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Fantasy Commentator, v. 1, issue 7, Summer 1945
Page 159
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FANTASY COMMENTATOR 159 ries, for in "The Attainment of John Evangelist Wedgwood" he refers to this variety as "...diabolic journalism, which does the devil's work by putting more fear into the world..." In the light of such a statement as this, one can only regret that strait-laced religious beliefs have prevented his talent for writing an emotionally moving tale from embracing the field of the supernatural, where it might well have flowered into rich and satisfying maturity. As it is, however, a critic must deal with things as they are: and since this is the case, there is little else to say other than that the stories in Candlelight Attic will probably never be remembered by those who take the trouble to peruse them, and that as a forgotten creator of ghosts Cecily Rosemary Hallack deserves neither resurrection nor critical recognition. ---oOo--- By-Products---concluded from page 149 gauge correctly his readers' powers of association. All that we do is to fire at the pile and hope for a fair percentage of hits. Therefore, even if authors write primarily to entertain---and that is certainly what they do---I still think a story a dud unless it is also stimulating to an alert reader. The truly great writers do much more than amuse: they change the whole trend of their readers' thoughts. Verne and Wells accomplished that, and some of their successors did, too. So the authors are right as to their conscious motives, you see, and yet the fans are also right in ascribing a certain educational influence to science-fiction. All in all, I don't believe there are any grounds whatever for disagreement. ---oOo--- The Day After Tomorrow---concluded from page 139 tasies in this collection deal with awakened sleepers. The title story tells of the revival of a soldier of Hannibal's army, who has been miraculously preserved in a glacier for centuries, and of his reactions to the present-day world. More fascinating a tale than this, however, is the longer "Secret of Appolonius Septrio." When the scientists of his time scoffed at his claim that a common herb, when eaten at certain intervals, would keep a human being alive indefinitely, the Professor said no more; but he, his wife and her brother ate it---and lived on and on. Decades and centuries passed, nations rose and fell, but time could not touch them. Then came separation, none of the three knowing the whereabouts of the others. In one far distant epoch the Professor met a merchant selling tiny flasks of a potion each drop of which would, he claimed, give its drinker a year of sleep. Anxious to leap ahead ten years or so into the future, the Professor retired to a secluded cave to test its efficacy; forgetful, however, he drained the flask---realizing to his horror just as lethargy sweeps over him that he was destined to remain in suspended animation for centuries. He awakens to find most of the country a jungle; faring forth, he is captured by human beings, who have by obscure evolutionary processes increased greatly in stature, and grown wings. The tale concludes with a meeting of the trio: beside the cage in which the Professor is confined is another wherein is his brother-in-law, who has gone mad through ages of loneliness; and approaching the two is the Professor's wife, now larger and winged, for she has eaten the strange foods and lived in the environment that initiated these bodily changes. Can her mind bridge the gulf of time to remember them? The answer to that intriguing question may be found in "The Secret of Appolonius Septrio," which has a surprisingly modern cast considering the fact that it is nearly three-quarters of a century old, and which appears to be a relatively unknown classic of fantasy.
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FANTASY COMMENTATOR 159 ries, for in "The Attainment of John Evangelist Wedgwood" he refers to this variety as "...diabolic journalism, which does the devil's work by putting more fear into the world..." In the light of such a statement as this, one can only regret that strait-laced religious beliefs have prevented his talent for writing an emotionally moving tale from embracing the field of the supernatural, where it might well have flowered into rich and satisfying maturity. As it is, however, a critic must deal with things as they are: and since this is the case, there is little else to say other than that the stories in Candlelight Attic will probably never be remembered by those who take the trouble to peruse them, and that as a forgotten creator of ghosts Cecily Rosemary Hallack deserves neither resurrection nor critical recognition. ---oOo--- By-Products---concluded from page 149 gauge correctly his readers' powers of association. All that we do is to fire at the pile and hope for a fair percentage of hits. Therefore, even if authors write primarily to entertain---and that is certainly what they do---I still think a story a dud unless it is also stimulating to an alert reader. The truly great writers do much more than amuse: they change the whole trend of their readers' thoughts. Verne and Wells accomplished that, and some of their successors did, too. So the authors are right as to their conscious motives, you see, and yet the fans are also right in ascribing a certain educational influence to science-fiction. All in all, I don't believe there are any grounds whatever for disagreement. ---oOo--- The Day After Tomorrow---concluded from page 139 tasies in this collection deal with awakened sleepers. The title story tells of the revival of a soldier of Hannibal's army, who has been miraculously preserved in a glacier for centuries, and of his reactions to the present-day world. More fascinating a tale than this, however, is the longer "Secret of Appolonius Septrio." When the scientists of his time scoffed at his claim that a common herb, when eaten at certain intervals, would keep a human being alive indefinitely, the Professor said no more; but he, his wife and her brother ate it---and lived on and on. Decades and centuries passed, nations rose and fell, but time could not touch them. Then came separation, none of the three knowing the whereabouts of the others. In one far distant epoch the Professor met a merchant selling tiny flasks of a potion each drop of which would, he claimed, give its drinker a year of sleep. Anxious to leap ahead ten years or so into the future, the Professor retired to a secluded cave to test its efficacy; forgetful, however, he drained the flask---realizing to his horror just as lethargy sweeps over him that he was destined to remain in suspended animation for centuries. He awakens to find most of the country a jungle; faring forth, he is captured by human beings, who have by obscure evolutionary processes increased greatly in stature, and grown wings. The tale concludes with a meeting of the trio: beside the cage in which the Professor is confined is another wherein is his brother-in-law, who has gone mad through ages of loneliness; and approaching the two is the Professor's wife, now larger and winged, for she has eaten the strange foods and lived in the environment that initiated these bodily changes. Can her mind bridge the gulf of time to remember them? The answer to that intriguing question may be found in "The Secret of Appolonius Septrio," which has a surprisingly modern cast considering the fact that it is nearly three-quarters of a century old, and which appears to be a relatively unknown classic of fantasy.
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