Home at last. After the trip to Florida I had a half-day at home before heading north to Dallas for the North Texas RPG Con. I have put a few miles on the car over the last week or so. The con was, as usual, both fun and exhausting. I played in a few games,… Continue reading NTRPG 2025
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Writer of two-fisted fabulism.
The Black Shields. And a Vacation.
Maybe it is wider margins. Or maybe it is just sheer readability. For whatever reason, I’m surging through John Maddox Roberts’ Stormlands books at nearly the same pace I used to read as a kid. The first book, The Islander, was engaging and moved right along. The second, The Black Shields, shows no let up.… Continue reading The Black Shields. And a Vacation.
Sherwood. In the Ten Ring.
In the mid-Eighties I added a couple of Parke Godwin novels to my shelf, Firelord and the Last Rainbow. I recall being impressed by the stories and the literary style. So when I happened across a copy of Mr. Godwin’s Sherwood for $.99 I did not hesitate to purchase it. It seemed good value for… Continue reading Sherwood. In the Ten Ring.
The State of the Writer, May Edition
2025 is chugging along at a rapid clip. I’m a busy man. MBW and I are still trying to sell Casa Lizzi. Ups and downs, opportunities and disappointments. Nonetheless, we’re working on it. The HA is in nearly daily practices for a swim team. So that’s another hour of the day to be accounted for,… Continue reading The State of the Writer, May Edition
John Maddox Roberts’ “The Islander.”
The first volume of John Maddox Roberts’ Stormlands series, The Islander, doesn’t read like a 380 page book. I had to slow down, pace myself, so as not to fly through the pages. This is heroic fiction done right. The setting is post apocalyptic. I don’t know how far in the future the story is… Continue reading John Maddox Roberts’ “The Islander.”
Imaro Ascends to the Pantheon
Charles Saunders’ sword-and-sorcery hero Imaro has been around for years, for most of my lifetime in fact. I’ve been aware of the character, encountering him in various anthologies. But until recently I’ve only scratched the surface of Saunders’ creation. With the purchase of the 2006 Night Shade edition of Imaro, I was finally able to… Continue reading Imaro Ascends to the Pantheon
Triplanetary: Cosmic Space Opera
E.E. “Doc” Smith is noted for his creation of the Lensman series. Some credit these books as the wellspring from which flow such science-fictional organizations as The Green Lantern Corps or even the Jedi: super-powered, galaxy-spanning enforcers of justice. I don’t know. I’ve only read the first book, Triplanetary. Triplanetary apparently sets the table for… Continue reading Triplanetary: Cosmic Space Opera
“The Eagle of the Ninth” Still Flies.
Rosemary Sutcliff had vision. Not only did she have vision, but she could share it with her readers. She could immerse us in detail, not only of the natural world, with the facility of Tolkien, but in period detail such clothing or architecture. And she did so with a seamless facility; nothing feels forced or… Continue reading “The Eagle of the Ninth” Still Flies.
Harold Lamb’s “Alexander of Macedon.”
Without really meaning to I’ve become relatively familiar with the life and doings of Alexander the Great. He — whether as a main character or an essential secondary character — featured in any number of historical novels I picked up as a kid (e.g. Mary Renault’s books) and over the following decades. Most recently I… Continue reading Harold Lamb’s “Alexander of Macedon.”