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sAround 42-43 years ago, had you gone to a chain bookstore like Walden Books or B. Dalton Bookseller at your local mall, there would be a good sized shelf of Andre Norton books. “Andre” Norton, born Alice (1912-2005) was a writer that started out more in the young adult market but became one of Donald […]
Science Fiction and Fantasy New Releases: 29 June 2024
Saturday , 29, June 2024 Uncategorized Leave a commentEvery week, the Castalia House Blog spotlights some of the many new releases in independent, pulp, and web novel-influenced science fiction and fantasy. Defiance of the Fall #13 – J. F. Brink War has arrived to Zecia. Zac returns from the Perennial Vastness, finding Earth already embroiled in war. The Kan’Tanu Cult is pouring into […]
Sensor Sweep: Conan, Robert E. Howard, D&D Comic Ads, Lloyd Alexander
Monday , 24, June 2024 Sensor Sweep Leave a commentWeird Tales (Tellers of Weird Tales): Three stories appeared in Weird Tales under the byline “Houdini.” I have nominated Otis Adelbert Kline as the author of the first, “The Spirit Fakers of Hermannstadt” (two-part serial, Mar.-Apr. 1924). John Locke has offered Harold Ward as possible author of the second, “The Hoax of the Spirit Lover” (Apr. […]
There is more sword & sorcery from a writer normally associated with a different genre. This time it is James Reasoner who is well known for westerns and some well regarded crime novels. “Washed ashore on a jungle-choked island in the delta at the mouth of the great Jehannamun River, Jorras Trevayle has survived an […]
Science Fiction and Fantasy New Releases: 22 June 2024
Saturday , 22, June 2024 Uncategorized Leave a commentEvery week, the Castalia House Blog spotlights some of the many new releases in independent, pulp, and web novel-influenced science fiction and fantasy. Ghost Signal (Rift Warrior #2) – B. V. Larson Acheron Colony was supposed to be humanity’s greatest windfall. Using long-range sensors, the planet tested out as a super-earth—but the reality is frightening. […]
Mark Sibley’s follow up to Mongol Moon is A Dance of Devils. After a Christmas Eve EMP attack blinds America and Europe, triggering a meticulously planned attack on the West’s civilian populations, only a ragtag team of neighbors stands in the way of a new Axis invasion.
Sensor Sweep: The Acolyte, C. L. Moore, Kobolds, Oz
Monday , 17, June 2024 Sensor Sweep Leave a commentStar Wars (Fandom Pulse): George Lucas elaborated on his critique, saying, “It’s like, ‘I saw something, let’s do something like that.’ It’s also a way that movies are sold. If you go in and say, ‘I’ve got something that you’ve never seen before and you don’t understand it,’ it’s very hard to get a deal.” […]
I have enjoyed reading future war/WW3 novels over the years – Ralph Peters, John Antal, Ian Slater, Tom Clancy, Harold Coyle come to mind. A new entry is Mongol Moon by Mark Sibley. The author bio states: “Mark Sibley is a corporate crisis manager and war gamer. He’s developed and facilitated over a hundred war […]
Science Fiction and Fantasy New Releases: 15 June 2024
Saturday , 15, June 2024 Uncategorized Leave a commentEvery week, the Castalia House Blog spotlights some of the many new releases in independent, pulp, and web novel-influenced science fiction and fantasy. Cirsova #19 / Summer 2024 – edited by P. Alexander Fourteen tales of daring adventure and thrilling suspense, including: Strange and disgusting fleshy masses begin to wash up near the University! Is […]
Comic Books (Fandom Pulse): Marvel Ultimate’s stretch has been going for some time now, but the most recent Ultimate Spiderman, which started in January, brought waves of excitement back into the comic industry. The main cover of the first issue hit over $100 on eBay! This had some fans weary that Marvel would not stay […]
The word arrived this past week that author John Maddox Roberts had died on May 23, 2024 at age 76. There was a period when I read a steady number of Roberts’ novels. He might be best remembered today for having written eight Conan pastiche novels for Tor from 1985-1995. The first thing I ever […]
Fifteen years of radio. Thirty films. 156 television episodes. Countless comics. The Cisco Kid rode across the air waves, the silver screen, and the small screen for a century as the Robin Hood of the Westerns. But his first ride, in the short story “The Caballero’s Way” by the legendary O. Henry, was at odds […]