Blood Meridian: A Legion of Horribles

[@jonnyhatter35]

The Mennonite knew

[@tsar389]

Yes he did, he told them they were bringing a madman's war and hell ain't half full

[@TanoBrati]

There’s no such joy in the tavern as upon the road thereto.

[@CruderQuotient1]

There actually was a Comanche Leader named Iron Jacket, named so because he wore Conquistador chain mail into battle. McCarthy truly did his research on the time period.

[@lastofthe4horsemen279]

Blood Meridian comes from "On the Campaign Trail with Crook" on of the finest pieces of historical writing ever by a Lt. who rode with the Commander during the Indian Wars.It tracks the entire novel and McArthy used it to frame his work so similar are they its hard to divorce the novel from its father.Read it

[@rgblanka7344]

​@@lastofthe4horsemen279 nothing you said was true

[@lastofthe4horsemen279]

@@rgblanka7344 have you read both books.What l ment by that statement was this was one of the many books used by McArthy in researching the time period and many of the scenes in Blood Meridian come straight from this book .He also used several other books that detail the period and many scenes come from those ss well .Not wrong at all not trying to disparage Mcarthy's genius simply refering another great travelloge adventure from this era

[@Livingthedream333]

Maybe he lived it, and just telln ya what he remembers bout it

[@ralphllivrah9551]

@SerDownOfHouseBad They didn’t make due to scare resources making guerrilla warfare much better than a conventional type war.

[@pod9363]

I like how you can tell Cormac didn't write this out of some desire to write an epic novel but from his total fascination with the time period and how it shaped people. Feels like it came out of a multi-decade fascination with this part of history rather than just a whim to write a deep book.

[@EtInArcadioEgo]

This, and the Gnosticism throughout. It reads like the new Saint James Bible for Gnostics, or good literature for all. Can’t help but to “feel” this book… more so for me than any other. It was more than the story or characters. The plot… almost non existent. The language. I knew the effect it had, but none of it could explain what I felt until I changed perspectives beyond what I thought possible, & there it was. Just 1 man’s opinion.

[@anon-kt7dc]

He said the writing came easy

[@stephendavis6267]

"Oh my god," said the sergeant.

[@TA-by9wv]

Death hilarious

[@bear5945]

And people say this book is 'unfilmable'

[@JoeMama-yd1ve]

so chilling

[@forest8779]

I imagine it sounds like kurt russel saying it in tombstone lolz

[@Chamavii]

@@bear5945 People like to compare his writing to Milton's alot, but mostly just in theme. He really captures the vivid imagery of Milton. You dont even need a film, he gives you the tools to create a film in your head more powerful than any director could create.

[@bookeblade]

“They set forth in a crimson dawn where sky and earth closed in a razorous plane. Out there dark little archipelagos of cloud and the vast world of sand and scrub shearing upward into the shoreless void where those blue islands trembled and the earth grew uncertain, gravely canted and veering out through tinctures of rose and the dark beyond the dawn to the uttermost rebate of space.” What a description fuck me

[@limeyndixie]

Filibusters: Manifest Destiny! Comanches: Fuck around, find out.

[@Truffle_Pup]

The way Richard delivers _Oh My God said the sergeant_ will always give me chills. This is Pandæmonium itself and all of it's devils and demons, riding headlong straight for you at speeds that bend Time and Earth. Cormac didn't write this as prose, this whole novel is poetry. Beautiful, and horrifying.

[@rooples.pooples]

It was even a bit funny to me how the sergeant went from “Ah, this will be an entertaining battle” to quickly realizing that they were about to face terrors they couldn’t imagine by foes they had no chance against. What a wild few paragraphs. The horror and panic from this realization perfectly captured in just three words, too. Hats off to you, Mr. Poe.

[@hal560]

It registers to me as a literal asking of a higher being - “Oh, my God.” - as opposed to the modern use of the phrase, diluted of meaning

[@pyetr7120]

The most vivid, deranged, and powerful paragraph I have ever read

[@abeorama]

'Death Hilarious'

[@dagoldrush]

@Abraham Vasquez , I came to the comments to type those words alone, but you had it covered - good lookin out lol

[@billycostigan1247]

And it immediately cuts to "Oh my God." Just utter amazement at the monstrous horde riding toward them. I dont want this book to be movie, bc it already feels like one with scenes like these.

[@1031Sonic]

@@billycostigan1247the dichotomy of the terror there after that deranged description and Poe’s just spectacular performance always makes me chuckle at the sheer dark humor of it. Just like all we get before absolute slaughter comes pouring in.

[@geordiejones5618]

​@@abeoramaGreatest two words I've ever seen in sequence in all of English canon. The weight of that phrase is just incredible. I actually laughed in almost anxious fear when I first read it. Had to put the book down for a second and then restarted the whole sequence and got through to the end of the chapter. Greatest reading experience of my life.

[@iansmith9125]

The greatest achievement in the English language. & Richard poe’s narration is incredible.

[@jimbofromfrance4801]

Richard Poe’s narration is just purpose. It fits the grim and sweaty theme of BM as well as every other McCarthy book.

[@wolfumz]

Poe's cadence when he reads McCarthy has so much action behind it. When I read this on my own, it sounds so much more spartan, there's all this empty space. I don't know how Poe does it. Plus, the way he reads the Judge's dialogue is amazing. His performance always reminds me of Satan in Milton's Paradise Lost, it's just loaded with charisma. One of the coolest audio books ever made.

[@followingtheroe1952]

I learned that it also has to do with how Cormac is able to use little puncuation because he writes with the focus for his work to sound good orally. So its really a match made in heaven

[@Len124]

I love the effect of that mother of all run-on sentences in the central chunk of the scene and the narrator's ability to interpret it. Richard Poe's rhythm fits so perfectly that he's able to create that thumping, unrelenting pulse, while his grim, baritone drawl seamlessly captures the appropriate tone; both of which ensure that the scarce punctuation and length don't jump off the page in some unintentionally conspicuous way. In other words, he's able to avoid the common pitfalls of reading "and... and... and" sentences without, for example, grinding the pace to a halt as fluid prose is suddenly replaced by something with the inert tedium and gravitas of a very detailed grocery list.

[@peterstromboli8979]

Remember lads and lasses, THIS is america

[@Gu1d-0]

Let's face it, the entire world is built on blood. Even europeans had to kick some asses to make their way. Asia? Africa? Everyone waged wars on their owns.

[@peterstromboli8979]

@@Gu1d-0 "the entire world is built on blood" thats a good fkn quote homie

[@margaretdonato7888]

That’s correct. But where was the cavalry 😂😂

[@cowboyschad5x778]

🇺🇸💪🏻

[@bakslayer3032]

Jews do worse to Palestinians. Who do you think funded these expeditions? They're cowards.

[@lonl123]

My absolute favorite part of the book...when I first read it, my heart was racing.....and when the Sgt said "Oh my God", i remember saying "No shit, you need to run!"

[@kevinbradley8613]

The first time I read this part of the book, I realized, “oh, people weren’t kidding when they said it was violent.” Incredible book. This version of the audiobook also really helped with my reading. It was really cool to hear it read after having finished it myself and just confirming that I was getting the tempo right, in my head, if that makes sense. This guy’s voice is so perfect for this book too.

[@Stockavelli]

Candelario got the F out of there! The captain was looking for him but he knew it was time to run for his life! Que te vaya bien

[@followingtheroe1952]

5:58 onward is a run on sentence! Beyond impressive

[@ssnewp2340]

I'm not one for hyperbole, so I usually roll my eyes when I hear people say they "had" to put down a book because of a particularly nasty section. However, this section and it's sheer visceral brutality legitimately did force me to stop and take a minute to absorb the passage, and the horror of it all

[@jojodogface898]

The combination of those words and that voice is crazy!

[@followingtheroe1952]

7:40 that delivery is so fuckin good

[@Scrimdingulus2978]

It's a perfect culmination of witnessing the end, and an end by a depraved, terrifying horde. That moment was worth the entire audiobook.

[@billycostigan1247]

It's exactly how I read it. Utter shock and awe, as if he had seen God. Im only halfway thru the book, but this might be my favorite passage

[@tsar389]

It's the tone of complete and utter terror, absolute fear consuming every facet of your mind

[@leemarshall348]

The way the description is broken by that “oh my God” followed by the carnage feels so cinematic.

[@oncomputergames]

i read this passage just 4 days ago and the "oh my god" had me laughing out loud. even made a note of it. such a great, simple line because it comes after that long description of the comanche war party after which i was literally thinking "oh my god, what the f%&k?" and then the character says exactly what i'm thinking.

[@SuperGreatSphinx]

OUR LADY OF MERCY The Blessed Virgin Mary

[@SailfishSoundSystem]

The Judge can't be scalped because he has no hair.

[@nowheredan27]

holy shit, I'd never thought of that but you might be onto something

[@SailfishSoundSystem]

@@nowheredan27 Maybe. Cormac is a genius, I am not.

[@bookeblade]

Wow, nice catch.

[@forest8779]

The first REAL battle the kid goes through and survives against Comanche or Indians for that matter. If ye go waging a mad mans war in a foreign land ye will wake more than dogs…

[@plankthereturn]

Got fucking obliterated

[@eastongentry8425]

Who wouldn’t have…..

[@weezycobain]

😂

[@Tenebrys]

There are strong parallels between how the Legion of Horribles is described, and how Glanton's gang of scalp-hunters is described a chapter later when the Kid first meets them. Both groups are so barbarous as to be practically animals, covered in human trophies and riding crazed, filthy ponies. And both groups wind up doing pretty much the same thing to everybody they meet, eventually. It makes me think that the Legion of Horribles was created by the judge, who corrupted them until they could spread his evil well enough without him. He then ditched on them and joined Glanton's gang, whom he held out as the solution to the Legion. Gradually, through his constant lectures on an amoral world and the rightness of war and slaughter, he twisted Glanton and his men into yet another band of monsters. And the book ended with him doing it again.

[@zacretzer]

I love that so many of y’all were also yelling “NO SHIT” when the the Sgt said, “Oh my god.” Like after that whole description I was screaming RUN MY DUDE YOU ARE SO DEAD!

[@followingtheroe1952]

I think the run on sentence emphasizes how overwhelming and shocking the horde was to see. Like when people see fire in a building, sometimes they just freeze and are mesmerized by the flame.

[@zacretzer]

@@followingtheroe1952 couldn’t have put it any better! The long sentence really adds to the sense of how time feels like it moved slowly when you’re in immense stress and filled with adrenaline. From the characters pov I’m sure it would’ve felt like a horrible awful sinking feeling watching them ride down at you and the sheer otherworldly quality they’re given really drives home how terrifying it would’ve been to be on the receiving end. McCarthy has gotten pushback from this part of the story as it being an insensitive portrayal of Natives but I think it’s one of the best descriptions of how terrifying those whom we don’t understand are.

[@followingtheroe1952]

@@zacretzer Yea man I mean Native Americans are a very diverse people with many having cultures and ways of life, and some of them were raiders. So it makes sense to me that people would be outraged that his vision of the Comanches place in the story doesn't fit their one size fit all view of them. Not to mention the author specifically makes a point to highlight the corruption of humanity from all angles in society.

[@jarnodatema]

Imagine being able to write such a sequence

[@ronkeeney1752]

This description of these warriors (Comanche) closely reflect those of the Texas Rangers who responded to the largest ever 1841 coastal horse/murder raid of Buffalo Hump and his tribe, when they were intercepted southeast of Austin, Tx at Plum Creek near current Lockhart, Texas on their return to the Llano Estacado. Iron Jacket was a chief about 20 years after the Battle of Plum Creek.

[@senorsombrero1275]

I feel Blood Meridian and Lonesome Dove are probably one of the two greatest American Novels ever written, on top of being the undisputed two best westerns ever written.

[@margaretdonato7888]

A blood stained wedding veil.

[@Akron162]

I always heard how violent and unrelenting this book is, but when i started reading it i kept thinking "meh, this isn't so bad". And then i got to this scene. Damn.

[@rafmeinster]

"Oh my god," the sergeant said calmly.

[@jmpsthrufyre]

Candelario said sayonara yo

[@Livingthedream333]

This is why ya wear a hi&tight into battle.

[@concars1234]

Aww kick him honey!

[@Paultheloveroffreedom]

Hell on Earth. Nothing short of it.

[@futiousstyles3315]

Sounds like the hoards who ended Rome, or the mongols… or mad max

[@haddavdmh]

Sometimes someone just writes. The real thing just sounds different.

[@OGRE_HATES_NERDS]

they bivouacked by the tank

[@gracecsinsi2619]

The words are inspired.

[@stephenbastasch7893]

Narrator is very good. The text itself, in a couple of its longer sentences or paragraphs, sounds very much like some of HP Lovecraft's expansive use of words...

[@jakeshulman7615]

It’s interesting, I noticed a great deal of Faulkner in Lovecraft, who is probably McCarthy’s biggest influence. And he has a really good sense for when to use the expansive sentence structure, and when to cut things into their most basic components.

[@finalgirl640]

​@@jakeshulman7615oh wow I never thought of that...

[@finalgirl640]

YES! It does indeed

[@michelm5072]

Can you imagine if this was real? Luckily, this is fiction and not reality.

[@dantepilgrim]

What is the picture of the man with the scars on his head?

[@scrotoschannel6709]

Robert McGee I believe.

[@whitekony1006]

Survived a scalping by natives as a young boy,lived bare skulled his whole life.

[@Paultheloveroffreedom]

5:58

[@obediahabisua2962]

Geez Louise!

[@coltonshore4444]

10:44 Jesus Christ that is kinda funny.

[@SuperGreatSphinx]

LORD Jesus Christ

[@michaelarrowood4315]

Always the beautiful, beautiful prose... leading to some ghastly and disgusting reality. Hats off for the writing but... WTF was up with Cormac McCarthy's brain? Why all the sickness, death and horror? Why so much evil? I'd love to ask him that question... and a few other great authors as well. [BTW, the episode described here is purely fantasy, not an historical skirmish... so what is its actual purpose? More metaphorical than historical, I would say. Sort of the past charging onto the 19th century cavalry as revenge? Retribution?]

[@scrotoschannel6709]

Cry.

[@finalgirl640]

I think if you really thought about it, you'd answer your own question. The best art is pain and ugliness made into some sort of beautiful prose or music, so we, as an audience, can experience some sense of catharsis about our place in the universe. And it's VERY historical. People lived in SHIT and we are spoiled and weak these days. Just saying. Not one person in this generation would survive the old west.

[@forest8779]

A parcel of heathen stock thieves…lol by rights they outta have pickled your head too

[@OGRE_HATES_NERDS]

mean

[@twinturbo8304]

Hurons and Iroquois Worse

[@goodyeoman4534]

What's worse than scalping people alive and sodomising them while they're dying?

[@danilkopaskudnik3002]

Oy, halevay, halevay volt shoyn kumen di tsayt