phenomena, including visions of a world ruled by
Vikings, and later suspects that he is involuntarily
the instrument of an ancient enmity.
Although both of Hodge’s first novels are solid
and readable, he did not begin to distinguish himself
until the appearance of his third, Nightlife(1991). A
strange new narcotic from South America has the
power to physically transform its users, causing them
to revert to earlier evolutionary forms with violent
predispositions. Although those affected are techni-
cally monsters, it is the drug lords in the story who
are the most villainous. Deathgrip(1992) is equally
thoughtful and complex. A disc jockey discovers
that he has the ability to heal through physical con-
tact but also that he has the power to inflict illness
by the same means. The Darker Saints(1993), which
mixes voodoo and the world of advertising, is an en-
gaging thriller in which the supernatural elements
seem almost superfluous. Prototype(1996) is Hodge’s
most recent horror novel, a marginal science fiction
story about a man brought to a hospital following an
assault who has superhuman powers, possibly as the
result of genetic manipulation. The collapse of the
horror market has resulted in Hodge turning his at-
tention, at book length, to mainstream thrillers and
crime stories.
Hodge has also written a considerable body of
short fiction of generally very high quality. “An-
drogyny” (1991), “When the Silence Gets Too
Loud” (1995), and “Cenotaph” (1998) are among
the best of his many stories, most of which have
been collected in Shrines and Desecrations(1994),
The Convulsion Factory(1996), Falling Idols(1998),
and Lies and Ugliness(2002). He continues to write
short horror fiction with some regularity and re-
tains a considerable body of fans. The present
slight upturn in the horror market may well lure
him back at novel length as well.
Hodgson, William Hope(1877–1918)
William Hope Hodgson was a British writer whose
service in the merchant marine resulted in a num-
ber of stories set at sea, some supernatural and
some not. Hodgson produced a small but substan-
tial body of work during his short life, including
several novels and numerous stories. Although
most have been published as horror or dark fan-
tasy, some are close to science fiction. His most fa-
mous novel, for example, is the relatively short The
House on the Borderland(1907), in which the nar-
rator discovers that his house is on the barrier be-
tween his own and other times and spaces and that
he can move from one to the other. He is besieged
for a time by monstrous creatures who prowl out-
side the walls and later witnesses the very distant
future in a scene almost certainly inspired by The
Time Machine(1895) by H. G. Wells. The tone is
clearly intended to be horrifying despite the casual
attempts at rationalization.
Similarly, The Night Land(1912) is set in a dis-
tant future when the nature of life on Earth has
changed, but the story is a quest. The dangers con-
sist of various monstrous creatures, and the novel
is more properly dark fantasy than science fiction.
The sun has burned out, and most of surviving hu-
manity lives in one giant pyramid. Outside are ma-
terial creatures, mutated monsters, and immaterial,
evil, supernatural forces. The protagonist is a resi-
dent of the pyramid who learns that a smaller
human outpost is on the verge of being overrun.
He decides to go to their rescue but arrives too
late, managing to save only a single survivor. Al-
though filled with remarkable imagery and some
wonderful sequences, the novel is in general
marred by Hodgson’s use of a very artificial prose
style. A much shorter version, The Dream of X
(1912), is not an improvement.
Hodgson’s other two fantastic novels are both
set at sea. The Boats of the Glen Carig(1907) re-
counts the adventures of a ship’s crew when they
find themselves near an unknown island sur-
rounded by shoals of seaweed. A parade of bizarre
and sometimes dangerous creatures follows, and
Hodgson leaves much of their origin and nature
deliberately unexplained. More overtly supernatu-
ral is The Ghost Pirates(1909), one of the earliest
and best examples of the ghost ship story. The nar-
rator takes a posting on a merchant ship despite
learning that all but one of its previous comple-
ment have deserted hastily. Once away from shore,
the new crew is assaulted by mysterious shapes
that emerge from the sea, all being killed eventu-
ally except the narrator. Although the attackers
are ghostlike, they seem to be denizens of some al-
ternate reality rather than the spirits of the dead.Hodgson, William Hope 163