Blog Archives
sLooking 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 […]
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…” * * * […]
When Gary Gygax penned the AD&D Dungeon Masters Guide, the world was very different. The fantasy role-playing hobby was an entirely different beast than it is today, for one thing. But even the term “fantasy” would have had an entirely different connotation. While it’s possible to dive into the old guide, take a random rules […]
THROWBACK SF THURSDAY: The Next Conan Movie Should Look More Like Mad Max
Thursday , 3, August 2017 Appendix N 14 CommentsWe deserve another Conan movie. One that is more 1982 Conan the Barbarian and less Conan the Destroyer or 2011 Conan the Barbarian. (I posted short reviews of the three Conan movies over at Every Day Should Be Tuesday.) Making a good Conan movie brings certain challenges. Not the least of which is the difficulty […]
The elements of fantasy and science fiction are everywhere, but the core of what really made the old stories function has evaporated. For instance, Rogue One is routinely compared to The Magnificent Seven, but only the most superficial aspects of the classic Western’s premise are carried forward. The overall approach to how characters are established […]
Identifying Post-Christian Storytelling
Wednesday , 26, July 2017 Appendix N, Pulp Revolution 11 CommentsIf you have not read very much science fiction or fantasy from before 1940, then you are liable to struggle with this. If your concept of science fiction and fantasy is derived primarily from movies and television, then you will definitely struggle with this. And if Christian thought is so offensive to you that you’re […]
A. Merritt’s Burn, Witch, Burn is structured almost like a song. Each of the first three chapters ends with its half cadence consisting of either a grisly death or else a stunning revelation. But how exactly do you get to those thrilling crescendos…? There’s the interplay between the tough but superstitious mob boss, the speculations of […]
THROWBACK SF THURSDAY: Robert E. Howard Was the Texan Tolkien
Thursday , 20, July 2017 Appendix N 17 CommentsThe Conquering Sword of Conan is the final volume in Del Rey’s three-volume collection of every Robert E. Howard Conan story. I wrote about the second volume, and how Robert E. Howard wrote like Hank Williams sang, over at Every Day Should Be Tuesday. Gregory Manchess provides the illustrations for this volume, and they may […]
My whole life, I’ve had to put up with entertainment’s godawful Southern characters that are nothing like me or anyone else I knew. And sure, most of this would be forgiven with an offhand “bless their heart.” Particularly the actresses that couldn’t do Southern accents to save their lives. But it does get old when […]
A new podcast all about Appendix N is here! And I’m really glad for it, too. See… I’ve gotten so much feedback from irate fantasy fans over the past few years insisting that it’s just plain obvious that D&D is warmed over Tolkien pastiche, that it was always like that from the beginning, and that […]
High Contrast Fantasy: A. Merritt’s Burn, Witch, Burn!
Wednesday , 12, July 2017 Appendix N 25 CommentsThe problem with post-Christian fantasy authors is that their works are inherently flat. Not being able to conceive of protagonists that are truly good, they settle for whoever happens to catch the spotlight. Not being able to conceive of monstrosities that can threaten the soul, they rely on gore, psychosis, and/or the demonization of their […]