Another birthday approaches. That can often mean the sort of deep navel dive that requires oxygen tanks, acetylene torches, and a rescue party on stand by. What have I accomplished? What is left to accomplish? Have I reached my potential? Where did all the years go? Not gonna do it. (Those readers of a certain… Continue reading Enjoying the Widening Gyre
Month: March 2022
The Sword of Welleran. Speculations on the Afterlife.
Edward Plunkett, Lord Dunsany, is probably best known for The King of Elfland’s Daughter. Otherwise perhaps for his Jorken’s stories and his clever, witty fables of the foibles and fallacies of gods and men. The Sword of Welleran is a collection of his earlier works. I think, perhaps, his relative inexperience shows when these stories are compared to… Continue reading The Sword of Welleran. Speculations on the Afterlife.
Swordsmen and Supermen. More or Less
Swordsmen and Supermen is a slim volume of heroic fiction. The selections are eclectic. “Let’s see what we have lying about the office.” Not too much apparently, but an interesting variety. Take a look. Meet Cap’n Kidd. Robert E. Howard. Breckenridge Elkins! Yee haw. Elkins is a Pecos Bill-like character; a larger than life Western folk… Continue reading Swordsmen and Supermen. More or Less
A Trip to the Emerald Coast
I usually take a vacation around late March. This year was no exception. MBW, the HA, and I jetted off to Florida. At the recommendation of a fraternity brother, we booked a week in Destin, located on the coast in the Florida panhandle. It seemed many others had the same idea. The narrow, linear beach… Continue reading A Trip to the Emerald Coast
Sellswords
As I recall, certain of Zelazny’s Amberites spent quality time as mercenaries, as well as serving in standing armies. Moorcock’s Elric and Moonglum are often soldiers of fortune. Fletcher Pratt’s The Well of the Unicorn prominently features mercenary companies. The mercenary company is itself the focus of Glen Cook’s The Black Company. And, of course, more recently, companies… Continue reading Sellswords