Publishing (Wasteland & Sky): Today we’re going to look into the question as to why males have been not only cast out of the book industry, but are actively ignored and looked down on as readers by those still inside. This is not a new issue. Where did all this hostility come from, and why is a growing problem?

Games (Rlyeh Review): This is the set-up for Vast Grimm. Published by Infinite Black, it is a pre-apocalypse Science Fiction roleplaying game compatible in tone and structure with Mörk Borg, the Swedish pre-apocalypse Old School Renaissance style roleplaying game designed by Ockult Örtmästare Games and Stockholm Kartell and published by Free League Publishing.

Comic Books (Balladeer’s Blog): TALES TO ASTONISH Vol 1 #49 (Nov 1963) Title: The Birth of Giant-Man. NOTE: Previously I covered Hank Pym’s solo adventures as Ant-Man, then the adventures of Ant-Man and the Wasp.

Cinema (Kairos): This intriguing article over at A.V. Club draws attention to the strange fact that James Cameron’s 2009 opus Avatar, despite being the highest-grossing film ever made, has failed to leave a lasting mark on popular culture. Its sequel, which didn’t quite match the original’s box office take— lagging behind Spider-Man and Top Gun sequels on release—likewise left no noticeable impact on pop culture.

Games (The ArchCast): Helldivers 2 developers and the CEO Johan Pilestedt explain that the game was an experiment to see if they could “brainwash an entire community to fight for a fascist state?” And that the helldivers and players themselves are “evil grunts” The developers previous claims that the game was not getting involved in politics was a bold faced lie! They have a clear side in the culture war and are now making their allegiance know to one and all.

Radio (Old Time Radio): “The Furnished Floor”. Sponsored by: Roma Wines. Mr. Jennings moves back into his old room after his wife’s death. But there’s something strange going on up there. A good ghost story. + The Furnished Floor was written for Suspense by Lucille Fletcher author of Sorry Wrong Number starring Don DeFore as Mr Jennings.

Edgar Rice Burroughs (DMR Books): Seventy-five years ago today, Edgar Rice Burroughs died in bed. He was a wealthy man, who had been instrumental in the development of the San Fernando Valley and his ranch formed the nucleus of what would be the city of Tarzana, California.

Reading (Western Fictioneers): The first major change in the business came with the introduction of ebooks.  I started putting titles up on Amazon and other indie venues about 15 years ago, with moderate (to no) success.  But it was an education I needed in producing the book from the ground up. 

Robert E. Howard (Hub Pages): “Did God Make Man or Did Man Make God?” is an open-ended philosophical question that both theologians and secularists ponder. The ease or difficulty in answering this question often depends on which deity is being considered. Anyone familiar with Conan the Barbarian’s fantasy tales knows that the god Crom is one of pure fiction.

Weird Tales (Tellers of Weird Tales): Margaret McBride Hoss had just one story in Weird Tales, “The Weird Green Eyes of Sari,” from March 1925, one hundred years ago this month. Her story is about a fish-woman. “Shadow Over Innsmouth” by H.P. Lovecraft has some similarities to “The Weird Green Eyes of Sari.” In Margaret McBride Hoss’ story, the man retreats to Kansas, far from any ocean.

Star Trek (Red Shirts Always Die): William Shatnerwill turn 94 years young on March 22, while George Takei will hit 88 on April 20, Walter Koenig will reach the 89-year mark in September, and Patrick Stewart will celebrate his 85th birthday on July 13. Those imminent birthdays got us wondering: Who is the oldest living Star Trek actor? This can be any performer from any series or movie.

RPG (Monsters and Manuals): And they are also everywhere in tabletop RPGs. There is something that we sense to be important about passing from one ontological condition, the condition of there being nothing particularly at stake (the tavern, the market, the village, etc.), to another – the condition of there being everything up for grabs. And the point of passage or embarkation from one to another strikes us as significant. We like the idea of transferring from one to another and back again.

Science Fiction (Fandom Pulse): Hard science fiction received its mega-based installment with Poul Anderson releasing Tau Zero in 1970, a book that has largely been ignored in recent years by the sci-fi establishment but stands the test of time.

Weapons (Blumineck): Fantasy vs Reality: 5 weapons that fantasy gets wrong!

D&D (Dungeons & Dragons Fan): Just a few weeks after the official launch of the new Dungeons & Dragons virtual tabletop known as Sigil, Wizards of the Coast has terminated most of the staff working on the project and is essentially shelving the much-publicized VTT. The news was leaked to several major outlets which cover Dungeons & Dragons, along with a number of internal emails that were distributed to Wizards of the Coast team members.

Pulp (Vintage Pop Fictions): Tarantula Tower is the fourth collection of Theodore Roscoe’s stories of the adventures of curio hunter Peter Scarlet and his friend the naturalist Bradshaw. It’s been issued by Steeger Books in their Argosy Library series. The stories were originally published in various pulp magazines between 1933 and 1935.

Legends (Balladeer’s Blog): These are the legends about Charlemagne and his Paladins, not the actual history, so there will be dragons, monsters and magic.

T. V (Twlight Zone Vortex): “Ninety Years Without Slumbering” Season Five, Episode 132

Original Airdate: December 20, 1963.

Pulp (Spectre Library): What I love about this issue of SHORT STORIES is it includes a full-page map of the world, pointing out where each enclosed story takes place. It’s a fairly cool concept, especially for those that are geographically challenged.

Appendix N (False Machine): Weird Tales From The Roots Of Dungeons & Dragons. Revised and Expanded Edition Edited by Peter Bebergal.

Pastiche (Sprague de Camp Fan): This third Titan Books original Conan novel is a fast and enjoyable read. Currently, Amazon shows the page count at 304, I believe initially it showed as 512 pages. Ignoring the front and back matter the actual story is only 280 pages. A reasonable enough length for a modern Conan novel.

Fiction (With Both Hands): The 50th Anniversary Edition of Adrian Cole’s The Dream Lords will release on Amazon on January 15th, 2025, and you, my loyal readers, simply must pick this up, because this is the book for anyone who wanted Dune to be a comedy instead of a tragedy.

Art (Muddy Colors): Nearly every artist has a breakout painting that establishes their direction. A signature piece that people point to and say, “I like their style (approach, voice, etc)” It’s an image that pulls all their experience and skills together at one point and establishes a direction. It’s a breakout piece, and they can happen all along the way.

Dragonlance (Tenkar’s Tavern): I was a huge Dragonlance fan in my younger days, and it was gaming fiction that was also read by many non-gamers. You can get the Dragonlance Fiction Bundle for 18 bucks, giving you 26 books worth of fantasy fiction readable on Kindles, iPads, and virtually all similar electronic devices. Embark on an epic adventure through the land of Krynn with the ultimate Dragonlance Collection from Wizards of the Coast.

Weird Tales (Wormwoodiana): I first encountered the work of Oscar Cook (1888-1952) not by his prose but by a television adaptation of one of his stories. It remains the only Cook story to have been filmed. It was one of a handful of episodes of Rod Serling’s Night Gallery series, which I watched avidly upon its first broadcasting, that really stayed with me.

Fiction (Pulp Fiction Reviews): Of all the adventure pulp series the late Clive Cussler created, our favorite remains the Isaac Bell stories. Oh, we totally appreciated the Dirk Pitt tales. It’s always been our believe that they were the first in a resurgence of American pulp fiction. Still, the turn of the century setting established for professional Van Dorn Detective Bell appeals to our love of history.

Fanzines (Pulp Super Fan): I have been posting on the fanzine bare*bones, which is devoted to “unearthing vintage, forgotten, and overlooked horror/mystery/sci-fi/western/weird film – paperbacks – comics – pulp fiction – video.” It’s produced by Peter Enfantino and John Scoleri through Cimarron Street Books.

Science Fiction (Black Gate): Isaac Asimov’s I, Robot and the Foundation Trilogy. Robert A. Heinlein’s Sixth Column. Arthur C. Clarke’s first three novels. The entire Conan saga from Robert E. Howard. The International Fantasy Award winner City by Clifford D. Simak. The Hugo Best Novel winner They’d Rather Be Right from Mack Clifton and Frank Riley. Books by L. Sprague de Camp and Fletcher Pratt, A. E. van Vogt, C. L. Moore and Henry Kuttner, Murray Leinster, Frederik Pohl, Jack Williamson, Andre Norton, and James Gunn.

RPG (Coins and Scrolls): Here’s some useful information for river-based adventures using Magical Industrial Revolution. Skip to Part 3 or click this PDF link if you just want the rules. Also, in case you missed the news, Magical Industrial Revolution is back in stock, with new sewn bindings and improved cover durability.

D&D (Grognardia): By the early 1990s, AD&D 2nd Edition was in full swing, and one of its defining features was the proliferation of entries in the Player’s Handbook Rules Supplement (PHBR) series, commonly called the Complete books. These were player-focused supplements initially aimed at expanding the options for various classes that were eventually expanded to other topics.

Cinema (Matt Draper): A look at the unmade two-part miniseries sequel to John Carpenter’s horror classic, The Thing. With two scripts available on line, I walk through what would have happened in this wild sequel from Frank Darabont and David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick, which would have given definitive answers to the end of The Thing before creating a new, massive alien outbreak in New Mexico, full of wild twists and dark implications for the world. Plus, I discuss why this was never made.

Small Press (Pulp Super Fan): I recently got the latest Eldritch Tales issue #12. I was hoping we’d get another issue of Crypt of Cthulhu, but I don’t see one. I actually have been looking for new issues of both, but haven’t seen them. Someone brought this one to my attention.

History (Frontier Partisans): Surpise, Kill, Vanish by Annie Jacobsen is the history of assassinations committed by the CIA and other organizations. The title comes from the motto of the OSS. It covers history from World War II to the present day War on Terror.

History (Balladeer’s Blog): GRACE O’MALLEY (1530-1603) – Balladeer’s Blog takes a Saint Patrick’s Day look at Ireland’s notorious Grace O’Malley aka Grainne O’Malley aka Grania or Granuaile O’Malley.

History (History Mapped Out): The Celts are an ancient people with a unique culture. This civilization, which arose in the late Bronze Age, without exaggeration gave birth to Europe, the community of its peoples in language, material culture and traditions. Thanks to extensive trade relations and a wide range of settlement, the Celts spread their culture from the Black Sea to the Atlantic Ocean throughout Europe, and left their mark on the history of many nations.