A. Merritt's landmark heroic fantasy novel, The Ship of Ishtar, still resonates a solid century after its first publication. Since that time, it has inspired classic tales from the likes of Robert E. Howard, Leigh Brackett and Michael Moorcock.
Read MoreSwordsmen in the Sky was published by Ace Books in 1964. Donald Wollheim put together five stories of Edgar Rice Burroughs-influenced Sword and Planet.
Read MoreI had the chance to read Leigh Brackett’s “Lord of the Earthquake” and almost immediately was struck by a number of parallels between it and her later The Sword of Rhiannon. “Lord of the Earthquake”, published in June 1941 issue of Science Fiction, concerns godhood, time-travel and the lost continent of Mu.
Read MoreEdmond Hamilton wrote many stories of Merrittesque adventure for Weird Tales during the 1930s and 1940s. In my opinion, those stories are some of his finest, albeit lesser-known. Hamilton could write a gripping weird tale, though he became more famous for his straight-up science fiction, especially his space operas.
Read MoreRay Bradbury took a half-written planetary adventure story started by Leigh Brackett and finished it, creating a minor classic in the process. As Leigh herself said--with thirty years to think on it--Bradbury did a better job than she would have.
Read MoreLeigh Brackett was an acknowledged fan of A. Merritt. What I aim to do in this blog entry is trace the influence of Merritt upon Brackett chronologically, beginning with the earliest Merrittesque Brackett story I know of and going from there.
Read MoreIn the late ‘70s legendary pulp fictioneer Manly Wade Wellman created a fantasy hero named Kardios, who was the last survivor of Atlantis. The five tales of Kardios Wellman penned appeared in anthologies such as Swords Against Darkness and Heroic Fantasy, which are long out of print. For decades sword and sorcery fans have clamored for all five stories to be reprinted in a single collection.
Read MoreAfter examining some of Robert E Howard’s approaches to opening a yarn, in part two it’s time for a snapshot overview to show how other famous pulp and Swords and Sorcery authors have also used these eight opening elements to great effect.
Read MoreAs always, December 7 is the feast day of Saint Leigh, Our Lady of Planetary Adventure.
Read MoreLeigh Brackett died forty years ago today. Being in a nostalgic mood, I decided to honor the occasion by rereading her final novel, Reavers of Skaith. While it may have been her last novel, it was my very first exposure--at the tender age of twelve--to her fiction and to her most enduring creation, Eric John Stark. I knew of Leigh by way of The Empire Strikes Back and "Reavers" was the only Brackett the Oswego Public Library had--not that I'm griping, mind you. Reavers of Skaith packed a wallop that I've never forgotten.
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