Blog Archives
sSensor Sweep: Captain Blood, Cosmic Questions, Frostgrave, and Han Solo
Monday , 19, February 2018 Sensor Sweep 2 CommentsCinema (Men of the West): “I won’t be going to see the new Star Wars movie about a young Han Solo. I’ve ended my abusive relationship with Disney Star Wars, and I’m never going back. It was hard. I loved her so much, and I’m still shocked at the level of betrayal. You see, I […]
An Important Predecessor to Pulp, Fantasy, and Science Fiction: The Ruritanian Romance
Saturday , 3, February 2018 Before the Big Three, Book Review, Fiction 12 CommentsI first came across the Ruritanian romance, a genre featuring adventure in a small, fictional, usually European kingdom, in Nabokov’s Pale Fire. While that version was decidedly un-heroic, as Nabokov’s tragicomic works tend to be, it still impressed me as a promising setting for a story. Later, in Philip Jose Farmer’s Tarzan Alive: A Definitive Biography of […]
Heroines, Then and Now
Saturday , 9, September 2017 Appendix N, Authors, Before the Big Three, Fiction 20 CommentsA frequent criticism of older stories, pulp or otherwise, is that they feature a “damsel in distress”. That the woman in question is nothing more than a prize to be won. This is considered bad, and earnest leftist writers of today seek to correct this horrible injustice by creating “strong female protagonists”. Right away, one […]
In science fiction and fantasy, whether employing images or words, creators are always looking for big ideas. A killer premise, a brilliant spin on a standard story, or something wholly fresh and unique. And while there are no shortage of movies and books that possess those, it’s not nearly as necessary as one initially believes. […]
The Pulpish Master: Rafael Sabatini
Saturday , 26, August 2017 Authors, Before the Big Three 9 CommentsWhen I mention bold fighting heroes laughing at death and their enemies, odious and powerful villains, non-stop action and adventure in picturesque settings, and brave, beautiful, worthy women, what writer comes to mind? For most readers of this blog, it would be Robert E. Howard. But another name fits equally well, that of the great […]