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sTarzan. John Carter. Zorro. Any magazine that published all three of these pulp, nay, American icons would be assured of its place in literary history. But Argosy is much more than that. Argosy is the first pulp fiction magazine, and by far one of the most prestigious of its time. With a run lasting from 1882 to 1978, Argosy set the standard for […]
Science Fiction and Fantasy New Releases: 30 April 2022
Saturday , 30, April 2022 Uncategorized Leave a commentThe First Step (Cultivator vs. System #1) – Valerios “Screw the System. I just want to Cultivate.” Long Fang is stranded in a foreign world where proper cultivation has been replaced by annoying blue screens. He is confused and alone… but not for long. Completely ignoring the System, he forms a wholesome sect of followers […]
Sensor Sweep: Travis McGee, Tomahawks, Rome: Total War
Monday , 25, April 2022 Sensor Sweep Leave a commentRPG (Walker’s Retreat): Games are created from distinct parts and histories that merge together to form a new set of rules for the gamers to conquer. A game is defined by its rules which the players work with in order to beat. In essence, you should only need one rulebook or instruction manual to understand […]
The historical novel binge continues with Richard O’Connor’s The Vandal. Doubleday published the hardback in 1960. Popular Library published the paperback in 1962. Richard O’ Connor was a writer who flourished in the 1950s and 60s. His books are a mix of biographies and fiction. Most deal with the Old West or the U.S. Civil […]
Science Fiction and Fantasy New Releases: 23 April 2022
Saturday , 23, April 2022 Uncategorized Leave a commentAgainst All Odds (Grimm’s War #1) – Jeffery Haskell The wrong crew. The wrong ship. The right Captain. Idealistic navy lieutenant Jacob Grimm just wanted to honor his mother’s sacrifice in the last great war. When he’s forced to return fire and destroy a squadron of ships to save his own, he thinks he’s the […]
Sensor Sweep: Thunderbirds, Pendragon, Pastiche
Monday , 18, April 2022 Sensor Sweep Leave a commentRPG (Walker’s Retreat): Throughout all of this talk of the True Campaign Model, I’ve consistently identified Pendragon as an outlier. The reason is simple: Pendragon offers a complete and concise alternative campaign model. You play through the entire timeline of Arthurian Mythos–The Great Pendragon Campaign–which lasts about 80 years or so. During this time you […]
One of Robert E. Howard’s epic historical poems is “An Echo From the Iron Harp.” The poem gained some wide exposure as “The Gold and the Grey” included by Glenn Lord in The Book of Robert E. Howard (Zebra Books) in 1976. According to the Howardworks website, Glenn gave the poem the title as “The […]
Quick Reviews: The Revenger and A Warrior’s Burden
Saturday , 16, April 2022 Uncategorized Leave a commentBen Martin is a Vietnam veteran with his own storefront business in New York. The mob wants its cut. Martin tells them to pound sand. An ambitious but daft faction of the mob kidnaps Martin’s kid, who dies in their inattentive care. War ensues. Sometimes it is the journey rather than the destination that matters. […]
Science Fiction and Fantasy New Releases: 16 April 2022
Saturday , 16, April 2022 Uncategorized Leave a commentThe Broken Man: The Rise of the Fisher King – Hawkings Austin A Shadow Man is stalking the children of Ard, leaving the dead lying in the forest with their eyes black pits. The people are in a panic, but the investigating Ruad philosophers have no explanation. Seeking someone to blame, the people of the […]
Sensor Sweep: Jack Higgins, Saber-Tooth Tigers, The Northman
Monday , 11, April 2022 Sensor Sweep 2 CommentsComic Books (Screen Rant): Marvel Comics has changed the digital version of art from King Conan #2 following criticism over a controversial portrayal of a character with a name related to the Native American historical figure, Pocahontas. Last month, Marvel and writer Jason Aaron and artist Mahmud Asrar were heavily criticized for naming an oversexualized […]
The Lost Eagles by Ralph Graves was a pleasant surprise for a novel by a writer I never heard of before. I have been on an historical novel binge the past month. My personal belief is a good historical is harder to write than a fantasy. There are constraints built in the historical that don’t […]
This month brings the conclusion to two notable independent science fiction and fantasy series: Blood on the Stars by Jay Allan and The Rogue Dungeon, by James Hunter and eden Hudson. The battle against the Highborn has come down to one desperate last gamble before the worlds of the Confederation inevitably fall. Yet Tyler Barron […]