"The Adder"

by Fred Chappell

originally published Deathrealm, Summer 1989

Our nameless narrator is an antique book dealer.  And so is his uncle, Alvin.  One day Uncle Alvin calls him up, saying he wants to pay a visit.  He has something very rare, and he can't talk about it over the phone.

That very rare thing is a handwritten manuscript of Al Azif, aka The Necronomicon.  In Arabic.  He wants it stashed while he goes to the Library of Congress to make arrangements with them to get it into their collection.  But he warns NN - the manuscript is "like an adder - first it poisons, then it devours".  He advises him to store it well clear of anything of value.
NN stores it with some cheap knock-off editions of Milton.

Soon after, he makes an alarming discovery - Milton's words in the cheap knock-off edition are changing.  What's more, they're changing in all other editions - from classic poetry to doggerel.   What's more, the manuscript seems to be restoring itself - less faded, less aged, becoming like new.  Alarmed, NN lets Unc know, and tosses the ms into an otherwise empty safe.

Unc comes by and does a ritual involving another rare book - one that goes unnamed - but is apparently a kind of anti-Necronomicon, which restores Milton's poetry to its original state. But while they're talking, a fly lands on the damp ink of the ms, and flies off.

 This is actually an amusing and witty story.  It would take a real devotee of the written word to mark the decay of Milton's poetry as the first sign of apocalypse.  And, despite its obviously humorous intent, there are dark implications in the finale.  

"Remnants"

by Fred Chappell
originally published Cthulhu's Reign, 2010

The star-headed old ones have revived and taken over the earth.  Most humans have been killed outright or experimented on, then killed.  Only scattered survivors remain.  Vern, a teenage boy, his autistic sister Echo, their mother, and their dog, Queenie, live as scavengers in the wilderness, eating and taking shelter when and where they can, and avoiding the star-heads and shoggoths.  The star-heads are busy terraforming the entire planet into something more to their liking.  Echo is a telepath, and "Moms" and Vern have to deal with her visions, which are confusing, sometimes helpful, sometimes dangerous.

In space, a small ship and crew searches for survivors on earth. They are from a different race, who have also been rescued from the old ones, who are taking over other planets as well.  They too have a telepath, who reaches out to Echo, though the girl's mind is difficult to read or communicate with.

Vern/Echo/Queenie/Moms take refuge in a cave, where Vern finds the remains of a previous group who apparently committed suicide rather than being taken by the old ones.  He is despairing, but Echo continues to receive messages from the rescuers, though it is almost impossible for her to communicate them coherently to her family.  Finally, they make contact with the rescuers and set out for a new life in the stars.

A memorable, slightly disturbing story with a positive outcome.  Chappel remains one of the most literate Lovecraftians.

 

"Dagon"

by Fred Chappell
originally published Harcourt, Brace 1968

Peter Leland is a young writer, and preacher, who has moved to rural North Carolina with his pretty wife Sheila, to work on a book about Puritanism and paganism in early America.  

Instead, he becomes obsessed with a neighbors fish-like, inbred daughter, Mina.  He ends up killing Sheila and taking off with Mina and her boyfriend/companion, Coke Rymer, an obnoxious redneck turd who gives him nothing but trouble.  As they travel along, Peter becomes more and more degraded and essentially becomes a passive slave to these two crumbs.  Finally he is dedicated (or is it sacrificed?) to their god Dagon, who may or may not be Lovecraft's Dagon....

Fortunately, I found some detailed synopses online for this short novel, which spared me having to re-read it.  You see, I read Dagon some 20+ years ago, and it's not a book I would care to subject myself to again.

Its not that it's a bad book.  Chappell is a fine writer.  Its simply that Dagon is one of the most unpleasant reading experiences I've ever had.  

There is a (very popular) school of thought that goes that stories of horrific human suffering, degradation and sadism are the pinnacle of what modern horror should be - works like Jack Ketchum's The Girl Next Door and the Saw film series.  Well, if you share that idea, you may love Dagon.  But that sort of thing ain't for me.  

I have to give the book a decent-enough rating for its professionalism and the obvious talent of the author.  But its content prevents me from giving it a high one.  As they say, YMMV.