The Senile Pagodas
by Rhys Hughes· 2022
The Senile Pagodas is a collection of twenty-one stories, seventeen of which are published here for the first time. The collection acts as an homage to the authors who informed and shaped Hughes’ writing, ranging from Kafka to Hawthorne to Moorcock to Bulgakov.
“Nightmare Alley” and “The Apocryphal Wonder” showcase Hughes’ sense for story layering. The former features a traveling bookseller whose escape from an alley is always fleeting, until he finds the customer he was always searching for. The latter is a story within a story distorting the line between fact and fiction.
“Abomination Rice” and “The Bannister” include two dilemmas that complement the work of weird fiction writers Lovecraft and Hodgson.
“Knights that Go Bump into Things” depicts knighthood that does not result in gallantry. “Poe Pie” is a depiction of hunger as imprisonment.
“City of Blinks” is a parable centering around a concentric city with tiered levels and a king who watches from above.
“Lem’s Last Book” is a tale demonstrating the physical prowess of a book, one whose presence can absorb the words of other books. When set between two, it can create a hybrid.
The Senile Pagodas is a collection of fantastika fiction that channels a variety of perspectives and avenues to pay tribute to the lords and masters of the written word.
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The Senile Pagodas is a collection of twenty-one stories, seventeen of which are published here for the first time. The collection acts as an homage to the authors who informed and shaped Hughes’ writing, ranging from Kafka to Hawthorne to Moorcock to Bulgakov. “Nightmare Alley” and “The Apocryphal Wonder” showcase Hughes’ sense for story layering. The former features a traveling bookseller whose escape from an alley is always fleeting, until he finds the customer he was always searching for. The latter is a story within a story distorting the line between fact and fiction. “Abomination Rice” and “The Bannister” include two dilemmas that complement the work of weird fiction writers Lovecraft and Hodgson. “Knights that Go Bump into Things” depicts knighthood that does not result in gallantry. “Poe Pie” is a depiction of hunger as imprisonment. “City of Blinks” is a parable centering around a concentric city with tiered levels and a king who watches from above. “Lem’s Last Book” is a tale demonstrating the physical prowess of a book, one whose presence can absorb the words of other books. When set between two, it can create a hybrid. The Senile Pagodas is a collection of fantastika fiction that channels a variety of perspectives and avenues to pay tribute to the lords and masters of the written word.