Beyond the Fields We Know is part of the peerless Adult Fantasy series, edited by Lin Carter. Carter curates and edits selections from Lord Dunsany and once again proves his editorial chops. This is an excellent collection and the editorial material isn’t merely filler. The collection starts with early Dunsany, printing his complete The Gods… Continue reading Wandering Dunsany’s “Beyond the Fields We Know.”
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Writer of two-fisted fabulism.
Swords & Sorceries: Tales of Heroic Fantasy Volume 9
I cut my writing teeth on short stories before turning my attention to novels. I still like to work with the shorter form on occasion. In fact my entire published output this year will, it seems, be a couple of short stories. (I’ve been laboring steadily this year on a three-book series, attempting to get… Continue reading Swords & Sorceries: Tales of Heroic Fantasy Volume 9
Finding ERB’s The Land of Hidden Men
Tarzan and John Carter are deservedly famous. But I have extracted a perhaps unexpected amount of enjoyment from several of Edgar Rice Burrough’s less well known books, such as The Mucker, I Am A Barbarian, The Outlaw of Torn, and The Mad King. Now add to that The Land of Hidden Men. The Land of… Continue reading Finding ERB’s The Land of Hidden Men
Two Quick Shots: Thundar and Tigers of the Sea
Thundar: Man of Two Worlds was meant as the first in a series, judging by the textual evidence. It is the work of John Bloodstone (that is, Stuart J. Byrne, who labored in the speculative fiction mines in the latter half of the Twentieth Century). Thundar is Edgar Rice Burroughs filtered through Lin Carter. The… Continue reading Two Quick Shots: Thundar and Tigers of the Sea
The Ship of Ishtar
Look, The Ship of Ishtar is an unusual book. There’s no question of that. It dispenses with traditional tropes. A. Merritt does not tread familiar fantasy paths. He picks his own unexpected tangent and proceeds pellmell along it. The pocket universe he creates and its rules appear initially quite strange and arbitrary. But in context… Continue reading The Ship of Ishtar
Re-reading Dwellers in the Mirage. Blended Whisky.
A. Merritt‘s Dwellers in the Mirage is a farrago of elements, blending almost perfectly in a heroic fantasy adventure. I wonder, though, if some of the elements are intended to be taken seriously, or if some were included simply because Merritt was having fun, seeing what he could get away with. I mean we’ve got… Continue reading Re-reading Dwellers in the Mirage. Blended Whisky.
Flame and Crimson. Rock On.
Flame and Crimson is Brian Murphy’s affectionate yet fair examination and analysis of the Sword-and-Sorcery sub-genre of Fantasy. (Disclaimer: Brian is an acquaintance. So factor in whatever bias you like to what follows.) Published in 2019, F&C adds a significant component to the renaissance of S&S. Dissection requires a corpse, and vivisection is hardly an… Continue reading Flame and Crimson. Rock On.
Part III of a Review of “A Treasury of Fantasy.” (REH Has Entered the Chat.)
Following is my review of the last half of A Treasury of Fantasy. Part I is here. Part II here. The Wood Beyond the World. William Morris. This is not my first Morris novel, though it is, perhaps, my favorite thus far. Morris continues to employ deliberately archaic language, as one might expect. I still… Continue reading Part III of a Review of “A Treasury of Fantasy.” (REH Has Entered the Chat.)
Part II of a Review of “A Treasury of Fantasy.” “Phantastes.”
Part II of my review of A Treasury of Fantasy covers only one entry, but it accounts for a good quarter of the length of the anthology. Part I can be found here. The selection in question is George MacDonald’s Phantastes. A Faerie Romance for Men and Women. The first chapter of Phantastes reminds me… Continue reading Part II of a Review of “A Treasury of Fantasy.” “Phantastes.”