Celtic-infused fantasy wasn’t always a thing. Neither was young adult fantasy. With the Chronicles of Prydain, five books loosely cribbed from the Welsh Mabinogion, Lloyd Alexander did much to pave the way for both.
Read MoreI’m really pleased that DMR Books is publishing a short story of mine about Palamides, that Thracian horse soldier who first appeared in the yarn “Buried Silver.” I always thought he – and some others – should have main roles in more stories. Those “others” include a few more characters lifted from Arthurian legend.
Read MoreTalbot Mundy’s approach to SF was grounded in his experience in adventure fiction; it featured tight, complex plotting, exotic locations (many of which he had visited himself) and an emphasis on honor, loyalty and spiritual development.
Read MoreThis week: C.L. Moore, Robert E. Howard, A. Merritt, a new Tarzan story, and more.
Read MoreI picked up Viking Fire in my local library and enjoyed it so much I went out and bought a copy! Viking Fire tells the story of the legendary Harold Hardrada, or King Haraldr Sigurðarson, to give him his full title.
Read MoreWhile 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.
Read MoreA fighter and leader of soldiers in the religious war that nearly destroyed Central Europe, von Bek has left all faith behind for reason and the pragmatism necessary to survive. Sometimes that means doing cruel and terrible things.
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 MoreSince Robert E. Howard was a master at story openings, it pays to take a look at some of the ways he begins his own yarns to catch a glimpse of what he may possibly have advised us had he spoken on the topic at greater length.
Read MoreThe merits of Robert E. Howard’s fiction have long been overshadowed by public perception of him as a one-dimensional writer of simple-minded adventure and fantasy stories. Despite the fact that Howard’s work was roundly praised by readers during his lifetime, postwar awareness of the man and his works consisted of faintly damning praise.
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