Ken Kelly: A Half-Century of Greatness
For the last fifty years, Ken Kelly has been painting iconic covers for cool books and cool albums. His seventy-fifth birthday is certainly something to celebrate.
Read MoreConcerning and Unsnarling Sword and Sorcery, Romanticism, Dark Romanticism, and Fantasy (Part Two)
The connection between Fantasy and Sword and Sorcery is easy enough to see, but what kind of sub-class of Fantasy should Sword and Sorcery call home? Should it fit closer to the Low or to the High Fantasy fields? And what is Fantasy on its own? Is there such a thing as a purely “Fantasy” work? Is Fantasy only a label for works that came after the 1600s?
Read MoreConcerning and Unsnarling Sword and Sorcery, Romanticism, Dark Romanticism, and Fantasy (Part One)
How could understanding the differences between Romanticism and Dark Romanticism be of any benefit to the readers of Sword and Sorcery? Fantasy birthed Sword and Sorcery, but not alone, for it was Romanticism that spawned Dark Romanticism, and it also had a hand in the conception of Sword and Sorcery. These four genres might not appear to be related, but they absolutely do branch together, and understanding the similarities and differences between them can help pulp-readers better appreciate the legitimate literary value of works in these genres.
Read MoreStoryHack Action and Adventure No. 7: A Constellation of Wonders
For those who are new to it, StoryHack is an adventure magazine in the spirit of the pulps. I have enjoyed the previous issues of StoryHack but No. 7 is maybe the best yet. So we could call it Lucky 7 or we could call it the unremitting devotion of its publisher and editor, Bryce Beattie. Let’s just call it a “A Constellation of Wonders.”
Read MoreThe DMRtian Chronicles, 5/16/2021
This week: The Brothers Hildebrandt’s Atlantis, Clark Ashton Smith, Henry Kuttner, Keith Taylor, H. Rider Haggard, Fritz Leiber, and more.
Read MoreKeep Calm and Swashbuckle On: The Legacy of H. Rider Haggard
Today we salute the life and work of one of the founding masters of modern speculative fiction, H. Rider Haggard. Though his creations remain classics in world literature, his name isn’t widely recognized among the general public. So today, May 14th, on the ninety-sixth anniversary of Haggard’s death, let’s take the opportunity to celebrate him and his legacy.
Read MoreThe DMRtian Chronicles, 5/9/2021
This week: Robert E. Howard, H.P. Lovecraft, Ronnie James Dio, Clark Ashton Smith, Poul Anderson, Genghis Khan, Gotrek and Felix, and more.
Read MoreMyth Manifesting in the Present: Robert E. Howard’s “Marchers of Valhalla”
Myths reveal emotional truths, in their way as important as recorded history. The myths are what give life meaning, what motivate us to action, and thus have a reality of their own. Robert E. Howard tapped into this vein of true myth deeply, striking a femoral artery with “Marchers of Valhalla.”
Read MoreThe Master of the Crabs: Clark Ashton Smith and the Typhonian Tradition
"The Master of the Crabs" is a somewhat typical Clark Ashton Smith tale (whatever typical means in the context of the great hierophant Klarkash-Ton). My enjoyment of this particular Clark Ashton Smith story has less to do with the story itself but more its evocative imagery and symbolism that is surprisingly deep and profound on an esoteric level.
Read MoreClark Ashton Smith; or, the Devotee of Gothic Decadence (Part Two)
In most of Smith’s writings, there is a brooding, a rapturous fixation on doom, destruction, decay, and destroyed things; there is also a relationship between the beautiful and the dead or doomed.
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