Posted by David Pierce on September 12, 1999 at 20:07:40:
In Reply to: Re: Huysmans/Vance posted by Dan Gunter on September 12, 1999 at 15:29:45:
: I'm pretty sure that Lovecraft knew Huysmans. Certainly Lovecraft knew "The King in Yellow," which bears the marks of Huysmans' influence. Smith probably knew Huysmans as well: highly likely given Smith's early years as a poet. I will hazard a guess that the "end of time" theme in Smith's Zothique stories and in the Dying Earth works may derive from the fin-de-siecle mood of Huysmans, Chambers, Wilde ("Dorian Gray"), and perhaps Lafcadio Hearn, as well as others about whom I remain in blissful ignorance.
Wow, Dan, didn't know any of this; much fun reading lies ahead for me! Will look into all the above.
: Huysmans may be a superior stylist and more important aesthetician, but Vance is the better story-teller.
Exactly so! Vance is the better story-teller.