Category Archives: birthday

Richard Matheson’s Birthday

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There are a number of familiar (at least to me) authors who are having a birthday today.  The one I want to focus on is Richard Matheson (b. February 20, 1926).  I’ve written birthday posts on Matheson before, and I really haven’t had time to come up with something new to say this year.

So here’s the approach I’m going to take.  Early in his career Matheson was a prolific author of short stories.  Some of his better known tales were adapted for the original Twilight Zone.  Those episodes, and others which Matheson scripted, are among the best the show aired.

Matheson’s stories were a favorite of mine growing up,  I intend to read some this evening.  What stories should I read?  Let me know if you have a personal favorite.

Frank Frazetta’s Birthday

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Today, February 9, marks the 91st anniversary of Frank Frazetta’s birth.  Frazetta was born in 1928 and needs no introduction here.  Rather than write a detailed tribute, I’m going to post some of his covers and let the artist’s work speak for itself.  I’d post the reproductions of the paintings themselves, but I don’t know if fair use would cover that.  I don’t want to violate copyright.  In the comments, let us know what some of your favorite Frazetta works are. Continue reading →

Blogging Northwest Smith: Yvala

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Catherine Lucille Moore was born on January 24, 1911, in Indianapolis, Indiana.  I’ve written multiple birthday tributes to her.  As I said for Robert E. Howard’s birthday two days, ago, I’m eulogized out.  So today in honor of her birthday, I’ll be revising a series I let go dormant, that of the Northwest Smith stories.  There will be spoilers below the fold. Continue reading →

Musings on Robert E. Howard

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Robert E. Howard was born on January 22, 1906.  I’ve been reading through the Conan stories for the series at Black Gate. (The latest post is here.)

I realize a lot of people have favorite Howard characters other than Conan.  Conan was the first Howard I read.  Call it imprinting, but Conan is still my mental template for what a sword and sorcery character is like.  I see more and more things each time I reread one of those stories.

I’m also not into the pastiches very much.  I’m open to reading some, especially some of the ones that will be published this year in the new comics, but to my mind they will never be canonical.  No offense intended to anyone writing them.  I feel the same way about the James Bond books. Continue reading →

Merritt and Fritch

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Two birthdays I want to draw attention to today (January 20).

Abraham Merritt

The first is A. Merritt (b. 1884).  His name should be familiar to most anyone who swings by this blog.  Merritt was one of the most influential fantasy authors of the first half of the 20th Century.  At one point there was even a fantasy magazine named after him.  Merritt was first assistant editor and then editor at The American Weekly.  Writing was only a side job for him.

I’m going to read some of his work this year.  I”ll probably start by rereading The Dwellers in the Mirage. Merritt wrote very little short fiction, but I’m going to read some of that as well.

William F. Nolan (l.) and Charles E. Fritch (r.) at Expo 67

The other author only wrote short stories in the science fiction, fantasy, and horror fields.  A member of the  so-called California School, Charles E. Fritch (b. 1927) wrote short stories on a fairly consistent basis until the early 1970s, after which his output slowed to a trickle until his death in 2012.  Several of his later works appeared in Whispers.  In the early to mid 1960s he was editor of the magazine Gamma.  He was also editor of Mike Shayne’s Mystery Magazine from1979 until 1985.

I may have read one or two of his stories when I was a teenager, but if so, I don’t recall them.  I do know his name pops up in the tables of contents of horror and dark fantasy anthologies from the seventies and eighties.  His work is also showing up in some of these anthologies that sell on Amazon for a buck or two.  I have a few of those and will read the stories in the ones I have.

If anyone has read any of his work, please let me know.

Poe’s Legacy

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Edgar Allan Poe was born on this day, January 19, in 1809.  He died in 1849.

My father-in-law was buried this morning, a cold and windy morning, so today is a good day to read Poe.  But which Poe?

I got to thinking about this a few nights ago on an extended drive with my son.  I asked what they were reading in English this six weeks, and he said they had a variety of short stories to choose from, including “Harrison Beregeron”, “The Veldt”, some other Bradbury stories, and some by Poe.  My son had read “The Cask of Amontillado”, so we got to talk about that one.

But how many other Poe stories are still widely-read today?  “The Fall of the House of Usher”, “The Raven”, “The Pit and the Pendulum”, “The Masque of the Red Death”, and “The Tell-Tale Heart” are all probably still widely read.  But what about “The Purloined Letter”,” Hop-Frog”, “The Gold Bug”, or “The Premature Burial”?  “The Murders in the Rue Morgue”?  “A Descent into the Maelstrom”?

I don’t know.  Stories wax and wane in popularity.  What are your favorite Poe stories?  I’m going to try to read something I’ve not read before.

What to Read for Clark Ashton Smith’s Birthday?

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So I was hoping this year would start out on a better foot.  Didn’t happen.  I’ll post about the events of the last two weeks later.  That will probably go live tomorrow.

Today, I just want to acknowledge one of the all time greats of weird fantasy, Clark Ashton Smith.  Smith was born in 1893 in Long Valley, California.  He would go on to become one of the so-called Big Three of Weird Tales, the other two being H. P. Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard.

I’ve read a number of Smith’s stories over the years, but I’m not nearly as familiar with his work as I am that of Howard and Lovecraft.  So I’m going to seek counsel from those who are wiser than I.

What story by Smith do you suggest I read?  Please answer in the comments below.

Tolkien and a Few Others

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Today, January 3, is the birthday of J. R. R. Tolkien (b. 1892).  A month or so ago, a minor writer of short stories pulled the ol’ drum-up-publicity-for-my-book-launch-by-attcking-someone-greater-than-me trick.

It worked, just not the way the guy that thought.  At least with me.  I’ve started rereading The Lord of the Rings.  Other than The Hobbit, I’ve never read deeply in Tolkien’s other works.  I’ve decided to change that and have gotten several volumes in The History of Middle-Earth.  I don’t know if I’ll blog about them, but I’m going to dip into them over the course of 2019.

Also, there are two birthdays from yesterday I didn’t mention because I was slightly distracted by my wife’s surgery.

Those were Charles Beaumont (b. Jan. 2, 1929) and Robert Nathan (b. Jan. 2, 1894).  Beaumont I’ve written about before.  A protege of Ray Bradbury, he wrote some great short stories and a number of well-regarded Twilight Zone scripts. I’ll try to read something of his in the next day or so.

Robert Nathan is best remembered for his short novel Portrait of Jenny.  It’s a love story set in the Great Depression about an artist who keeps meeting a girl in the park.  He meets her every few weeks, but each time she’s a few years older.  It’s not an adventure story, but it’s one of my favorite novels.  It’s definitely worth tracking down.

Happy Birthday, Seabury Quinn

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Seabury Grandin Quinn was born on New Year’s Day in 1889.  He passed away on Christmas Eve in 1969.  Now where have I heard that name “Grandin” before?

Oh, yeah.  Jules de Grandin, the French occult detective.  He appeared in over 90 stories and one novel in Weird Tales beginning in 1925.  The last story was published in 1951.  They are currently being reprinted in hardcover by NightShade Books.  Four of a projected five volumes have been published as of this writing.

Quinn wrote other stories that didn’t feature de Grandin.  The first Quinn story I ever read was “The Phantom Farmhouse”.

Given how prolific he was, I’m surprised he isn’t better remembered today.  Hopefully someone will publish a collection of his non-de Grandin work in an affordable edition.

Keith Taylor’s Birthday

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Deuce Richardson tipped me off that today, December 26, is Keith Taylor’s birthday (b. 1946).  So thanks, Deuce.

I know the name, but to my knowledge I’ve never read Mr. Taylor’s work.  Based on Deuce’s recommendation, I’ll be addressing that shortcoming.  I’ve got a copy of Bard II, but since I don’t have the first volume in that series, I’ve not read it. Taylor collaborated with Andrew J. Ouffut on two Cormac Mac Art novels in the early 1980’s.

A quick check of the ISFDB shows a number of short fiction titles, including one in Skelos #3, which I’ve not finished reading.  Taylor is from Australia, and has been nominated for multiple Ditmar Awards (the Australian equivalent of the Hugo), winning twice, once for the short story “Where Silence Rules” in 1982 and for the novel Bard III: The Wild Sea in 1987.

The series that looks intriguing is Kamos the Magician.  A collection of these stories is in print, although not in electronic format.  I’ll buy a copy once things settle and and report back.