Tag Archive for 'vintage fiction'

This book came recommended, and should not be confused with any literature by H.P. Lovecraft. The title is The Place Called Dagon and the author is Herbert S. Gorman. Written in 1927, Dagon was Gorman’s only foray into the horror/weird menace genre, Gorman being mainly a novelist, biographer, poet, and journalist. Apparently, this book was inspirational to H.P. Lovecraft. The blurb on the back cover mentions that it “uncannily reflects many of the themes in Lovecraft’s own fiction, and probably influenced his tales The Shadow over Innsmouth and The Dreams in the Witch House.”

To which I say: Maybe this book influenced Lovecraft, or maybe it bored him to tears. Maybe he did his very best to read it, but couldn’t quite seem to get through it, like I did. I feel a little bit dishonest writing a review about a book that I didn’t finish. This may actually be a first. I decided to write this review because the book may be of interest to fans of fiction from this time period. Of course, to those people, I would first recommend some Arthur Machen, William Hope Hodgson, Clark Ashton Smith, and/or Poe. If you’re not particularly choosy about the time period, read The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890) by Oscar Wilde (the Kindle edition is currently free), or chase down some of Wilde’s short ghost stories. That man could fucking write.

By now you’ve sussed out that I didn’t like this book. The Place Called Dagon is about a young country doctor, Daniel Dreeme, who has come to the realization that there is something wrong with the small New England farming community that he has recently set up shop in. Things are wrong with the people, but it’s not just that. Dreeme feels like something is wrong with the very soil, the crops, and the breezes and creek that wind through it. Check this out. It’s a nice piece of writing.

He strained his ears in some suprise and for a moment in the patter of rain he seemed to hear a thin rushing overhead as though a flock of heavy-winged birds were beating through the night air. The sound swept into nothingness so suddenly that he decided it was no more than the blood beating through his own ears or the upper whir of the rain. It was as though a door had been suddenly closed.

Called to remove a bullet from the leg of a reclusive farmer late one night, Dreeme finds himself walking into a lair of evil and corruption. Perhaps the very lair that is befouling the nearby countryside. The above moment occurs when Dreeme is prompted listen by the farmer’s crazed and desperate wife. Although poor Dreeme knows it’s Wrong, he finds later that he can’t get the farmer’s wife out of his head. Later we discover that Dreeme has made a similar impression on her. Petty small town intrigue ensues, at least one corpse turns up, and horrible secrets are uncovered. At least for people who have the patience to get through the book. For those with a hankering for some adultery literature, I can only recommend the best: The Postman Always Rings Twice (1934) by James M. Cain.

Dagon reads like a series of finely crafted scenes. Many, if not all, of these scenes are well written. At the very least, they all convey some psychological weight. The writing is purposeful enough that it becomes obvious that the protagonist’s last name is meaningful. At best, one of these scenes will suggest something interesting and move the story forward. At worst, they are the equivalent of spending five pages describing a scabbed knee from every conceivable angle, and then spending another two describing the difference between how it looks with the lights on versus how it looks with the lights out. In the right hands, such wool-gathering can be entertaining. I wasn’t into it. I’m also open to the possibility that others will find it entertaining. After all, as I said, this book came be me via a recommendation.

Creepy Factor: 2 out of 5
Suspense Factor: 1 out of 5
Weird Erotic Tension Factor: 3 out of 5
Funny and/or Strange Factor: 1 out of 5

Because on the face of it The Place Called Dagon seemed to have a lot going for it, I spent more than a little time trying to get into the book. I purposefully set aside blocks of quality time for it. I tried again and again to find a new enthusiasm for it. In the end, I couldn’t finish it.

The Place Called Dagon by Herbert S. Gorman – 1927

The Place Called Dagon (Lovecraft’s Library) on Amazon