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The Gods of Peg¿na (1905) is a short story collection by Lord Dunsany. Published at the beginning of his career, The Gods of Peg¿na would influence such writers as J. R. R. Tolkein, Ursula K. Le Guin, and H. P. Lovecraft. Recognized as a pioneering author of fantasy and science fiction, Dunsany is a man whose work, in the words of Lovecraft, remains "unexcelled in the sorcery of crystalline singing prose, and supreme in the creation of a gorgeous and languorous world of incandescently exotic vision." "Whether the season be winter or whether it be summer, whether it be morning among the worlds or whether it be night, Skarl still beateth his drum, for the purposes of the gods are not yet fulfilled." The Gods of Peg¿na, Dunsany's debut collection of stories, contains some of his finest tales of fantasy and adventure. The Mana-Yood-Sushai created the gods of Peg¿na before falling asleep in the middle of Time. The only thing keeping him from creating new gods and worlds is the drummer Skarl, who can never cease his playing. In their creator's absence, dozens of small gods and a thousand local deities have free reign to create the worlds and realities they want. As they compete to outdo one another, the order and peace of Peg¿na hangs in the balance. Humorous and inventive, Dunsany's tales of high fantasy continue to delight over a century after they first appeared in print. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Lord Dunsany's The Gods of Peg¿na is a classic of Irish fantasy fiction reimagined for modern readers.
About the author
Anglo-Irish author and playwright Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett, 18th Baron of Dunsany, FRSL (24 July 1878 - 25 October 1957), better known as Lord Dunsany, was born on July 24, 1878, and died on October 25, 1957. During his lifetime, he wrote hundreds of short stories, plays, novels, and articles and put them out in more than 90 books. In the 1910s, most people who spoke English knew him as a great writer. Today, The King of Elfland's Daughter (1924), a fantasy book, and his first book, The Gods of Peg¿na, which is about a made-up pantheon, are his most famous works. A lot of reviewers think that his early work paved the way for the magic genre. He was born in London as the heir to an old Irish peerage. He spent some of his childhood in Kent and most of his adult life at Dunsany Castle near Tara, which may be Ireland's oldest home. Along with W. B. Yeats and Lady Gregory, he helped the Abbey Theatre and some other writers. He was Ireland's best at chess and gun, and he liked to travel and hunt. He came up with Dunsany's chess, an irregular game. After a while, Trinity College Dublin gave him an honors doctorate.
