Talbot Mundy’s Tros of Samothrace: Lud of Lunden

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So I did a birthday post on Talbot Mundy not long ago which generated a side conversation on Twitter about this series.  The end result of which was I decided to give it a try.

Based on that conversation and an email exchange with someone who is too smart to be on Twitter (waves at John), my opinion seems to be in the minority on this one.

The general consensus was that these books are slow. I have to agree; they don’t move as quickly as most books of this type would if published today, nor do they have the pace of the story I reviewed for Mundy’s birthday, “For the Salt he Had Eaten”. The style is an older style of adventure story writing where things move at a more sedate pace.  But the first volume, Lud of Lunden held my interest all the way to the end. Continue reading →

The Ballantine Adult Fantasy Series: Zothique by Clark Ashton Smith

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A few years back, I was writing a series of posts for Black Gate in which I was reviewing each volume of the Ballantine Adult Fantasy series (mostly) in order. The reasons why I stopped are several, and I’m not going to get into them here. Nor do I plan to restart that series here, at least not without getting John O’Neill’s blessing. He’d asked for the series, IIRC, and as a courtesy, I would want to make sure he was okay with me moving the series to my blog. I’ve got too many irons in the fire right now, though, to pick up another project.

For those not in the know, or stumbled upon this post because of the word “Adult” in the title, Ballantine published a series of books under the editorial direction of Lin Carter of fantasy aimed at grown-ups. If you’re in the latter group, this isn’t going to be that type of “adult” post. And the type of fantasy you’re probably looking for isn’t what we deal with here.

Zothique was the first of four collections of Clark Ashton Smith’s short fiction that appeared in the BAF series. The wrap-around cover is by George Barr. (One of the best things about this line of books was their covers.)

Zothique is the last continent on a far future Earth in which much science and history has been forgotten, and magic has returned.  If this reminds you of Jack Vance’s Dying Earth, keep in mind Smith did it first. Some of the stories are better than others, but all are well-done.  Here are a few of my favorites. Continue reading →

Three by Wellman

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Manly Wade Wellman

Today, May 21, marks the birth of Manly Wade Wellman (1903-1986). Wellman is best remembered for his stories of the John the Balladeer, set in the Appalachian mountains. But he wrote a lot of other things, as well.

I first discovered Wellman’s short stories in the pages of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction.  He had a number of  stories published there in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s. Someone who had had a subscription had sold an almost complete run to the local second hand bookstore when I was in high school. Wellman’s stories were among the first I read when I picked up an issue with his name on the cover.

If you haven’t figured it out by now, Wellman is a favorite around these here parts, so in honor of his birth, in addition to raising a glass in his honor later this evening, I’m going to look at three of his stories that feature the same  character, Sergeant Jaeger. Continue reading →

Retro Hugos: “When the Bow Breaks” by Lewis Padgett

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Anyone who hangs out around here for any length of time and doesn’t know that Lewis Padgett is one the the pen names used by Henry Kuttner and his wife C. L. Moore clearly hasn’t been paying attention.  Written under the Lewis Padgett by-line, “When the Bough Breaks” was first published in the November 1944 issue of Astounding.

The spring before I started high school, my parents gave permission for me to join the Science Fiction Book Club. So I had a source of hardcover science fiction and fantasy to read that summer.  This was in the days before science fiction was regularly published in hardcover. Most books were mass market paperbacks.

At the time, the SFBC offered a number of titles from Ballantine’s Best of series. This was a way I could discover new writers, and I took full advantage of it.  I mean, if these writers weren’t good, why was there a volume entitled The Best of followed by their names? I was making money mowing lawns, so I had the funds to afford to buy some books. I was already familiar with the series because I had found The Best of Jack Williamson at a flea market about eighteen months earlier, and I bought every one the SFBC offered at the time.  (For some reason, they never offered The Best of C. L. Moore while I was a member, although they had published such a volume a year or three earlier.) Continue reading →

A Visit to Redbeard’s Place

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Gene Wolfe

The Retro Hugo post I was too tired to write last night will have to wait another day, because today, May 7, is Gene Wolfe’s birthday. The more I read Gene Wolfe (1931-2019), the more I appreciate him as a writer.

Tonight’s story is “Redbeard”.  It’s a short tale, not really fantasy unless you count reference to a haunted house, the Redbeard place. It’s certainly not science fiction.  It’s definitely horror, with a bit of noir thrown in for good measure. It was devilish fun. Continue reading →

Retro Hugos: “City” by Clifford D. Simak

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Published in the May 1944 issue of Astounding, “City” launched the series that was later collected in book form under that title.  Although I read it last year in The Ghost of a Model T, I reread it for this series.

The story takes place in what would have been considered the relatively near future, although it would certainly be considered our past. It’s set in 1990.

Cities have mostly been abandoned, with the bulk of the population moving out to country estates. Most neighborhoods have been abandoned, with only a few holdouts of the originals residents remaining. Farming is all done by hydroponics now. So the farmers have moved into the abandoned houses. They live a subsistence life by hunting, small gardening, and scavenging. Continue reading →

Jane Rice’s “The Idol of the Flies”

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Today’s (April 30) birthday post looks at story by someone who should not exist. Jane Rice(1913-2003) wrote fantasy and horror for the pulps, primarily Unknown.  As all right-thinking people know, women weren’t allowed to write for the pulps.  They were kept out by chauvinistic such as John W. Campbell, Jr., the editor of Astounding and, well, Unknown. Just goes to show what  some right-thinking people don’t know.

“The Idol of the Flies” is probably Jane Rice’s best known story.  I had not read it until a few minutes ago.

There’s a subgenre about evil children, Jterome Bixby’s “It’s a Wonderful Life” being a prime example. This story falls firmly into that category.

Continue reading →

Two Wrote Adventure

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Rafael Sabatini

Today, April 29, marks the birth of two of the most prolific and popular writers of adventure stories in the early 20th Century.  Rafael Sabatini (1875-1950) and H. Bedford-Jones (1887-1949).  I haven’t had time to read anything by either man today.  It’s also Jack Williamson’s birthday, and I did manage to read one of his stories.

Both Sabatini and Bedford-Jones published in Adventure magazine, one of the top fiction publications of the day, and one of the highest-paying.

Fortunately the works of both men are in print.  Sabatini is best remembered for his pirate novels, such as Captain Blood and The Sea Hawk.

H. Bedford-Jones

I’ve read a bit more Sabatini than I have Bedford-Jones, so I don’t know where to tell you to start. Altus Press has been reprinting his work for a while now, and there are plenty of titles to choose from.

I’ve been reading some stragiht historical adventure lately and want to read more.  These are two authors I to move higher in the queue.

 

Quick Update

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Just a note to let all of you know how it’s going. We’re all healthy, if a little stir crazy from confinement.  The governor is allowing businesses to open on a limited basis.  Here’s hoping it’s a success.  I haven’t been to a book store in over a month.

There’s a week of class left, then finals.  I’m about to be buried under a mountain of grading.  Actually, the mountain i already here.  I’ve just been ignoring it.

Tomorrow morning I’ll be helping a friend’s mother, who is in her 80s, have some trash cleared.  Some asshat dumped a load of heavy junk against her fence, and she can’t get out into the alley to take out her trash, so she walks to the end of the block and back up the alley. We’re loading it onto some trailers and taking it to the dump, which is currently only open on Wednesday and Saturday. I don’t have class tomorrow, so I’m able to help.

Then it’s back to putting in a garden.  There are two more places to till.   I’ve already planted corn, beans, and cucumbers.  Next it’s tomatoes, bell peppers, carrots, and a little okra.

I’ve got a deadline on a short story I need to finish by the end of the week.

And of course, more birthday and Retro Hugo posts.  Plus a few other things I’ve been trying to get to.  Most of those may have to wait until after finals, but I’ll get in as many as I can.  Tomorrow is the birthday of Rafael Sabatini, H. Bedford-Jones, and Jack Williamson, so I have to do something.

How’s everyone else doing.