James P. Blaylock’s twee trilogy comes to close, oddly enough with a beginning of sorts. The Stone Giant does not pick up with the further adventures of Jonathan Bing. Instead it leaps back in time to the commencement of the career of the roguish Theophile Escargot. At first this might strike the reader as an… Continue reading James P. Blaylock’s “The Stone Giant”
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Even More Quick Hits: The Disappearing Dwarf and The War Games of Zelos.
James Blaylock delivered a fine sequel to The Elfin Ship with The Disappearing Dwarf. What I wrote about Elfin Ship remains applicable to Dwarf. Blaylock did not stray far from the formula. Why should he? If it ain’t broke…It was a nice break from some of the more dour and serious minded works I’ve been… Continue reading Even More Quick Hits: The Disappearing Dwarf and The War Games of Zelos.
The Seedbearers: 1970s Timecapsule
The Seedbearers was Peter Valentine Timlett’s first novel. The “About the Author” section at the back states that the book was “prompted by by his interest in the occult.” That much seems clear enough after a read through. The story begins in a sort of proto-grim dark fashion. Timlett leaned into both the grim and… Continue reading The Seedbearers: 1970s Timecapsule
Jaunt to San Antonio
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
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