The DMRtian Chronicles - 4/29/2018
Items of interest from around the web.
Read MoreOut of Space and Time by Clark Ashton Smith
Clark Ashton Smith, of course, was one of the mainstay writers of the old Weird Tales, with Howard and Lovecraft. Smith was chiefly a poet, and also a sculptor, but after a breakdown in health, during the Depression, he wrote more than a hundred bizarre short stories (between 1929 and 1934) to pay his bills. Like Howard, he contributed to Lovecraft’s famous Mythos.
Read MoreForefathers of Sword and Sorcery: Harold Lamb
Harold Lamb died on this date in 1962. He left behind a staggering amount of quality fiction and nonfiction. He was one of the very top contributors to one of the premiere pulps, Adventure, and went on to become a popular and award-winning historian.
Read MoreWho "Made" Conan and Robert E. Howard? -- Part One
'lin carter and l sprague de camp finished unfinished works of howard and made full stories out of them as well.they are worth having as if it was not for them there would be no conan movie no conan comics and would not be ass [sic] popular as it is today[.]"
-- Quoted verbatim from a proud member of the subliterati on Facebook circa late 2017
Read MoreThe Savage Swords of Louis L'Amour
Louis L'Amour was born one hundred and ten years ago today. In my opinion, a brief commemoration of Mr. L'Amour is justified here on the DMR blog.
Read MoreReavers of Skaith: Saving the Last For First
Leigh 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.
Read More"I Dream in Fire But Work in Clay" - Arthur Machen
“There are sacraments of evil as well as of good about us, and we live and move to my belief in an unknown world, a place where there are caves and shadows and dwellers in twilight. It is possible that man may sometimes return on the track of evolution, and it is my belief that an awful lore is not yet dead.”
“I dream in fire but work in clay.” -- Arthur Machen
Read MorePainting Metal -- The Art of Derek Riggs
Derek Riggs turns sixty today and, being a longtime fan, I thought a DMR post was in order. As the exclusive artist for Iron Maiden through the 1980s, Riggs painted some of the most iconic metal album covers ever. They certainly blew me away when I first saw them.
Read MoreRafael Sabatini: King of the Swashbucklers
“Thirstily he set it to his lips, and as its cool refreshment began to soothe his throat, he thanked Heaven that in a world of much evil there was still so good a thing as ale.”
“Only he who is without anything is without enemies.”
Read MorePrince of Foxes by Samuel Shellabarger
This novel was first published in 1947. It’s still in print – or at any rate was reprinted by Bridge Works in 2002, and probably again since. There are reasons for that. First, it has all the characteristics of a rip-snortingly readable, fast-moving historical pulp adventure. Next, it has a great cast of characters. Last, it is even quality writing!
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