Writing (The Pulp Archivist): “In a writing job, dialogue stands out the most; it is also the potent element and certainly the most versatile. Excellent dialogue appears rarely, but it then invariably commands its just reward; and for that reason it certainly deserves your careful study and attention.

A cardinal rule in practically all writing is that the author should keep out of it entirely and allow his characters to tell the story. Nothing weakens or spoils even good dialogue so much as to have the author act as interpreter between the quoted lines.

Bill swung around upon Ed.

‘You blankety blank blank!’ “

Fiction (P. C. Bushi): “One of the things I enjoy most about old Appendix N work (and similarly classic and formational SFF) is that there’s so much “not Tolkien” fantasy to masticate. Don’t get me wrong – I love me some JRR hobbits and trolls, but I’ve gotten kind of worn out on today’s brand of knock-off Gandalfs and Legolas clones. Even when they’re Dark-Legolas.”

Fiction (Swordssorceryblogspot): “I’m excavating my parts of my childhood and revisiting some of the fantasy that was important to me before the age of sixteen that isn’t by J.R.R. Tolkien. I just read Lloyd Alexander’s The Book of Three (1964), I’m presently reading Ursula K. Le Guin’s A Wizard of Earthsea (1968), and next week I’ll pick up Madeline L’Engle’s A Wrinkle In Time (1962).”

Cinema (Everyday Should be Tuesday): “Black Panther does two things very, very well.  It throws a lot of crazy-ass Afro-Futurism into the mix, resulting in something that is both fresh and looks great, and it undergirds the plot with thematic weight.  The actors are having fun, but aren’t ashamed to be acting in a superhero movie.  They are earnest without being self-serious or feeling the need to snark about it.  That, and the sheer amount of talent in the movie, more than make up for a somewhat paint-by-the-numbers plot.  Black Panther falls short of my top 5 all-time superhero movies, but it is comfortably in the top 10, I think.”

Fiction (Vintage Novels): “When I first read this book ten years ago, I realised that it was utterly unique in my experience. There was classic literature that featured black protagonists – Othello, for instance. There was classic literature set in Africa – many of Haggard’s other novels about stiff-upper-lipped European adventurers discovering lost civilisations ruled by white queens of Egyptian or Arabic stock who presided over the rites of long-lost deities. But this was the very first historical romance I’d ever read which was about a documented period of premodern African history and featured an all-black cast.”

Fiction (Cirsova): “The other day, during the discussion about Stark and Barbarians, I noted that Stark does NOT come from the template of European Barbarians, and would be more akin to an African warrior or Indian wild-boy. Cirsova contributor Jon M. Weichsel (whose story “Going Native” will appear in our Summer issue) jumped in, and we drilled down a bit on the nature of “barbarians”, though it’s a digression that took us fairly far from the original topic of Dungeons & Dragons.”

Fiction (PulpRev): “To Holger Carlsen, Dane by birth and engineer by trade, science rules all. The immutable laws of physics govern the universe, and there is no space in this rational world for the mysterious and the magical. Yet one fateful day, when fighting along the Resistance in the Second World War, he is knocked out in battle, and awakens naked in a strange forest. Nearby is a horse of startling intelligence, carrying arms and armour that fit him perfectly, including a shield that bears the device of three hearts and three lions.

Thus begins Poul Anderson’s seminal work Three Hearts and Three Lions. Coming from an era saturated with Japanese isekai stories and Western dark fantasy CRPGs, Three Hearts and Three Lions is simultaneously refreshing and inspiring. Both of these media owe their origins to Gary Gygax’s Dungeons & Dragons tabletop roleplaying game, and Gygax in turn drew inspiration from a list of stories, stories he listed in his famous Appendix N. Among them is Three Hearts and Three Lions.”

Games (Beast of War): “The crew at Mythic Games will be bringing you a miniatures board game where you will play as Solomon Kane and comrades as they slay deadly beasts, terrifying monsters and right unjust wrongs. We even got a rather awesome and early look at some of the miniatures they’re going to be bringing to life!”

Cinema (Unbound Worlds): “According to deadline.com, Amazon Prime is planning a new television series based on Robert E. Howard’s Conan the Barbarian stories. Curious? Here’s what you need to know.

How will the series connect to the movies?
It probably won’t at all. According to reports, the series will look to Robert E. Howard’s Conan stories as inspiration, rather than any of the films. That means you probably won’t hear anymore about “the Riddle of Steel”, and you shouldn’t expect to see Arnold Schwarzenegger or Jason Momoa involved in the series.”