James P. Blaylock’s twee trilogy comes to close, oddly enough with a beginning of sorts. The Stone Giant does not pick up with the further adventures of Jonathan Bing. Instead it leaps back in time to the commencement of the career of the roguish Theophile Escargot. At first this might strike the reader as an… Continue reading James P. Blaylock’s “The Stone Giant”
Category: Reading
Even More Quick Hits: The Disappearing Dwarf and The War Games of Zelos.
James Blaylock delivered a fine sequel to The Elfin Ship with The Disappearing Dwarf. What I wrote about Elfin Ship remains applicable to Dwarf. Blaylock did not stray far from the formula. Why should he? If it ain’t broke…It was a nice break from some of the more dour and serious minded works I’ve been… Continue reading Even More Quick Hits: The Disappearing Dwarf and The War Games of Zelos.
The Seedbearers: 1970s Timecapsule
The Seedbearers was Peter Valentine Timlett’s first novel. The “About the Author” section at the back states that the book was “prompted by by his interest in the occult.” That much seems clear enough after a read through. The story begins in a sort of proto-grim dark fashion. Timlett leaned into both the grim and… Continue reading The Seedbearers: 1970s Timecapsule
More Quick Hits. “The Lost Valley of Iskander” and “Expendables 2: The Rings of Tantalus.”
Francis Xavier Gordon — El Borak — is a quintessential Robert E. Howard hero. He is an American, a crack shot and wickedly fast swordsman, an intrepid and renowned explorer of the East, featured in conversations in caravanserai to bazaar from Kabul to Delhi. The Lost Valley of Iskander collects three tales of El Borak.… Continue reading More Quick Hits. “The Lost Valley of Iskander” and “Expendables 2: The Rings of Tantalus.”
Lilith. George MacDonald’s Visit to Heaven
I’m not sure I possess the tools to discuss George MacDonald’s Lilith. This is not, I flatter myself, because I lack the mental capacity, but because I inhabit a different conceptual universe than that of a Victorian-era minister. (Note I do not write Victorian minister: I gathered the impression that MacDonald did not entirely approve… Continue reading Lilith. George MacDonald’s Visit to Heaven
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
Oron, Heavy Metal Noise.
David C. Smith’s Oron is a stripped down, dark epic fantasy. The scope is, perhaps, too broad to call this sword and sorcery, but that may be a quibble. The tropes are all in place, the bloody battles, swordplay, evil demonic sorcerers, nubile queens and slave girls, mercenaries, feasts, and more than a trace of… Continue reading Oron, Heavy Metal Noise.
The Polychromatic Prose of A. Merritt’s The Metal Monster
So, what is The Metal Monster? Imagine a concoction of one part She, one part The Moon Pool (natch), one part Lovecraft’s cosmic horror, one part D&D Modrons, and one part Big Hero Six. Blend and strain through A. Merritt’s glorious, vividly colorful, and painstakingly descriptive prose. It ought to make for a masterpiece. Maybe… Continue reading The Polychromatic Prose of A. Merritt’s The Metal Monster
“The Blue Star” Shines
I’ve written before about Fletcher Pratt, incidentally referencing The Blue Star. But it has been years since I’ve read it. It is one of those books pilloried by the scolds and Mrs. Grundy’s who appear like a locust infestation from time to time in the speculative fiction field. Perhaps they have a point and I… Continue reading “The Blue Star” Shines