerte mirar esas piedras…"
Harry y julia, una pareja/amantes, se encuentran de turismo en una región montañosa de Hungría. Un paraje solitario y relativamente deprimente. Lejos de Londres, donde residen.
Tras hospedarse en un pintoresco y confortable hostal y luego de relajarse un rato...Recuerdan una antigua iglesia que vieron desde la carretera y les llamo particularmente la atención. Se lo mencionan al dueño del Hostal quien les advierte sobre el lugar y sobre su extraño morador. Pese a esto y a una aprensión inicial de Harry, igualmente deciden visitar el sitio. (culpemos a la influencia del lugar y a la Psicología inversa. ¿y a los eónes?)
De acuerdo hasta ahí nada nuevo bajo el sol...ni de la luna. Y tampoco en lo subsiguiente, sin contar algunas conveniencias .
Pero resulta una buena y solida amalgama de diferentes cosas, sumamente efectiva, con algunos buenos detalles. Teniendo en cuenta que forma parte de los denominados" nuevos mitos de Cthulhu" tiene el propósito del tributo y de la continuidad y en ese aspecto cumple con creces. Naturalmente esta repleto de referencias del universo de Lovecraft , pero principalmente guarda relación con " la piedra negra" de Robert Howard.
The Second Wish/ El Segundo Deseo(relato)
"El monolito ese del que hablas es curioso, sí, una piedra negra… Un tipo de piedra bastante sobrecogedor, ¿eh? Pero Hungría está llena de cosas así, por lo que he leído… Mitos, leyendas, extrañas reliquias de otros tiempos… Según los habitantes de estas regiones trae mala suerte mirar esas piedras…"
Harry y julia, una pareja/amantes, se encuentran de turismo en una región montañosa de Hungría. Un paraje solitario y relativamente deprimente. Lejos de Londres, donde residen.
Tras hospedarse en un pintoresco y confortable hostal y luego de relajarse un rato...Recuerdan una antigua iglesia que vieron desde la carretera y les llamo particularmente la atención. Se lo mencionan al dueño del Hostal quien les advierte sobre el lugar y sobre su extraño morador. Pese a esto y a una aprensión inicial de Harry, igualmente deciden visitar el sitio. (culpemos a la influencia del lugar y a la Psicología inversa. ¿y a los eónes?)
De acuerdo hasta ahí nada nuevo bajo el sol...ni de la luna. Y tampoco en lo subsiguiente, sin contar algunas conveniencias .
Pero resulta una buena y solida amalgama de diferentes cosas, sumamente efectiva, con algunos buenos detalles. Teniendo en cuenta que forma parte de los denominados" nuevos mitos de Cthulhu" tiene el propósito del tributo y de la continuidad y en ese aspecto cumple con creces. Naturalmente esta repleto de referencias del universo de Lovecraft , pero principalmente guarda relación con " la piedra negra" de Robert Howard.
October 7, 2020
(stories i didnt comment on, were commented/read from other collections)
De Marigny’s Clock
This was my first experience with Titus Crow. Titus iz a hero of Lumley’s and as I have read, he wanted to write more cthulhu stories but with the hero not diing or turning insane. I really like his wit and attitude, reminded me of Mignola’s witchfinder a little. I also like the mysterious clock, had a Poe feel to it. Very nice introduction to the character, I hope in the future to read more of him!
The Luststone
A saman, a rapist and a road gang, all infected by the stone made by the saman for fertility. Meh. Enjoyed the back and forth of the narration tho…
Mother Love
After a mutation breakout, a cripple –lead away from civilization- meets a lady and tries to take advantage of her. Her Baby thinks different. A very FUN story!
Name and Number
De Marigny’s son is the narrator of this Titus Crow story but Titus did all the action! Preventing the end of the world from a weiordo with bombs. It was ok.
Snarker’s Son
Meh meh…
De Marigny’s Clock
This was my first experience with Titus Crow. Titus iz a hero of Lumley’s and as I have read, he wanted to write more cthulhu stories but with the hero not diing or turning insane. I really like his wit and attitude, reminded me of Mignola’s witchfinder a little. I also like the mysterious clock, had a Poe feel to it. Very nice introduction to the character, I hope in the future to read more of him!
The Luststone
A saman, a rapist and a road gang, all infected by the stone made by the saman for fertility. Meh. Enjoyed the back and forth of the narration tho…
Mother Love
After a mutation breakout, a cripple –lead away from civilization- meets a lady and tries to take advantage of her. Her Baby thinks different. A very FUN story!
Name and Number
De Marigny’s son is the narrator of this Titus Crow story but Titus did all the action! Preventing the end of the world from a weiordo with bombs. It was ok.
Snarker’s Son
Meh meh…
July 1, 2021
I’m a Lumley fan, plain and simple. I fell in love with him back in the stone ages of the mid-eighties after reading one of his Titus Crow books and also Demogorgon. But his short stories/novellas have always been my favorites. He is, in my opinion, one of the best purveyors of keeping the Cthulhu Mythos alive and active (see also Laird Barron and others.)
Do yourself a favor and get any and all of Lumley’s short fiction collections.
Do yourself a favor and get any and all of Lumley’s short fiction collections.
February 9, 2017
Another anthology of Brian Lumley's horror short stories, following on from FRUITING BODIES AND OTHER FUNGI. I skipped DE MARIGNY'S CLOCK and NAME AND NUMBER because I'm already covering theme in a separate anthology, THE COMPLEAT CROW, which I'm trying to read in chronological order.
Things kick off with the titular story, THE SECOND WISH. It details an ancient castle in Hungary and plays like a Lovecraftian spin on THE MONKEY'S PAW. The atmosphere is key in this spooky, low-key piece and the Lovecraftian references (to Howard's THE BLACK STONE in particular) are great too. THE SUN, THE SEA, AND THE SILENT SCREAM is even better, in which the water supply at a Greek island resort is contaminated by something extremely ghastly. It's one of the most sickening efforts I've read in a while, really nasty stuff and yet always entertaining too. THE LUSTSTONE features a village hall dance beset by a murderous rapist and some Hell's Angels before something even worse turns up, and it's rather vivid and disturbing as a result. The ending is full of blistering action and makes for fine reading.
MOTHER LOVE is a post-apocalypse story and packs in sexual threat and gruesome murder before it turns into a nasty monster tale. WHAT DARK GOD? combines Cthulhoid terror and British Rail into one unwholesome whole, mixing day-to-day realism with an outlandish climax that works. THE THIEF IMMORTAL offers a sci-fi twist on the vampire tale and it's quite brilliant. Maths and humour shouldn't really work but somehow Lumley combines the disparate elements into an excellent tale. THE HOUSE OF THE TEMPLE feels like a story August Derleth would have written back in the day. It's a Lovecraftian pastiche about a Scottish ancestral home that must be destroyed with dynamite, and it's written with such panache that I couldn't stop turning the pages.
BACK ROW is about nasty events in a local cinema and once again sees the author using disturbing sexual detail to repulse his reader. SNAKER'S SON is an attempt at an alternate reality story but a little vanilla for my taste. RISING WITH SURTSEY is out-and-out Lovecraft and a delightful homage to the Cthulhu Mythos with the great Cthulhu himself rising from the depths once more. It's a mix of old and new and builds to a fittingly gruesome climax. Finally, DAVID'S WORM is a straightforward story of slithering, slimy horror and reminded me of the classic Lambton Worm myth. A strong end for an above-average collection of mostly effective Cthulhoid horror.
Things kick off with the titular story, THE SECOND WISH. It details an ancient castle in Hungary and plays like a Lovecraftian spin on THE MONKEY'S PAW. The atmosphere is key in this spooky, low-key piece and the Lovecraftian references (to Howard's THE BLACK STONE in particular) are great too. THE SUN, THE SEA, AND THE SILENT SCREAM is even better, in which the water supply at a Greek island resort is contaminated by something extremely ghastly. It's one of the most sickening efforts I've read in a while, really nasty stuff and yet always entertaining too. THE LUSTSTONE features a village hall dance beset by a murderous rapist and some Hell's Angels before something even worse turns up, and it's rather vivid and disturbing as a result. The ending is full of blistering action and makes for fine reading.
MOTHER LOVE is a post-apocalypse story and packs in sexual threat and gruesome murder before it turns into a nasty monster tale. WHAT DARK GOD? combines Cthulhoid terror and British Rail into one unwholesome whole, mixing day-to-day realism with an outlandish climax that works. THE THIEF IMMORTAL offers a sci-fi twist on the vampire tale and it's quite brilliant. Maths and humour shouldn't really work but somehow Lumley combines the disparate elements into an excellent tale. THE HOUSE OF THE TEMPLE feels like a story August Derleth would have written back in the day. It's a Lovecraftian pastiche about a Scottish ancestral home that must be destroyed with dynamite, and it's written with such panache that I couldn't stop turning the pages.
BACK ROW is about nasty events in a local cinema and once again sees the author using disturbing sexual detail to repulse his reader. SNAKER'S SON is an attempt at an alternate reality story but a little vanilla for my taste. RISING WITH SURTSEY is out-and-out Lovecraft and a delightful homage to the Cthulhu Mythos with the great Cthulhu himself rising from the depths once more. It's a mix of old and new and builds to a fittingly gruesome climax. Finally, DAVID'S WORM is a straightforward story of slithering, slimy horror and reminded me of the classic Lambton Worm myth. A strong end for an above-average collection of mostly effective Cthulhoid horror.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 26, 2022
A bit better than the Dagon's Bell collection, but still not up to the standard of Fruiting Bodies. Full review: https://fakegeekboy.wordpress.com/201...
December 24, 2011
When not creating horror franchises, Brian Lumley writes short stories and here are contained thirteen spine-tinglers of varying quality. While Lumley admits in his introduction that he shies away from gore, he makes a notable exception in the short-but-nasty 'Back Row' in which he also features some fairely unpleasant sexual imagery. Sex is also a central element in the collections biggest stinker 'The Luststone' which struck me as so boring and obvious that it was a chore to finish. Where Lumley really shines however is in his Lovecraftian tales and in these he comes across as a credible facsimile of the master himself. The best of the bunch for my money however was 'The Sun, The Sea and the Silent Scream' which was an extremely hammer-esque tale of a young couple who have to deal with evil mind-controlling crustaceans while holidaying in Greece. It's gripping, nasty and just unpleasant enough to avoid accusations of being too silly.
April 23, 2015
Introduction
--The Second Wish
--The Sun, the Sea, and the Silent Scream
--De Marigny's Clock
--The Luststone
--Mother Love
--What Dark God?
--The Thief Immortal
--The House of the Temple
--Back Row
--Name and Number
--Snarker's Son
--Rising with Surtsey
--David's Worm
--The Second Wish
--The Sun, the Sea, and the Silent Scream
--De Marigny's Clock
--The Luststone
--Mother Love
--What Dark God?
--The Thief Immortal
--The House of the Temple
--Back Row
--Name and Number
--Snarker's Son
--Rising with Surtsey
--David's Worm
December 21, 2021
Another incredible collection of sci fi and Lovecraftian horror by Lumley, and a satisfying conclusion to his trilogy of collected tales. Recommended for all fans of horror and weird fiction.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews