Episode 512 - Spawn of the Green Abyss - Part 1

it’s a cool one though!!

Jason Thompson

My guess is that Flan is a place marker but was left in because annoyance.

I got to admit, I thought this story was going to be a formulaic pastiche of Lovecraft and it kinda-sorta is, so I read it with a negative attitude. However, the story took a interesting turn and opened up some new content and in retrospect this story deserves a little more credit than I gave it on my first read through.

Seconded. Providence is some damn solid homage/reimagining of Lovecraft. And hey, there's gotta be bonus content for months to come. I certainly hope they talk Lovecraft Country when the show wraps up, maybe even compare to the novel. Or see if one of the writers for the show would talk about it. I've been listening to the official HBO companion podcast and really appreciate the choices they've been making when crafting the show.

Every time Andrew Leman reads a tale, a Night Gaunt gets its bat wings.

You should try Ruthanna Emrys' Innsmouth Legacy books

For what it’s worth, the whole Dieties & Demigods thing is a lot more complicated than most people think: https://youtu.be/-Auk-Sd4ZlI (video features an interview with Sandy Peterson)

Saint Fu

This is one of those occasions where the RPG has spoiled me for the story. I won’t spoil it for any of you, suffice to say that there is an entry in the Malleus Monstrorum specifically named “Spawn of the Green Abyss”.

BTW I just finished re-reading Alan Moore's Providence for the umpteenth time. I really think this would be an excellent bonus content ep. That is if a Lovecraft Country ep isn't already forthcoming. Happy to hear any discussion of it (controvery and all). It isn't out here in Germany yet, so I've just finished the audio book.

While I don’t remember reading C. Thomas Howell before, the thing that always got me about Derleth’s and others’ Innsmouth pastiches is that I typically ended the story wondering what the protagnoist’s angst was all about. I more identified with the soon-to-be Deep One . Become an Aquaman or Namor! Sign me up. His gunning down his wife just seems more like the screaming ninnies in Waterworld when they catch a glimpse of what Costner’s hiding behind his ears. The cover art of the Weird Tale magazine even reinforces this more. Maybe part 2 will change my opinion of how he wraps the story up, but so far I think he’s a putz for killing his child. Of course H.P.L. did it the best with the ecstatic terror at the end of Innsmouth. I didn’t want to swim away to the depths like that, but here at least from the parts read by Leman, his wife seems more like a sea nymph than some from beyond controlled monstrosity.

In the time of coronavirus, I find it soothing to settle in with a tale going precisely where I know it's going to go. The Jean Anouilh Antigone has a wonderful Chorus character who starts the show, pops in in the middle, and helps wrap things up. Chorus directly tells the audience who is going to die - and more or less handles how and why. This, explains Chorus, is the beauty of tragedy: you know you can't beat fate, but you can say all the things you want to say - rail against fate - and that is worth watching. This kind of story is much like that, for me. The writing is pretty okay. I can relax. Ride the riptide.

Still don't own a copy of this anthology, but I managed to find a scan of "Spawn of the Green Abyss" as it appeared in WEIRD TALES at https://www.unz.com/print/WeirdTales-1946nov-00010. So, as soon as we read "nauseous effluvia" and "trail of dried sea brine," we all knew where this was going, right? Also, does anyone else think Guillermo del Toro made THE SHAPE OF WATER specifically as a rebuttal to this story? Fly your freak flag, monster f***ers!

Shades of a reverse Bluebeard.

Steve

On Derleth, I don't personally know of any other time of him shooing writers *away* from pastiche--AD&D getting threatened with legal action over Deities & Demigods was by Chaosium, not Derleth, and Drawmij had even nabbed Derleth's written permission. TSR didn't have money for lawyers, though, so Cthulhu got axed. One thing I have heard (that someone more versed in the history may need to describe in detail) is that Derleth was so indignant over R. H. Barlowe "claiming" to be Lovecraft's legal exector after he died and nabbing his papers, he actively pressured the kid out of the industry and basically tanked his career.

Mandy Reznor (She_It)

I am SO happy that Andrew's opening reading included "You have seen the murder gun." The second I saw that line I knew this story was going to be full of just ridiculous language, and I was not disappointed.

Richard Horsman

I think the Lovecraftian aspect of Lovecraft country has nothing to do with the monsters. People coping with the realisation that they're constantly struggling without any real hope against titanic and uncaring forces which shape the reality around them is the essence of cosmic horror- and that's the essence of being a black person traveling through 1950s America. The horror is Jim Crow not the shoggoths.

🎵"It's beginning to look a lot like Fish-men!" 🎶 It's always interesting going back to the first/second generation Lovecraftian writers. This is a better pastiche than Derleth but I don't think it rises beyond pastiche, even compared to other 1st Gen mythos writers like Bloch. Chad's Joisey accent I think elevates the entire work. Also- "Diagnose the black soil of ancient hells? I'm a doctor, Jim, not an antiquary!"

Hopefully this review will save people time,slapping Lovecraft or tentacles on something doesn't make it Lovecraftian. Just makes it a grift https://bookandfilmglobe.com/television/tv-review-lovecraft-country/