Category: Conventions

An Unconventional Convention

MBW, the HA, and I packed into the car on Thursday and headed northeast. Destination: ConFinement VI. We reached Louisiana by mid-morning and hit Mississippi by the afternoon. I didn’t want to subject the family to a thirteen hour run, so holed up for the night at roughly the midway point: Hattiesburg, MS. We had… Continue reading An Unconventional Convention

The Merlin Trilogy Reread Part I: The Crystal Cave

I picked up this collected edition of Mary Stewart’s Merlin Trilogy only in part because of the oddly endearing, but perhaps misleading Hildebrandt Bros. cover. The other reason was, I suppose, a form of nostalgia. Allow me to explain. When I was in sixth grade, both my mother and my step father were working. No… Continue reading The Merlin Trilogy Reread Part I: The Crystal Cave

The Ship of Ishtar

Look, The Ship of Ishtar is an unusual book. There’s no question of that. It dispenses with traditional tropes.  A. Merritt does not tread familiar fantasy paths. He picks his own unexpected tangent and proceeds pellmell along it. The pocket universe he creates and its rules appear initially quite strange and arbitrary. But in context… Continue reading The Ship of Ishtar

Part III of a Review of “A Treasury of Fantasy.” (REH Has Entered the Chat.)

Following is my review of the last half of A Treasury of Fantasy. Part I is here. Part II here. The Wood Beyond the World. William Morris. This is not my first Morris novel, though it is, perhaps, my favorite thus far. Morris continues to employ deliberately archaic language, as one might expect. I still… Continue reading Part III of a Review of “A Treasury of Fantasy.” (REH Has Entered the Chat.)

Quick Hits: Killer and Expendables 1 — The Deathworms of Kratos

The pseudonymous Richard Avery’s The Expendables 1: The Deathworms of Kratos is decidedly an artifact of the ’70s. It is fast, fun science-fiction, replete with action, off-page sex, and a Dirty Dozen-esque cast. These last, the eponymous Expendables, are tasked with determining (“proving”) whether or not worlds light years distant from Earth are safe for… Continue reading Quick Hits: Killer and Expendables 1 — The Deathworms of Kratos

The Dice Have Been Cast. NTRPG 2024 in the Rearview Mirror.

The fifth and final day of the North Texas RPG Convention is here. I’m packed and ready to hit the road. It is hard to believe that most of a week can pass seemingly so swiftly. But there you have it. I restricted myself to purchasing only three books in the dealers’ room, an exercise… Continue reading The Dice Have Been Cast. NTRPG 2024 in the Rearview Mirror.

Convention Weekend and the Thief of Time.

I am in Lebanon, Tennessee this weekend, about twenty minutes outside of Nashville, for a small convention. This is my second appearance here. I had to back out last year, but was happy to make it back to Mike Williamson’s annual gabfest and booze-a-thon. Sarah Hoyt served as Guest of Honor. It was nice to… Continue reading Convention Weekend and the Thief of Time.