Pseudopod 269: The Burning Servant

[eytanz]

The only thing that threw me about the story was the pronunciation of Roswell. It's pronounced RAHS-well, not ROSE-well.

Perhaps the pronunciation has changed since the 19th century?

(Not that the narrator is likely to be trying for historical accuracy; it's just that place name pronunciations change a lot more than people think over time)

[JesseLivingston]

I disagree that Lovecraft's formula does not have room for an author to make their own delightful mark. I just finished Jerusalem's Lot by Stephen King, and I was pleasantly reminded why he's considered a paragon of horror. He makes an effective homage to "The Rats in the Walls", while creating a new and unique story. Having consumed all of Lovecraft's oeuvre, and considering that only about a quarter of it is in the top tier of quality, there is a LOT of room for other good stories.

Fair enough! Reading back through my previous comment, I'm not sure I still agree with it.

[Fenrix]

The only thing that threw me about the story was the pronunciation of Roswell. It's pronounced RAHS-well, not ROSE-well.

Perhaps the pronunciation has changed since the 19th century?

(Not that the narrator is likely to be trying for historical accuracy; it's just that place name pronunciations change a lot more than people think over time)

Only if the original pronunciation was more British than southern. And coming from the mouth of a woman born and raised in the south, I would find a British pronunciation out of place.

This is probably not something everyone had to deal with, but I had to rewind a few times intermittently because I was spending time trying to figure out where the heck they were talking about, since the 'Hooch isn't that long when you add in that they went "down" from the plantation to Atlanta.

[uriel1998]

This is probably not something everyone had to deal with, but I had to rewind a few times intermittently because I was spending time trying to figure out where the heck they were talking about, since the 'Hooch isn't that long when you add in that they went "down" from the plantation to Atlanta.

That is almost certainly my fault, I was working entirely from maps.  And the river changed course at some point as well in there, so any inaccuracies are mine.

Still, I'm glad it was worth the trouble (as opposed to skipping it entirely).

[Fenrix]

This is probably not something everyone had to deal with, but I had to rewind a few times intermittently because I was spending time trying to figure out where the heck they were talking about, since the 'Hooch isn't that long when you add in that they went "down" from the plantation to Atlanta.

That is almost certainly my fault, I was working entirely from maps.  And the river changed course at some point as well in there, so any inaccuracies are mine.

Still, I'm glad it was worth the trouble (as opposed to skipping it entirely).

Promise you'll make the spelling edit before going for reprints and all will be forgiven. The geography and history of the area is good enough to maintain verisimilitude. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised that the story didn't come across as something written by a yankee about the south.