Outsiders and Lovecraft

[TheMouse]

If you assume the Mythos is true that's the best possible outcome.

Yes, and I'd hardly call that crisis averted or victory for the good guys. Everyone's still doomed. Just, you know, a little bit later than previously.

[Masurao]

In book one, Harry leaves before a very angry Red Court Vampire attacks him and she summons one of her assistants / working girls / lovers to her.  That woman is killed and the Red Court Vampire blames Harry for her death - "If you hadn't had made me angry I wouldn't have killed her so it's all your fault".  Which is why in book 3 the vampire sets Harry up - she's being used as a pawn but for her it's personal.

The name of the woman who died? It depends on the book.  Jim got it wrong in book three and his editor didn't catch it.  There are several posts from him pointing out this mistake and that because of that he pays more attention to continuality.

Richard

I know exactly who you're talking about, but I didn't catch the mistake Perhaps because I read the first book in Dutch and then, after finishing it, ordered 2-11 in English Plus, I didn't read them all in order...

[Richard_Chilton]

I read the series as it was written and I noticed the problem when I was reading book 3 - that the name seemed off - and pulled out the first book to double check.  After a bit of head scratching I assumed that the first name was the woman's "working name" and the second one was her real name.

Then I came across posts where Jim admitted the mistake.

Checking out the other boards I've found that the first three books... Well, they are canon but lesser canon. If something in a later book contradicts one of the first three then the later book is considered correct.  If you raise a point that depends on something in those first three books people will shrug a bit and point to admitted errors in those books, or to Words of Jim where he says that he would do X differently or how Y doesn't fit with the rest of the books.

Take that demon that Harry summoned - in the book it was clear that Harry was flirting with the seven law there (bring this post back on topic!), yet later there's a clear division between "native demons" and outsiders.  That the being who Harry summoned had more in common with the Fallen than He Who Walks Behind.  In that book Harry was all "technically I'm not letting into the world" where the real problem would be he had researched how to summon it in the first place.  And that's basically an editing mistake.

Richard

[Onkel Thorsen]

Looking at an Outsider like He Who Walks Behind and comparing him to Lovecraft's Yog-Sothothery, they don't seem to compare very well.
Lovecraft's alien-gods are keen to invade our world, but they don't Hate the way the Walker does. And they generally don't give a Tinker's cuss about humans.

[DFJunkie]

Looking at an Outsider like He Who Walks Behind and comparing him to Lovecraft's Yog-Sothothery, they don't seem to compare very well.
Lovecraft's alien-gods are keen to invade our world, but they don't Hate the way the Walker does. And they generally don't give a Tinker's cuss about humans.

Remember, everything we know about HHWB and his attitude towards reality is filtered through Harry's brain.  It's possible that Harry couldn't comprehend HHBW's feelings and understood them in more familiar terms. 

Also, IIRC the Outsiders (like HHBW) are servants of the Old Ones (Yog Sothoth and company), not old ones as described by Lovecraft.  If the Outsiders were created to destroy humanity they could be more similar to us than their masters are.

[The Mighty Buzzard]

Looking at an Outsider like He Who Walks Behind and comparing him to Lovecraft's Yog-Sothothery, they don't seem to compare very well.
Lovecraft's alien-gods are keen to invade our world, but they don't Hate the way the Walker does. And they generally don't give a Tinker's cuss about humans.

Eh, HWWB is kind of pansy compared to Yog-Sothoth and company anyway.  Walkers are only the lieutennants of the Outer Gods/Old Ones.  You can tell by how nobody goes mad, blind, or just flat dies by just looking at HWWB.

[Pbartender]

Apropos of nothing...

Last spring, I found a paperback copy of the Necronomicon at a garage sale.    I keep meaning to read it, but haven't found the time yet.

[polkaneverdies]

Don't read it out loud when you get around to it. Especially  not "Klaatu barada nikto"

[TheMouse]

Lovecraft's alien-gods are keen to invade our world, but they don't Hate the way the Walker does. And they generally don't give a Tinker's cuss about humans.

Well, some are keen to invade, and others aren't. Their motivations get more and more incoherent the more powerful they get, to the point where Azathoth doesn't seem to have any motivations at all, certainly not ones we could understand.

But, yeah. Most of them don't even seem to notice that humans exist, never mind have any intentions toward us. They're only going to incidentally wipe us out without realizing that we even exist.

Apropos of nothing...

Last spring, I found a paperback copy of the Necronomicon at a garage sale.    I keep meaning to read it, but haven't found the time yet.

Just remember to never read the name of the King In Yellow out loud. For realsies.

[Richard_Chilton]

Looking at an Outsider like He Who Walks Behind and comparing him to Lovecraft's Yog-Sothothery, they don't seem to compare very well.
Lovecraft's alien-gods are keen to invade our world, but they don't Hate the way the Walker does. And they generally don't give a Tinker's cuss about humans.

Spoiler for a recent book or short story:

(click to show/hide)

In Ghost Story, Harry walks through his memories of the fight with He Who Walks Behind.  It's a very Call of Cthulhu type battle - Harry can't fight him head on because He Who Walks is always behind Harry.  No, turn fast doesn't change that - reality just get rewritten so He Who Walks is behind Harry.

Richard

[Drulinda]

You didn't.  In the original printing of the book in question it said White Council.  Since it was the same book that Jim accidentally changed the name of a character from book one, I can see him saying "I meant White Court" and meaning it.

Richard

Are you referring to SF or GP becuse i dont remember it being mentioned who was behiend the publication of dracula untill BR... am i just forgetting something?