The Third Cry to Legba and Other Invocations : The Selected Stories of Manly Wade Wellman (Vol. 1)

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Summary: Great collection
Review: All of Wellman's excellent John Thunstone short stories, with his four Lee Cobbett stories rounding out the collection. Many of the Thunstone tales feature either the evil Rowley Thorne, deliberately based on Aleister Crowley, or the Shonokins, a strange and evil group. Judge Pursuivant shows up in "Chastel", an excellent vampire tale in which Cobbett plays only a minor role. "Twice Cursed" is the longest story, and most unusual. Thunstone tries to help two men with the same name who get involved in a "Dark College". No duds in this collection.

Rating:
Summary: A book that redefines what literature can do.
Review: This book does not need a review. What a quality piece of work, distinguished especially by the deft editorial work of one John Pelan. Bravo!

Rating:
Summary: Great supernatural fun for a dark and stormy night!
Review: Wellman's weird short fiction can be found in an amazing number of horror anthologies, but most of his books are out of print. This is a shame, because Wellman's fiction deserves a much wider audiance. After I became interested in Wellman through his Silver John stories, I looked around for more of his work, but it was hard to find. Thankfully, Night Shade Books has remedied that. This first volume collects Wellman's John Thunstone and Lee Cobbett stories, which read like supernatural film noir--all of which I completely enjoyed. Wellman really knew how to tell a story; his writing flows with beautiful simplicity. If any of these stories seem a bit familiar, it's because they've influenced a lot of other writers over the last half century. As the publisher's description accurately states, these stories could easily be seen as a template for "The X-Files." A striking, full-page illustration accompanies each of the 21 tales in this volume. A genuine treat for horror enthusiasts.