Today, September 19, marks the birthday to two writers, Damon Knight (1922-2002) and Tanith Lee (1947-2015). Continue reading
Knight and Lee
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Category Archives: birthday
Remembering Charles L. Grant
Today, September 12, is the birthday of Charles L. Grant (1942-2006). He passed away on September 15, just three days after sixty-fourth birthday.
I never got the chance to meet him, but he is to my mind one of the central figures of the second half of the Twentieth Century.
Grant left a legacy to the fields of dark fantasy and suspense in two ways. With his writing and with his editing.
Let’s take a look at both, shall we? Continue reading
Thoughts on Jack Vance
Today, as I’m writiing this, is August 28. There are several notable birthdays today. Joseph Shridan Le Fanu (1814-1873) wrote some excellent ghost stories. Then there’s comic great Jack Kirby (1917-1994). Science fiction author Vonda N. McIntyre (1948-2019).
The the one I want to focus on is Jack Vance (1916-2013).
Vance was a master of both science fiction and fantasy, and much of his work was a blend of both. He also wrote a few mysteries, which Subterranean Press collected in an omnibus about a decade or so back.
Vance’s crowning achievement was The Dying Earth, a sequence of stories set in the far future, where the sun had become a red giant. The physical laws of the universe have changed, and magic works. Continue reading
The Versatility of Ray Bradbury
There were a lot of birthdays yesterday, but I was up late getting things ready for the first day of class today and wasn’t able to get a post up. Fortunately, I don’t have to do that tonight.
And that’s a good thing because today, August 22, is the birthday of Ray Bradbury (1920-2012).
I had seen some of Bradbury’s paperbacks in the children’s section of the public library in Wichita Falls when I was in fourth grade. They were the editions with a sktech of Bradbury in front of a horzontal illustration of something in the book. They were on a spinner rack with some Twilight Zone collections, James Blish’s Star Trek novelizations, and other books. I remember that was the rack I found Planet of the Apes on.
But I digress. Continue reading
The Enduring Legacy of H. P. Lovecraft
Today is August 20 as I write this. It’s H. P. Lovecraft’s birthday. It’s also my mother-in-law’s, but I’m sure that’s just coincidence.
Lovecraft (1890-1937) is a legendary figure in the horror and weird fiction fields. I doubt he needs much introduction here.
It took me a while to warm up to Lovecraft. His brand of fiction didn’t appeal to me when I was a teenager.
Before you pick up stones to stone me, know that he is now one of my favorites. I’ve not read all of his works, but I’ve read quite a few. And the more I read, the more impressed I am with the fictional universe he created. Continue reading
Gernsback and Wynne Jones
Today is August 16. This will be a short post because I was in new faculty orientation all day, and my brain is tapioca. I do want to point out the birthdays of two people, Hugo Gernsback and Diana Wynne Jones. Continue reading
Jerry Pournelle
Today, August 8, is the birthday of Jerry Pournelle (1933-2017). He was one of the people, along with David Drake, who helped make military science fiction popular.
There were others before him, of course, but Pournelle’s anthology series There Shall Be War and War World helped push the genre to higher popularity. His CoDominium series set a high standard, and he was working on his Janissaries series when he died.
Additionally, he was a frequent collaborator with Larry Niven. Together they wrote such books as Lucifer’s Hammer, The Mote in God’s Eye, and Footfall.
I admit I’ve read very little of Pournelle’s solo work. I read King David’s Spaceship years ago and liked it. Other than a few short stories, most of his work that I’ve read was in collaboration with Larry Niven. I’ve got msot of his books, but I haven’t gotten to them yet.
He was an important figure in the field for many years and deserves to be remembered.
Simak’s Robots: An Alternative to Asimov
Clifford D. Simak (1904-1988) was born on this date, August 3. He is one of my favorite writers. I was planning on reading one of his stories, but I’ve been busy with other things. So I’m going to offer some reflections on one of the things he wrote about a lot.
Robots.
Robots are a trope that was once almost ubiquitous in science fiction. You don’t see them much anymore. At least I haven’t seen any new stories about them. To be fair, though, I’ve not read much science fiction in the last few years. I’ve mostly been reading mysteries and thrillers.
Anyone who has read robot stories (I’m thinking primarily short fiction here), please drop a line in the comments. Continue reading
F. Marion Crawford and “The Upper Berth”
August 2, today as I’m writing this, is the birthday of F. Marion Crawford (1854-1909).
Crawford wrote a number of stories about the supernatural, but he his brest remembered for two that have become classics, “For the Blood is the Life” and “The Upper Berth”.
Although an American, Crawford lived most of his life in Italy. He began his career as a novelist. Of his novels, the only one I’m aware of that has fantasatic elements is Khalid, which was reprinted in the Ballantine Adult Fantasy series.
I took a look at “For the Blood is the Life” a few years ago. Today, I’ll look at “The Upper Berth”. M. R. James considered it one of the best ghost stories and defnitely Crawford’s best tale. Continue reading
James, Ray, Edd, and David
Today kicks off August. There are some significant birthdays on August 1, I’ll look at two writers, and editor, and an artist. I’m talking about M. R. James, Raymond Palmer, Edd Cartier, and David Gemmell. Continue reading