| Title | : | Weird Tales January 1927 |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 144 |
| Publication | : | First published January 1, 1927 |
Table of contents:
John Martin Leahy. Drome
Eli Colter. The Last Horror
August Derleth. The Night Rider
Gordon Philip England. The Fourth Victim
H. P. Lovecraft. The Horror at Red Hook
A. Leslie. Fame
Robert E. Howard. The Lost Race
Victor Rousseau. The Major's Menagerie
William James Price. Ballade of Phantom Ships
Everil Worrell. Leonora
Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Song
Frank Owen. The Dream Pedler
George C. Wallis, Bruce Wallis. The Star Shell
William A. P. White. Ye Goode Olde Ghoste Storie
Wilkie Collins. The Ostler
The Eyrie
Weird Tales January 1927 Reviews
-
Whew! In terms of story and writing quality, this issue is a huge improvement over the prior month's, but it's also one of the most racist pulps I can recall reading. A tall order, yes? Besides Lovecraft's notorious "The Horror at Red Hook," the contents also include a tale by Eli Colter called "The Last Horror" that almost defies description. Colter's story involves a "superior" black man who so desperately wishes to be white that he skins Caucasians and uses a captive surgeon to graft the skin to his body. The irony here is that I think the author believed his story was anti-racist because at the climax (among other things) he conjures the spirit of Lincoln to convince the villain that he should be using his considerable talents for the betterment of his race to help lift them out of their sub-white status. Implicit in all this is the inferiority of pretty much everyone who isn't white. I've read a lot of horribly outdated pulp fiction but this one is special because it's more than just rote stereotypes -- it considers racism more or less thoughtfully and then embraces it. Compared to "The Last Horror," Lovecraft's tale feels artificial and silly, although it also reinforces the accounts of his state of mind while living in New York City -- so horrified by "mongrels" that he seemed half insane.
Among the less objectionable contents here are Howard's "The Lost Race," the first of his Pictish tales, the cover story "Drome," about a hidden race living in Mount Ranier, and minor pieces by Derleth, Frank Owen, and others. My favorite story is "Leonora," by Everil Worrell, a quietly chilling ghost story that stands well apart from the all too revealing creations of Colter and HPL. As offensive as some of the contents of this issue may be to a modern reader, the issue is an excellent example of pulps as expressions of the American mindset at its most creative and its most deranged. -
Only read "The Last Horror" by Eli Colter because knowing she was a female author in a male dominated industry is super interesting. Although it was technically written in a suspenseful and intriguing way, it's just impossible to get past the racism. So I'm not even going to rate it because it just doesn't sit right.
