Monthly Archives:
sNew Texture has a new art book out. Pollen’s Action is the follow up and companion to Pollen’s Women. I have written before the men’s adventure magazines of the 1950s to the 1970s were a high […]
With all the films, remakes, comics, and an earworm of a musical theme, the franchise leads to larger-than-life expectations for Ernest Tidyman’s 1971 novel Shaft, the novel which started it all. If not a superhero, then certainly an icon. Instead, John Shaft is presented as a street-weary Army vet, a detective working for unsavory characters […]
Monster tamers, sellswords, stranded heroes, and transhuman mages feature in this week’s roundup of the newest releases in fantasy. Bridge of Realms (The Stalwart Link #2) – B.T. Narro There is no calm after the storm. But there is perseverance, ingenuity, and a whole lot of courage. Leo’s life has been dismantled. Now with his father […]
Short Reviews – The Dead-Star Rover, by Robert Abernathy
Friday , 29, March 2019 Book Review 5 CommentsThe Dead-Star Rover, by Robert Abernathy, appeared in the Winter 1949 issue of Planet Stories. It can (and should) be read here at Archive.org. It’s been rare that I’ve been as excited about a story as I have been for The Dead-Star Rover. But I’m back to reading Planet Stories, again, and I did not […]
Sensor Sweep: Classics, Steve Tompkins, Queen of the Black Coast, Gun Ghoul
Monday , 25, March 2019 Sensor Sweep 1 CommentCulture (Legends of Men): The primary professional association for classicists is the Society for Classical Studies. This was formerly called the American Philological Association. Mary Frances Williams, a Ph.D. in classics, former professor, and an independent researcher, decided to attend this year’s annual conference. There, she witnessed first hand how the classics field is becoming a […]
My friend Steve Tompkins has been gone for ten years as of March 23. Seems like yesterday I found out about his passing. I had had a bad feeling as I could not get in touch with him and it turned out to be the worst. Steve was a writer of non-fiction. There is a […]
Science Fiction and Fantasy New Releases: 23 March, 2019
Saturday , 23, March 2019 Just Released Leave a commentJules de Grandin, Black Tide Rising, Russian wuxia litRPGs, and Larson and VanDyke’s Galactic Liberation return in this week’s roundup of the newest releases in science fiction and fantasy. Black Moon (The Complete Tales of Jules de Grandin, Volume Five) – Seabury Quinn Today the names of H. P. Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard, August Derleth, and […]
Short Reviews – The Unremembered, by Richard S. Shaver (as Paul Lohrman)*
Friday , 22, March 2019 Uncategorized 2 CommentsThe Unremembered, by Paul Lohrman, appeared in the May 1950 issue of Amazing Stories. It can be read here at Archive.org. We wrap up this issue of Amazing Stories with The Unremembered by Paul Lohrman (probably Richard S. Shaver). It’s almost short enough to have been relegated to flash status (Amazing ran many pieces of […]
Sensor Sweep: Algernon Blackwood, Irish Dogs, Snipers, Battle Angel
Monday , 18, March 2019 Sensor Sweep 1 CommentRPG (Tenkar’s Tavern): We’re very excited to announce the next release in our Original Adventures Reincarnated line: Expedition to the Barrier Peaks! As with previous releases in the OAR series, this one will include scans of the original 1E editions, a conversion to 5E, and new 5E material filling in some gaps from the original 1E […]
Last fall, I had mentioned a story set in Ireland where a rascal of a man has the table turned on him. I had thought it was E. F. Benson, but the story premise just did not feel like a Benson story. It is unusual for me to forget the author and or title of […]
When Games Workshop hurled Warhammer Fantasy millennia into the future, into the Age of Sigmar, the controversial decision closed the book on one of the most beloved heroic fantasy series in recent memory. Dwarven Slayer Gotrek Gurnisson’s search for a heroic death on the battlefield ended in cataclysm—without his death or the epic song promised […]
West Virginia witches, bounty hunter barbecue pitmasters, fantasy detectives, and a new Tarzan story from Edgar Rice Burroughs feature in this week’s roundup of the newest releases in fantasy. Awaken Online: Dominion – Travis Bagwel Following Jason’s evolution into a Keeper, he finds his fledgling city once again in turmoil. A new and deadly enemy […]