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Schwob certainly knows how to write a decadent tale. "The Embalming Women" is a poetic travel adventure-cum-horror story shot through with beauty and decay, an occultation of waking dreams into nightmare. Five stars that will never flicker, never waver, their beauty preserved forever.

The imagery of "The Terrestrial Fire" is altogether stunning. I am reminded of the album cover of the new SunnO))) release: Life Metal. If I were to set this story to music, it would be to this album. Stunning and beautiful and horrifying all at once. Five stars.

And this is the part where I will provide a link to Jethro Tull's beautiful, somber song "Heavy Horses".

I need to read Saussure. Well, maybe "need" doesn't really signify what I mean . . .

"The Death of Odjigh" is as much a sacred text as it is postapocalyptic fiction, a ritual celebrating the last paroxysm of life on a dead planet, the sacrifice of one for many, or, perhaps, for none. Four dwindling stars.

The titular story is fabulous in every sense of the word. It is decadent in every sense of the word. A sumptuous, corrupted feast of words made images, masks upon masks. Five golden stars.

An erudite, promising introduction. Highly unusual, in that most introductions aren't worth the paper they're printed on. We shall see how Shwob's fiction-writing praxis holds up to his theoretical paradigm. Hopefully they will meld and be indistinguishable. That's the kind of fiction I prefer.

"The Treasure of Abbot Thomas" is a textbook mystery marbled through with supernatural elements. The narrator's presentation is a well-played shell game of obfuscation and revelation. I would have liked a more consequential ending, but that trick was for later authors. Five stars.

I need to read "The Treasure of Abbott Thomas" when I'm not so sleepy. Literally fell asleep reading on my lunch break!

"Sinister" is the best word, I think, to describe the feeling of the story "Oh, whistle, and I'll Come to You My Lad". The apparition therein is the scariest of all in this book thus far. I may not sleep well tonight, all wrapped up in bed sheets. Five shuddering stars.

*sigh* you had to go and blow the whistle, didn't you, Parkins? This is the part where things go horribly, horribly wrong, I suppose.

Important safety tip: If you find something in a grave, don't play with it. Whatever you do , don't touch it to your lips! Yuck!

What a wonderful thing, to read about Murray's re-connection with the sense of smell while I am sitting next to an open window, enjoying the odors of spring, that rush of life, as I read. I'm so glad I waited for winter to pass to read this book! It is inspiring. I took a hike after work Friday, after not having done so all winter long. It feels good to be "back in" nature again.

"Count Magnus" is the most evocative story in this collection thus far. By "evocative," I mean that it is . . . well, not subtle, but not "in your face," either. It's more creepy than horrific, and that's the sort of thing that I love. This could easily be a Twilight Zone episode!

Ah, "Count Magnus" is NOT a novella: Whomever did layout on this edition (Good Port) done screwed up! After this story, we have "Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad," and "The Treasure of Abbot Thomas". The layout is so screwed up, in fact, that these last two don't even appear in the table of contents.

My goodness, this book seems to cover everything: architecture, furniture, metalwork, tableware, ceramics, glass, fashion, painting, design (including lavish book covers!), and jewelry. That's not counting the historical context and thematic overview of the period.

Ah, "Count Magnus" is a novella. We need more novellas in the world. Many, many more. I wish the majority of published works were novellas. But I'm a snob that way.

Four stars.

"Number 13" is a great little mystery. Not the strongest story so far, but by no means weak. If you wonder where Mephistopheles took Faust, this might give an indicator. And it's closer than you think. In fact, it might be right next door. The trick is to find the door . . . and avoid it at all costs!

Shades of House of Leaves . . .

The second full paragraph on page 105 should be a walker's mantra, a hiker's statement of achievement (and shall be quoted in full in my review).

Ew, ew, ew, eeeewwwww!! "The Ash-Tree" = nopenopenope. Just. No. And not the most effective story thus far, but still better than most other strange stories of a similar ilk. But this story gives me the jibblies. Pushes too far into gross territory for me. Creepy is not the same as gross. 4 stars.

I've read "The Mezzotint" before, and yet it still does not fail to make on shiver. One of the best "weird" stories written. This one has staying power, with latent images that only partially fade over time. The imagery is burned on the lens of my mind (and my mind created it, prompted by James' words that I read with my eyes, or rather, my mind transformed the words - it is a strange thing to think about)Five stars.

An interesting couple of pages on the French-American cultural exchange that facilitated some of the communication of ideas and wares between the two continents. I never would have made that connection myself.

The two full paragraphs on responsiveness to light are emblamatic of the connection I seek and when I am locked in with nature like that, I really am the most satisfied with life. It reminds me of my years working at the canoe shop in some ways, commuting to work on the water.

"Lost Hearts" - I see what you did there with the title, James. I love this little ghostly/occult tale. I would love to see it rewritten to show what would happen had Mr Abney succeeded . . . that could make another terrifying tale. Hmm . . . I've got some paper and a pen. Hmm . . .

Good overview with great examples of Art Deco.

"Canon Alberic's Scrap-Book" had to inspire many of Lovecraft's stories. Antiquarian book? Check. Occult rituals? Check. Suspicious-seeming natives? Check. Creepy noises in the dark? Check. "Journal entries" (marginalia, really)? Check. Freaky creature? Check. Just add tentacles and hyperbole. I liked this a lot more than most of the Lovecraft I've read, but I'm a little burned-out on the Mythos. Give me eerie!

This book has really low ratings on Goodreads and I can't for the life of me figure out why. So far, it's really a good gloss on the art of the era.