Dreams from R'lyeh

Dreams from R'lyeh is a collection of poems by Lin Carter. The book was released in hardcover by Arkham House in 1975[1] in an edition of 3,152 copies. It was Carter's only book published by Arkham House.[2][3][4][5] The title sequence of sonnet, "Dreams from R'lyeh", has also been reprinted in Robert M. Price's The Xothic Legend Cycle: The Complete Mythos Fiction of Lin Carter (Chaosium, 1997).

Dreams from R'lyeh
Jacket illustration of first edition
AuthorLin Carter
Cover artistTim Kirk
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Genrepoetry
PublisherArkham House
Publication date
1975
Media typePrint (Hardback)
Pagesxv, 72
ISBN0-87054-067-X
OCLC1323872
811/.5/4
LC ClassPS3553.A7823 D7

Summary

The Sonnet Cycle, "Dreams from R'lyeh", that comprises the first two-thirds of the book, consists of poems inspired by H. P. Lovecraft and the Cthulhu Mythos. Unlike Lovecraft's Fungi from Yuggoth, the sonnets of which do not tell a continuous story, Dreams from R'lyeh from start to finish clearly narrates the story of Wilbur Nathaniel Hoag, from his childhood to just before his disappearance in late 1944. Mental (and perhaps physical) degeneration are apparent near the last sonnet.

The remainder of the verses are on various topics, celebrating other fantasy authors or reflecting on fantastic themes. "Diombar's Song of the Last Battle" is a heroic poem set in the prehistory of Carter's "Thongor" novels, and "Death-Song of Conan the Cimmerian" an end-of-life summation of Robert E. Howard's barbarian hero Conan, written from the perspective of the character himself.

Contents

Reception

The collection was reviewed by W. N. MacPherson in The Science Fiction Review, May 1975, Daniel Bailey in Myrddin, August 1975, Stuart David Schiff in Whispers #6/7, June 1975, and #8, December 1975, Fritz Leiber in Fantastic, May 1976, and C. D. Whateley in Crypt of Cthulhu #13, Roodmas 1983.[1]

Notes
  1. Dreams from R'lyeh title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
  2. Jaffery, Sheldon (1989). The Arkham House Companion. Mercer Island, WA: Starmont House, Inc. pp. 112–113. ISBN 1-55742-005-X.
  3. Chalker, Jack L.; Mark Owings (1998). The Science-Fantasy Publishers: A Bibliographic History, 1923-1998. Westminster, MD and Baltimore: Mirage Press, Ltd. pp. 135–136.
  4. Joshi, S.T. (1999). Sixty Years of Arkham House: A History and Bibliography. Sauk City, WI: Arkham House. pp. 125–127. ISBN 0-87054-176-5.
  5. Nielsen, Leon (2004). Arkham House Books: A Collector's Guide. Jefferson, NC and London: McFarland & Company, Inc. pp. 120–121. ISBN 0-7864-1785-4.


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