At Howard Days 2023 I picked up a copy of Lin Carter Presents The Year’s Best Fantasy Stories: 4. I have the first volume, so the two make a nice pair on my shelf. Carter’s introduction is, characteristically, informative and interesting. He demonstrates once again the astonishing depth and volume of his reading. “But how… Continue reading The Year’s Best Fantasy Stories 4. Plus Savage Journal Entry 43.
Category: Anthologies
Heroic Visions II, In Need of An Optometrist. Plus Savage Journal Entry 42.
I have previously reviewed the first volume of Heroic Visions. (At least, I’m pretty sure I reviewed it. The mysterious disappearance of the majority of my posts a couple years back, and the slow resurrection of them, copied from a repository at Goodreads, have led to some number falling through the cracks.) The point is,… Continue reading Heroic Visions II, In Need of An Optometrist. Plus Savage Journal Entry 42.
Flashing Swords! #5: Demons and Daggers. A Transitional Anthology. Resurrected Post.
January 24, 2021 Flashing Swords! #5: Demons and Daggers. A Transitional Anthology. Lin Carter is back with another volume and more alliteration. Flashing Swords! #5: Demons and Daggers. The cover is drab and uninspiring, a tepid fantasy scene with a dull background, far from the evocative Sword-and-Sorcery covers of the previous volumes. The intro is equally… Continue reading Flashing Swords! #5: Demons and Daggers. A Transitional Anthology. Resurrected Post.
Anthologies: The Spell of Seven. Resurrected Post.
September 6, 2020 Anthologies: The Spell of Seven Another volume curated by L. Sprague de Camp, The Spell of Seven offers a stellar lineup of talent. Each of the seven tales features a Virgil Finlay illustration. How about that for lagniappe? Now, I’m guessing the cover looked better as a pencil and ink drawing. Colored,… Continue reading Anthologies: The Spell of Seven. Resurrected Post.
Flashing Swords! #4: Barbarians and Black Magicians. Truth in Advertising. Resurrected Post.
January 17, 2021 Flashing Swords! #4: Barbarians and Black Magicians. Truth in Advertising. Lin Carter presents yet another anthology in his stellar Swords-and-Sorcery series. This one is Flashing Swords! #4: Barbarians and Black Magicians. Is there more than alliteration fueling the subtitle? He’s certainly doubled the thematic possibilities. Let’s see. Lin Carter’s introduction is a mere… Continue reading Flashing Swords! #4: Barbarians and Black Magicians. Truth in Advertising. Resurrected Post.
Grab Bag: Year’s Finest Fantasy, Texas Renaissance Festival, and Savage Journal Entry 11.
I picked up a paperback copy of Terry Carr’s inaugural Year’s Finest Fantasy. In all honesty I may have read this before, as a kid, shortly after its publication in 1978. The more I read (or re-read) the more convinced I became. Some of these stories are familiar, naggingly so. I can’t speculate based on… Continue reading Grab Bag: Year’s Finest Fantasy, Texas Renaissance Festival, and Savage Journal Entry 11.
Andrew Offutt, Gary Gygax’s Guiding Genius? Resurrected Post.
December 11, 2016 Andrew Offutt, Gary Gygax’s Guiding Genius? I think, as far as reading sensibilities went, Gary Gygax shared the most with Andrew J. Offutt out of all the Appendix N authors. They were contemporaries and from the available evidence enjoyed similar tastes in fiction. Andrew Offutt was a prolific writer and editor. (And… Continue reading Andrew Offutt, Gary Gygax’s Guiding Genius? Resurrected Post.
It’s Criminal. Resurrected Post.
July 10, 2016 It’s Criminal I suppose the appropriate thing for me today would be to write about last week’s Westercon. I’m used to doing the inappropriate, might be best you get accustomed to it as well. Today’s web log post will instead consist of a bit of upcoming news. Country music holds a tradition… Continue reading It’s Criminal. Resurrected Post.
“Heroic Fantasy” Earns Its Title.
I finally got my hands on a copy of the anthology Heroic Fantasy. That’s a good cover, isn’t it? There’s a story in that illustration that I’d like to read someday. The introduction was…adequate. After reading so many Sword-and-Sorcery anthologies I’ve discovered the intros tend to cover the same ground. This one adds little or… Continue reading “Heroic Fantasy” Earns Its Title.