fully with two more novels. The Final Quest(1981)
describes the infighting and factionalism that
ended the unity that had existed under Arthur,
and Blood and Dreams(1985) returns to the quest
for the Holy Grail, this time undertaken by men
with less than noble motives.
Monaco used a slightly different setting for
Runes(1984) and its sequel, Broken Stones(1985).
The Romans have conquered much of what is now
Great Britain, imposing their rule despite the op-
position of the druids, who in the first novel are
aligned with the forces of evil. A slave girl and a
Roman nobleman must make common cause to
defeat them. They are forced to acquire more allies
in the sequel in an effort to repel the attacks of
shadowy creatures from another plane of exis-
tence. Although well written, they are not as inter-
esting as his previous work. Journey to the Flame
(1985) is a sequel to SHE(1886) by H. Rider HAG-
GARD. An explorer investigates legends of an im-
mortal woman living in a remote, cloistered land
and sets out to find her, stumbling into a lost world
where magic works.
Monaco’s last novel was Unto the Beast
(1987), which mixes fantasy and horror themes.
An inhuman creature who functions essentially as
a stand-in for Satan exists independently of time
and space, spreading his evil influence through the
world by means of selected humans, including
Adolf Hitler. Although the novel is a reasonably
entertaining occult adventure, the plot is occasion-
ally unfocused. Monaco has written no fantastic
fiction since then. A rare short story, “Blood and
Dreams” (1982), is also of interest.
“The Monkey’s Paw” W. W. Jacobs(1902)
Although the British writer William Wymark Ja-
cobs was a popular and influential writer, it was his
crime stories and tales of the seamier side of Lon-
don that were most often imitated. He wrote a
substantial number of weird and supernatural sto-
ries as well. Less than half a dozen are still read
today, and only this one is widely known. The pop-
ularity of this single tale alone, however, makes
him a noteworthy figure in horror fiction. It has
been adapted in one form or another for a variety
of television versions and is one of the most fre-
quently anthologized tales in the English language.
The twofold message is clear. Be very careful what
you wish for, and refrain from interfering with the
natural order of things.
Mr. and Mrs. White and their grown son en-
tertain a visitor, recently returned from service in
India, who shows them a mummified monkey’s
paw that is supposed to have magical properties.
He tells them it has the power to grant three
wishes but that its purpose is to demonstrate to
people that their lives are ruled by fate and that
fate cannot be thwarted. After acquiring the paw,
Mr. White is reluctant to make a wish, partly be-
cause his visitor warned against it and partly be-
cause he feels content with what he has. Finally, he
decides to wish for a small sum of money, just
enough to retire the mortgage on their home.
Nothing happens immediately, and they decide it
was all just a tall story. The following day their son
is killed in an industrial accident, and they receive
compensation, exactly the amount he wished for.
More than a week passes before Mrs. White
recovers from her grief and has an inspiration. She
prevails upon her husband to wish their son alive
again, which he does, but he instantly regrets the
impulse, since his son has lain in his grave all that
time and was, in fact, horribly mutilated by the ac-
cident. When they hear an insistent knocking on
the door during the night, she hastens to let in
their son, but, aghast, Mr. White seizes the paw for
the final time and wishes his son back to his grave.
A tightly written, efficiently constructed story that
delivers a considerable shock even though we
never see what lies beyond their door, “The Mon-
key’s Paw” is one of the most familiar horror stories
of all time and is a classic not just in the genre, but
in literature as a whole.“The Monster of the Prophecy”Clark
Ashton Smith (1932)
Most of Clark Ashton SMITH’s fantastic fiction is
set in imaginary lands such as Poseidonis, Atlantis,
Hyperborea, or Zothique, but occasionally he used
a contemporary setting. This, one of his longer and
most famous stories, opens with the introduction
of its protagonist, Theophilus Alvor, literally a
starving poet who is contemplating leaping to his“The Monster of the Prophecy” 243