The Great God Pan, published in 1894, is a novella by Arthur Machen, who is known as one of the pioneers of modern horror literature.
He has influenced for example H.P. Lovecraft and Steven King, but was also chosen as a source of inspiration by other authors, like Oscar Wilde. He himself got his inspiration from different, foreign cultures.
Nevertheless, it was the myths of his own country Wales that inspired him the most. The fact that this region was exposed to the Celts’ and Romans’ influence marked these myths. There, he looked for his muse, which also made it felt.
His written language ranges from elegance over floweriness to gloom and is also guided by antique idols. This let his stories appear almost antique.
His depictions of nature were very elegant. He virtually admired them. However, the protagonists often refer to the position of the misunderstood outsider. In my opinion, The Great God Pan is one of his best works.
He manages the split between modernity, mythic appearances and gods. And concerning the plot I can tell you that a scientist is trying to connect to former gods by doing targeted brain surgeries. After he does this on a young lady, unpredictable things that first don’t have any connection with each other start to happen…
Like every other good story, the art of suspense won’t just simply break, but will shock us readers instead. An absolutely amazing book, which is written in a thrilling and wonderful way and which represents a nice contrast to the blasphemous plot.
Copyright and Source:Â parthianbooks.com
