Category Archives: birthday

Poul Anderson at 90

Poul Anderson was born on this date, November 25, in 1926. He passed away in 2001. It’s hard to believe that he’s been gone that long.

Anderson was best known for his science fiction, but he was also an accomplished fantasy author. I debated whether to post this tribute over at Futures Past and Present, but decided to go with the main blog.

It’s hard to go wrong with Anderson. I grew up reading his future history and from there branched out to his other works. In more recent years, I’ve read mostly his fantasy.

Unfortunately I’ve not read much of his work in recent years. Too many other things demanding my attention. The last thing I read by him was The Broken Sword. It had been part of the Ballantine Adult Fantasy series, and I had been intending the review to be my next post in my look at that line for Black Gate. Life got in the way, and I had to let some things drop. The BAF series of posts was one of them. Enough time has passed that I would need to reread the book before I reviewed it. Too many details have faded. Another project for a different day.

If you’ve not read Anderson, or not read much of his work, or not read him in a while (this would be me), do yourself a favor and check him out. He was one of the giants of the field, and it’s a shame that he may be forgotten by the younger generation. Much of his work is available in inexpensive ebook editions. NESFA Press has a series of his collected short fiction available in hardcover (in case anyone was wondering what to get me for Christmas).

Some Thoughts on HPL, on the Occasion of His Birth

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Other than the Dublin Ghost Story Festival (which I can’t afford to attend), there’s not a lot happening this weekend of any significance. Which is fine, because there won’t be much to distract from observing HPL’s birthday today. I intend to read something by him later, provided both the two-legged and four-legged people in the house will leave me alone.

I thought I’d mark the occasion by sharing a few thoughts. It’s become particularly fashionable in recent years to bash the Gentleman From Providence. While this is nothing new, it seems to have gained momentum.

When I was younger, the most common complaint I heard was that Lovecraft’s prose was too purple. I didn’t pay that much attention to the criticism at the time because I was more into science fiction. It was only as my interest in fantasy began to eclipse my interest in SF that I really started getting into his work. I’ve always found his writing to be readable. While there is some merit to the complaints about Lovecraft’s style being outdated (which to a large degree boils down to matters of taste), they’re not a deal breaker for me. Continue reading →

Manly Wade Wellman Turns 113

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Fantasy author Manly Wade Wellman was born on this date (May 21) in 1903. Wellman isn’t as well known today as he used to be, and should be, but he has a devoted group of fans. (I include myself in that number.) I’ve looked at some of it here, here, and here.

Wellman is best known for stories that incorporate the lore and legends of the Appalachian states. Of these, the John the Balladeer stories are the best known. They concern a wandering minstrel in the mountains.

Wellman was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for his nonfiction work Rebel Boast. He also beat out William Faulkner in 1946 for the Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine Award. Faulkner didn’t take it well.

Night Shade Books publshed a five volume set of Wellman’s short fiction. The volumes are long out of print and highly sought after today. Haffner Press publsihed a complete collection of the John Thunstone occult detective stories in 2012. They quickly went out of print. Wellman’s works are somewhat available. Prices can vary widely.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to read some of his work.

Frank Belknap Long at 115

Happy Birthday, Avram Davidson

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In addition to being Talbot Munday’s birthday (see previous post), today, April 23, is also Avrm Davidson’s birthday. Born in 1923, Avram Davidson was one of the most original and uinque writers of fantasy in the mid-20th Century.

Davidson won multiple awards in variety of genres, including the Hguo (“All the Seas with Oysters”), an Edgar Award, and three World Fantasy Awards as well as a World Fantasy Lifetime achievement Award. He was the editor of F&SF from 1962-1964.

He wrote novels, but I’ve always thought of him as primarily a short story writer. His work is characterized by wit and erudition. It’s not fluff and requires concentration. One of his books I need to revisit is Adventures in Unhistory, a collection of essays in which Davidson speculated on the origins of myths and legneds. I’ve never read anything else quite like it.

Unfortunately in this age five, six, or more volume “trilogies”, the type of fiction he wrote is out of style and his work is largely forgotten. This is a shame, because he was one of the most original writers the field has ever produced. I once heard a panel on “What Writers Will We Be Reading 100 Years From Now?” in which Neil Gaiman listed Davidson. And when I visited with Peter S. Beagle last year, he told me how he used to visit with Davidson and listen to him. Beagle encouraged him to talk about whatever was on his mind because it would be fascinating and educational. I must admit I was a bit jealous when he told me that.

It’s late, but tomorrow I’m going to read some of his work. If you would like to give him a try, much of his work is available in electronic form in reasonably priced editions.

Happy Birthday, Talbot Mundy

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Adventure writer Talbot Mundy was born William Lancaster Gribbon on this day (April 23) in 1879. Mundy wrote a number short stories and novels for pulps such as Adventure, Argosy, and Cavalier. Some of his work, such as Tros of Samothrace and its sequels had fantasy elements.

I’ve only read one of his short stories, “A Transaction in Diamonds”. I’ve got several collections of his short stories from Black Dog Books which I intend to read.

In addition to being an adventure writer, Mundy is of interest because of his influence on other authors, notably Robert E. Howard, E.. Hoffman Price, Robert A. Heinlein, Fritz Leiber, H. Warner Munn, and I want to say L. Sprague de Camp but campt find a reference for that.

Happy Birthday, J. R. R. Tolkien

Robert E. Howard, Still Influential at 109

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Today marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Robert E. Howard. For someone who wrote for the pulps, which were considered by many to be barely above subliterate trash during their heyday, he’s got a remarkable legacy.

His books are still being reprinted, with new ones coming out on a regular basis. Howard has been the subject of multiple biographies. A foundation has been formed in his name that gives a scholarship to a graduating senior each year. His work has been adapted to film. (Okay, not necessarily adapted well or faithfully, but it at least has been adapted.) He wrote some of the seminal works in the field of sword and sorcery, works that have been widely imitated for decades. And his collected letters reveal a young man whose mind and imagination were too big for the narrow confines of his small Texas town.

How many best-sellers from his era can you name beyond the obvious ones of Faulkner, Fitzgerald, Parker, and Hemingway? How many works of “serious literature” that bravely explore “the human condition” and promote social justice from as little as ten years ago, never mind two or three decades back, are still in print or even remembered?

Howard wrote with a passion, but then there weren’t many things Howard didn’t approach passionately, at least things he chose rather than had thrust on him, such as nonwriting jobs. His ideas and passions came through in his writing. That’s part of what makes so much of his work, whether fiction or poetry or correspondence, both fun and deep. Too many of today’s crusaders for [insert cause du jour here] need to take some time and study Howard’s works and see how it’s done. Howard communicates things like his views on barbarism, civilization, honor, loyalty, etc., clearly and unambiguously without ever interfering with his narrative or throwing the reader out of his story. Would that we had more like him writing today.

So take a moment today and remember him. Raise a glass in his honor. Spend some time in one of his worlds. With snow overnight and more expected for the rest of the day, I’ll read some more in Swords of the North myself. It’s a fitting day to immerse myself in that Northern thing.

Howard Andrew Jones has posted a solid tribute here.

Today is Tolkien’s Birthday…

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…and I can’t think of many better ways to begin 2015 than by acknowledging it. John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was born this day in 1892. It’s been over four decades since he left us (September 2,1973), and he is arguably still the most influential fantasy writer in the world.

James Maliszewski speculated earlier this week what the world would be like if Tolkien hadn’t written The Lord of the Rings. I’ll not repeat his points; you should read his post for yourself if you haven’t yet. I’ll simply say that it’s a world in which I’m not sure I would want to live.

That Tolkien is still influential can be seen by the latest movie based on his work (loosely I’m told; I haven’t been able to gather the family all together to see it yet) being one of the top box office draws of the Christmas season.

One of the reasons, and this is only one of multiple reasons, his work has proven to be so enduring is that he doesn’t shy away from taking a moral stance. I think this is what resonates with so many of his fans, particularly those who don’t read fantasy on a regular basis. Tolkien openly acknowledged the existence of evil. His villains weren’t misunderstood; they weren’t victims of The System; they weren’t good people forced to choose between a selection of bad options.

They were flat out evil.

In addition, Tolkien recognized the capacity for both good and evil that resides in all people, every man, every woman, every human being. And furthermore, he knew just how thin and fragile the line dividing good and evil could be. His characters are real people who make real mistakes (Boromir, anyone?) and real sacrifices. (Don’t try to tell me Frodo didn’t suffer for the rest of his life after destroying the One Ring. Read the end of the book.)

I would love to browse those books.

Tolkien took a moral stand that you don’t see in a lot of his imitators. You could write a doctoral thesis on that subject alone, and I’m sure more than one graduate student has. There are other reasons why he still sells today, but I believe this is one of the main ones. Frankly, if the World Fantasy Award is a bust of a person, I think Tolkien would be better choice that Lovecraft simply because his influence is greater among the general population than Lovecraft’s. (Tolkien was a straight, white, Christian male, so I can’t see that happening in today’s climate.)

Anyway, raise a glass to Tolkien’s memory today. And if you get a chance, read some of his work.

Happy Birthday, Michael Moorcock

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Today is Michael Moorcock’s 73rd birthday. All of us here at Adventures Fantastic want to wish him a very happy.

I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Moorcock on a couple of occasions, World Fantasy 2000 in Corpus Christi and the Nebula Awards in Austin in 2008. What I haven’t had the pleasure of doing is reading much of his work. (After he signed those books, they’ve tended to stay on the shelf, something that happens to most of my signed editions.) I’ve read some of his work and enjoyed it, don’t misunderstand me. I’ve just not found the time to dive deeply into his oeuvre. I’m hoping to read the Elric stories this year as well as some of his shorter series. Or start them, at least. I may not be able to finish everything this year.

Anyway, Happy Birthday, Mr. Moorcock. And many happy returns.