It’s been rather quiet in this corner of the internet the last few months. That’s not because I wanted it that way. Real Life has kept me busy.
But hopefully (crosses fingers, knocks on wood, throws salt over shoulder) that’s going to change. The first summer session of classes is over, we’re back from vacation, and things should slow down a little bit. I’m not teaching second summer, so even though I’m still supervising the labs, I should have a bit more free time. I won’t be attending Armadillocon unless something changes; I can’t justify the expense. Not with World Fantasy later this year.
I’ll be doing more blogging, although I’m not going to be accepting many review requests. I’ve got too many books I’ve dropped the ball on that I need to read and review. Most reviews will be things I’ve read because I’ve wanted to. There will be some of those within the next few days.
And speaking of reading, I’m not going to be reading much from the big publishers. I’ve got a number of titles by indie authors I want to read. There are some pulp writers and series I want to spend some time with. I’ve not read much Robert E. Howard this year; that needs to change. Then there’s the Doc Savage and The Shadow reprints I picked up at Howard Days. I need to get back to the C. L. Moore series of posts I was doing. Plus I’m going to collect some of my posts on Kull and Bran Mak Morn and put out a small ebook later this year. It’s going to contain some new material, which has yet to be written.
As far as writing goes, I’ve not gotten much fiction writing accomplished in the last couple of months. The few stories I have submitted got nice rejection letters, saying the stories didn’t quite make the cut but were good enough to be considered. Just means I need to up my game.
I’m thinking about trying to write a series of novellas/short novels, something in the vein of the Dray Prescott or Dumarest of Terra series. Alma Boykin had a great post on professionalism in writing the other day. It’s worth checking out.
And that’s where things are going to get dicey. My workload isn’t going to get lighter in the fall. One of the classes I teach is a nontraditional, inquiry-based format. There’s no distinction between lecture and lab, students just come in and pick up where they left off the previous day. The result is that I teach both the “lecture’ and the “lab” sections, giving me twice the contact hours of a regular lecture, where labs are taught by TAs. We’ve expanded our offerings of these type of courses. As of now, I have two sections in this format in the fall. Plus I’m still supervising the TAs and being the lead person for lab setup. The person who had done the setups isn’t going to be replaced for a while, if ever.
I’m going to have to carve out some dedicated time every day if I want to accomplish anything in the writing arena. I’m not saying this to complain. Most writers I know have similar commitments to juggle. Guys, (and ladies, I’m using the word “guys” in a gender-neutral, nonsexist kind of way) please hold me accountable to making progress on my fiction output. I don’t want it to slide because I chose to do something easier.
Anyway, that’s how things stand at the moment.
I’ll be interested in your reviews of the Shadow and Doc Savage. Not that I don’t want to read your reviews of Moore and Howard. I do. But the Shadow and Doc Savage are different enough that I’m curious of your opinion.
Thanks, Matthew. I’ve not read either Doc or the Shadow in their original adventures, so I’m looking forward to them. I’m only familiar with them through other media, such as comics, movies, and radio shows.
Both the Shadow and the Doc Savage novels were written by various authors. In my opinion, the best Shadow novels were written by Walter Gibson and the best Doc Savage by Lester Dent. Those are considered the creators of their respective characters. In reality both characters were kind of created by committee, but both those writers wrote what became the definitive versions of the character.
Some of the other writers aren’t that great. The Doc Savage novels written by Lawrence Donovan I rarely finished. His prose impenetrable.
Yeah, I’m aware that Gibson and Dent are the most well-regarded of the different authors. Those are the ones I’m going to start with.
I suggest skipping the Lawrence Donovan altogether unless your curious.
There was a time years ago I’d read two Doc Savage and two Shadow novels per month. Don’t really do that much now. These were a recent reprinting with two novels per volume.
Which novels did you get?
I’ve got some of the paperback Doc Savage reprints. At Howard Days I picked up the Doc Savage Origins and Endings superpack, which contains THE MAN OF BRONZE, THE LAND OF TERROR, THE DEVIL’S BLACK ROCK, FEAR CAY, THE PURE EVIL, TERROR WEARS NO SHOES, BRAND OF THE WEREWOLF, RETURN FROM CORMORAL, UP FROM THE EARTH’S CENTER, AND THE RED SPIDER. The Shadow Origins Collection contains THE LIVING SHADOW, THE EYES OF THE SHADOW, THE SHADOW LAUGHS!, THE SHADOW UNMASKS, THE YELLOW BAND, THE BLACK HUSH, AND VOICE OF DEATH.
Our amiable Host said…
“I’m going to collect some of my posts on Kull and Bran Mak Morn and put out a small ebook later this year. It’s going to contain some new material, which has yet to be written.”
If you put it out as a chapbook I’ll buy a copy from you. I’ll pay extra for an inscription.
Tex
(a neo-Luddite who prefers dead trees to live electrons)
Thanks, Tex. I won’t charge you extra for the inscription, although I might ask for postage if we aren’t close enough to meet in person. I haven’t decided about print on this project. I haven’t had a chance to look into how much they will cost. But I’ll see what I can do to make print a reality.
I’ll happily kick in for postage (should’ve said something about that when I initially commented.)
As for printing, you can always go with POD. I recommend Lulu because I’ve been buying from them since 2003 (my first purchase was Howard related.) But however you want to do it is cool with me.
Gibson and Dent Shadows and Docs are the way to go. You’ve got a good selection there to read through, so no worries.
Tex
(a fan of Gibson, Dent, and Howard for over 35yrs)
I hope the family vacation was a good one. I’ll also be looking forward to reading your take on Doc Savage and the Shadow.
Thanks. It was eventually, after the first two or three days. Murphy was with us for a while. I will say that I would rather drive in Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, or Houston at rush hour than drive in Denver at just about any hour. I’m only slightly exaggerating when I say that. I-70 didn’t seem to have been updated in the downtown area since, well, the 70s. The zoo, the museum (especially the viking exhibit), the Colorado Renaissance Festival, and Buffalo Bill’s grave were all outstanding.
Keith, on Doc Savage The Man of Bronze was the first novel and a good place to start. The Land of Terror I believe was the second. I remember Fear Cay as particularly good one and Brand of the Werewolf is the one that introduce Doc’s cousin, Pat Savage. I should warn you there’s no werewolf in Brand of the Werewolf it’s just the name the villain goes by. It’s pretty good though.
The first three Shadow novels have a continuing story unlike most Shadow novels. It wouldn’t ruin anything to read them out of order, but since you have all three in a collected version you probably should read them in order. They are longer than the later Shadow novels. Gibson can lay atmosphere on thick so there might be times it’s hard going, but they are worth reading. The Shadow Unmasks reveals the origin of the Shadow.
I’ll read what ever you write. 🙂
Thanks. Much appreciated.