THE DEEP ONES: "When Death Wakes Me to Myself" by John Shirley
Talk The Weird Tradition
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1gwendetenebre
"When Death Wakes Me to Myself" by John Shirley
Discussion begins March 20, 2024.
First published in Black Wings II: New Tales of Lovecraftian Horror (2012).
BIBLIOGRAPHY
https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?1459430
SELECTED PRINT VERSIONS
The Year's Best Dark Fantasy and Horror: 2013
Lovecraft Alive!
ONLINE VERSIONS
No online versions found to date.
ONLINE AUDIO VERSIONS
No online audio versions found to date.
MISCELLANY
https://john-shirley.com/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Shirley
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jB44toZTf7Q
https://in-sightpublishing.com/2023/02/03/an-interview-with-john-shirley-part-on...
https://tinyurl.com/5efc8ap7
Discussion begins March 20, 2024.
First published in Black Wings II: New Tales of Lovecraftian Horror (2012).
BIBLIOGRAPHY
https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?1459430
SELECTED PRINT VERSIONS
The Year's Best Dark Fantasy and Horror: 2013
Lovecraft Alive!
ONLINE VERSIONS
No online versions found to date.
ONLINE AUDIO VERSIONS
No online audio versions found to date.
MISCELLANY
https://john-shirley.com/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Shirley
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jB44toZTf7Q
https://in-sightpublishing.com/2023/02/03/an-interview-with-john-shirley-part-on...
https://tinyurl.com/5efc8ap7
2paradoxosalpha
This one is a good fit with "A Gentleman from Mexico." Both have HPL appear as a central character today via metempsychosis, despite the very different settings, and both reflect decently accurate reading in Grandpa's biography. This one used the psychotherapeutic angle to explore his terminal and post-mortem experiences.
The South Carolina "lighthouse ... one light atop and a diabolic inverse sequestered beneath" where HPL encounters the alien intelligence reminds me of VanderMeer's later Southern Reach stories.
Shirley seems to imply that there's something peculiar going on with Leah from the start, as if she had already been recruited or subordinated by "them."
The South Carolina "lighthouse ... one light atop and a diabolic inverse sequestered beneath" where HPL encounters the alien intelligence reminds me of VanderMeer's later Southern Reach stories.
Shirley seems to imply that there's something peculiar going on with Leah from the start, as if she had already been recruited or subordinated by "them."
3RandyStafford
HPL's soul embodied in a cat was a nice touch.
4paradoxosalpha
Yeah, lots of cat stuff!
5housefulofpaper
I remember John Shirley's cyberpunk fiction from the late '80s and I've read at least one other of his Mythos fiction since my interest in Weird fiction turned serious.
I was impressed with the modulation of Roman's speech into HPL's distinctive vocabulary and style - subtly and convincingly done, I thought.
There's plenty of metempsychosis and other forms of mind-swapping in HPL''s fiction, so the premise of this story and of "A Gentleman from Mexico" are both solidly "Lovecraftian" without either story crossing the line into pastiche.
I didn't pick up any "vibes" from Leah - maybe on a re-read.
I was impressed with the modulation of Roman's speech into HPL's distinctive vocabulary and style - subtly and convincingly done, I thought.
There's plenty of metempsychosis and other forms of mind-swapping in HPL''s fiction, so the premise of this story and of "A Gentleman from Mexico" are both solidly "Lovecraftian" without either story crossing the line into pastiche.
I didn't pick up any "vibes" from Leah - maybe on a re-read.
