Back to the re-reads. Damnation Alley (the film adaptation) came out in 1977. Mad Max was released in 1979. Escape from New York in 1981. The not-quite-apocalyptic collapse of civilization enjoyed a vogue. Not all post-apocalyptic stories took place thousands of years later after survivors mutated and began to rebuild. One example is 1974’s The… Continue reading The Texas-Israeli War: 1999. Another Fun Swing and Miss from the 70s.
Category: Authors
David Drake Welcomes You to The Jungle.
The re-reading took a short hiatus because someone gifted me a book. That in itself was pleasant. Even better was that the book in question was written by David Drake. The Jungle is, unsurprisingly from Drake, a work of military science fiction. What is a trifle unexpected is that the setting is not original to… Continue reading David Drake Welcomes You to The Jungle.
Eyas. Scope and Revelations
The re-readings continue. The condition of my copy of Crawford Kilian’s Eyas reveals that I read it numerous times. With a copyright of 1982, I most likely picked it up in one of the three (!) bookstores in Clackamas Town Center mall. I certainly liked it well enough to re-read three or four times, judging… Continue reading Eyas. Scope and Revelations
“A Tapestry of Magics” Weaves Its Spell
The re-reading continues, and will do so until such a time as I can again find gainful employment that will justify expenditure on new books. And that’s fine (the re-reading, that is, not my current impecunious state) since I have a library worth re-reading. Today I finished Brian Daley’s A Tapestry of Magics. The book… Continue reading “A Tapestry of Magics” Weaves Its Spell
The Hereafter Gang. Doing the Limbo Rock.
I just finished re-reading Neal Barrett, Jr.’s The Hereafter Gang. It’s probably been twenty years or more since I first read it and I wanted to see if it held up. Did it? Mostly. It seems my memory of the book was primarily of the last third, the final act. My response this time to… Continue reading The Hereafter Gang. Doing the Limbo Rock.
The Grist of Tim Powers
I have just finished yet another notable novel by the estimable Tim Powers. My thanks to Toni Weisskopf and Baen Books for the gratis copy. Before her annual Baen Road Show at this years ConFinement convention she played Santa Claus, handing out free books to Veterans. Once I saw Tim Power’s name on the cover… Continue reading The Grist of Tim Powers
Rereading Firelord.
I have intended to reread Parke Godwin’s Firelord for years. But somehow I always picked something else. Perhaps I wasn’t in the mood for yet another retelling of the King Arthur legend. More likely it was just the length. At almost 370 pages it is healthy chunk of paperback. That in itself is no hindrance;… Continue reading Rereading Firelord.
Poul Anderson Opening Markets
Memorable characters can be hard to come by in classic science-fiction. The stories may be memorable. Authors were invested in the scene, the problem to be overcome, and the solution. Characters (sometimes: this isn’t a blanket indictment) could often seem mere afterthoughts. Poul Anderson created an unforgettable protagonist when he invented Nicholas van Rijn, head… Continue reading Poul Anderson Opening Markets
The Kull Dialectics
It had been some time since I last read the collection King Kull. Picking it from the shelf was rewarding. The general impression and memory of a Kull story is one of blood soaked battles, with a half-naked Kull butchering a dozen men with an ax. But while there is the occasional red-mist set piece,… Continue reading The Kull Dialectics