Monthly Archives: November 2020

Black Noir Friday – Adventures Fantastic Style

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Today for Black Friday, I’m going to do something a little different. Noir is French for black, and I’m a big fan of noir in both written and cinematic form. So this is my Noir Friday post.

This post would be better suited over at Gumshoes, Gats, and Gams, but I’ve not been active enough on that site this year for it to get much traffic. So I’m posting here.

One of the great writers of noir was Cornell Woolrich. He had an entire series of novels with “Black” in the title. They were all stand-alones; they are considered a series due to the word “Black”. Let’s look at them. Note, I’ve read some of these, but not all of them (yet). Continue reading →

Happy Thanksgiving, 2020

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As much as this year has really sucked, I still have a lot to be thankful for. Family. Friends. People who read my blog. Employment. Health. The list goes on.

So here’s wishing all of you a happy Thanksgiving.

As much as it’s pandemically possible, may your day be filled with friends and family, food, and gratitude.

Happy Birthday, Poul Anderson

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Today, November 25, is the birthday of Poul Anderson (1926-2001). Anderson was a master of both fantasy and science fiction.  I’ll have a review of some of his sf going up at Futures Past and Present in a day or so.

The quote above is one I hadn’t seen before getting ready to work on this post. It is a perfect encapsulation of Anderson’s work. He was always entertaining, first and foremost.  And what he’s saying there is spot on. There’s too much dull message fiction being published these days, where the message is more important that the entertainment.

So if you want entertainment, in either science fiction or fantasy, check out some Poul Anderson.

Eddison

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Today, November 24, marks the birth of Eric Rucker Eddison (1882-1945). E. R. Eddison was one of the giants of the fantasy field in the early 20th Century and enjoyed a brief resurgence in the 1960’s and 70’s when Ballantine reprinted four of his novels, The Worm Ouroboros and the Zimiamvia Trilogy, consisting of Mistress of Mistresses, A Fish Dinner in Memison, and The Mezentian Gate. These books are not light reading.Eddison’s style is suited to contemporary tastes. I’ve only read Worm, and that was in my undergraduate days (or high school. I forget.) I liked it and would read it again, as well as the others, if I can get a large block of time.

Bond and Tucker

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Today, November 23, marks the birth of two writers whose work I have enjoyed and intend to read more.

First is Nelson S. Bond (1908-2006). Bond wrote mostly short fiction in the 1940s and 1950s, although he had a few novels serialized. Arkham House published several collections of his work in the mid-2000s. He is best remembered for the Lancelot Biggs, Spaceman series.

The other is Wilson Tucker (1914-2006). Tucker wrote both novels and short fiction. His best known novel was The Year of the Quiet Sun. He wrote a short story about a man on death row who claimed he would escape by walking through the wall. I loved the twist on the end of that one.

Both of these men wrote entertaining science fiction and fantasy and deserve to be rediscovered.

The West Gets Weird

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Reach for the Sky
Jason M. Waltz, ed.
Rogue Blades Entertainment
ebook preorder $4.00
ebook available November 30, 2020

There’s been a resurgence of interest in weird westerns in recent years. I think cross-genre pollination is a good thing, and I’m in favor of this interest.  That’s why I quickly said yes to reviewing an ARC of Reach for the Sky, a new anthology from Rogue Blades Entertainment. Continue reading →

“The Roll-Call of the Reef”

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Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch

Today, November 21, is the birthday of Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch (1863-1944). Quiller-Couch wrote ghost stories. The last time a collection of his was in print was when Ash-Tree Press published The Horror on the Stair and Other Weird Tales. That was back in 2000. I’m somewhat surprised that some other publisher hasn’t come out with a collection since. “The Roll-Call of the Reef” is currently available in The Third Ghost Story Megapack.

Tonight’s selection is a nice little tale about a friendship between the trumpeter of a cavalry unit and the drummer boy from the British marines. They were the only survivors of their respective ships, both wrecked on the same night. The trumpeter is unable to return to his duties because of his injuries. The drummer boy recovers and goes back to the service. But not before they become the best of friends who play their instruments together whenever they can.

The drummer boy isn’t heard from for a few years. When he does return, he’s now a young man. He and the trumpeter have one final duty to perform.

I’ll not say anymore about the ending except to say I rather liked it. The roll-call aspect was a nice way to handle things, I thought.

Ghost stories at Christmas aren’t really an American tradition (yes, I know it’s not Thanksgiving yet), but I’m going to try to read more through the rest of the year. I have a collection that has an E. F. Benson story in it that hadn’t been reprinted since its original publication.

A Birthday Post and a Sneak Peak at Coming Attractions

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Today, November 19, marks the birth of Mary Elizabeth Counselman (1911-1995). She died on November 13, six days shy of her 84th birthday. She wrote short fiction with much of her early stories appearing in Weird Tales. “The Three Marked Pennies” is probably her best known story.

I haven’t had time to read any of her work today, but I have two books sitting on my shelf from Valancourt Press that are on the docket for the holidays. Monster, She Wrote is a nonfiction book full of brief biographies of women who wrote horror and science fiction. It has launched a series of collections under that title, the second of which is The Women of Weird Tales. Several of Ms. Counselman’s stories are included.

I wrote a post a few years ago about women in the early days of the fantasy and science fiction fields, so the reviews of these books will act as followups to that one.

Benson and Foster

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Yes, this is a new post. No, I’m not dead. I’ve just been very busy trying to wrap up parts of this semester from Hell before Thanksgiving and participate in NaNoWriMo. There hasn’t been much time for blogging or reading.

I do want to make note of two birthdays. The first is Robert Hugh (R. H. ) Benson (1870-1914). While not as prolific as his better-known brother E. F. Benson, Robert did write a few ghost stories and a couple of novels. Sadly, most of these aren’t available in electronic editions or at least reasonably priced electronic editions.

The other birthday is Alan Dean Foster (b. 1946). I was introduced to his works through Splinter of the Mind’s Eye. I soon was reading his original novels such as The Tar-Aiym Krang, Icerigger, Orphan Star, and The End of the Matter. His Humanx Commonwealth remains one of my favorite futures.

I’ve not had a chance to read anything by either of these gentlemen, but I did want to acknowledge their birthdays.