John Silence--Physician Extraordinary / The Wave

JOHN SILENCE—PHYSICIAN EXTRAORDINARY Dr. Silence is an eccentric man of science, philanthropic by nature, who specializes in cases involving psychical afflictions. An authority on the occult after years of rigorous training, John Silence is more interested in curing a home of an ancient haunting than in curing a head of the common cold. Herein are six of his most unusual cases, including the story of the man who seeks to renew childhood memories while travelling through France, but instead stumbles upon a monastery of the dead; and the island camping trip that turns into a shapeshifting nightmare. Six spellbinding tales from the grand master of supernatural fiction. THE WAVE Ever since childhood, Tom Kelverdon is haunted by a recurring dream in which a giant wave hovers over him. Strangely, he is aware in the dream that it isn’t a wave of water, but something else. There is a sweet smell that accompanies this dream, and a vision of two bright blue eyes. Even as he grows older, Tom never loses this feeling of the Wave—his career as an engineer rides its own wave of success. Now in his 30s, he is reunited with Lettice, whom Tom had fallen in love with as a child, and meets up with her group in Egypt. So begins a strange journey that involves his impulsive cousin Tony—also in love with Lettice—as the three of them re-enact a doomed triangle from Egypt’s dim past.

From the Inside Flap

JOHN SILENCE PHYSICIAN EXTRAORDINARY Dr. Silence is an eccentric man of science, philanthropic by nature, who specializes in cases involving psychical afflictions. An authority on the occult after years of rigorous training, John Silence is more interested in curing a home of an ancient haunting than in curing a head of the common cold. Herein are six of his most unusual cases, including the story of the man who seeks to renew childhood memories while travelling through France, but instead stumbles upon a monastery of the dead; and the island camping trip that turns into a shapeshifting nightmare. Six spellbinding tales from the grand master of supernatural fiction.THE WAVE Ever since childhood, Tom Kelverdon is haunted by a recurring dream in which a giant wave hovers over him. Strangely, he is aware in the dream that it isn t a wave of water, but something else. There is a sweet smell that accompanies this dream, and a vision of two bright blue eyes. Even as he grows older, Tom never loses this feeling of the Wave his career as an engineer rides its own wave of success. Now in his 30s, he is reunited with Lettice, whom Tom had fallen in love with as a child, and meets up with her group in Egypt. So begins a strange journey that involves his impulsive cousin Tony also in love with Lettice as the three of them re-enact a doomed triangle from Egypt s dim past.

About the Author

Born in London on March 14, 1869, Blackwood rebelled against his strong Catholic upbringing and began studying Oriental religions and the occult, later joining several occult societies. When he reached twenty, his father sent him to Canada. Returning to Britain in the late 1890's, he soon began turning some of his strange experiences into stories. An acquaintance sent these stories to a publisher and the result was The Empty House, soon followed by many more weird story collections and some truly strange and powerful novels. Storyteller, mystic, adventurer, radio and television personality--Algernon Blackwood had been all of these in his rich and varied lifetime. In fact, as he revealed to his friends, most of his stories were based on actual events. By the time of his death in 1951, he had become one of the greatest writers of supernatural fiction in the 20th century.

Reviews

News