Leopoldo Lugones (1874–1938)

It's almost a shame that these short stories aren't better known since in their obvious influence from Wells and Poe and their erudite handling of the fantastic, they prefigure Borges to a large extent. I say "almost" because although there are some interesting ideas reflected therein, the stories themselves quickly lose a lot of impact through repetition. There appear to be two basic "types" of stories. The first is speculative sci-fi where a narrator talks to an eccentric scientist who divulges, at length, his researches into Man Things Was Perhaps Not Meant To Know. The second are quasi-fables, set in a Middle Eastern milieu, where mystical, somewhat disturbing events occur.

The sci-fi stories depend largely on twist endings to lend emotional gravity to stories that are largely plotless and filled with technobabble. The technobabble is actually intriguing, though the science often incredibly wrong--there is an innocent quality to it, as if it's a real exploration of scientific and pseudo-scientific concepts. The best of the sci-fi stories is actually "Origins of the Flood" which ties the technobabble to some rather hallucinatory visions of pre-human earth life that could easily rival the fancies of Lovecraft. (Oddly enough, it features a couple of rather Lovecraftian monsters at the end.)

The fables are stronger, since what they lack in plot, they make up for with mythical resonance. There's a couple of stories that seem to skirt the line of religious parable and horror tale, "The Pillar of Salt" and "The Story of Saint Wilfred." My favorite by far, both of the fables and of the collection, was "The Firestorm" in which an unnamed narrator tells of the slow destruction of his city by a recurrent rain of blazing copper. It eerily echoes the destructions of Pompeii and Sodom/Gomorrah while also suggesting the horrors of aerial bombardment and the ash fall of 9/11.

Overall I'd have to say it's an intriguing collection, especially for fans of Borges or Gaslight science fiction, but too repetitive and lacking in plot or emotional impact.… (more)