• The Three Imposters

  • By: Arthur Machen
  • Narrated by: Jim Killavey
  • Length: 6 hrs and 2 mins
  • 3.8 out of 5 stars (26 ratings)

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The Three Imposters  By  cover art

The Three Imposters

By: Arthur Machen
Narrated by: Jim Killavey
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Publisher's summary

The Three Impostors is a series of convoluted horror tales about three individuals who are searching for a "young man with spectacles" who has inadvertently stolen something of great importance to a secret society of which they are members.

The story then goes back in time before the opening scene where the three impostors assume various personas and roles, weaving stories about their prey in an effort to attract attention to him and gain the aid of unsuspecting people.

These stories are considered by many to be Machen's best and had a profound impact on many authors including H. P. Lovecraft. One of the included stories, The Novel of the Black Seal has been cited as a model for some of H.P. Lovecraft's best-known stories: The Call of Cthulhu, The Dunwich Horror and The Whisperer in Darkness. Another, The Novel of the White Powder, which Lovecraft said "approaches the absolute culmination of loathsome fright", may have been an inspiration for Lovecraft's stories of bodily disintegration, such as Cool Air and The Colour Out of Space.

Public Domain (P)1985 Jimcin Recordings

What listeners say about The Three Imposters

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Best Horror Ever Written

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes because it contains some great horror stories, especially the Novel of the Black Seal and the Novel of the White Powder.

What other book might you compare The Three Imposters to and why?

Any collection of Lovecraft's stories, especially The Whisperer in Darkness.

What does Jim Killavey bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The human voice.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The Novel of the White Powder

Any additional comments?

This book is uneven in quality. It's high points are The Novel of the Black Seal and The Novel of the White Powder, two of the finest stories from the greatest horror writer who ever lived.

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