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.
Category: Authors
Oh, Horrors! Resurrected Post.
October 14, 2018 Oh, Horrors! ‘Tis the month of Halloween, during which we make light of death, the supernatural, and terror. What fun. For me, the quintessential Halloween book is Roger Zelazny’s A Night in the Lonesome October. (What, you haven’t read that yet? Go hence and remedy that deficiency post haste.) But is it… Continue reading Oh, Horrors! Resurrected Post.
Amateurish Tolkien Sleuthing. Resurrected Post.
August 19, 2018 Amateurish Tolkien Sleuthing MBW, the HA, and I drove out to the Columbia River Gorge yesterday and embarked on a paddlewheel sightseeing excursion upriver. The sky offered better visibility than it had most of the previous month: about this time every year everything west of the Rockies bursts into flame. Smoke obscures… Continue reading Amateurish Tolkien Sleuthing. Resurrected Post.
Visiting Old Friends. Resurrected Post.
June 10, 2018 Visiting Old Friends I’m re-reading books quite a bit currently, old favorites. I suppose that’s how you know they are old favorites; you revisit them more than once. Some books you decide to pick up again don’t gain status as favorites. Revisiting those only recalls your initial impression and you don’t read… Continue reading Visiting Old Friends. Resurrected Post.
Jack Vance, The Wizard of Appendix N. Resurrected Post.
May 13, 2018 Jack Vance, The Wizard of Appendix N I come at last to Jack Vance. Arguably he should be first, to the devil with alphabetical order. Look, there isn’t a lot I need to say about Jack Vance. There are encomiums a plenty to the man, and rightly so. His urbane, genteel command… Continue reading Jack Vance, The Wizard of Appendix N. Resurrected Post.
Remedial Fantasy for the Chronically Lazy: A Top Five List. Resurrected Post.
April 8, 2018 Remedial Fantasy For the Chronically Lazy: A Top Five List A couple of weeks ago I moderated a panel on the essential science fiction writers of the Golden Age. The premise was which writers should someone read if he were interested in acquiring a grounding in sci-fi but possessed either limited time… Continue reading Remedial Fantasy for the Chronically Lazy: A Top Five List. Resurrected Post.
The Little Convention That Could. Resurrected Post.
March 25, 2018 The Little Convention That Could So that’s NanoCon Mk. V done. What is NanoCon? It is a science fiction convention hosted by the science fiction club of Lower Columbia College in Longview Washington, a port town on the Columbia River about an hour from the Pacific. It isn’t big. I doubt two… Continue reading The Little Convention That Could. Resurrected Post.
Mileage Does Vary. Resurrected Post.
January 28, 2018 Mileage Does Vary Sometimes a book does not live up to your memory of it, or to its reputation. Sometimes a book is, in as an objective fashion as you can manage, excellent but not thoroughly enjoyable. I finished John D. MacDonald’s celebrated classic of American tough guy noir The Deep… Continue reading Mileage Does Vary. Resurrected Post.
2018 Tolkien Birthday Bash. Resurrected Post.
January 14, 2018 2018 Tolkien Birthday Bash Saturday I took MBW and the HA into Portland for the annual J.R.R. Tolkien Birthday Celebration at the Kennedy School. At four-years old, the HA is now able to appreciate it to some extent, though her attention still wanes at times. We met up with several friends.… Continue reading 2018 Tolkien Birthday Bash. Resurrected Post.