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Fantasy Commentator, v. 1, issue 6, Spring 1945

Page 125

FANTASY COMMENTATOR
125

The Third Omnibus of Crime (Sayers)   4
Three Go Back (Mitchell)   4
The Travel Tales of Mr. Joseph Jorkens (Dunsany)   4
The Wanderer's Necklace (Haggard)   4
The Way of Stars (Beck)   4
The Weird O't (Shiel)   4
Wisdom's Daughter (Haggard)   4

Lack of space precludes the listing of titles which were requested fewer than four times during the period of this survey.

It might be well to comment briefly upon the results. First of all, although a high count usually indicates that a book is scarce is therefore difficult to obtain (with a few exceptions such as She and Atlantis) the reverse is not necessarily true. Novels such as The World Below, The Earth Tube, The Monk, The House by the Churchyard and others of equal or greater scarcity are requested less often than are To Walk the Night, The Prince of Peril, The Celestial Omnibus, et. al., which are relatively easier to locate. This may show that some books are more widely publicized than others---or else simply that the average reader's preferences are operating to produce such an effect.

It is not a very surprising fact that Lovecraft's Outsider leads the list, since the book is of high quality and received but a limited printing. The other Arkham House volumes also showed up well---all now out of print receiving fifteen or more requests apiece. The popularity of The Circus of Dr. Lao is understandable, such a truly unique novel well meriting such attention. Somewhat surprising to me, however, is the number of requests for Om, The House of Fulfillment, and Brother of the Third Degree. Also it seems a bit odd that only one of E. F. Benson's four collections of ghost stories should be in demand, and, (aside from the omnibus volume) but one of Oliver Onions' three.

Several Haggard novels rate quite well---which is a just tribute to an old master, a proof that a half-century of time has not dimmed his popularity. Burroughs' Swords of Mars is seen to be his novel that is most in demand, with Carson of Venus not far behind. And such masters as William Hope Hodgson, M. R. James and Olaf Stapledon still command attention. Merritt, of course, is in as much demand as ever, his "Metal Emperor," which was never published in book form except in Russia (where is appeared under the title "The Lightning Witch") being requested several times.

To comparative newcomers to the fantasy field this listing may also be of interest as source material---giving the titles of books which might not be otherwise recognized as fantasy. To them, and to others as well, I therefore leave it, each to follow his own train of thoughts during perusal. It would, however, be interesting to see how the coming six months affects the position of various titles. Would there be any important alterations? Only the next twenty-six issues of our bookdealers' trade-journal will tell!

---oOo---

This-'n'-That---concluded from page 102

In this country, meanwhile, 1944 saw the appearance of many titles of imaginative fiction. The End of All Men, by C. F. Ramuz (Pantheon, $2 1/2) tells of the earth falling into the sun. Marjorie Fischer and Rolfe Humphries had edited a bulky anthology of short fantasies entitled Pause to Wonder (Messner, $3), now in its second printing. Memorable for its Salvatore Dali illustrations---as well as for its beautiful format---is Maurice Sandoz' Fantastic Memories (Doubleday-Doran, $5), a collection of fifteen short narratives of the strange and the macabre. Thumbs down on W. Kreupp's Extraordinary Professor (Colt, $3); this is heavy allegorical satire, usually coarse, and too often crudely offensive...And although there are more books to note, insufficient room prevents their listing here; the remainder will be in Commentator #7.
---A. L. S.

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FANTASY COMMENTATOR 125 The Third Omnibus of Crime (Sayers) 4 Three Go Back (Mitchell) 4 The Travel Tales of Mr. Joseph Jorkens (Dunsany) 4 The Wanderer's Necklace (Haggard) 4 The Way of Stars (Beck) 4 The Weird O't (Shiel) 4 Wisdom's Daughter (Haggard) 4 Lack of space precludes the listing of titles which were requested fewer than four times during the period of this survey. It might be well to comment briefly upon the results. First of all, although a high count usually indicates that a book is scarce is therefore difficult to obtain (with a few exceptions such as She and Atlantis) the reverse is not necessarily true. Novels such as The World Below, The Earth Tube, The Monk, The House by the Churchyard and others of equal or greater scarcity are requested less often than are To Walk the Night, The Prince of Peril, The Celestial Omnibus, et. al., which are relatively easier to locate. This may show that some books are more widely publicized than others---or else simply that the average reader's preferences are operating to produce such an effect. It is not a very surprising fact that Lovecraft's Outsider leads the list, since the book is of high quality and received but a limited printing. The other Arkham House volumes also showed up well---all now out of print receiving fifteen or more requests apiece. The popularity of The Circus of Dr. Lao is understandable, such a truly unique novel well meriting such attention. Somewhat surprising to me, however, is the number of requests for Om, The House of Fulfillment, and Brother of the Third Degree. Also it seems a bit odd that only one of E. F. Benson's four collections of ghost stories should be in demand, and, (aside from the omnibus volume) but one of Oliver Onions' three. Several Haggard novels rate quite well---which is a just tribute to an old master, a proof that a half-century of time has not dimmed his popularity. Burroughs' Swords of Mars is seen to be his novel that is most in demand, with Carson of Venus not far behind. And such masters as William Hope Hodgson, M. R. James and Olaf Stapledon still command attention. Merritt, of course, is in as much demand as ever, his "Metal Emperor," which was never published in book form except in Russia (where is appeared under the title "The Lightning Witch") being requested several times. To comparative newcomers to the fantasy field this listing may also be of interest as source material---giving the titles of books which might not be otherwise recognized as fantasy. To them, and to others as well, I therefore leave it, each to follow his own train of thoughts during perusal. It would, however, be interesting to see how the coming six months affects the position of various titles. Would there be any important alterations? Only the next twenty-six issues of our bookdealers' trade-journal will tell! ---oOo--- This-'n'-That---concluded from page 102 In this country, meanwhile, 1944 saw the appearance of many titles of imaginative fiction. The End of All Men, by C. F. Ramuz (Pantheon, $2 1/2) tells of the earth falling into the sun. Marjorie Fischer and Rolfe Humphries had edited a bulky anthology of short fantasies entitled Pause to Wonder (Messner, $3), now in its second printing. Memorable for its Salvatore Dali illustrations---as well as for its beautiful format---is Maurice Sandoz' Fantastic Memories (Doubleday-Doran, $5), a collection of fifteen short narratives of the strange and the macabre. Thumbs down on W. Kreupp's Extraordinary Professor (Colt, $3); this is heavy allegorical satire, usually coarse, and too often crudely offensive...And although there are more books to note, insufficient room prevents their listing here; the remainder will be in Commentator #7. ---A. L. S.