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
Author: admin
Writer of two-fisted fabulism.
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
Enjoying the Widening Gyre
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
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