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
Category: Reading
Styrbiorn the Strong. Eddison Breathes the Northern Thing.
E.R. Eddison is known primarily for The Worm Ouroboros, and to a lesser extent the Zimiamvia Trilogy. But he also wrote a historical novel. As a youth he fell under the eddic spell of the Norse sagas (e.g., The Elder Edda.) And why wouldn’t he? The sparse, barebones recitations of blood feuds, raids, treachery, and… Continue reading Styrbiorn the Strong. Eddison Breathes the Northern Thing.
The Last of the Mohicans: Part of the DNA of American Fiction
While reading my copy of James Fenimore Cooper’s The Last of the Mohicans I found between the pages a bank deposit slip of mine from 1986. So I know I must have read this copy before — the binding shows some wear — or at least reached about the midpoint and left a book marker… Continue reading The Last of the Mohicans: Part of the DNA of American Fiction
January Update
To anyone looking it might not appear that I’m doing any writing. But I am. The staring at the walls or spending entirely too long in the shower phase is often an essential component of the writing process. I’m not going to discuss what I have in mind; it is too early. If I crack… Continue reading January Update
Fifty Years Later: “Boneland.”
A few months back I read Alan Garner’s The Weirdstone of Brisingamen and The Moon of Gomrath, both of which I considered here. In 2012, some fifty years after the original two-thirds of the Weirdstone Trilogy (or the Tales of Alderly), Garner released Boneland. I won’t say it is the concluding volume of the trilogy.… Continue reading Fifty Years Later: “Boneland.”
Red Moon and Black Mountain
Joy Chant’s Red Moon and Black Mountain is a book I wanted to like more than I actually did. I’ve a notion that timing is a factor. Had I read it, oh, 40 years ago, I might have thoroughly enjoyed it. It is, after all, an ambitious piece of fantasy, the language skillfully and often… Continue reading Red Moon and Black Mountain
Alan Garner’s “The Weirdstone of Brisingamen” and “The Moon of Gomrath.”
The cover of the 1960 Ace paperback of Alan Garner’s The Weirdstone of Brisingamen guaranteed I’d pick this up when I found it in a used bookstore in Galveston, Texas. It’s Jack Gaughan art, and I had to read the story that inspired that image. The cover blurb states that Weirdstone is “A fantastic novel… Continue reading Alan Garner’s “The Weirdstone of Brisingamen” and “The Moon of Gomrath.”
They Can’t All Be Winners: “Demon in the Mirror” and “Thor: Love and Thunder”
We all know the aphorism: If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all. The problem is that this week’s post would minuscule, or even absent entirely were I to adhere to that admonition. I did not have high hopes for Andrew Offutt and Richard Lyon’s Demon in the Mirror. So… Continue reading They Can’t All Be Winners: “Demon in the Mirror” and “Thor: Love and Thunder”
Wandering Dunsany’s “Beyond the Fields We Know.”
Beyond the Fields We Know is part of the peerless Adult Fantasy series, edited by Lin Carter. Carter curates and edits selections from Lord Dunsany and once again proves his editorial chops. This is an excellent collection and the editorial material isn’t merely filler. The collection starts with early Dunsany, printing his complete The Gods… Continue reading Wandering Dunsany’s “Beyond the Fields We Know.”