Review: Weird Tales v24n02 August 1934

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Weird Tales v24n02 August 1934 Weird Tales v24n02 August 1934 by Farnsworth Wright
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This review is for C.L. Moore's 'Dust of Gods.'

"Yarol the Venusian" is drinking whiskey with Northwest in a Martian saloon. Low on funds they are privately deliberating over which stupid idea should be their next escapade when a stranger at another table overhears and chirps in. Such a classic trope now but for all I know it first appeared here, 90 odd years ago. Probably not.

Anyway, our stranger whispers legends of ancient Gods that long ago abandoned all interaction with mortals and then offers the down-and-out pair a gig they can't refuse. Mostly because they REALLY need some cash.

This Northwest adventure is more adventurous than the previous episodes with our pair travelling out to explore the uber-ancient remnants of what was once Mars' most holy city. A lot like an Indianna Jones adventure.

"Great Pharol—dust upon a throne."

It's not as terrifying as some of the early entries, unless you consider standing in the presence of a God to be frightful, but it is definitely a quick and enjoyable, weird tale. As in at least one of the earlier adventures, Moore uses the mystery of impenetrable blackness to induce a sense of fear, but also that light too bright for human eyes often associated with ideas of holiness is here employed to beguile the reader.

Oh, I don't want to give it up but you're expecting Northwest to survive anyway, so I'll just say that the potential horror is essentially avoided by a simple change of heart.

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