Archive for Miskatonic Books

THE LIGHT IS THE DARKNESS by Laird Barron Trade Paperback

Posted in Miskatonic Books with tags , , on May 11, 2012 by miskatonicbooks

Reserve your copy of THE LIGHT IS THE DARKNESS by Laird Barron trade paperback and save 16% off the cover price!

We expect to be shipping this title in mid June.

Conrad Navarro is a champion of the Pageant, a gruesome modern day gladiatorial exhibition held in secret arenas across the globe. Indentured by a cabal of ultra-rich patrons, his world is one of blood and mayhem, an existence where savagery reigns supreme while mercy leads to annihilation.

Conrad’s sister has vanished while traveling in Mexico. Imogene, a decorated special agent for the FBI, was hot on the trail of a legendary scientist whose vile eugenics experiments landed him on an international most-wanted list. Imogene left behind a sequence of bizarre clues that indicate she uncovered evidence of a Byzantine occult conspiracy against civilization itself — a threat so vast and terrible, its ultimate fruition would herald an event more inimical to all terrestrial life than mere extinction.

Now, Conrad is on the hunt, searching for his missing sister while malign forces seek to manipulate and destroy him by turns. It is an odyssey that will send this man of war from the lush jungles of South America, to the debauched court of an Aegean Prince, to the blasted moonscape of the American desert as he becomes inexorably enmeshed within a web of primordial evil that stretches back unto prehistory. All the while struggling to maintain a vestige of humanity; for Conrad has gazed into an abyss where the light is the darkness, and he has begun the metamorphosis into something more than human

Hippocampus Press SALE! Up to 70% Off.

Posted in Miskatonic Books with tags , , , , on May 6, 2012 by miskatonicbooks

Today we are putting one of our favorite publishers titles on sale. Here you can find over 70 titles at 40% to 70% off cover price. And remember that all orders in the US no matter what size the order will cost only $5 in shipping. So stock up on some great genre fiction and nonfiction.

Click the Hippocampus icon below to see all the Hippocampus Press titles we have on sale at Miskatonic Books.

About Hippocampus Press:

Founded in 1999, Hippocampus Press specializes in classic horror and science fiction with an emphasis on the works of H. P. Lovecraft and other pulp writers of the 1920s and 1930s. Working closely with the leading scholars in the field we offer unique, high-quality, affordable editions of these important works.

Hippocampus Press founder Derrick Hussey says, “I met S. T. Joshi in the mid-1990s and began to work for him as a volunteer typist on various projects. I soon joined the Esoteric Order of Dagon, an amateur press association devoted to H. P. Lovecraft. Joshi later remarked to me that if I cared to start a small press, he would give me permission to publish his annotated version of the Lovecraft essay ‘Supernatural Horror in Literature’. I fairly leapt at the chance and began the process of forming Hippocampus Press.”

 

Below are just a few of the fantastic publications from Hippocampus Press on sale at Miskatonic Books.

AN EPICURE IN THE TERRIBLE: A Centennial Anthology of Essays in Honor of H. P. Lovecraft (Trade Paperback) Edited by David E. Schultz & S. T. Joshi

When An Epicure in the Terrible first appeared in 1991, commemorating the centennial of H. P. Lovecraft’s birth, it was hailed as a significant contribution to Lovecraft studies. Its thirteen original essays, along with a lengthy biocritical introduction by S. T. Joshi, contained penetrating work by leading authorities in the field. Among them were Kenneth W. Faig, Jr.’s pioneering study of Lovecraft’s parents; Jason C. Eckhardt’s analysis of Lovecraft’s heritage as a New England Yankee; and Donald R. Burleson’s treatment of the key theme of “touching the glass,” epitomized by “The Outsider.”

Other essays in the book deal with such topics as the theme of isolation in Lovecraft’s fiction (Stefan Dziemianowicz); Lovecraft’s cosmic imagery (Steven J. Mariconda); Lovecraft’s progression from a macabre writer to a cosmic writer (David E. Schultz); and Lovecraft’s “artificial mythology” and its development (Robert M. Price). Essays by Peter Cannon, Robert H. Waugh, R. Boerem, Norman R. Gayford, and Barton L. St. Armand round out the volume.

This paperback edition presents these perspicacious essays to a new readership, and shows the richness and complexity of H. P. Lovecraft’s writing-writing that is destined to endure for centuries. Citations to Lovecraft’s work have been updated to reflect newer and more accurate editions that have appeared since 1991, and some of the essays have been revised in other particulars.

 

A WEIRD WRITER IN OUR MIDST edited by S. T. Joshi (Trade Paperback)

It is well known that H. P. Lovecraft was virtually ignored by the mainstream literary community in his time, being known only in the tiny worlds of amateur journalism and fantasy fandom. And yet, it is surprising how much comment on Lovecraft appeared in various venues, both obscure and prominent, in his own time and just shortly after his early death in 1937.

This volume gathers, for the first time, a wide array of early criticism of Lovecraft, including poignant obituaries by such friends as Walter J. Coates and Hyman Bradofsky; early attempts to analyze Lovecraft’s work by such writers as Rheinhart Kleiner and Frank Belknap Long; voluminous discussions of Lovecraft’s tales in the letter columns of Weird Tales and Astounding Stories; an abundant selection of criticism from the fan world of the 1930s and 1940s, including articles by August Derleth, P. Schuyler Miller, and Francis T. Laney; and reviews of the first Arkham House books of Lovecraft’s work by Will Cuppy, T. O. Mabbott, Vincent Starrett, William Rose Benét, and many others.

Compiled by S. T. Joshi, a leading authority on Lovecraft’s life and work, this volume sheds unique light on the faint wisps of recognition that Lovecraft received during and just after his lifetime—recognition that would become universal and worldwide with the passing of decades.

REFLECTIONS IN A GLASS DARKLY: Essays on J. Sheridan Le Fanu (Trade Paperback)

Reflections In a Glass Darkly is the first book on J. Sheridan Le Fanu to cover classic and new scholarship and criticism of Le Fanu. The volume will be a welcome and long-overdue source-book for fans, scholars and students of horror fiction, Anglo-Irish and Victorian literature, and the history of the weird tale.  Assembled by a Le Fanu “dream team” of three top editors of the scholarly online journal Le Fanu Studies, it is the only such book available. An introduction, notes, and an index are provided. As an added bonus, a variety of portraits of Le Fanu himself are reproduced, many for the first time.

 

 

TEMPTING PROVIDENCE by Jonathan Thomas (Trade Paperback)

Jonathan Thomas follows up the critical and popular success of his collection from 2008, Midnight Call and Other Stories, with this new and substantial volume of weird tales long and short. The title story is a marvelous evocation of Providence yesterday and today, with much for the ghost of H. P. Lovecraft to dislike in the way his city has evolved. Providence is the setting for several other tales—tales that introduce us to such anomalies as a Lord of the Animals who seems to have an inexplicable sympathy with our four-footed friends, and a man whose quest for an extremely rare psychedelic album leads to something much stranger . . . In these twelve stories, Thomas fulfills the promise of his earlier work and shows that he has become one of the leading figures in contemporary supernatural horror.

“Myth and archetype, as well as the influence of masters of the Gothic tale, seep in from the groundwater in Jonathan Thomas’s world, but the landscape is wholly his own. The stories amuse, challenge, and unsettle.”—From Sherry Austin’s Foreword

“I found [‘Tempting Providence’] by Jonathan Thomas unexpectedly charming (if it’s permitted to describe a horror tale as charming), not least in its evocation of old Providence . . . It certainly brought back memories of my own wanderings around the city in the ’60s, the same ‘wistful daydreams’ his hero engages in, the sense that, if only HPL hadn’t died so young, he might still be renting rooms in one of the neighborhood houses and enjoying a sundae or an evening stroll.”—T. E. D. Klein

THE CONSPIRACY AGAINST THE HUMAN RACE by Thomas Ligotti (Trade Paperback)

“The Conspiracy against the Human Race sets out what is perhaps the most sustained challenge yet to the intellectual blackmail that would oblige us to be eternally grateful for a ‘gift’ we never invited.”
–From the Foreword by Ray Brassier

“The Conspiracy against the Human Race is renowned horror writer Thomas Ligotti’s first work of nonfiction. Through impressively wide-ranging discussions of and reflections on literary and philosophical works of a pessimistic bent, he shows that the greatest horrors are not the products of our imagination. The worst and most plentiful horrors are instead to be found in reality. Mr. Ligotti’s calm, but often bloodcurdling turns of phrase, evoke the dreadfulness of the human condition. Those who cannot bear the truth will pretend this is another work of fiction, but in doing so they perpetuate the conspiracy of the book’s title.”
–David Benatar,
author of Better Never to Have Been: The Harm of Coming into Existence; Department of Philosophy, University of Cape Town, South Africa

Thomas Ligotti is one of the foremost authors of supernatural horror literature. In this genre, he has been classed with Edgar Allan Poe and H. P. Lovecraft. His works include Songs of a Dead Dreamer, Grimscribe, My Work Is Not Yet Done, and Teatro Grottesco. Ligotti lives in Florida.

Ray Brassier is a member of the philosophy faculty at the American University of Beirut, Lebanon. He is the author of Nihil Unbound: Enlightenment and Extinction (Palgrave Macmillan 2007).
Contents

Foreword

  • Introduction: Of Pessimism and Paradox
  • The Nightmare of Being
  • Who Goes There?
  • Freaks of Salvation
  • Sick to Death
  • The Cult of Grinning Martyrs
  • Autopsy on a Puppet: An Anatomy of the Supernatural
  • Notes

Book is in new unread condition.

Miskatonic Books Sponsors Episode 100 of the H. P. Lovecraft Literary Podcast

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , , on January 21, 2012 by miskatonicbooks

Miskatonic Books is proud to announce that we are sponsoring another episode of the H. P. Lovecraft Literary Podcast. This is part 2 of  THE THING ON THE DOORSTEP, one of our favorites.

In honor of the fine work at the H. P. Lovecraft literary podcast from now until Valentines day you can get 10% off any purchase at Miskatonic Books by using the coupon code HPLP at checkout.

Enjoy the latest podcast by clicking the artwork below:

 

Book Collecting

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , on November 26, 2011 by chrisperridas

… it is no modish thing,
The bookman’s tribute that I bring;
A talk of antiquaries grey,
Dust unto dust this many a day,
Gossip of texts and bindings old,
Of faded type, and tarnish’d gold!
-To the Viscountess Woleseley, Andrew Lang (1844-1912)

Keep me, I pray, in wisdom’s way
That I may truths eternal seek;
I need protecting care to-day,–
My purse is light, my flesh is weak.
So banish from my erring heart
All baleful appetites and hints
Of Satan’s fascinating art,
Of first editions, and of prints.
Direct me in some godly walk
Which leads away from bookish strife,
That I with pious deed and talk
May extra-illustrate my life.
-The Bibliomaniac’s Prayer, Eugene Field (1850 – 1895)

Field once described three kinds of book collectors: Those who collect from vanity; those who collect for the benefits of learning; those who collect through a veneration and love for books.
You’re reading this blog today probably because you love horror books, and especially old ones. You are in good company, because many do.

However, at some point you will have to make some decisions based on (1) how much money you have, (2) how much space you have, (3) what is your primary purpose to collect.

Field himself fell into a common trap. “{His} mania exhibited itself first in an affectation for old books; it mattered not what the book itself was—so long as it bore an ancient date upon its title-page or in its colophon I pined to possess it. … In a month’s time I had got together a large number of these old tomes, many of them folios, and nearly all badly worm-eaten, and sadly shaken. “

However, he realized soon enough that he was collecting without a purpose. He felt that because he had old books, it made him somehow a good person, or gave him some odd and desirable quality. In a sense it may have, but he wasn’t doing it to preserve history, or share with those less fortunate, or to write a history. He was doing it just to be doing it.

Some books you collect because they have sentimental memories. Some books you collect because you are fascinated by the subject matter. But if you are going to be an investor in books, you need to go into it with a reason and purpose.

Like investing in stocks, or coins, or stamps, once you get past the fun part of collecting and become a serious investor, you must choose wisely after lengthy discussions with a trusted advisor. You must preserve your investment with special treatment.

Hopefully Miskatonic Books will have choices you wish to add to your collection. Feel free to contact us at …  miskatonicbooks@me.com

H. P. Lovecraft Literary Podcast #94 Sponsored by Miskatonic Books!

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , , , , , on October 20, 2011 by miskatonicbooks

We are very please to sponsor this outstanding episode of the H. P. Lovecraft Literary Podcast. In this episode Chris Lackey and Chad Fifer will be discussing THE HORROR IN THE MUSEUM.

Click the graphic below to listen to this awesome episode and get your 10% off coupon code for anything at Miskatonic books.


Miskatonic Books Gets a New Home and Facelift

Posted in Miskatonic Books with tags on September 20, 2011 by miskatonicbooks

Fellow lover of weird fiction,

For the past several months we’ve been busy building our new site at www.miskatonicbooks.com to better service all our customers who love weird tales, ghost, mythos and dark fantasy.

We have only scratched the surface of our inventory and will be adding hundreds of more books from your favorite genre authors and publishers daily so check back often.  Check out our featured author page here FEATURED AUTHORS

Like our old bookstore, our new site will cater to Lovecraftian fiction and weird tales in general. You’ll find our new site is easier to navigate, quicker checkout, and faster page loads.  You’ll also get $5 media rate shipping on any size order that ships in the US and 5% back in points to be used on future purchases for anything at www.miskatonicbooks.com

If you’ve ordered a book through our store at Horror-Mall your order is still valid and there is no reason to reorder on the new site. All orders placed through Horror-Mall will be filled as usual.

If you have any questions please feel free to email me at miskatonicbooks@me.com

Please click the banner below to check out our new site and be sure to subscribe to this blog to stay up to date on all the new titles at www.miskatonicbooks.com and our own publications through our Arcane Wisdom imprint.

Thanks so much for your continued support!

CTHULHU CULT: A Novel of Obsession Book Trailer

Posted in Horrorgy, Miskatonic Books with tags , , , on June 1, 2011 by miskatonicbooks

To reserve your copy of this title just click the cover art below for ordering information.

This is #1 in our new Modern Mythos Series. Each title is hand picked and edited by Lovecrafian Scholar S. T. Joshi and award winning publisher Larry L. Roberts. These titles will be the best modern fiction in the Lovecraftian Mythos and will undoubtedly become one of the most collected series in the genre.

Synopsis:

Having fled town under a cloud of salacious scandal, Shelby Tyree has returned, a mysterious woman at his side and a strange new devotion to horror writer H.P. Lovecraft in his head. His childhood friends Rick and Conrad scarcely recognize Shelby, who has been transformed from a rakish dilettante into a zealous guru devoted to his own pseudo-religion. They take it upon themselves to discover what Shelby is really up to. Why has he founded his own church, devoted to a presumably fictional demonic alien? Is it possible Shelby’s lost his grip on reality or is somehow under the spell of this mysterious woman? Or is it possible that Shelby has uncovered some secret truths that man was not meant to know? “The Cthulhu Cult is a brilliant and scintillating novel of Lovecraftian terror. It grips the reader from the first page and develops a tremendous cumulative power.

Anyone who has the least interest in H. P. Lovecraft‘s work will find The Cthulhu Cult a must-read.” –S. T. Joshi

One of only 150 signed and numbered hardcover copies.

Letterpress Edition of THE SHADOW OVER INNSMOUTH by H. P. Lovecraft

Posted in Miskatonic Books with tags , , , on February 11, 2011 by miskatonicbooks

Miskatonic Books was able to purchase the remaining copies of Heavenly Monkey’s THE SHADOW OVER INNSMOUTH letterpress edition.

To reserve your copy click any of the images below.


The BATRACHIAN issue comprises 125 numbered (1 – 125) copies printed on Mohawk Superfine (an archival, acid-free paper), sewn & cased by hand in full black cloth with an image gold-stamped on the front board. This issue also features specially printed endpapers not used in the Ichthyic copies (shown below). The imprint on these copies is Heavenly Monkey Editions.

This book was produced the old fashion way…and the best way in my opinion. The type for this book was made individually and pressed into the paper the same way the Gutenberg Bible was produced. The book is hand made from start to finish and is a truly unique item indeed.

The total edition is 125 copies, 150 pp, small octavo (5 x 7.5 inches). The book features a fold-out map of Innsmouth, drawn from Lovecraft’s detailed descriptions of the town. The text is set in Centaur and Arrighi, with Gill Shadow for display. The pages were printed letterpress, in two colors, from polymer plates at David Clifford’s Black Stone Press in Vancouver, B.C.


This is a wonderful addition to any mythos library!

This BATRACHIAN issue comprises 125 numbered (1 – 125) copies printed on Mohawk Superfine (an archival, acid-free paper), sewn & cased by hand in full black cloth with an image gold-stamped on the front board. This issue also features specially printed endpapers.

Ursula Kroeber LeGuin

Posted in Miskatonic Books with tags , , on February 10, 2011 by miskatonicbooks

Ursula Kroeber LeGuin (b. 1929), BA (Radcliffe College), MA (Columbia University). Some time in her early 20′s, she became entraced with Tao de Ching, and has spent much of her life exploring the depths of this tao, and its creator and inspirr, Lao Tzu. As such, she translated these into her own poetic rendition. In a sense, her work has been expressions of this – is it ok to have technology? – is power a type of trust? if nature is not humane, and Tao is to be of nature, can one reject

self-sacrifice or altruism? Perhaps LeGuin’s arguably most impactful novel is The Left Hand of Darkness

The Left Hand of Darkness was reviewed by literary critic George Turner in the 26 December 1970 The Age. … Science Fiction or philosophic allegory? Forget category, for The Left Hand of Darkness is a good novel, belonging in the company of Wells, Stapledon and Huxley. … Ursula LeGuin has erected a complex, challenging structure. Her theme is the difficulty of meaningful communication between persons. Her aliens are single-sexed race, and she investigates the psychological implications .. hrs may be the first true aliens in science fiction. … These are people, and Mrs. LeGuin has performed the considerable feat of persuading the reader to identify with him. She is a stylist and a perfectionist and her detail is properly researched. … It is the best science fiction in may years. {George Turner} A classic rendition of this item is available at Miskatonic Books. Just click on the image to see more.

Still going strong as she moves toward 90, below is a recent lecture and a reading by LeGuin.

The Chapbooks Published by Roy A. Squires

Posted in Horrorgy, Uncategorized with tags , , , , , , , on February 5, 2011 by miskatonicbooks

Beginning in 1962 through 1979, Roy Squires, literary executor for Clark Ashton Smith, produced a series of small chapbooks featuring verse from some of today’s most notable authors.

Letterpress publishers, particularly those publishing poems by speculative fiction authors, can be a bit snobbish when it comes to letting new publishers into their inner cadre. However, letterpress publisher Rollin Milroy of Heavenly Monkey has been hard at work on a book about Roy A. Squires publishing and hopes to bring to light their beautiful productions and exquisite design to other letterpress publishing enthusiast.

Each of his publications are works of art. All are printed on fine parchment, with letterpress type and hand sewn wraps. Some were signed by the authors.

Below is a bibliography of Roy A. Squires publications:

  • 1. The Hill of Dionysus/A Selection by Clark Ashton Smith 1962
  • 2. The Pedestrian by Ray Bradbury 1964
  • 3. Nero / An Early Poem by Clark Ashton Smith 1964
  • 4. Donde Duemes, Eldorado  y Otros Poemas 1964
  • 5. The Demons of the Upper Air by Fritz Leiber 1969
  • 6. Memory by H. P. Lovecraft 1969
  • 7. Ex Oblivion by H. P. Lovecraft 1969
  • 8. Nyarlathotep by H. P. Lovecraft 1970
  • 9. What the Moon Brings by H. P. Lovecraft 1970  (Items 6-9 were first offered only as a complete set by subscription. August Derleth gave notice of them in the Arkham Collector. The very first order for the series came from Tim Powers.)
  • 10. the Tartarus of the suns by Clark Ashton Smith 1970
  • 11. The Palace of Jewels by Clark Ashton Smith 1970
  • 12. In the Ultimate Valley by Clark Ashton Smith 1970
  • 13. To George Sterling by Clark Ashton Smith 1970
  • 14. Hail, Klarkash-Ton! by H. P. Lovecraft 1971
  • 15. Old Ahab’s Friend, And Friend To Noah, Speaks His Peace by Ray Bradbury 1971
  • 16. The Mortuary by Clark Ashton Smith 1971
  • 17. The Road To Rome by Robert E. Howard 1972
  • 18. Black Dawn by Robert E. Howard 1972
  • 19. Sadastor by Clark Ashton Smith 1972
  • 20. Night of the Demon by Phil Garland 1972
  • 21. A Song of the Naked Lands by Robert E. Howard 1973
  • 22. From the Crypts of Memory by Clark Ashton Smith 1973
  • 23. The Gold and the Grey by Robert E. Howard 1974
  • 24. That Son of Richard III by Ray Bradbury 1974
  • 25. Altars and Jester, An Opium Dream by Robert E. Howard 1974
  • 26. The Titans In Tartarus by Clark Ashton Smith 1974
  • 27. A Song From Hell by Clark Ashton Smith 1975
  • 28. The Potion of Dreams by Clark Ashton Smith 1975
  • 29. The Ghost, That Bride of Time by Ray Bradbury 1976
  • 30. The Fanes of Dawn by Clark Ashton Smith 1976
  • 31. Seer of the Cycles by Clark Ashton Smith 1976
  • 32. The Marriage of Sir John de Mandeville by 1976
  • 33. Up, John Kane! & Other Poems by Robert E. Howard 1977
  • 34. The Burden of the Suns by Clark Ashton Smith 1977
  • 35. Prince Alcouz and the Magician by Clark Ashton Smith 1977
  • 36. Sonnets to Jonquil and All by Fritz Leiber 1978
  • 37. The Cats of Ulthar by H. P. Lovecraft 1979
  • 38. The Aqueduct (A Martian Chronicle) by Ray Bradbury 1979

We recently purchased a collection of these chaps and will be adding some to the Miskatonic Bookstore over the next few weeks.  Below are some editions already put up. Click on any of the covers for a list of what is currently available. If you are looking for something specific from Squires press but don’t see it up please email us at Arcanewisdom@me.com an we might have it available but just not up on the site.

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