Author Archives: Keith West

The Legacy of Karl Edward Wagner

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Today marks the 25th anniversary of Karl Edward Wagner’s death. He was born on December 12, 1945 and passed away on October 14, 1994.  The ISFDB has both dates wrong.  Deuce Richardson posted a photo of KEW’s grave marker on his tribute.

There have been several tributes posted today. They include posts by Charles R. Rutledge, Brian Murphy, Scott Oden, and David J. West.  All are erudite and substantial, and you should read them.

Wagner considered himself more of a horror writer than a writer of fantasy or sword-and-sorcery (a term he hated).  As a fiction writer, he was all of that and more. His work, if you can find it, and if you can afford it, is worth reading.  He’s out of print and getting harder to find (and more expensive) all the time. Continue reading →

What’s Your Favorite Ghost Story?

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So it’s the time of year when spooky stuff seems to pervade the air.  I like a good ghost story anytime of year, but there’s something about when the air turns crisp that just seems to make them the perfect thing to be reading.

I’m always on the lookout for a good, scary ghost story.  Charles Rutledge posts the contents of a horror “anthology” every year.  I put the word anthology in quotes because he doesn’t publish anything.  It’s just the book he would publish were he to actually do so.

I find this a fun and entertaining exercise.  I had read more of this year’s list than I have of some in previous years.  There were too that stood out to me.  One I had read years ago, and the other was new to me. Continue reading →

The Horror Stories of Robert E. Howard: “The Dwellers Under the Tomb”

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“The Dwellers Under the Tomb”
The Horror Stories of Robert E. Howard
Del Rey
Paper $20.00
Ebook $7.99

This is another story that wasn’t published during Howard’s lifetime, but it’s a stronger work than “Dermod’s Bane“.  “The Dwellers Under the Tomb” was first published in 1976 in Lost Fantasies.  It follows a similar pattern to stories such as “The Noseless Thing”, “Dig Me No Grave“, “The Children of the Night”, and “The Haunter of  the Ring”.

The narrator is a man named O’Donnell who is staying with his friend Gordon, who may be the same Gordon as appears in the stories listed above.  They are awakened by a pounding on the door.  It’s Job Kiles, who is in a state of panic, because he saw the face of his dead brother at his window.  The brother had died a few days earlier, but not before swearing he would return from the grave to take vengeance on Job.  The brother had spent his portion of the family fortune, and Job wouldn’t let the brother spend his.  Job has come to Gordon for help.

Mild spoilers below the fold. Continue reading →

The Art of J. Allen St. John

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J. Allen St. John

Artist J. Allen St. John was born on this date, October 1, in 1872.  He is best remembered for illustrating the novels of Edgar Rice Burroughs and the covers he did for various pulp magazines, especially Weird Tales.  Burroughs (Edgar Rice, not William S.) is reputed to have said St. John was his favorite artist.  It’s easy to see why.  In honor of his birthday, I want to highlight some of his art work. Continue reading →

The Horror Stories of Robert E. Howard: “Dermod’s Bane”

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“Dermod’s Bane”
The Horror Stories of Robert E. Howard
Del Rey
Paper $20.00
Ebook $7.99

This is a minor story, apparently written early in Howard’s career, but not published in his lifetime.  It was first published in Magazine of Horror, Fall 1967.

As usual, there will be spoilers.  In this case, it will be hard to avoid them, the story is so short. Continue reading →

The Horror Stories of Robert E. Howard: “Rattle of Bones”

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“Rattle of Bones”
The Horror Stories of Robert E. Howard
Del Rey
Paper $20.00
Ebook $7.99

This post could just have easily been one of the Solomon Kane posts since Kane is the central character.  It’s not regarded as a major work in either the Solomon Kane series or among Howard’s horror fiction.  Be that as it may, I still like it.  It’s short, creepy, and has a couple of twists, even if you can see the final one coming a mile off.

Spoilers to follow below the “fold”. Continue reading →

Brian McNaughton’s “Ringard and Dendra”

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“Ringard and Dendra”
The Throne of Bones
Brian McNaughton
Print $16.95
Ebook $2.99

Brian McNaughton was born on this date, September 23, in 1935. He passed away in 2004. McNaughton was never prolific, and based on the story I read for today’s post, that’s a shame.  The Throne of Bones won a World Fantasy Award.  From reading this story, I can see why.

I had read one of his stories years ago and liked it quite a bit.  Turns out it was this one, reprinted in Black Gate.  I had intended to read more of his work.  I had a copy of this collection. But things happened, and I never got around to it.  You know how these situations tend to go at times, don’t you?  Of course you do.

I will not make that mistake this time. Continue reading →

I Scored!

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At the Friends of the Library Book Sale.  Why? What did you think I meant?

Some of you people need to get your minds out of the gutter.

Here’s what I picked up (click to enlarge).  Paperbacks were fifty cents (when did keyboards stop containing the cents symbol?) and hardcovers a dollar.

Some of these are duplicates, such has the REH titles, the Frazetta, The Saberhagen Dracula books, the SF Hall of Fame, some of the Bova and Drake.  In some cases I wasn’t sure which ones I had and in others I was upgrading.  The Hecate’s Cauldron was a steal for $0.50; the last time I checked, it was selling for around $20 on ABE.

My main objective was to fill in gaps in Bova’s Grand Tour series, and I managed to pick up a couple I didn’t already have.  Most of them, though, are upgrades or reading copies of titles I have that are signed.  Everything else was gravy.

Not bad for $23.50 total.

Two by Tanith

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Strindberg’s Ghost Sonata and Other Uncollected Tales
Tanith Lee
Immanion Press
Paper $18.99
Ebook $4.99

Tanith Lee was born on this date, September 19, in 1947.  She passed away in 2015.  Lee wrote in a variety of genres, including fantasy, horror, and science fiction.  She was highly prolific, and many of her short stories haven’t never been collected.

Until now.  Immanion Press is collecting all of her work that hasn’t appeared in any of her collections.  In observance of her birthday, I read two stories from the collection Strindberg’s Ghost Sonata and Other Uncollected Tales. Continue reading →