No, I’m not dead, and I’ll post an update within the next few days. It’s been a hectic few months that have involved a lot more travel than I was expecting. Hopefully, I’ll post more regularly. Things are starting to get into a routine.
Leigh Brackett
But today, I want to mention Leigh Brackett (1915-1978). I’ve not read anything by her for this post, but I didn’t want to let her birthday pass.
As I’ve stated in numerous other posts, Brackett is one of my favorite writers. Her space opera is some of the best around. She often managed to blend it with a hardboiled tone. It’s worth seeking out if you can find it. I’ve noticed that other than the Skaith trilogy, which I started rereading earlier this year, she’s pretty hard to find in paper.
So, I’ll raise a glass to her memory before I go to bed and hope I dream of a solar system like the one she created.
Big Brackett fan here. I am a fan of her SF, but also a lot of her screenwriting. She was really talented. I love the way she blended hardboiled storytelling with SF. In a lot of ways she is underrated. People who know her work think highly of her, but she isn’t known by a lot of people unfortunately. You’d think she’d be better known for her screenwork but she is mostly known by SF nerds (like me.)
I think that might be because screenwriters are underappreciated as a group. She wrote some classics, though.
That seems to be true about screenwriters. They are probably at least as important as the directors and stars but they get less credit. Actually, they may be more important than the stars.
Welcome back!
I need to get back to regular posting, too.
In addition to Brackett, I’ve recently found Andre Norton (for myself, I mean.) I am reading STAR GUARD right now (in the Baen omnibus, STAR SOLDIERS) and it reads like a David Drake novel.
Thank you. I need read Norton. I read her in junior high and high school but not much since. I won’t say how long ago that was.
Hang in there, Keith!
Thanks. I would tie a knot and hang on, but I only know two knots: a noose and a slipknot. 🙂