Monsters come in many guises. Andrew Offut put together an anthology illustrating that very point. It is a fine collection. It doesn’t achieve the heights of some of the other anthologies I’ve discussed in earlier posts, but it ain’t no slouch either. Most of the stories first saw print in this volume, so Offut could not simply cherry pick,… Continue reading Swords Against Darkness: Here Be Monsters
Author: admin
Writer of two-fisted fabulism.
Reading Snapshot
I don’t know if my life is actually compartmentalized, but given how I read it sort of looks that way. I generally have four or five books going at any one time. Let’s look at right now for a typical example. The library informed me that Jim Butcher’s latest, Battle Ground, was waiting for me. So,… Continue reading Reading Snapshot
Swords Against Darkness: Sometimes Less is More
In the last entry in this series of reviews of anthologies, I covered Swords Against Darkness I. This time I’m leaping ahead to Swords Against Darkness III, because it is on my shelves. (I’ve since secured a copy of volume II and I’m eagerly looking forward to opening its pages.) The first volume offered up nine stories.… Continue reading Swords Against Darkness: Sometimes Less is More
“The Moon Pool.” Dive In.
My faulty memory assured me that I had read Abraham Merritt’s The Moon Pool. So I picked up a copy figuring I would enjoy a re-read. While it is possible that I did read it during some lost year of my long and dubious past, I consider it unlikely now. How could I have forgotten such… Continue reading “The Moon Pool.” Dive In.
Swords Against Darkness II: Thematically Ambiguous
Andrew Offutt’s introduction to Swords Against Darkness II deals with what term to apply to this genre of stories. He writes of sitting on four different panels over the course of a single year concerning this very topic. I wish convention panels would include such subjects nowadays. Currently about half of the list of panel topics I’m… Continue reading Swords Against Darkness II: Thematically Ambiguous
The Big Grift Post
I have made no secret in these posts that I write a bit of fiction now and then. At least I believe I haven’t kept it a secret. If I’m mistaken, well, allow me to correct that: My name is Ken Lizzi and I’m a writer. And I don’t intend to quit, cold turkey or… Continue reading The Big Grift Post
Touching Base
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
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.