Two birthdays I want to draw attention to today (January 20).
Abraham Merritt
The first is A. Merritt (b. 1884). His name should be familiar to most anyone who swings by this blog. Merritt was one of the most influential fantasy authors of the first half of the 20th Century. At one point there was even a fantasy magazine named after him. Merritt was first assistant editor and then editor at The American Weekly. Writing was only a side job for him.
I’m going to read some of his work this year. I”ll probably start by rereading The Dwellers in the Mirage. Merritt wrote very little short fiction, but I’m going to read some of that as well.
William F. Nolan (l.) and Charles E. Fritch (r.) at Expo 67
The other author only wrote short stories in the science fiction, fantasy, and horror fields. A member of the so-called California School, Charles E. Fritch (b. 1927) wrote short stories on a fairly consistent basis until the early 1970s, after which his output slowed to a trickle until his death in 2012. Several of his later works appeared in Whispers. In the early to mid 1960s he was editor of the magazine Gamma. He was also editor of Mike Shayne’s Mystery Magazine from1979 until 1985.
I may have read one or two of his stories when I was a teenager, but if so, I don’t recall them. I do know his name pops up in the tables of contents of horror and dark fantasy anthologies from the seventies and eighties. His work is also showing up in some of these anthologies that sell on Amazon for a buck or two. I have a few of those and will read the stories in the ones I have.
If anyone has read any of his work, please let me know.
I read The Ship of Ishtar the first time this year.
That one I haven’t read yet, but I’ve heard a lot of good things about it.
It’s the only novel of his I’ve read. (I’ve read a few of his short stories.) I definitely recommend it. I don’t think there is a fantasy novel quite like it. The power of imagination that Merritt had was astounding.
Your opinion is pretty much in line with what I’ve heard.
“I’ll return The Ship of Ishtar early next week. Needless to say I enjoyed the rare and original fantasy of this tale, and have kept it longer than I should otherwise, for the sake of re-reading certain passages that were highly poetic and imaginative. Merritt has an authentic magic, as well as an inexhaustible imagination.”
— Clark Ashton Smith to Lester Anderson
June 4, 1932
When Klarkash-Ton says you have “authentic magic” and “an inexhaustible imagination”…’nuff said.
Agreed. That’s high praise indeed.