Shiel, M. P.

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Prince Zaleski and Cumming's King Monk
M. P. Shiel
Manufacturer: Arkham House Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0870540076

The Purple Cloud (Bison Frontiers of Imagination)

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Excellent horror/scifi
Lush,imaginative use of language.
A post-apocalyptic tale from the early 1900s
The Purple Cloud
English tradition

The Purple Cloud (Bison Frontiers of Imagination)
M. P. Shiel
Manufacturer: Bison Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Earth Abides

ASIN: 0803292791

Book Description

"If now a swell from the Deep has swept over this planetary ship of earth, and I, who alone chanced to find myself in the furthest stern, as the sole survivor of her crew . . . What then, my God, shall I do?" The Purple Cloud is widely hailed as a masterpiece of science fiction and one of the best "last man" novels ever written. A deadly purple vapor passes over the world and annihilates all living creatures except one man, Adam Jeffson. He embarks on an epic journey across a silent and devastated planet, an apocalyptic Robinson Crusoe putting together the semblance of a normal life from the flotsam and jetsam of his former existence. As he descends into madness over the years, he becomes increasingly aware that his survival was no accident and that his destiny-and the fate of the human race-are part of a profound, cosmological plan. M. P. Shiel's (1865-1947) long, distinguished writing career included such works as Prince Zaleski, The Lord of the Sea and The Yellow Peril. John Clute is the author of Science Fiction: The Illustrated Encyclopedia (winner of the Hugo Award) and coeditor of The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (winner of the Hugo and Locus Awards).

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Do you know much about the philosophy of the hypnotic trance? That was the relation between us--hypnotist and subject. She had been under another man before my time, suffered from tic of the fifth nerve, had had most of her teeth drawn before I saw her, and an attempt had been made to wrench out the nerve on the left side by external scission.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent horror/scifi.......2006-05-11

Lovecraft mentioned this novel in his "Supernatural Horror In Literature" essay, and had good things to say about it. The novel deserves the good words. The first half, before our hero finds the inevitable woman to complete him, is really dark. A man alone, totally alone, with only corpses around him. I think that would send me "over the edge", too. Shiel captures the pathos of the situation well. Unlike Lovecraft, though, I like the "romantic" ending. At least the human race will not die out. This is well worth reading.

Lush,imaginative use of language........2004-09-26

make this book really worth reading. I find the descriptions of an empty world chilling, the familiarity with some of the places(in England) making the story at once believable yet terribly strange to me. Shiel is a romantic, bringing the story to an optimistic end for our poor protagonist (hasn't the poor guy suffered enough...!), even though it seems like Leda gets the short end of the stick once more(Victorian women were made of stern stuff!).In the end it is Shiel's rich and unusual descriptive style that really made this book stand out for me and I look on it as something original, captivating and totally refreshing compared to the lame language used in a lot of modern fiction.

A post-apocalyptic tale from the early 1900s.......2002-03-04

No one has yet succeeded in reaching the North Pole, and a new British expedition is mounted. As our protagonist, Adam, returns from the arctic, all the humans and many of the animals he encounters are dead. Adam travels all over the world, looking for other living people and, understandably, going kind of bonkers.

I wanted to like this book more. Early in the book, Adam finds himself in many morally challenging situations, but he has these voices in his head that more or less compel him to act in certain ways, so the reader is prevented from really entering into any moral struggles with him. I liked the writing, but each place Adam goes is essentially like the rest--everyone's dead--and I kept waiting for something interesting to happen. Near the end, something finally did, but then I mostly wanted to slap Adam around for being so dense.

Maybe I'm just jaded from reading too many post-apocalyptic stories and that's why I'm not more enthusiastic about this book. If you're new to this sort of story, you might find this book to be a powerful exploration of loneliness and the meaning of human society and human life. A similar but much better post-apocalyptic novel is Cormac McCarthy's "The Road."

The Purple Cloud.......2002-02-04

This is the first and best science fiction book I read. I searched for another copy of it for 20 years until I found one on Amazon.com. I read it once again and loved it just as much as the first time. It takes you on a most fantastic voyage, never to be forgotten. Full of great adventure and excitement, I love this book!

English tradition.......2001-05-01

This is the typical English disaster story in its earliest stages. Think John Wyndham, John Christopher, J.G.Ballard -- maybe the average English sf writer is a total loner and what he's really writing is wish-fulfillment!.... This book does have a quality all its own, vaguely reminiscent of William Hope Hodgson and I enjoy the old-fashioned textures. If you're at all interested in the origins of the genre, this would reward you on that score alone.

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The Purple Cloud
M. P. Shiel
Manufacturer: Paperback Library, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000GPC6W4

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The Purple Cloud
M. P. Shiel
Manufacturer: WARNER
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000GQO92I

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The Purple Cloud
M. P. Shiel
Manufacturer: Paperback Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000I6G2SA

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New King
M. P. Shiel
Manufacturer: Reynolds Morse Foundation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0317147080

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PRINCE ZALESKI AND CUMMINGS KINK MONK
M. P. Shiel
Manufacturer: Mycroft & Moran
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000HGIE50

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Lord of the sea
M.P.Shiel
Manufacturer: Xanadu Library - Crown Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000BWPGYW

Product Description

There are numerous people who consider M.P. Shiel "one of the greatest writers ever to use the English language."*E.M. Benson calls his work "a glorious journey int the incredible" and Hugh Walpole has called him a "flaming genius." The Lord of the Sea is M.P. Shiel at his best. It tells of a man who takes over the sea as his domain and makes all the nations of the world pay tribute to him for save passage of their ships. the story of how he did this-his triumphs, defeats, and ultimate vindication-makes The Lord of the Sea one of the most fascinating additions to the Xanadu Library. *Twentieth Century Authors, First Supplement Author, M.P. Shiel

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The lord of the sea: A romance
M. P Shiel
Manufacturer: F.A. Stokes
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B00085TQRK

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THE PURPLE CLOUD
M. P. SHIEL
Manufacturer: Panther
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000O6E3VC

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