Lord Dunsany spearheaded a new phase in the evolution of fantasy literature, telling mythic tales of awe and wonder. J.R. R. Tolkien, H.P. Lovecraft, Clark Ashton Smith, C.L. Moore, Henry Kuttner, Manly Wade Wellman, Fletcher Pratt, Arthur C. Clarke, Ursula K. Le Guin, Gene Wolfe, Neil Gaiman, Michael Swanwick and George R.R. Martin were all influenced by Dunsany to one degree or another.
Read MoreH.P. Lovecraft was one of the greatest Dunsany fans to have ever lived. His list of favorite Dunsany tales is an excellent starter for any newcomer to the great Irish fantasist.
Read MoreStorytelling and folktales have been with human beings for a long time. The superior folktale is that which is touched by both the fantastical and the frightful. These kinds are the tales that get retold and transformed again and again, especially by those who yearn to feel and dwell upon the macabre and the decadent and the most astonishing, heightened emotions brought on by elements of the grotesque and the sublime.
Read MoreBram Stoker, Lord Dunsany and Sax Rohmer were all admirers of Richard F. Burton. Burton may have died in 1890, but his literary influence reaches right up until the present day.
Read MoreDungeons and Dragons has become a household name. It is firmly embedded in our pop culture. Whether you have played the game or not, you are aware of it. Within its pages, co-creator Gary Gygax shared a list of stories that inspired him. This list is known as Appendix N.
Read MoreWhen you think of literary thieves, who do you think of? Aside from the crime genre, thievery as an occupation appears most often in sword and sorcery.
Read MoreEdward John Moreton Drax Plunkett—better known as Lord Dunsany—passed beyond the Fields We Know on this date in 1957. H.P. Lovecraft, was, without a doubt, one of the foremost Dunsany fans to ever walk the earth.
Read MoreWhen Edgar Allan Poe died that long-ago night in October, 1849, he likely did not reckon that he would, in the twenty-first century, stand astride American literature like a darksome colossus. Whether it be psychological suspense, proto-cosmic horror, detective mysteries or proto-SFF/Lost World adventure, the Man From Baltimore got there first.
Read MoreWhen “The Shadow Kingdom” by Robert E. Howard appeared in the pages of Weird Tales, no one would have guessed that it would continue to provide inspiration for fantasy authors for ninety years and counting. This remarkable story is often pointed to as the beginning of the sword and sorcery genre, although this opinion is not unanimous.
Read MoreAs the year draws to a close, it’s customary to reflect on the past twelve months in some way. 2018 isn’t quite over yet, but I thought I would take a look at a few of the best books I read this year, both new releases and old ones I’d never read before.
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