The summer break draws to a close. The HA returns to school tomorrow. I took her and MBW to San Antonio for a short trip. We’d been to Six Flags before (though the HA does not remember any of it.) This time we spent several hot, footsore hours at Sea World. Getting soaked has never… Continue reading Jaunt to San Antonio
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Writer of two-fisted fabulism.
More Quick Hits. “The Lost Valley of Iskander” and “Expendables 2: The Rings of Tantalus.”
Francis Xavier Gordon — El Borak — is a quintessential Robert E. Howard hero. He is an American, a crack shot and wickedly fast swordsman, an intrepid and renowned explorer of the East, featured in conversations in caravanserai to bazaar from Kabul to Delhi. The Lost Valley of Iskander collects three tales of El Borak.… Continue reading More Quick Hits. “The Lost Valley of Iskander” and “Expendables 2: The Rings of Tantalus.”
Old Stomping Grounds, Part 2
My sojourn continues, this last week primarily in or adjacent to Portland. I left behind my relatives house in the forested hills, taking MBW and the HA to the airport early in the morning. But not before taking a couple of pictures of uninvited visitors the evening before. I took a hotel room in Southwest… Continue reading Old Stomping Grounds, Part 2
Old Stomping Grounds, Part 1.
I’m spending a couple of weeks in the area I lived most of my many, many years. MBW and the HA preceded me by almost a week. (It was to have been a full week, but that unwelcome visit from Beryl set back the departure a day.) I will be dropping them off at the… Continue reading Old Stomping Grounds, Part 1.
Lilith. George MacDonald’s Visit to Heaven
I’m not sure I possess the tools to discuss George MacDonald’s Lilith. This is not, I flatter myself, because I lack the mental capacity, but because I inhabit a different conceptual universe than that of a Victorian-era minister. (Note I do not write Victorian minister: I gathered the impression that MacDonald did not entirely approve… Continue reading Lilith. George MacDonald’s Visit to Heaven
Independence Day 2024
Today’s post is almost entirely pictorial. I’m rather busy at the moment preparing from an uninvited visit from Beryl. She’s never welcome, blustery, impulsive, and demanding. So I’ve some hatches to batten down. Below are some photos from my Independence Day festivities Thursday. MBW, the HA, and I rode our bikes down to the lake… Continue reading Independence Day 2024
Quick Hits: Killer and Expendables 1 — The Deathworms of Kratos
The pseudonymous Richard Avery’s The Expendables 1: The Deathworms of Kratos is decidedly an artifact of the ’70s. It is fast, fun science-fiction, replete with action, off-page sex, and a Dirty Dozen-esque cast. These last, the eponymous Expendables, are tasked with determining (“proving”) whether or not worlds light years distant from Earth are safe for… Continue reading Quick Hits: Killer and Expendables 1 — The Deathworms of Kratos
Oron, Heavy Metal Noise.
David C. Smith’s Oron is a stripped down, dark epic fantasy. The scope is, perhaps, too broad to call this sword and sorcery, but that may be a quibble. The tropes are all in place, the bloody battles, swordplay, evil demonic sorcerers, nubile queens and slave girls, mercenaries, feasts, and more than a trace of… Continue reading Oron, Heavy Metal Noise.
The Polychromatic Prose of A. Merritt’s The Metal Monster
So, what is The Metal Monster? Imagine a concoction of one part She, one part The Moon Pool (natch), one part Lovecraft’s cosmic horror, one part D&D Modrons, and one part Big Hero Six. Blend and strain through A. Merritt’s glorious, vividly colorful, and painstakingly descriptive prose. It ought to make for a masterpiece. Maybe… Continue reading The Polychromatic Prose of A. Merritt’s The Metal Monster