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.
Category: Authors
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
Musings on the Lord of the Rings. An Appendix.
You read “‘Well, I’m back,’ he said.” and close the book. Or do you? There is more if you just turn the page. But why would you read material that isn’t part of the novel? If it was important, it would have been in the story. Allow me to offer some reasons. If you were… Continue reading Musings on the Lord of the Rings. An Appendix.
Musings on The Lord of the Rings. Part II.
While following Frodo, Sam, and Gollum from the Emyn Muil to Cirith Ungol, I paused at a few passages, considering them in a new (to me) light. Perhaps you consider these old hat, having long since mulled the various permutations of meaning. But let we slow one in the back of the class proceed at… Continue reading Musings on The Lord of the Rings. Part II.
Musings on The Lord of the Rings. I
I have been leisurely reading through The Lord of the Rings. This marks my 19th, or perhaps 20th reading. (It isn’t a contest, but to those of you who read it yearly, relax. I humbly yield.) One would imagine that at some point a certain degree of unforced memorization would occur, preventing the reader from… Continue reading Musings on The Lord of the Rings. I
The Continental Op: The Hardest Boiled.
I purchased a copy of a Dashiell Hammett collection, The Big Knockover. And I’m glad I did. With a single exception, the book is a treasury of several of Hammett’s Continental Op stories. The odd man out is a partially finished novel called Tulip. If one can extrapolate from Lillian Hellman’s introduction, Tulip appears to… Continue reading The Continental Op: The Hardest Boiled.