What Makes a 'Good' Pastiche, In My Book
It occurred to me that I should clarify my views on 'pastiches', now that there appear to be new Conan pastiches on the horizon courtesy of Funcom.
Read MoreJoseph Clement Coll -- A Century Gone
On this day in 1921, Joseph Clement Coll died suddenly of appendicitis at the age of forty. Widely-respected for his pen-and-ink technique, Coll had illustrated classic tales by Arthur Conan Doyle and Sax Rohmer. After his death, JCC's work would influence the likes of Frank Frazetta and Gary Gianni.
Read MoreThe Literary Afterlife and Legacy of Richard F. Burton (Part Three)
Bram 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 MoreIn the Shadow of Sir Richard Burton
June 1st marks the sixty-second anniversary of the death of Sax Rohmer. DMR Books recently marked the bicentennial of Sir Richard Burton’s birth. Rohmer counted Burton’s multi-volume translation of A Thousand and One Arabian Nights as one of the key influences in shaping both his writing and his lifelong interests.
Read MoreSax Rohmer's The Golden Scorpion
February 15th marks 137 years since the birth of Sax Rohmer. Later this year, his most influential and notorious character, the insidious Dr. Fu Manchu will mark 108 years since his first appearance in print.
Read MoreForefathers of Sword and Sorcery: Sax Rohmer
Robert E. Howard, Clark Ashton Smith, Fritz Leiber and Karl Edward Wagner. If Sax Rohmer’s influence upon those S&S titans isn’t enough to rank him as a Forefather, then hardly anybody else rates the honor, either.
Read MoreTo Dree, Or Not To Dree?
So, the other day I was rereading the first chapter of Robert E. Howard’s "People of the Black Circle" and I hit this line:
"Again that far, weirdly dreeing cry, from realms immeasurable."
That word, "dreeing." Obviously, the gerund form of "dree." But what was "dree"? What did it mean?
Read MoreSax Rohmer: Under the Spell of the Supernatural
While the creation of the nearly immortal Dr. Fu Manchu will forever associate Sax Rohmer with the Yellow Peril, it was the call of the supernatural that he answered most consistently throughout his 56-year career as an author.
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