‘The Dream Snake’ – Robert E. Howard
Page Count: Seven Pages
‘The Dream Snake’ was first published in the February 1928 edition of ‘Weird Tales’ and is the latest stop on my occasional resolution to read more of Howard’s stories that aren’t ‘Conan’. Not that there’s anything wrong with ‘Conan’ but there are so many other things that Howard wrote, I want to try some of that :o)
If you don’t have a February 1928 edition of ‘Weird Tales’, don’t worry. I found ‘The Dream Snake’ in the collection ‘The Dead Remember’ and I suspect you’ll probably find it in the ‘Horror Stories of Robert E. Howard’. If I could see my copy, I’d confirm this one way or the other. If you want to read it off your computer screen, Gutenberg has you covered and also offers a number of ways to download yourself a copy as well. There’s also a comic book adaptation somewhere but don’t ask me where, it’s been a while since I last saw it. With that all said then, lets press on shall we…?
At only seven pages long (in my edition), you’d be forgiven for thinking that ‘The Dream Snake’ doesn’t give itself a lot of room to do the job that it sets out to do. Well, you’d be wrong. ‘The Dream Snake’ doesn’t mess around and is as tightly plotted as Faming’s nerves are taut. It’s a straightforward plot (Faming recounts a recurring nightmare that is becoming more real) but Howard really knows how to draw you in by drawing the tension out. There are moments that seem far longer than the page count of the whole story. I was riveted by Faming’s tale, all the more so as you realise what is unfolding and just how close Faming is to a death that he can only stop by staying awake. The stakes are high and Howard seems to really enjoy dropping little, terrifying, hints of what is hunting Faming in his sleep. Something that could easily crush Faming’s hiding place and will drive him mad if he sees it… And when you fully realise that this dream has been with Faming since childhood… That just made the tale all the more relentless and I couldn’t help but follow in its wake.
Another great read then but by this point, I’m not really expecting anything else. I shall continue my journey, next stop...
If you don’t have a February 1928 edition of ‘Weird Tales’, don’t worry. I found ‘The Dream Snake’ in the collection ‘The Dead Remember’ and I suspect you’ll probably find it in the ‘Horror Stories of Robert E. Howard’. If I could see my copy, I’d confirm this one way or the other. If you want to read it off your computer screen, Gutenberg has you covered and also offers a number of ways to download yourself a copy as well. There’s also a comic book adaptation somewhere but don’t ask me where, it’s been a while since I last saw it. With that all said then, lets press on shall we…?
At only seven pages long (in my edition), you’d be forgiven for thinking that ‘The Dream Snake’ doesn’t give itself a lot of room to do the job that it sets out to do. Well, you’d be wrong. ‘The Dream Snake’ doesn’t mess around and is as tightly plotted as Faming’s nerves are taut. It’s a straightforward plot (Faming recounts a recurring nightmare that is becoming more real) but Howard really knows how to draw you in by drawing the tension out. There are moments that seem far longer than the page count of the whole story. I was riveted by Faming’s tale, all the more so as you realise what is unfolding and just how close Faming is to a death that he can only stop by staying awake. The stakes are high and Howard seems to really enjoy dropping little, terrifying, hints of what is hunting Faming in his sleep. Something that could easily crush Faming’s hiding place and will drive him mad if he sees it… And when you fully realise that this dream has been with Faming since childhood… That just made the tale all the more relentless and I couldn’t help but follow in its wake.
Another great read then but by this point, I’m not really expecting anything else. I shall continue my journey, next stop...
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