In the Land of Time: And Other Fantasy Tales
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- Author：Lord Dunsany
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Summary
A new edition of the Fantasy Tales that inspired J。R。R。 Tolkien and H。P。 Lovecraft
A pioneer in the realm of imaginative literature， Lord Dunsany has gained a cult following for his influence on modern fantasy literature， including such authors as J。R。R。 Tolkien and H。 P。 Lovecraft。 This unique collection of short stories ranges over five decades of work。 Liberal selections of earlier tales—including the entire Gods of Pegana as well as such notable works as "Idle Days of the Yann" and "The Fortress Unvanquishable， Save for Sacnoth"—are followed by memorable later tales， including several about the garrulous traveler Joseph Jorkens and the outrageous murder tale "The Two Bottles of Relish。" Throughout， the stories are united by Dunsany's cosmic vision， his impeccable and mellifluous prose， and his distinctively Irish sense of whimsy。
Here published for the first time by Penguin Classics， this edition is the only annotated version of Dunsany's short stories。
For more than seventy years， Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world。 With more than 1，700 titles， Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines。 Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors， as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators。
A pioneer in the realm of imaginative literature， Lord Dunsany has gained a cult following for his influence on modern fantasy literature， including such authors as J。R。R。 Tolkien and H。 P。 Lovecraft。 This unique collection of short stories ranges over five decades of work。 Liberal selections of earlier tales—including the entire Gods of Pegana as well as such notable works as "Idle Days of the Yann" and "The Fortress Unvanquishable， Save for Sacnoth"—are followed by memorable later tales， including several about the garrulous traveler Joseph Jorkens and the outrageous murder tale "The Two Bottles of Relish。" Throughout， the stories are united by Dunsany's cosmic vision， his impeccable and mellifluous prose， and his distinctively Irish sense of whimsy。
Here published for the first time by Penguin Classics， this edition is the only annotated version of Dunsany's short stories。
For more than seventy years， Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world。 With more than 1，700 titles， Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines。 Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors， as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators。
Reviews
Tulpa
，
a star docked because ST Joshi's choices as an editor are questionable at best。 The stories gradually decline in quality as they go later in the career。 The Jorkens tales， while still pleasantly written， put Dunsany's aristocratic， elitist， and （mildly， especially by the standards of early 20th century UK） racist qualities into stark relief。If you pick up this collection， skip the introduction and read up through Thirteen at Table。 Then， go track down the early comedic fantasy stories that Joshi a star docked because ST Joshi's choices as an editor are questionable at best。 The stories gradually decline in quality as they go later in the career。 The Jorkens tales， while still pleasantly written， put Dunsany's aristocratic， elitist， and （mildly， especially by the standards of early 20th century UK） racist qualities into stark relief。If you pick up this collection， skip the introduction and read up through Thirteen at Table。 Then， go track down the early comedic fantasy stories that Joshi excluded because he thought they were "too ironic" or something。Terrible editor， great collection of stories in the first two thirds。 Though it excludes many greats to make room for mediocre "Jorkens" stories and the true low point: "The Cut，" a xenophobic parable about 'lesser races' knowing their place。 A repulsive story written by an old has-been， diametrically opposed to the splendour of those early works。（I'm complaining about the xenophobia but it is still far more mild than the outrageous bigotry of contemporaries like Agatha Christie who are still celebrated today）EDIT: You might be wondering why I gave such a high rating if my review was mostly critical。 It is purely on the strength of that first half。 All the immaculate prose and imagery of those early fantasy stories obliterates my memories of the mediocrity he became。 。。。more
Andrea D。 McCarthage
，
Dunsany's writing is so elegant and evocative that I sometimes feel as if he left the entire genre of fantasy in the dust decades ago， and the rest of us are still catching up。 Dunsany's writing is so elegant and evocative that I sometimes feel as if he left the entire genre of fantasy in the dust decades ago， and the rest of us are still catching up。 。。。more
Henry Arrambide
，
Dunsany's stories offer the fantasy not of escapism， but of orientation， scaling back man's place in the cosmos as a piece of a larger fabric - where Lovecraft would be inspired to mimic this concept but load it with dread， Dunsany reassures， shrugging off the importance of modernity for longer running emotional needs of the human soul。 The Gods of Pegana offer up an etiology of the universe that personifies the spirit of little actions and moments to be remembered and savored， the presence of b Dunsany's stories offer the fantasy not of escapism， but of orientation， scaling back man's place in the cosmos as a piece of a larger fabric - where Lovecraft would be inspired to mimic this concept but load it with dread， Dunsany reassures， shrugging off the importance of modernity for longer running emotional needs of the human soul。 The Gods of Pegana offer up an etiology of the universe that personifies the spirit of little actions and moments to be remembered and savored， the presence of bigger Gods and questions of mans purpose remain unknowable and irrational to pursue， a healthy counterpoint to the often overbearing sense of destiny and imperial dynasty much post-Dunsany post-Tolkien fantasy crutches itself upon。 But beyond these heady philosophical and spiritual concepts， Dunsany just knows how to have fun。 The Fortress Unvanquishable， Save for Sacnoth， stands out as the best in this collection， a simple adventure tale of a prince saving his village from an evil wizard who comes riding around every few centuries on a comet - as a devourer of Castlevania and Soulsborne games， the influence is obvious， yet the economy of action and prose remains stronger than the multitude of cliche copycats that have been made from its DNA these past 112 years。 It was no surprise to discover Dunsany invented his own variant of Chess， the gamer （and metalhead） reads strong in his work。 Yet The Fortress Unvanquishable is a rare good vs。 evil tale， the rest of the collection is full of encounters wonderful and sublime that avoid moralizing， something I wish students of Dunsany such as Lovecraft had taken away from his ghost stories。 Thirteen at a Table， for instance， takes the trappings of a ghost tortured aristocrat story and injects it with a sense of humor， not laughing at its tortured character but freeing him， providing a sense of hope with its humor。 Idle Days on the Yann presents a fantasy travelogue free of danger or imminent worry with its strangeness， the prose rambling purple for the sake of its own beauty。 Most interesting to me was the arrangement of this collection， opening with Dunsany's most Biblical in scope and slowly scaling down - The Two Bottles of Relish， near the end， is a short mystery yarn holding in it no magic， yet demonstrates Dunsany's ability to entertain with a simple plot drawn efficiently。 Other shorts of note here include: Carcassonne， a prose poem about a king and his company of knights fooling themselves into seeking out an unreachable mythic kingdom， criticizing a trope fantasy writing often fetishizes。 The Coronation of Mr。 Thomas Shap， in which Mr。 Shap begins to lose a grasp on which world is real， the one in which he works a dull life or the imagined kingdom in his head。 The Wonderful Window， in which our narrator purchases a window to another realm and becomes an obsessive voyeur into a world he cannot affect （one of many stories， such as The Shop on Go-By Street， to feature something extremely similar to Rowling's Diagon Alley）。 The Cut， a story about a canine that learns to use money which is funnier and more engaging than any movie that has been made since the invention of the moving picture that attempts to personify dogs。 The Walk to Lingham， a tale of a tree out for revenge which surely influenced Tolkien and his Ents。 The Development of the Rillswood Estate， in which an artist and his sister befriend a Satyr， and enter into a series of sitcom-esque complications。 I've already brought up Lovecraft， Rowling， and Tolkien in relation to Dunsany， but also apparent in his sphere of influence are Neil Gaiman， Robert Howard， and possibly Ursula Le Guin and Hayao Miyazaki， although I would cite those last two with less confidence。 Dunsany has an understanding of emotional resonance， the magic of his work coming from an overwhelming sense of wonder rather than a wizards staff。 。。。more
David
，
I always thought I liked Lord Dunsany， but I think I actually just like The Gods of Pegāna。
Des Lewis
，
With a glint in his eye， Dunsany （with the collusion of Joshi who has edited this brilliant selection of Dunsany works） has put this story at the end of the book as one that is complete and utter puckish bathos in itself， with most of the other stories before this one merely *ending* in puckish bathos。 The optimum coda to the whole book。The detailed review of this book posted elsewhere under my name is too long to post here。Above is one of its conclusions。
Malum
，
There is a little bit of everything here from one of the grandfathers of modern speculative fiction: fantasy， sword & sorcery， fable & fairy tale， mystery， comedy。 If you are already a Dunsany fan then you know this is a good collection， and if you are new to his work this is a great place to start。
Steve
，
A lot of great stories， and it is amazing how， even though it spreads throughout LD's career， there are constant themes of the fleetingness of time， the return to nature， and the appreciation of dogs。 The writing is really good， though some of the stories felt repetitive。After reading LD， I realize that Lovecraft was not as original as I thought。 Still an amazing writer in his own right， but so much was based on LD。 Worth reading。 So much cleverness and originality in his writing。 A lot of great stories， and it is amazing how， even though it spreads throughout LD's career， there are constant themes of the fleetingness of time， the return to nature， and the appreciation of dogs。 The writing is really good， though some of the stories felt repetitive。After reading LD， I realize that Lovecraft was not as original as I thought。 Still an amazing writer in his own right， but so much was based on LD。 Worth reading。 So much cleverness and originality in his writing。 。。。more
Nate
，
Lord Dunsany is more famous nowadays for the writers he influenced than his actual work。 J。R。R。 Tolkien， H。P。 Lovecraft， and Ursula Le Guin are just some of the authors who cite him as an influence。 This book - collecting forty short stories spanning Dunsany’s career - makes it easy to see why he’s a foundational figure in the fantasy genre。I was both surprised and impressed by how much ground Dunsany covers in these stories。 While most contain some sort of fantastical element， they tackle many Lord Dunsany is more famous nowadays for the writers he influenced than his actual work。 J。R。R。 Tolkien， H。P。 Lovecraft， and Ursula Le Guin are just some of the authors who cite him as an influence。 This book - collecting forty short stories spanning Dunsany’s career - makes it easy to see why he’s a foundational figure in the fantasy genre。I was both surprised and impressed by how much ground Dunsany covers in these stories。 While most contain some sort of fantastical element， they tackle many different genres: mythology， horror， epic， pulp， science fiction， mystery， even romance。 The first section of the book concerns Pegana， Dunsany’s famous mythological world that he builds from the ground up。 He pulls from various myths to create an impressive body of gods with a fully-realized history。 This type of worldbuilding has surely reverberated throughout fantasy literature， to this day I would think。 In that regard， Dunsany’s stories are interesting to read in hindsight of the 20th century。 I had fun picking out the seeds of other authors， making observations like “this is proto-Lovecraft” or “I can see where Tolkien got some of his ideas。” Dunsany’s influences are apparent， too: mythology， of course， but also fairy tales， Jules Verne， and H。G。 Wells， to name a few。 The roadmap of genre fiction has became clearer to me after reading this book。This being a short story collection， some entries are better than others。 Ambitious as they are， I found the Pegana stories to be mostly forgettable。 They’re written in a dry， almost textbook style that doesn’t appeal to me and became tedious to read after a while。 The shortest stories （1-5 pages） didn’t leave a big impression on me either， as I think Dunsany works better in longer lengths。 If I had to choose， my favorite entry is “The Fortress Unvanquishable， Save for Sacnoth。” It’s an epic tale of one man’s quest to kill a demonic weaver of dreams， and I was on the edge of my seat in parts。 I also quite liked the “Jorkens” stories。 These feature high society types regaling each other about their fantastic adventures， from big game hunting to interstellar travel。 There’s an undercurrent of “fiction as reality” in these stories， as well as exploration of belief in the fantastic that I found quite compelling。If you’re a fantasy fan， I’d say Lord Dunsany is worth reading。 Not all the stories in this collection are memorable， but there are enough to keep you entertained， or at least interested。 You’ll understand why he’s cited as a early innovator in fantasy。 。。。more
Kat Hooper
，
Will review at www。fantasyliterature。com。 Will review at www。fantasyliterature。com。 。。。more
Romeo
，
I love the world Dunsany creates with these tales。 I will keep him in a special place in my heart and soul from then on。
Zach
，
Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett， 18th Baron of Dunsany （1878–1957） - nobleman， dilettante， reactionary， unionist - is the weird fiction forerunner whose work has always done the least for me， and this didn't do much to change my mind。 Dunsany started his publishing career in 1905 and kept at it into the 1950s， and this collection pulls from the entire half-century span。 As with the other weird fiction editions in Penguin's Classics series， this was put together by S。 T。 Joshi， who does a good Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett， 18th Baron of Dunsany （1878–1957） - nobleman， dilettante， reactionary， unionist - is the weird fiction forerunner whose work has always done the least for me， and this didn't do much to change my mind。 Dunsany started his publishing career in 1905 and kept at it into the 1950s， and this collection pulls from the entire half-century span。 As with the other weird fiction editions in Penguin's Classics series， this was put together by S。 T。 Joshi， who does a good job of picking representative stories， an ok job writing an introductory overview （for the volume overall， not for each story）， and a laughable job annotating。We start with the entirety of Dunsany's first book， The Gods of Pegana， with The Gods of Pegana， a collection of myths about an invented pantheon told in a painfully-convincing Old Testament pastiche。 These stories， with little in the way of plot and even less in the way of characters， are charming enough for a few pages， but their novelty wears off quickly。Like M。 John Harrison's Viriconium cycle， but seemingly without his introspection， the stories from there reveal a slow draining away of the fantastic， from the mythical grandeur of Pegana down to the final story， "The Pirates of Round Lake，" an entirely mimetic piece where even piracy is a fantasy at odds with reality as a group of hooligans pretend to be corsairs while sinking other boys' toy ships。 Preceding that are a number of tales of Jorkens， a drunken fabulist who tells the （unbelieving） other members of his club tall tales （of a new animal discovered in Africa， say， or another man's trip to Mars in a biplane） after being plied with enough liquor。The best stories lie between these two poles， most particularly in the three linked stories of Yann， a dreamscape our narrator （Dunsany） finds himself in and whose denizens laugh at the idea of a mystical place called "Ireland。" Like Pegana these stories have no plot other than travel， no character arcs to speak of， but they convey a sense of place and wonder that the narrator longs to return to。 Dunsany also dabbled at this point in proto-sword & sorcery and more generically-delineated weird fiction （and prose poems）， with various degrees of success。Dunsany is fixated throughout all of these stories on dreams， time， endings， and transience （and strange music， and hatred of London and Business）。 Not unlike Lovecraft （who idolized him）， he loves peeling away the illusion of human importance， but unlike HP， he finds there not shattering terror but mockery and condescension。 I can understand the impulse， but too many of these stories feel glib and noncommittal。"Tell me something，" I said， "of this strange land？""How much do you know？" she said。 "Do you know that dreams are illusion？""Of course I do，" I said。 "Every one knows that。""Oh no they don't，" she said， "the mad don't know it。""That is true，" I said。"And do you know，" she said， "that Life is illusion？""Of course it is not，" I said， "Life is real， Life is earnest-"At that both the witch and her cat （who had not moved from her old place by the hearth） burst into laughter。 I stayed some time， for there was much that I wished to ask， but when I saw that the laughter would not stop I turned and went away。 。。。more
Arisawe Hampton
，
This is the book you search for on a cool autumn evening or a late summer day。 It is a book you want to read and savor。 The tales are timeless， often melancholic and filled with fantasy， delight and the fleeting nature of life， existence and the world （or worlds） around us。 Dunsany evokes the sublime， the sacred， the profane and the childlike。 Fans and skeptics of Tolkien alike—will surely appreciate his vignettes of life。 These tales offer these vignettes of the fantasy world as gods， goddesses This is the book you search for on a cool autumn evening or a late summer day。 It is a book you want to read and savor。 The tales are timeless， often melancholic and filled with fantasy， delight and the fleeting nature of life， existence and the world （or worlds） around us。 Dunsany evokes the sublime， the sacred， the profane and the childlike。 Fans and skeptics of Tolkien alike—will surely appreciate his vignettes of life。 These tales offer these vignettes of the fantasy world as gods， goddesses， warriors of old， travelers in faraway lands， story-tellers。。。even children playing pirates。 Pure existentialism！In my preference， I loved the earlier mythological work 'The Gods of Pegana' as much as 'The Tales of Wonder'。 The prose poems were equally wondrous and in a few I could see where the Argentinian author， Jorge Luis Borges was highly influenced。If you are interested in early fantasy literature， when the genre was in its infancy， pick up this collection。 It is not antique， it is not dated。 The best part is the writing is readable， accessible and highly poetic。 Dunsany has a way with words and his story telling ability is highly admirable。 Read this and you'll want to read more of him。 。。。more
Jorge Villarruel
，
La mayoría de nosotros conoce a Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett， 18。° Barón de Dunsany por su nombre de pluma Lord Dunsany， pero la mayoría de nosotros no lo ha leído。 Al menos， yo sí， ya， por fin。 Y sí está bien chido。 Excepto sus cuentos chinos。 Como todos los cuentos chinos， el narrador dice que algo pasa y luego describe ese algo pasar， como si contara dos veces lo mismo。 Tal vez el cerebro de los chinos está cableado diferente， pero a mi cerebro pseudoccidental mexicano esta clase de rela La mayoría de nosotros conoce a Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett， 18。° Barón de Dunsany por su nombre de pluma Lord Dunsany， pero la mayoría de nosotros no lo ha leído。 Al menos， yo sí， ya， por fin。 Y sí está bien chido。 Excepto sus cuentos chinos。 Como todos los cuentos chinos， el narrador dice que algo pasa y luego describe ese algo pasar， como si contara dos veces lo mismo。 Tal vez el cerebro de los chinos está cableado diferente， pero a mi cerebro pseudoccidental mexicano esta clase de relatos lo dejan frío: "Un hombre aburrido de la paz reza a los dioses pidiéndoles guerra y los dioses traen la guerra; luego se cansa de la guerra y pide paz y los dioses le dan paz， y esto se repite tres veces hasta que el mismo hombre les pide a los dioses que ya no le cumplan sus deseos"。 ¿CUál es el sentido de escribir algo así？ ¿Y de leerlo？ No tengo idea， pero fuera de los 3 ó 4 cuentos de este corte， el resto del libro es una maravilla。Esta edición no es una traducción de In the Land of Time: And Other Fantasy Tales; el título coincide， pero la selección de cuentos de la versión en español es diferente a la edición， más nueva， en inglés。 Algunos relatos se empalman， pero una buena parte son distintos。 。。。more
JW
，
Enjoyable and interesting。 Thanks to this collection， I can now see Dunsany's figurative fingerprints on Lovecraft's literal work。 Where Dunsany largely created happier myths with The Gods of Pegana， Lovecraft went another way and embraced the darkness with his Cthulu mythos。 I look forward to re-reading Lovecraft with fresh， non-cyclopean eyes。 Enjoyable and interesting。 Thanks to this collection， I can now see Dunsany's figurative fingerprints on Lovecraft's literal work。 Where Dunsany largely created happier myths with The Gods of Pegana， Lovecraft went another way and embraced the darkness with his Cthulu mythos。 I look forward to re-reading Lovecraft with fresh， non-cyclopean eyes。 。。。more
。Louise。☽
，
2 of 2 final uni reads done！
Agathokles
，
I read these stories a while ago， and am re-reading them in this version by Penguin now。 But， I just find myself unable to stand these stories anymore。 Being a polytheist I just find the way the Gods in these stories are dealt with to be unpalatable anymore。 So I give up trying to read this。 I got about a quarter of the way through。
Nick Carraway LLC
，
1） "There be islands in the Central Sea， whose waters are bounded by no shore and where no ships come—this is the faith of their people。"2） "And Mung went onward with his work to sunder Life from flesh， and Mung came upon a man who became stricken with sorrow when he saw the shadow of Mung。 But Mung said: 'When at the sign of Mung thy Life shall float away there will also disappear thy sorrow at forsaking it。' But the man cried out: 'O Mung！ tarry for a while， and make not the sign of Mung again 1） "There be islands in the Central Sea， whose waters are bounded by no shore and where no ships come—this is the faith of their people。"2） "And Mung went onward with his work to sunder Life from flesh， and Mung came upon a man who became stricken with sorrow when he saw the shadow of Mung。 But Mung said: 'When at the sign of Mung thy Life shall float away there will also disappear thy sorrow at forsaking it。' But the man cried out: 'O Mung！ tarry for a while， and make not the sign of Mung against me now， for I have a family upon the Earth with whom sorrow will remain， though mine should disappear because of the sign of Mung。'And Mung said: 'With the gods it is always Now。 And before Sish hath banished many of the years the sorrows of thy family for thee shall go the way of thine。' And the man beheld Mung making the sign of Mung before his eyes， which beheld things no more。"3） "Whether the dreams and the fancies of Yoharneth-Lahai be false and the Things that are done in the Day be real， or the Things that are done in the Day be false and the dreams and the fancies of Yoharneth-Lahai be true， none knoweth saving only MANA-YOOD-SUSHAI， who hath not spoken。"4） "It was a windy winter， and outside the cedars were muttering I know not what about; but I think that they were Tories of a school long dead， and were troubled about something new。"5） "Yet had I forgotten the way to those little cottages on the edge of the fields we know whose upper windows， though dim with antique cobwebs， look out on the fields we know not and are the starting-point of all adventure in all the Lands of Dream。"6） "'Well， this is what happened。 I'd thought of it ever since I realised that aeroplanes could do it。 But about 1920， with Mars coming nearer and nearer， and 1924 the only year that would be possible， I began my calculations。 I worked at them steadily for three years; I have the figures still: I will not ask you to read them， but the whole point of my work was this， that there was only one motive power that could possibly get me to Mars before all my provisions gave out， and that power was the pace of the world。 An aeroplane can do over two hundred miles an hour， and mine got up to nearly three hundred by means of the propeller alone; and in addition to that I had a rocket attachment that gradually increased my pace to an enormous extent; but the world， which is ninety-three million miles from the Sun， goes right round it in a year; and nothing we know on its surface has any pace like that。 My petrol and my rocket were merely to pull clear of the earth's attraction， but my journey was made by the force that is moving you in that chair at this very moment at something like a thousand miles a minute。 One doesn't lose that pace merely by leaving the earth; it remains with one。'"7） "'Your aim was all right，' said Jorkens。'Good enough，' said Terner。 'Of course the pull of the Earth helped me。 I suddenly saw it shining in the day， and I didn't seem much out。 Oh， what a feeling it is to be coming home。 Earth pale at first， then slowly turning to silver; and growing larger and larger。 Then it takes a faint touch of gold， an enormous pale-gold crescent in the sky; to the mere eye a sight of the utmost beauty， but saying something more to the whole being， which the understanding fails to grip。 Perhaps one does take it all in after all， but if one does one can never pass it on， never tell a soul of all that golden beauty。 Words cannot do it。 Music might， but I can't play。'" 。。。more
Adam
，
Some top notch weirdness， but the Jorkens tales I feel did not age particularly well
Caro
，
Read on the recommendation of Michael Dirda。 I very much enjoyed the Jorkens stories and some of the others that are only slightly fantastic， but I no longer have the patience for most high fantasy。
Kenneth
，
A representative collection of short stories by Lord Dunsany， a sampling from across his lifetime。 The earlier stories， especially， are imaginative fantasy， stories of gods and heroes， some sword and sorcery， set in dream worlds。 Later in life， judging by the stories in this collection， he wrote stories a bit more down to earth though still unique in situation。 One section of the book is a selection revolving around a fictional storyteller named Joseph Jorkens who regales his listeners at a loca A representative collection of short stories by Lord Dunsany， a sampling from across his lifetime。 The earlier stories， especially， are imaginative fantasy， stories of gods and heroes， some sword and sorcery， set in dream worlds。 Later in life， judging by the stories in this collection， he wrote stories a bit more down to earth though still unique in situation。 One section of the book is a selection revolving around a fictional storyteller named Joseph Jorkens who regales his listeners at a local English pub with his stories of fantastic adventures， some set in Africa， but also a story of how a friend of his flew to Mars and barely escaped with his life after encountering a menacing race of Martians。 As has been pointed out by others， Dunsany was an influence on other fantasy writers like Lovecraft and Tolkien。 。。。more
Samuel Moss
，
The 'god of pegana' is so great。 The rest are fairly standard short stories。 Most of them are 'one idea' stories。 The 'god of pegana' is so great。 The rest are fairly standard short stories。 Most of them are 'one idea' stories。 。。。more
Jared Pechacek
，
The first two-thirds are brilliant， shifting from myth to prose poetry to horror to fairy tales， sometimes even in one paragraph。 It's worth picking up the book just to get these weird， beautiful stories， which aren't really like anything else， and whose influence you can see on modern fantasy and science fiction to this day。The second slips in quality with each passing sentence until I found myself skimming just to get to the end。 So I split the difference with a three star rating。 The first two-thirds are brilliant， shifting from myth to prose poetry to horror to fairy tales， sometimes even in one paragraph。 It's worth picking up the book just to get these weird， beautiful stories， which aren't really like anything else， and whose influence you can see on modern fantasy and science fiction to this day。The second slips in quality with each passing sentence until I found myself skimming just to get to the end。 So I split the difference with a three star rating。 。。。more
David
，
I can see the influence on later Fantasy and Science Fiction writers， but that doesn't make Dunsany an entertaining read now。 The problem is simply that most of the stories are dull and I found myself skimming。 A few stories， the dream like narratives such as "Idle Days on the Yann" and its two sequels were fun reads， but mostly because I liked the witch in "A Shop in Go-By Street"， knitting a robe for a King who'd been dead a thousand years。 "The Kith of the Elf-Folk" was a well-told story， but I can see the influence on later Fantasy and Science Fiction writers， but that doesn't make Dunsany an entertaining read now。 The problem is simply that most of the stories are dull and I found myself skimming。 A few stories， the dream like narratives such as "Idle Days on the Yann" and its two sequels were fun reads， but mostly because I liked the witch in "A Shop in Go-By Street"， knitting a robe for a King who'd been dead a thousand years。 "The Kith of the Elf-Folk" was a well-told story， but verged on moralizing in an annoying way。 。。。more
Rhomboid Goatcabin
，
A collection of uniquely inventive and fantastic tales。 Spearheading the fantasy and horror genres， not least through his influence on Tolkien and Lovecraft， respectively， and once considered quite canonical， Dunsany's works have unfortunately fallen somewhat out of favor in recent decades。 Highly recommended to， frankly， the entire reading public。 A collection of uniquely inventive and fantastic tales。 Spearheading the fantasy and horror genres， not least through his influence on Tolkien and Lovecraft， respectively， and once considered quite canonical， Dunsany's works have unfortunately fallen somewhat out of favor in recent decades。 Highly recommended to， frankly， the entire reading public。 。。。more
Jeremiah
，
This was my first taste of Lord Dunsany's work and I was surprised to find the tales in this volume ranging from mythological to sword and sorcery， faery tales to adventure stories。 There is something for everyone in the work he produced throughout his life。 If there is one thing I took away from this sampling it was that Lord Dunsany was Irish storyteller and worthy example of all the magic and mystery that came from his homeland。 This was my first taste of Lord Dunsany's work and I was surprised to find the tales in this volume ranging from mythological to sword and sorcery， faery tales to adventure stories。 There is something for everyone in the work he produced throughout his life。 If there is one thing I took away from this sampling it was that Lord Dunsany was Irish storyteller and worthy example of all the magic and mystery that came from his homeland。 。。。more
Tripp
，
This one is great。 I think ST Joshi might have the magic touch when it comes to editing and selecting stories。 The span of Lord Dunsany's career is amazing。 From creating myths， to inspiring the sword and sorcery genre to British clubmen tall tales， this book is packed with wonderful stories。 This one is great。 I think ST Joshi might have the magic touch when it comes to editing and selecting stories。 The span of Lord Dunsany's career is amazing。 From creating myths， to inspiring the sword and sorcery genre to British clubmen tall tales， this book is packed with wonderful stories。 。。。more
Mike Tuholski
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Gods of Pegana was a little hard to get into at first but after a while I really enjoyed it and of course Dunsany's fantasy/fairy tales are wonderful。 His later stories were also still entertaining as well， but I think the fantastical short story was really Dunsany's sweet spot。 I am looking forward to reading more of him in the future。 Gods of Pegana was a little hard to get into at first but after a while I really enjoyed it and of course Dunsany's fantasy/fairy tales are wonderful。 His later stories were also still entertaining as well， but I think the fantastical short story was really Dunsany's sweet spot。 I am looking forward to reading more of him in the future。 。。。more
Jennifer
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There's no arguing the lucid beauty of Dunsany's prose， or his facility at fairy-tale-like extended metaphor。 There may be some argument over just how much of that kind of thing one reader can stand when it's unsupported by the forward motion of plot， but that's a personal issue for each of us to decide。 My taste for purely aesthetic pieces is somewhat limited， so my mileage In the Land of Time varied。Dunsany's influence on some of Lovecraft's work， particularly fantastical pieces like "The Whit There's no arguing the lucid beauty of Dunsany's prose， or his facility at fairy-tale-like extended metaphor。 There may be some argument over just how much of that kind of thing one reader can stand when it's unsupported by the forward motion of plot， but that's a personal issue for each of us to decide。 My taste for purely aesthetic pieces is somewhat limited， so my mileage In the Land of Time varied。Dunsany's influence on some of Lovecraft's work， particularly fantastical pieces like "The White Ship" is clear - it just happens that "The White Ship" isn't anywhere close to my favorite Lovecraft。 Happily， there is a fair spread of pieces contained in this collection， which run the gamut from Entirely Ornamental （"The Gods of Pegana"） to Tightly Plotted Treats （"The Two Bottles of Relish"）。 Given that S。T。 Joshi is the editor， there is naturally a section dedicated to Dunsany's Prose Poems （disclaimer: Joshi adores prose poems; I loathe them）， but there are also treats like "The Ghosts，" in which the narrator uses geometry to rationalize himself out of a haunting， and a fun selection of tales featuring the drunken liar， Jorkens。 Of the more metaphorical pieces， I enjoyed implicit heresy of "The Exiles Club" and the futility of the battle joined "In the Land of Time。" Of the Lovecraft-adjacent work I've read - Blackwood， Machen， Ashton Smith - Dunsany is easily the most gorgeous writer， but that loveliness is too frequently static， as if holding a pose waiting for me to admire it。 So while I offer Dunsany my admiration for his style， I'll likely turn my attention to something with a little more verve。 。。。more
Murray Ewing
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If you like classic fantasy， you’re bound to come across Lord Dunsany at some point。 Ursula Le Guin called him the "most imitated， and the most inimitable” writer of fantasy， though nowadays that title would probably go to George R R Martin。 Dunsany is almost Martin’s opposite。 He wrote mostly short stories， and the ones he’s most famous for are very light on characterisation， but heavy on fantastic sights and magical wonder， written in a deliberately archaic， poetic prose style。 But these stori If you like classic fantasy， you’re bound to come across Lord Dunsany at some point。 Ursula Le Guin called him the "most imitated， and the most inimitable” writer of fantasy， though nowadays that title would probably go to George R R Martin。 Dunsany is almost Martin’s opposite。 He wrote mostly short stories， and the ones he’s most famous for are very light on characterisation， but heavy on fantastic sights and magical wonder， written in a deliberately archaic， poetic prose style。 But these stories aren’t the only sort he wrote。 In the Land of Time collects a sampling from throughout his highly prolific output， and show how his writing changed over time。Starting with the entirety of his first published book， The Gods of Pegana， a satire on religion written as though it were itself a religious text， this is the mythology of a series of gods Dunsany invented， whose main occupation seems to be laughing at their creation Man， while being frightened of waking the god who created them， MANA-YOOD-SUSHAI， who will wipe them all out and start again as soon as he stops dreaming。 Then come the tales for which lovers of classic fantasy will know Dunsany: “The Sword of Welleran” and “The Fortress Unvanquishable， Save for Sacnoth”， heroic tales of proto-sword-and-sorcery， told in a highly poetic style。After this， Dunsany’s writing seems to have become a slow disownment of fantasy。 His next tales — the ones that most influenced Lovecraft — are about a dreamer， who visits fantastic places， but doesn’t actually do much other than witness wonders。 Then there are little comic fables， mostly about ‘small men’ — shop-workers and clerks — whose encounter with fantastic things prove too much for their sense of reality， and usually end up in the madhouse。 Then， a further descent， into the Jorkens tales。 Jorkens tells of fantastic things he’s witnessed， but only ever under the influence of alcohol。 Dunsany’s attitude to fantasy has become lightly mocking， though the Jorkens tales are among his best examples of pure storytelling。 The book rounds out with a few miscellaneous tales， including non-fantasy crime （“Two Bottles of Relish”） and a boyhood tale of toy boat piracy， “The Pirate of the Round Pond”。For me， Dunsany’s best were his earlier fantastic tales， though they are a rich diet， and perhaps not to be read in bulk。 His novel， The King of Elfland’s Daughter is perhaps his best single work。 。。。more
7thTrooper
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