Book Description
R. H. Barlow (1918-1951) was in every way a remarkable individual. An enthusiast of fantasy and horror fiction since childhood, he came in touch with H. P. Lovecraft when he was only 13. He was already attempting to write short fantasy tales, and Lovecraft took considerable pains to tutor Barlow in the principles of fiction writing. This volume, which for the first time gathers Barlows substantial body of weird fiction and poetry, contains all six of Barlows collaborations with Lovecraft, including such celebrated works as "The Battle That Ended the Century" and "The Night Ocean" (which new research has shown to be almost entirely Barlows work). Barlow went on to write superb short stories without Lovecrafts assistance, including "A Dim-Remembered Story," "The Root-Gatherers," and "Return by Sunset." In the 1940s, when Barlow moved to Mexico (where he became a noted anthropologist), he turned to poetry, producing such scintillating volumes as Poems for a Competition (1942) and View from a Hill (1947). Barlows life was tragically cut short by suicide, but this volume shows that he had already fulfilled the promise of his early work by producing tales of a substance, maturity, and depth that few of Lovecrafts colleagues could match. The gathering together of his collected weird fiction and poetry is an event that should be welcomed by all lovers of the weird and fantastic.
