I missed a great deal of excellent adventure fiction by failing to stumble across John Maddox Roberts during the last quarter of the twentieth century. I don’t know why our writing/reading paths did not cross: I was reading this stuff during the same period he was writing it, and his output was precisely in my… Continue reading John Maddox Roberts “S.P.Q.R.” Ave!
Month: August 2025
Lud-in-the-Mist
Lin Carter did readers a favor with his Adult Fantasy Series. It is unlikely I would have encountered Hope Mirrlees Lud-in-the-Mist without Ballantine’s unicorn head colophon. Lud-in-the-Mist belongs to that select group of tales set on the bounds of faerie, along with Lord Dunsany’s The King of Elfland’s Daughter and Tolkien’s Smith of Wooton Major.… Continue reading Lud-in-the-Mist
The Web Log is Off Today
Currently Reading
A short post today, I’m afraid. (Hey, stop that cheering.) I’m freshly returned from Urgent Care this morning for “Paronychia of finger of left hand.” That is, draining an infected thumb. It required three tries for the needle to hit the proper pocket of puss. It was every bit as painful as you are imagining.… Continue reading Currently Reading
Jack Williamson’s “Darker Than You Think.” Indeed.
Darker Than You Think does live up to the title in a slow burn fashion. It follows the dawning realization of the protagonist — Will Barbee, hardbitten, alcoholic journalist — that dark forces, witchcraft, and horrific legends of the past are all based on a semi-human race of beings. And that he might in fact… Continue reading Jack Williamson’s “Darker Than You Think.” Indeed.