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.
Category: Reading
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.
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.
The Little and the Big. Resurrected Post.
December 17, 2017 The Little and the Big I’ve, at last, worked my way through a couple of massive, minor classics: Little, Big (John Crowley); and Stand on Zanzibar (John Brunner.) “Worked my way through” suggests the process was a chore rather than entertainment. I don’t think that’s entirely accurate, though it might be fair… Continue reading The Little and the Big. Resurrected Post.
Carousing Through the Dismal Season. Resurrected Post.
November 5, 2017 Carousing Through the Dismal Season The leaves are dropping, exposing the bare wooden scaffolding of the trees. The rain is either a constant or an intermittent irritant. Moments of warmth are welcome rarities. Yes, the dismal season is upon us until Spring comes to our relief. And so, we party. There’s a… Continue reading Carousing Through the Dismal Season. Resurrected Post.
J.R.R. Tolkien: Appendix N’s Controversial Entry. Resurrected Post.
October 22, 2017 J.R.R. Tolkien: Appendix N’s Controversial Entry Writing about J.R.R. Tolkien is challenging unless one cares nothing for originality. Oceans of ink have been used discussing the man and his work. Merely reiterating what has been written before would prove easy enough. Therein lies the problem. Originality may be illusory, but I still… Continue reading J.R.R. Tolkien: Appendix N’s Controversial Entry. Resurrected Post.
Currently Reading. Resurrected Post.
August 13, 2017 Currently Reading I’ve mentioned before that I’m usually reading multiple books at any given time. (Not simultaneously of course. Let’s not be ridiculous.) I have a workout book, a lunch book, a book on the toilet tank, a book in my library, and one book on CD in each vehicle. Here is… Continue reading Currently Reading. Resurrected Post.
How Does Post-Apocalyptic Fiction Tie in to Sword and Sorcery? Plus Savage Journal Entry 4.
The end of modern civilization. What caused it? Nuclear war, plague, zombies, alien invasion? Pick your poison. But the world we know is gone. Survivors must carry on. And therein lies a tale. Or a plethora of tales. Here you’ve got your Post-Apocalyptic fiction. A lone hero with a sword faces down supernatural foes in… Continue reading How Does Post-Apocalyptic Fiction Tie in to Sword and Sorcery? Plus Savage Journal Entry 4.