Comic Books (Paint Monk): Copyright. Public Domain. Cease & Desist. Not the words one would normally think to associate with a battle featuring Conan of Cimmeria and yet here we are. Now that the smoke has cleared, Ablaze is finally able to deliver translated versions of French Glénat’s Conan comics. Let me see if I […]
The Old China Hands by Charles G. Finney. I picked up this paperback probably 5 or 6 years ago at Windy City Pulp & Paperback Show. Finney (1905-1984) is best known for writing The Circus of Dr. Lao (1935). You may have seen the 1963 movie with Tony Randall and Barbara Eden. The novel was […]
The yellow ribbon binding the eponymous collection by Robert W. Chambers together, the play known as The King in Yellow is infamous for causing madness among its readers, performers, and audiences. But what other horrible secrets lay in its pages, waiting for the unsuspecting student? For that, we must go to Paris, to the time before the […]
This week’s fantasy new releases feature Appalachian witches, sellswords-turned-usurpers, and vampire hunters more dangerous than the vampires they pursue. Blood Creek Phantom (Blood Creek Series #3) – Jay Barnson An army of the living and an army of the dead converge on the Crossroads, and the fate of two worlds hangs in the balance. Sean […]
So the winter anime season was all right. I liked a few shows, some I even liked quite a bit, but none of them were GREAT. None of them lived up to the best shows of winter 2019, “Kaguya-Sama: Love is War” and especially “The Promised Neverland”. True, I didn’t see “Dorohedro” yet. But even […]
New Release (Amazon): By Crom! At long last the definitive history of Conan the Barbarian paperbacks that fans have clamoured for. 107 pages with detailed chapters devoted to each of the mighty Cimmerian’s publishers. Heavily illustrated with many rare images. Plus complete cover galleries of every US and UK Conan title ever issued. In full […]
I am always up for a good military history: John Keegan’s The First World War, Correlli Barnett’s Britain and Her Army, Ivan Musicant’s The Banana Wars, Douglas Porch’s The French Foreign Legion, Brian McAllister Linn’s Guardians of Empire, and D. J. Goodspeed’s The German Wars 1914-1945. John MacManus’ Fire and Fortitude: The U.S. Army in […]
High atop rock spires, above the breeze from the Devil’s Arse, men toil to collect the valuable guano of the Minix bird for Royal Dye! With their industry threatened by distillers at dizzying heights, the dyers hire Mangos and Kat to bust a few heads. “Politics is not Sword & Sorcery.” That’s a bit of […]
This week’s science fiction new releases features Robert Heinlein’s newest novel, a collection of Poul Anderson sword and planet tales, the return of one of indie science fiction’s pioneers in the Spinward Fringe, an even weirder Austin, Texas (if that’s even possible), and more. Bastion of the Reaper (The Last Reaper #10) – J. N. […]
The world is not beautiful; and that, in a way, lends it a sort of beauty. I thought I didn’t like “Kino’s Journey”, despite its reputation as a minor classic. Years ago I watched the first episode and was unimpressed. It was slow moving and philosophical, and at the time I found it dull and […]
Books (Wasteland & Sky): The common Joe was abandoned for fandom. Unfortunately for them, pocket paperbacks is the key to reaching the largest possible audience. This was part of the secret to the form’s success. Pocket paperbacks were meant for normal people. Abandoning the masses is never a smart idea. D&D (Jeffro’s Space Gaming Blog): […]
The Legends of Men blog has an emphasis on masculinity whether on philosophy, fiction, fitness, popular culture etc. About two years ago, Jared and my paths crossed on social media and we struck up some conversations. Last year, I discussed sword and sorcery fiction with him on his blog. Jared has started producing a new […]