Yeah, I know. Lovecraft’s birthday (August 20) was yesterday. For reasons that are not entirely clear, I missed it.
I’ve not read much Lovecraft in recent years. I’m not sure I’ll be able to work any in this evening, but I’ll give it a try. I’m not sure if I want to reread something or try a story I haven’t read yet.
Regardless of what you think about him as a person, there’s no getting around Lovecraft’s influence on the genre. He’ll always have a spot on my reading list.
I’m up to my armpits in other projects today, so I probably won’t get around to reading anything by today’s featured authors, but I did want to give a shout-out to two of the greatest and one artist who deserves better recognition. So in order of their birth, here are… Continue reading
Today, July 24, marks the birth of three writers and one artist who have not only been major figures in the fields of fantasy and science fiction but also personal favorites of mine. In order of the years of their births, they are Continue reading
Today, July 10, marks the birth of three writers whose works I’ve enjoyed. They are Greye La Spina (1880-1969), John Wyndham (1903-1969), and Carl Jacobi (1908-1997). Continue reading
Today we have another guest post by John Bullard.
Ambrose Bierce
Today, June 24th, is the birthday of writer, reporter, and Civil War veteran, Ambrose Bierce. I originally wrote this piece last year after having thought about Bierce’s influence on some of Robert E. Howard’s stories. Well, I have recently read another Bierce story that Howard may have read, and influenced a story he wrote. At the very least, they both wrote a story on the same idea- the psychological effects of horror on a person’s mind involving snakes. Did Bierce’s story influence Howard in writing his story?
Massive Spoilers follow for both stories.
Today, May 26, marks the birth of two of the most important writers of the 20th Century, Dashiell Hammett (1894-1961) and Harlan Ellison (1934-2018).
Hammett, of course, was one of the founders of the hardboiled school of detective writing. Ellison was primarily a short fiction writer, but he will long be remembered as the author of the classic Star Trek TOS episode “The City on the Edge of Forever”. If you ever get a chance to hear a performance of his original script, do. It’s different than the filmed version in some key respects. Continue reading
Today, May 22, is the birthday of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930). And while his other work will almost certainly be eclipsed by Sherlock Holmes, Doyle produced an extensive body of work that should be in any library of adventure literature, fantastic or not. If you haven’t read “The Captain of the Polestar” or “The Horror of the Heights”, do yourself a favor and get your hands on copies. Continue reading
Today, May 21, marks the birth of Manly Wade Wellman (1903-1986). Much Wellman’s work incorporated the folklore of the Southern Mountains. Wellman is best remembered for his stories of John the Balladeer, but he wrote a number of stories in mountain settings that weren’t part of that series.
Worse Things Waiting was Wellman’s first non-John the Balladeer collection. It was published by the legendary Carcosa. It’s the only Carcosa title I don’t have in the original edition. Fortunately it has been reprinted in trade paper at a reasonable price, as has Lonely Vigils. The new publisher is Shadowridge Press. For today’s post, I’m going to look at three stories from Worse Things Waiting. Continue reading
Today, April 30, marks the birth of science fiction and fantasy author Larry Niven (b. 1938). I’ve been away from the house for most of the day, so I’ve not had a chance to read anything by him. Niven was one of the first authors I read when I was getting into science fiction and fantasy, and he’s someone I reread when I get a chance.
So Happy Birthday, Mr. Niven, and many happy returns.
As I write this, there are still a few hours left in April 29, at least in this time zone. Final exams start a week from today, and between trying to get my classes ready and dealing with emails from students who are suddenly concerned about bad lab grades they received months ago (and mostly didn’t bother to read the lab syllabus), I’ve not had time to read anything by these gentlemen. So no close look at any work by these guys. Just a shout-out to bring them some recognition. So in order of their births, here are: Continue reading