It’s a truly Nietzschean science fiction concept (it’s often forgotten the clarkes third law nature of lovecrafts horror). If there are beings so powerful and alien to us that they can’t even understand us, why on earth would they care about us? That’s why I think The Thing is still one of the greatest cosmic horror pieces ever.
One thing I really love about Shea is how grounded he is, how real his characters are. Lovecraft has his bespectacled, madness-induced academics; Howard has his warriors, not understanding what they face but slashing at it anyway; and shea has construction workers, homeless people, drug dealers, prostitutes, and old San Francisco bag ladies. They don’t go mad, they don’t just slay it, but they do what they can to survive, like all of us. Great stuff.
It’s a truly Nietzschean science fiction concept (it’s often forgotten the clarkes third law nature of lovecrafts horror). If there are beings so powerful and alien to us that they can’t even understand us, why on earth would they care about us? That’s why I think The Thing is still one of the greatest cosmic horror pieces ever.
One thing I really love about Shea is how grounded he is, how real his characters are. Lovecraft has his bespectacled, madness-induced academics; Howard has his warriors, not understanding what they face but slashing at it anyway; and shea has construction workers, homeless people, drug dealers, prostitutes, and old San Francisco bag ladies. They don’t go mad, they don’t just slay it, but they do what they can to survive, like all of us. Great stuff.
That's great context, Carter. Thanks so much for the input. And I can't thank you enough for pointing me in Shea's direction! What a great find.