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Lunch » Tags » Books » Reviews » The House on the Borderland by William Hope Hodgson » User review

Odd but excellent mix of horror and outdated far future speculation

  • Feb 20, 2011
Rating:
+5
This is a very odd book, mixing supernatural horror with a cosmic perspective that is mostly associated with the science fiction genre. These elements feel like they should be at odds with each other from the outset, but somehow they manage to complement each other well and create a very disturbing atmosphere.

What I found most surprising about the book is how accessible the writing is. I read it in one go without ever having the feeling I was reading a dated book from the begin of the last century. There are minor elements that do date the book, for example the attitude of the narrator toward his sister and the passages that depict the future fate of Earth. While the later are quite outdated from a scientific point of view, they are still extremely well written and very effective at evoking a certain sense of dread, which feeds excellently into the more mundane horror the narrator feels when facing the things that lurk around his house.

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February 21, 2011
Good review!
 
February 21, 2011
Great write-up! Have you had a chance to check out @'s review? You might enjoy reading it!
 
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More The House on the Borderland by... reviews
review by . June 22, 2009
I just reviewed THE NIGHT LAND.  THE HOUSE ON THE BORDERLAND relates to the Night Land, but it also stands on its own.  This time, Hodgson did not have to rely on prose from another age, since the action takes place in a more modern setting.  In the west of Ireland, there lies the (fictional) village of Creighton.  Here, our two modern heroes go for a fishing vacation.  One day when they hike instead of fish, they find a huge pit in the landscape and the ruins of a once …
see all The House on the Borderland by... reviews (2)
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About this book

Wiki

The House on the Borderland is a supernatural or horror novel by British fantasist William Hope Hodgson published in 1908.

The book is a milestone that signals the leaving of the realistic nature of supernatural fiction of the late 19th century. Hodgson follows out of the ghost story and the gothic to create a newer cosmic horror that leaves a great impression on the people who would become the great writers of the weird tales of the middle of the 20th century, most notably H. P. Lovecraft.

This novel was first released in Britain by Chapman and Hall, Ltd. London in 1908. Its most popular version was by Arkham House Press, Sauk City, Wisconsin, in 1946 as part of The House on the Borderland and Other Novels, the same publishers that brought out many books by other authors of weird fiction, such as H. P. Lovecraft

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Tags

Books, Scifi, Science Fiction Books, Supernatural, Horror Fiction
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Details

ISBN-10: 1449526039 (pbk.)
ISBN-13: 9781449526030 (pbk.)
Author: William Hope Hodgson
Publisher: CreateSpace
Date Published: ©1974, September 24, 2009
First to Review

"Wonderfully creepy terror and horror"
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