In the last entry in this series of reviews of anthologies, I covered Swords Against Darkness I. This time I’m leaping ahead to Swords Against Darkness III, because it is on my shelves. (I’ve since secured a copy of volume II and I’m eagerly looking forward to opening its pages.) The first volume offered up nine stories.… Continue reading Swords Against Darkness: Sometimes Less is More
Month: March 2022
“The Moon Pool.” Dive In.
My faulty memory assured me that I had read Abraham Merritt’s The Moon Pool. So I picked up a copy figuring I would enjoy a re-read. While it is possible that I did read it during some lost year of my long and dubious past, I consider it unlikely now. How could I have forgotten such… Continue reading “The Moon Pool.” Dive In.
Swords Against Darkness II: Thematically Ambiguous
Andrew Offutt’s introduction to Swords Against Darkness II deals with what term to apply to this genre of stories. He writes of sitting on four different panels over the course of a single year concerning this very topic. I wish convention panels would include such subjects nowadays. Currently about half of the list of panel topics I’m… Continue reading Swords Against Darkness II: Thematically Ambiguous
The Big Grift Post
I have made no secret in these posts that I write a bit of fiction now and then. At least I believe I haven’t kept it a secret. If I’m mistaken, well, allow me to correct that: My name is Ken Lizzi and I’m a writer. And I don’t intend to quit, cold turkey or… Continue reading The Big Grift Post
Touching Base
I can’t always be reviewing anthologies, you know. I do have other matters to occupy my attention. Here’s a snapshot of some of those matters. What I’m reading: As usual, I’ve several books going at once. My life is compartmentalized. Each compartment is assigned a different book. The more leisurely, evening book is a collection… Continue reading Touching Base
The Fantastic Swordsmen Delivers a Fantastic Lineup
The Fantastic Swordsmen is the third entry in L. Sprague de Camp’s swords-and-sorcery anthology series. De Camp’s introduction is solid, but after a few of these apologias for S&S they all begin to read much the same. Don’t worry, the stories are better. Black Lotus. Robert Bloch. Bloch wrote this story at the age of sixteen.… Continue reading The Fantastic Swordsmen Delivers a Fantastic Lineup
A Multiversal Valentine’s Day. Sorry/Not Sorry.
It is Valentine’s Day as I write this. Today means, I imagine, different things to different people. For some it is a romantic, Christmas-tier holiday, with all the Madison Avenue approved trimmings: dressed up, romantic, candlelit dinner, flowers and heart-shaped box of candy. Others, perhaps, are content with the candy, consuming the entire box alone,… Continue reading A Multiversal Valentine’s Day. Sorry/Not Sorry.
Swords & Sorcery. Or Swords & Monsters?
Swords & Sorcery is L. Sprague de Camp’s first entry in his four-volume series that spanned seven years. His introduction — an early sample of the short essay he’d return to with variations on the theme often enough — is a decent explication concerning what heroic fantasy consists of. (I found myself nodding in agreement at… Continue reading Swords & Sorcery. Or Swords & Monsters?
Golden Cities, Far. The Roots of Swords-and-Sorcery
I think a brief reminder is all that is needed here: Lin Carter was a gifted and prolific editor. One of the volumes he put together for The Adult Fantasy series was a book titled Golden Cities, Far. The introduction is one of his better efforts, and seems to have been exhaustively researched. In fact, the… Continue reading Golden Cities, Far. The Roots of Swords-and-Sorcery