Review: The Night Land

The Night Land
by William Hope Hodgson

This influentual classic was written in 1911. The writer was a strong influence on HP lovecraft and the Cthulhu Mythos. It has a knightly romance style like the fantasy of before tolkiens generation - comparable to the fantasy writings of william morris (a big influence on cs lewis). Norman Spinrad’s Iron dream owes something to it. Most editions are covered in reviews by clark ashton smith, lovecraft and robert e howard (auther of conan). I guess my image of the writer is as a world weary seafarer who managed to write his meloncholic and disturbing fantasies into several major works in the genre before dying in ww1. You could call him the father of cosmic horror (whatever that is? horror for aetheists?).

The Night Land is the world so far in the future the sun has been snuffed out - the world is scarred blasted and deformed. the wilds are crawling with mutants and monsters. even the landscape is alive with volcanoes and gigantic living mountains with gibbering faces muttering silently to who knows what. As to how the world came to be, well that was so long ago. The last “humans” live inside a giant silver pyramid whose systems are grinding down over thousands of years and whose dwellers have regressed to a medieval like-culture. The protagonist is on a quest for his beloved who he believes dwells in a smaller hithero unknown pyramid on the verge of ruin. The narrative deals with this fear filled journey across the nightland.

One of the most bleakest vissions of the future and interesting books i have ever read. The House on the Borderland is another work by the author worth reading also. Many fantasy worlds in fiction are dreamscapes loaded with psychological symbolism. the night land is one of discomfort, fear of contamination, decay and devolution. More than a few post victorian horror writers let their xenophobia and fear of deformity run wild, which is why im guessing Norman Spinrad used ideas in his book the Iron Dream - a Faux SF novel by Adolf Hitler from a world where he imigrated to america and joined the SF writers fraternity (which ill review some other time). Like reading too much Brian lumley stories of corpse devouring worms i was left feeling genuinley discomforted.

There are txt file versions online, fan websites, maps and art out there and copies of the book feature some amazing artwork. Many of the artworks feature blackend flaming horisons like Brugel surrealist paintings. Very appropriate. A film of this could be awesome but id be scared they would put keaunu in it. Copyright has expired on it too if your enclined to be inspired by it.