Tag Archives: birthday

It’s Randall Garrett’s Birthday

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randall garrettOne of the most neglected and underrated writers of the mid-20th Century was Randall Garrett.  If he is remembered at all today, it is for his Lord Darcy series, about which more in a bit.

Randall Garrett was born on this day, December 16, in 1927.  He passed away in 1987.  I’d like to think my knowledge of the early science fiction and fantasy pulp writers is fairly extensive, but on Twitter 1whoknewcthulhu (@srm991) is always posting birthday notices about writers I’ve never heard of.  You should follow him if you aren’t already.

Or in this case, a favorite writer whose birthday I didn’t know.  (Why wasn’t I aware of this?  We share a birthday.  At least we did while I was still having birthdays.  Ever since I got married, I don’t have birthdays.  I have anniversaries.  That means I’ll always be [redacted] years old, while my wife will continue to age.  For some reason she gets upset when I say this.  But I digress.) Continue reading →

Leigh Brackett at 101

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Brackett2As I’m sure you’ve figured out if you’ve spent much time at this site, I’m a huge Leigh Brackett fan.  Today (December 7, 2016) marks her 101st birthday.  I’ve been observing the occasion with looks at The Sword of Rhiannon, “The Sorcerer of Rhiannon“, and “The Veil of Astellar“.  I’m going to try to work “The Enchantress of Venus” in sometime over the next week or so.

If you’ve not read Brackett, do your self a favor.  Read her.  There are very few writers who can write fast paced action adventure with complex and flawed characters like she can and do so with a sense of poetry.

Here’s a quote I found in which she explains what plot is.  It’s a pretty good definition.

brackett quote

Poul Anderson at 90

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Poul_AndersonPoul 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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LovecraftOther 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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manlywadewellmanFantasy 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

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Frank Belknanp LongToday is Frank Belknap Long’s birthday. He was born on Arpil 27, 1901, for those of you who are reading this on a day other than when I posted it. Since it’s late, that’s probably most of you.

Long was a prolific writer of weird fiction, fantasy, science fiction, and Gothic romance. (Charles Rutledge discussed them on his blog a few years ago.  Here’s an example.)  He is probably best remembered today as one of the Lovecraft circle.

I’ve only read a small amount of his work. I’ve found him to be one of those writers who either hits with me and hits it out of the park or completely strikes out. (My wife was just watching a baseball game, so naturally you’re getting a sports analogy.

He was one of five authors (along with Lovecraft, Howard, Moore, and Merritt) of the round-robin story “The Challenge From Beyond”, which I discuss here.   My favorite story of his that I’ve read is “The Houonds of Tindalos”.  This is arguably Long’s most important work, at least in terms of influence.  I’ve paid tribute to it in one of my unpublished sword and sorcery tales I hope to see in print one of these days.

I’ve got some writing to do tonight, so I’m going to have to wait until the weekend to read any of his work.  I’ll do that when I’ve got a bit of time, along with reading some more Davidson.

Robert Bloch Hits 99

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Robert BlochRobert Bloch was born on April 5, 1917, in Chicago.  He passed away on September 23, 1994 in Los Angeles.

Although he will be remembered as the author of Psycho, and justifiably so, he was a writer of great range and depth.  While I’ve found his novels to be somewhat hit and miss, I’ve almost always enjoyed his short fiction.

Bloch was a member of the Lovecraft Circle and published in Weird Tales, but he quickly moved on to other types of fiction than Mythos pastiche.  (Not that there’s anything wrong with Bloch’s Mythos tales, but they were his early work.)  He appeared as Robert Blake in Lovecraft’s “The Haunter of the Dark.”

Bloch was adept at mystery, suspense, science fiction, and fantasy.  Bloch managed to infuse humor into some of the grimmest situations.  His story “That Hell-Bound Train” won the Hugo Award in 1959.  A favorite theme was Jack the Ripper, beginning with the classic “Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper”.

Bloch worked in Hollywood, and many of his stories reflect his experiences there.  He wrote two sequels to Psycho which had nothing to do with the movie sequels.  I’ve only read the first sequel, but it’s set almost entirely in Hollywood.  I wondered how many of the scenes in it were based on actual events.

Anyway, Bloch isn’t as well remembered these days as he should be.  Subterranean Press (among others) have published collections of his work in the years since his death, but those are starting to go out of print.

I’m going to read one or two of his stories this evening and toast his memory and literary legacy.

With the lights on and the doors locked, of course.

 

C. L. Moore Turns 105

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C. L. MooreToday marks the 105th anniversary of the birth of science fiction and fantasy author C. L. Moore.  I wrote last year about what a pioneer she was on both her birthday and later in the year.

This year I’m going to mark that anniversary differently.  Rather than repeat myself, this will be a short announcement, a reminder if you will.  Before her marriage to Henry Kuttner, at which point everything they wrote became a collaboration to a greater or lesser degree, Moore had established herself as one of the premiere writers in both the science fiction and fantasy fields.  Her iconic characters Northwest Smith and Jirel of Joiry became the template of numerous characters to come.

I’ve blogged about both Smith and Jirel over the last couple of years, but those projects have gotten stalled.  I’m going to reboot them and finish those stories.  Look for a new Jirel post soon.

Until then, raise a glass in Catherine Moore’s memory and read some of her stuff.  You’ll be glad you did.

Howard Hits 110

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REH_beerYep, everyone’s favorite author from Cross Plains was born 110 years ago today.  I’ve got too many irons in the fire to write a long tribute today.  I’m in the middle of reading “The Man-Eaters of Zamboula”, which is the topic of discussion at Howard Andrew Jones’ blog today.  Check it out, because there’s always some good discussion there.

Even though he died nearly 80 years ago, he still casts one of the longest shadows over the field of fantasy and imaginative literature.  The only two authors who still have as much influence are (arguably) H. P. Lovecrat and J. R. R. Tolkien.  So read something by Howard, a story, a letter, a poem.  Marvel at the way he could write a scene or a bit of verse.  Spend some time in a land undreamed of.  And raise a Cimmerian size glass in Howard’s memory.

Happy Birthday, J. R. R. Tolkien

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tolkien treeToday is Tolkien’s birthday.  I’m not going to write a long post.  There are too many writers who have written better posts honoring him than I could ever write.  I just didn’t want the day to pass without acknowledging the man.  No matter what you think of his work and his influence on fantasy, he casts a long shadow over the field that still has influence today.