Monthly Archives:
sSENSOR SWEEP: Tremendous Waste, Dire Recriminations, Subliterate Claptrap, and Divine Vengance
Monday , 14, August 2017 Sensor Sweep 17 CommentsThe Wasteland (Barbarian Book Club) The Western Canon — “My college experience was even more disappointing. The few English, Literature, and Creative Writing classes I managed to take were disappointing. I remember an introductory literature course where the dreadlocked grandma professor informed the class on day one that she would only focus on feminist literature […]
This recent conversation from Twitter is one I’ve seen play out many, many times: Sarah Edelweiss: Fire Emblem is making me want to reread The Lord of the Rings trilogy. TLotR was the grandfather of the RPG genre. Kiefer: I like to think of it as the father of the entire modern fantasy genre in […]
50 YEARS OF LUPIN III: The Castle of Cagliostro
Sunday , 13, August 2017 Art, Comics, Movies 7 CommentsHeroism goes along with my job.–Lupin III After stealing bags of cash from a Monaco casino, Lupin and Jigen dump out their entire haul, recognizing the money as legendary Gothic counterfeits. Resolving to find the plates for their next caper, the thieves slip into the small Italian principality of Cagliostro. Their search is interrupted when […]
Forgotten Sword and Sorcery Artists: Chris Achilleos
Sunday , 13, August 2017 Uncategorized 1 CommentAt a used bookstore, you might come across a 1970s U.K. paperback with distinctive art. You might have Melvyn Grant or Bruce Pennington art on the cover. There is a good chance it will be Chris Achilleos. From his website: “Christos Achilleos grew up in a rural village near the town of Famagusta in Cyprus; […]
GEEK GAB: Featuring E.T. the Extraterrestrial and Vlad James
Sunday , 13, August 2017 Uncategorized Leave a commentYou can read people’s blog posts compulsively, but there are some things you just can’t pick up about them until you hear them talk. And in this latest Geek Gab episode, Castalia House Blog columnist Vlad James comes alive! It’s a great show, though. And I have to say, I never really got why all the […]
Looking Back… to Find the Way Forward
Friday , 11, August 2017 Appendix N, Pulp Revolution 8 CommentsDean McSmith has a surprisingly thoughtful review of Appendix N. Here’s just a highlight from it: There is a theme running through the entire book and it’s a powerful one. It’s loss, principally the loss of a number of great writers from the view of the public. Their memory holing is noted and lamented and […]
Been awhile since I’ve done one of these, but now’s as good a time as any. I’m done with the March 1939 issue of Weird Tales, so it’s time to take a look at the fan letters to try to answer the time-old question: who was reading the pulps? Turns out, Ladies, Ladies, Ladies!
Veins of the Earth and the Monster of Gravity
Thursday , 10, August 2017 Games, Tabletop Games, Uncategorized 7 CommentsIn an earlier column, I discussed a means to add tension to climbing and swimming in OSR type games by modeling gravity as a grappling monster using Douglas Cole’s Dungeon Grappling rules. I have refined that approach a bit and you can download the revised version here: Monster of Gravity. But, today I’d like to […]
JUST RELEASED: The LawDog Files: African Adventures
Thursday , 10, August 2017 Just Released, News 1 CommentLawDog had the honor of representing law and order in the Texas town of Bugscuffle as a Sheriff’s Deputy, where he became notorious for, among other things, the famous Case of the Pink Gorilla Suit. But long before he put on the deputy’s star, he grew up in Nigeria, where his experiences were equally unforgettable. […]
So Awesome It Hurts: Evangeline Walton’s Prince of Annwn
Thursday , 10, August 2017 Appendix N 15 CommentsIt comes down to the lousy names, really. Tolkien spoiled us all. And yeah, being a philologist that had invented several languages and then creating a fantasy world to serve as some sort of a Method acting preparation in order to lend them the sort of savor and roots that real languages have…? After reading […]
The Dai Sword, by Manly Wade Wellman
Thursday , 10, August 2017 Appendix N, Fiction, Short Fiction 8 Comments“…Let the scholar take steel, smelted according to the previous formula, and by his understanding skill beat, grind and sharpen it into a sword. Let it be engraved with the words and symbols ordained, and employed in the performance of mysteries. Let none touch, save those deserving…” * * * […]