Author Topic: PseudoPod 569: The Black Stone  (Read 2791 times)

Bdoomed

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on: November 19, 2017, 09:18:20 PM
PseudoPod 569: The Black Stone

by Robert E. Howard
Narrated by Andrew Leman

The Black Stone was first published in WEIRD TALES, November, 1931. It appears here by permission.

Andrew is one of the founders and proprietors of the H. P. Lovecraft Historical Society, and has produced and appeared in films, radio dramas, games, music and audiobook projects based on or inspired by Lovecraft’s work, most notably the motion picture of “The Call of Cthulhu” and the Dark Adventure Radio Theatre series.

An audiobook of the Complete Fiction of H.P. Lovecraft has been released and is available through the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society website. If you’ve listened to any of Andrew’s narrations over on the H.P. Lovecraft Literary Podcast, you owe it to yourself to grab this collection. The newest episode of the Dark Adventure Radio Theatre — “The Rats in the Walls” — should be released by Thanksgiving in time for some wholesome family dining experiences.

Also, check out the Cromcast, which is working through Howard’s impressive catalog of fiction.



“They say foul things of Old Times still lurk In dark forgotten corners of the world. And Gates still gape to loose, on certain nights. Shapes pent in Hell.” –Justin Geoffrey

I read of it first in the strange book of Von Junzt, the German eccentric who lived so curiously and died in such grisly and mysterious fashion. It was my fortune to have access to his Nameless Cults in the original edition, the so-called Black Book, published in Dusseldorf in 1839, shortly before a hounding doom overtook the author. Collectors of rare literature were familiar with Nameless Cults mainly through the cheap and faulty translation which was pirated in London by Bridewall in 1845, and the carefully expurgated edition put out by the Golden Goblin Press of New York, 1909. But the volume I stumbled upon was one of the unexpurgated German copies, with heavy black leather covers and rusty iron hasps. I doubt if there are more than half a dozen such volumes in the entire world today, for the quantity issued was not great, and when the manner of the author’s demise was bruited about, many possessors of the book burned their volumes in panic.





Listen to this week's PseudoPod.

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Michael W. Cho

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Reply #1 on: December 01, 2017, 05:47:48 AM
Loved this story! I went through a huge Conan phase when I was a teenager. REH's writing is so vivid and really holds up well. I think he does Lovecraft better than Lovecraft here. The narrator nailed this one, too.



Scuba Man

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Reply #2 on: December 01, 2017, 05:15:12 PM
Loved this story! I went through a huge Conan phase when I was a teenager. REH's writing is so vivid and really holds up well. I think he does Lovecraft better than Lovecraft here. The narrator nailed this one, too.

Sigh... I enjoyed this episode. After listening to it, I had the compulsion to slither on over to the Drabblecast and re-listen to some of Norm's Lovecraftian tributes.  Episodes 366-367 (The Whisper in The Darkness Parts 1 & 2) and Episode 341 (The Litany of Earth) are particularly awesome. I miss that voice... I hope Mister S is okay.  :(

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Katzentatzen

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Reply #3 on: December 13, 2017, 09:01:58 PM
Really great classic horror! I agree with that “Lovecraft better than Lovecraft” comment >_<

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Scuba Man

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Reply #4 on: December 18, 2017, 02:30:16 PM
Really great classic horror! I agree with that “Lovecraft better than Lovecraft” comment >_<
My better half would remind me that Lovecraft was a product of his era.  Norm Sherman over at the Drabblecast captured my thoughts about that tentacled wonder (with his "Lovecraft Month" series).  God, I miss Norm and his Lovecraft-Mad-Libs!  :( :( :(  Anyway, I'm pleased to see a whole new, hopefully more enlightened generation take the Cthulhu and run with it.

I'm a stand-up philosopher until 2024. Then, I move onto my next gig. I'm a gentleman forester and farmer. I also enjoy jumping into Lake Huron and panicking the fish.


Katzentatzen

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Reply #5 on: December 18, 2017, 05:09:56 PM

Norm Sherman over at the Drabblecast captured my thoughts about that tentacled wonder (with his "Lovecraft Month" series).  God, I miss Norm and his Lovecraft-Mad-Libs!  :( :( :( 

I miss Uncle Norm too T_T

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Ichneumon

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Reply #6 on: December 31, 2017, 04:23:17 AM
Some parts of the story didn't hold my attention super well and were a bit rambling, but I guess that's expected in a Lovecraftian tale. The midnight flashback scene, however, was plastered across my eyelids. Holy cow. Even without the otherworldly beast, seeing something like that could crack your mind.