Category: Authors

The Great Vlad Taltos Reread Continues: Yendi and Teckla

Continuing my semi-serious intention to reread the Vlad Taltos books, we come to volume two, Yendi. If book one did not provide a sufficient clue that these novels will be presented in chronological order, Yendi ought to do the trick. Vlad tells a story of his early period in the organization running his own territory,… Continue reading The Great Vlad Taltos Reread Continues: Yendi and Teckla

The Great Vlad Taltos Reread: Jhereg

I may or may not manage the task of rereading Steven Brust’s Vlad Taltos series. Maybe I’ll complete it in time for publication of the last novel. I don’t know. At the moment, it seems a worthwhile, and achievable goal. Reading any given book is personal experience. Each reader has a unique relationship with any… Continue reading The Great Vlad Taltos Reread: Jhereg

The Port of Peril. Moderately Perilous.

The third book of Otis Adelbert Kline’s Venus trilogy is The Port of Peril. For some reason it is the only one of the three that takes the definite article. Robert Grandon once again takes center stage. While I do miss the immediacy of the first-person narration of the second book, Port is a significant… Continue reading The Port of Peril. Moderately Perilous.

Prince of Peril.

The second volume of Otis Adelbert Kline’s Venusian ERB homage series, Prince of Peril, follows the exploits of Prince Zinlo of Olba, formerly Harry Thorne of Earth. In length, and as an episodic, one-damn-thing-after-another travelogue of Venus, it is similar to the first volume, Planet of Peril. However, while the first outing did not do much… Continue reading Prince of Peril.

Otis Adelbert Kline and Homage

Otis Adelbert Kline’s Planet of Peril bears a copyright notice of 1930. It is the first of a three book Peril series, which, I discovered while reading the first, is connected to his Mars books, The Swordsman of Mars and the Outlaw of Mars. I don’t feel that I missed anything essential by not reading… Continue reading Otis Adelbert Kline and Homage

Semiquincentennial

Spell checkers do not approve of the word “semiquincentennial.” I however, approved of the event, as I demonstrated by consuming bacon-wrapped hotdogs and drinking a moderate number of cans of beer. Well, borderline immoderate, perhaps. I was only seven during the bicentennial, so my memories are scattered and vague. I believe that was the year… Continue reading Semiquincentennial

Black Vulmea’s Vengeance. REH Hoists the Skull and Crossbones.

Black Vulmea’s Vengeance is a collection of three Robert E. Howard stories (novellas and/or novelettes–I didn’t perform a word count.) Two feature the title character, Black Terence Vulmea, an Irish pirate of the sixteenth century. The third, while not a Vulmea story, carries on the piratical theme. As you’d expect, Howard sinks his teeth into… Continue reading Black Vulmea’s Vengeance. REH Hoists the Skull and Crossbones.

Happy Father’s Day

The Summer Solstice is upon us. As is Father’s Day. And we’re closing in on the 250th Independence Day, here in the rebellious colonies (and later additions.) So, huzzah. As I watch my savings dwindle and the job application rejections mount (most recently I learned that the ten year experience requirement was a hard cap… Continue reading Happy Father’s Day