Monthly Archives:
sThe Appeal of the Science Fiction Exploitation Movie
Saturday , 18, November 2017 Movies, Uncategorized 8 CommentsIn a previous post, I mentioned why it’s so difficult to make good science fiction movies and why they’re rarer than studios not currently embroiled in a sex scandal. However, there is a more effective approach which can significantly boost one’s chances of making a worthwhile and successful film in this genre. Unsurprisingly, this is the […]
Fantasy and Adventure New Release Roundup: 18 Nov 2017
Saturday , 18, November 2017 Fiction Leave a commentThis roundup of the newest releases in fantasy and adventure features a dragon hunt in a China inspired fantasy, a bishop seeking to save the souls of modern men, and, from Germany, an alternate history in the tradition of 1632 and the Destroyermen series, as a World War I cruiser arrives just before the fall […]
Starting with a space pirate raid of Hell, Brian Niemeier introduced us to the universe of the dead gods Thera and Zadok in the Dragon Award winning Soul Cycle as it wound down like clockwork towards its end. To cataclysm and rebirth, and to the Souldancers, wounded men and women with fractured souls and great power. Now, in THE OPHIAN RISING, the […]
Short Reviews, Vandals of the Void by Robert Wilson
Friday , 17, November 2017 Uncategorized 1 CommentVandals of the Void by Robert Wilson appeared in the Spring 1945 issue Planet Stories. It can be read here at Archive.org. Vandals of the Void is an apocalyptic invasion tale with a lot going for it. Despite some over-reliance on expository dialogue, Wilson gives us something that would be perfect fodder for an invasion […]
New Release Spotlight: THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE MERC
Thursday , 16, November 2017 Just Released 1 CommentThe third anthology of the Four Horsemen series rides forth. It’s the Twenty-Second Century. Humanity has taken its first steps into the galaxy, and we’ve found ourselves in a vast playground of alien races, environments, and cultures. As the newest players on the universal stage, though, our position is readily apparent—we’re at the bottom of […]
The fear and awe are immortal, written onto our souls with scarlet ink, of some Great Thing coming for us or what we guard, too big to handle and too strong to fight as it shakes the ground with its coming, and the only hope is that it passes by. Welcome to playing Steve Jackson’s […]
So I wasn’t going to do another post on “Death Note” – and I can promise you this will be the final one – but I decided on this topic because I realized that the flaws actually had a lot to do with the superversive philosophy. So I think this will be instructive even for […]
Jeff Duntemann’s collection, “Cold Hands and Other Stories” shouldn’t work. The works included span more than four decades of writing. His largely Campbellian style gives way to urban magic and deep looks at the role of religion in space exploration. This collection lacks a consistent voice or theme. And yet it works wonderfully! This collection of short […]
Action Movies are audience pleasers, which is why the stars are so damn popular: Arnold Schwarzenegger. Bruce Willis. Sylvester Stallone. Mel Gibson. Chuck Norris. Jason Statham. And so many more. All stars who built their career on giving the audience what they wanted: thrills, chills, and a smidgen of sexiness. Over on Twitter, some gent […]
Castalia House New Release: THE HERETICS OF ST. POSSENTI
Monday , 13, November 2017 Just Released, News, Publications 3 CommentsBishop Thomas Cranberry finds himself at a loss when he is confronted by a thief and realizes some disturbing truths about himself. The experience sends him in search of the men who are increasingly absent from the Church, who find themselves at a loss in a world that has gone increasingly feral, and who feel […]
Sensor Sweep: Broken Swords, Pellucidar, Five-Fold Maws
Monday , 13, November 2017 Sensor Sweep 6 CommentsFiction (Mighty Thor Jrs) The Broken Sword–– “Originally published in 1954 this novel has all the elements necessary for great heroic fantasy. A unknowing or unwilling hero, a villain of unspeakable vileness, epic battles of world changing proportions, and of course a magic sword! With some Norse mythology mixed in what is not to love. When I […]
1980 is like a KT event for many sword and sorcery artists. KT stands for Cretaceous-Tertiary and the mass extinction 65 million years ago. The late Steve Tompkins used the term for any cultural extinction event. It seems Ken Kelly and Rowena Morrill were the go to artists for fantasy paperback covers during the 1980s. […]