"... one of the most important talents in the Lovecraft Circle comes into his own. Fans old and new will share delight in the weird and wondrous world of Donald Wandrei" -- Robert Bloch
"At the time that Lovecraft died, Donald Wandrei was the most natural successor to him that I could think of. Wandrei's science fiction had a spectral quality to it and was an original achievement." -- Fritz Leiber
This volume presents two novels by H.P. Lovecraft's friend and correspondent.
DEAD TITANS, WAKEN! is Donald Wandrei's only horror novel, later revised and published by Arkham House as THE WEB OF EASTER ISLAND. Here Fedogan and Bremer provides the original form of the book-- the manuscript critqued and guided by Lovecraft himself, for his younger friend. While "Mythos" tales as pastiche became an entire genre as the years went by, this horror tale was written long before that trend took hold, and in fact the author didn't think of it as a "Mythos" story per se. Pulp horror at its finest is on display.
The second novel is INVISIBLE SUN, written in the early 1930s but never published during the author's lifetime. Not only was it too raw for general audiences at the time, but also quite experimental by the standards of the time, and indeed in some ways seems remarkably modern in tone over eighty years later. As with Joseph Conrad, there are overtones of psychologic horror implicit in this story culminating in a passionate Jazz Age Minneapolis/St. Paul setting.
Noted Weird Fiction and Pulp authority S.T. Joshi provides fulsome comments upon the novels. The notes are completely separated from the stories, so that the reader can enjoy the fiction without distraction.
Interior illustrations are by Wandrei's frind, Rodger Gerberding. The cover art is by another of the author's friend, one-time Weird Tales artist Jon Arfstrom. The entire production reflects the strong Twin Cities connections of the Wandrei family.
Originally released in a very limited print run in hardcovers by Centipede Press, this book is the first Trade Edition of these works.
Best known for his pulp stories of Science Fiction and Horror, Donald Wandrei was also co-founder (with August Derleth) of the legendary Arkham House Publishing house.
For over 30 years, S.T. Joshi has been a noted authority on Weird Fiction, with special interests and dozens of books on pulp authors and many other writers spanning the whole field. He's best known for his exhaustive biography of H.P. Lovecraft, I AM PROVIDENCE, and his ground-breaking critical essays including THE WEIRD TALE. As an editor, he has also brought forth such anthologies as A MOUNTAIN WALKED and the several volumes of BLACK WINGS.
A friend of Donald Wandrei's and longtime member of the Twin Cities Lovecraftian crowd, Gerberding's artwork forms a perfect complement to Wandrei's work.
