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nlord's review against another edition
I feel, even for the time there were better contemporary characters with much better writing (Manly Wade Wellman comes to mind for example).
Every story is like a whodunit-speedrun, with mystery established, Jules de Grandin going somewhere, then returning to give a long-winded explanation to his friend & us of how did he solved the mystery (usually, in a very boring, straight-forward kinda manner).
Second-to-last story I've listened to was about "strange N@groes", who turned out to be "vengeful Hindu", so unreasonably upset by a perfectly civilized massacre of the resistance by the British Company and hypnotizing seeming random British tourists to death.. the last story I've read was solved by the detective asking the police to check for fingerprints on the weapon, left literally at the crime scene - I get that it was, like, 1930s, but still.
Every story is like a whodunit-speedrun, with mystery established, Jules de Grandin going somewhere, then returning to give a long-winded explanation to his friend & us of how did he solved the mystery (usually, in a very boring, straight-forward kinda manner).
Second-to-last story I've listened to was about "strange N@groes", who turned out to be "vengeful Hindu", so unreasonably upset by a perfectly civilized massacre of the resistance by the British Company and hypnotizing seeming random British tourists to death.. the last story I've read was solved by the detective asking the police to check for fingerprints on the weapon, left literally at the crime scene - I get that it was, like, 1930s, but still.
cellardoor10's review against another edition
DNF at 37% - on audiobook, that's 9.5 hours in, for reference. It's repetitive and formulaic, and since my goal is to explore Hugo winners and get a better feel for OG Speculative fiction, I feel like 9.5 hrs is more than plenty.
However, my biggest issue is not that it's repetitive, which would be understandable given they are disparate short stories previously published in different issues of magazines, it's the completely yikes "Product of his time" crap. Genuinely some of the most obvious and pervasive racism and sexism I have seen thus far. It's worth mentioning that Quinn wrote earlier than many of the writers I have already read, the 1920s and 1930s but wow, it is relentless. In every story is a rebuke against a woman for the one thing she did that provoked a mad scientist serial killer, or the absolute, unwavering justification of the theft of priceless artifacts from Egypt and elsewhere, the portrayal of stereotypical remote island cannibalism led by a biracial man, who is described as only a half man, etc. As much as Lovecraft really loved grotesque, racist descriptions of his villains and victims, Quinn is even more pronounced in that.
I *could* keep listening, but I just don't feel like there will be any new experiences in the next *checks notes* SIXTEEN HOURS of audiobook. No need to subject myself to any more of this.
Not quite a one star since Quinn does have some cool horror ideas that play to his medical background strengths (this was very much the era of mad scientists practicing all kinds of weird operations and wild attempts at eugenics, etc.), and Grandin is an entertaining enough oddball.
I assume it goes without saying, but just, all the content warnings, including medical experimentation and some rather gruesome descriptions.
However, my biggest issue is not that it's repetitive, which would be understandable given they are disparate short stories previously published in different issues of magazines, it's the completely yikes "Product of his time" crap. Genuinely some of the most obvious and pervasive racism and sexism I have seen thus far. It's worth mentioning that Quinn wrote earlier than many of the writers I have already read, the 1920s and 1930s but wow, it is relentless. In every story is a rebuke against a woman for the one thing she did that provoked a mad scientist serial killer, or the absolute, unwavering justification of the theft of priceless artifacts from Egypt and elsewhere, the portrayal of stereotypical remote island cannibalism led by a biracial man, who is described as only a half man, etc. As much as Lovecraft really loved grotesque, racist descriptions of his villains and victims, Quinn is even more pronounced in that.
I *could* keep listening, but I just don't feel like there will be any new experiences in the next *checks notes* SIXTEEN HOURS of audiobook. No need to subject myself to any more of this.
Not quite a one star since Quinn does have some cool horror ideas that play to his medical background strengths (this was very much the era of mad scientists practicing all kinds of weird operations and wild attempts at eugenics, etc.), and Grandin is an entertaining enough oddball.
I assume it goes without saying, but just, all the content warnings, including medical experimentation and some rather gruesome descriptions.
captlychee's review against another edition
5.0
At last we have a complete collection of Jules de Grandin stories available to the public who aren't willing, or able, to lash out $1500-odd on a hardcover collection.
I came across my first Jules de Grandin story, 'The House of Horror', in an audio version of [b:The Pan Book of Horror Stories|2265582|The Pan Book of Horror Stories|Herbert van Thal|http://images.gr-assets.com/books/1349073699s/2265582.jpg|2271598] in 1991, and the scene of horror in it was at once so vivid and horrifying I determined to track down more stories by the same author. Unfortunately, I thought that was [a:David Case|20429|David Case|http://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/m_50x66-82093808bca726cb3249a493fbd3bd0f.png], so that delayed me finding the real author for a few years.
Anyway, 'The House of Horror' is in this volume and I'm pleased to say it has lost none of its impact. If anything, more empathy for the victims on my side means it has more horror in it than it did in the last millennium, which is all to the good.
Not all the stories have some aspect of horror or the supernatural, and some, such as 'The Serpent Woman' are mysteries which at least sow light on the 1920's. The stories are presented in publication order, so it's possible to see the characters grow and change as the stories go on. Whether they improve I leave up to the reader to judge. Some people may find de Grandin's French oaths a tad ludicrous—for example, one is Nom du fromage vert. Name of green cheese? But perhaps that's a real French exclamation.
There's a pretty good introduction that makes an interesting case for why Seabury Quinn is not included with [a:H P Lovecraft|18671802|H P Lovecraft|http://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] and [a:Robert E Howard|18559597|Robert E Howard|http://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] as ne of the great writers to come out of Weird Tales magazine. With any luck, this and the other four volumes will get that changed.
I came across my first Jules de Grandin story, 'The House of Horror', in an audio version of [b:The Pan Book of Horror Stories|2265582|The Pan Book of Horror Stories|Herbert van Thal|http://images.gr-assets.com/books/1349073699s/2265582.jpg|2271598] in 1991, and the scene of horror in it was at once so vivid and horrifying I determined to track down more stories by the same author. Unfortunately, I thought that was [a:David Case|20429|David Case|http://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/m_50x66-82093808bca726cb3249a493fbd3bd0f.png], so that delayed me finding the real author for a few years.
Anyway, 'The House of Horror' is in this volume and I'm pleased to say it has lost none of its impact. If anything, more empathy for the victims on my side means it has more horror in it than it did in the last millennium, which is all to the good.
Not all the stories have some aspect of horror or the supernatural, and some, such as 'The Serpent Woman' are mysteries which at least sow light on the 1920's. The stories are presented in publication order, so it's possible to see the characters grow and change as the stories go on. Whether they improve I leave up to the reader to judge. Some people may find de Grandin's French oaths a tad ludicrous—for example, one is Nom du fromage vert. Name of green cheese? But perhaps that's a real French exclamation.
There's a pretty good introduction that makes an interesting case for why Seabury Quinn is not included with [a:H P Lovecraft|18671802|H P Lovecraft|http://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] and [a:Robert E Howard|18559597|Robert E Howard|http://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] as ne of the great writers to come out of Weird Tales magazine. With any luck, this and the other four volumes will get that changed.
v_v_'s review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
christopherward's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
livingdeadenby's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
_viscosity_'s review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
pamwinkler's review against another edition
3.0
Well, occasional racism and a lot of stereotypes. Overall, entertaining in a pulpy way. You could compare it to Lovecraft; both pulpy in their way. Lovecraft occasionally has the 'holy crap!' sort of outlier though; the ones that are just fantastic. In my opinion as a Lovecraft fan, let's admit that. This guy doesn't have the same sort of occasional brilliance to me.
jeremyjfloyd's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
distgenius's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0