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Fantasy Fan, v. 2, issue 1, whole no. 13, September 1934

Page 10

10     THE FANTASY FAN, September, 1934

THE INTELLECTUAL SHOCKER

by H. Koenig

Collecting weird and fantastic stories is a fascinating pursuit. Locating first editions of some of our well-known authors affords considerable thrill, but the real kick comes when one discovers a comparatively little-known author of weird stories or re-discovers an old and forgotten one. I experienced such a thrill when I first came across one of the books written by a young Englishman named Charles Williams, and I didn't rest content until I had obtained all five of his novels. Williams appears to be practically unknown over here and a few lines regarding him and his books may prove of interest to other readers and collectors.
Sooner or later, the inveterate reader of weird fiction becomes surfeited with stories of one pattern and falls into a rut. A year or so ago one of the magazines devoted to books recommended to readers who found themselves in such a predicament a sure cure--the intellectual shocker. It is the type of story the average fiction reader will overlook and even the habitual reader of weird and fantasy stories is apt to ignore it.
Bulwer-Lytton's "Zononi" and "Phra, the Phoenician" have long been out of date. Rider Haqgard is not being read by the present generation and yet his immortal "She" is the pure type of the intellectual horror tale. All weird fans have read Merritt's "Burn Witch, Burn" but how many read "The Moon Pool" when it was first published? Guy Endore's "The Werewolf of Paris" received plenty of publicity but his "The Man from Limbo," a good example of the intellectual shocker, slipped by practically unnoticed.
Charles Williams is one of the modern writers of the intellectual horror story. Born in England in 1886, Williams was educated at St. Albans and University College, London. He is an authority on Shakespearean literature, poetry, etc. and has written a fairly long list of books, most of them dealing with poetical subjects. In 1930, however, he wrote his first novel, "War in Heaven," and it proved to be one of the finest high-brow horror stories written in recent years. It concerns a struggle for the "Graal," a battle between the forces of good and evil. It has all the elements of a real mystery story combined with the horror and thrill of the supernatural and the occult.
To date, Mr. Williams has written five books of this type:
"War in Heaven" (1930)
"Many Dimensions" (1931)
"Greater Trumps" (1932)
"Place of the Lion" (1932)
"Shadows of Ecstasy" (1933)
The average fiction reader would probably be bewildered by Williams, but most of his plots are original and his ideas unusual and somewhat startling. He has the happy faculty of being able to combine the occult adventures with present-day people and scenes and, as one reviewer stated, "he succeeds in making the improbable likely and the impossible credible." To the readers who want their intellect
(continued on page 15)

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10 THE FANTASY FAN, September, 1934 THE INTELLECTUAL SHOCKER by H. Koenig Collecting weird and fantastic stories is a fascinating pursuit. Locating first editions of some of our well-known authors affords considerable thrill, but the real kick comes when one discovers a comparatively little-known author of weird stories or re-discovers an old and forgotten one. I experienced such a thrill when I first came across one of the books written by a young Englishman named Charles Williams, and I didn't rest content until I had obtained all five of his novels. Williams appears to be practically unknown over here and a few lines regarding him and his books may prove of interest to other readers and collectors. Sooner or later, the inveterate reader of weird fiction becomes surfeited with stories of one pattern and falls into a rut. A year or so ago one of the magazines devoted to books recommended to readers who found themselves in such a predicament a sure cure--the intellectual shocker. It is the type of story the average fiction reader will overlook and even the habitual reader of weird and fantasy stories is apt to ignore it. Bulwer-Lytton's "Zononi" and "Phra, the Phoenician" have long been out of date. Rider Haqgard is not being read by the present generation and yet his immortal "She" is the pure type of the intellectual horror tale. All weird fans have read Merritt's "Burn Witch, Burn" but how many read "The Moon Pool" when it was first published? Guy Endore's "The Werewolf of Paris" received plenty of publicity but his "The Man from Limbo," a good example of the intellectual shocker, slipped by practically unnoticed. Charles Williams is one of the modern writers of the intellectual horror story. Born in England in 1886, Williams was educated at St. Albans and University College, London. He is an authority on Shakespearean literature, poetry, etc. and has written a fairly long list of books, most of them dealing with poetical subjects. In 1930, however, he wrote his first novel, "War in Heaven," and it proved to be one of the finest high-brow horror stories written in recent years. It concerns a struggle for the "Graal," a battle between the forces of good and evil. It has all the elements of a real mystery story combined with the horror and thrill of the supernatural and the occult. To date, Mr. Williams has written five books of this type: "War in Heaven" (1930) "Many Dimensions" (1931) "Greater Trumps" (1932) "Place of the Lion" (1932) "Shadows of Ecstasy" (1933) The average fiction reader would probably be bewildered by Williams, but most of his plots are original and his ideas unusual and somewhat startling. He has the happy faculty of being able to combine the occult adventures with present-day people and scenes and, as one reviewer stated, "he succeeds in making the improbable likely and the impossible credible." To the readers who want their intellect (continued on page 15)