Blog Archives
sClassic Traveller: Session Report 3
Thursday , 21, September 2017 Games, Tabletop Games, Traveller, Uncategorized 1 CommentTaking up where the last session report left off. Session characters: Sir Percival Jones, 54577B, Age 30, Scout (3 terms, mustered out), Pilot 1, JOT 1, ATV 1, Vacc Suit 1 Elect 3. He’s cash poor, but, a lucky chap who’s survived 12 years as a scout and the service appreciates it by loaning him […]
Chris Fox begins a new series, The Magitech Chronicles. * * * * * Enslaved and Forced to Fight Dragons Aran awakens in chains with no memory. He’s conscripted into the Confederate Marines as a Tech Mage, given a spellrifle, then hurled into the war with the […]
Forgotten Sword and Sorcery Artists: Jack Gaughan
Sunday , 17, September 2017 Uncategorized 2 CommentsJack Gaughan (1930 – 1985) was a ubiquitous illustrator for both science fiction paperbacks and magazine covers in the 1960 and 70s. He appears to have been Donald Wollheim’s main artist at Ace Books in the 1960s and a prominent artist for D.A.W. Books in the 1970s. Gaughan was right up there alongside Frank Frazetta […]
Short Reviews – Ali Baba’s Cave, by “I.D.B.”
Friday , 15, September 2017 Uncategorized Leave a commentAli Baba’s Cave by “I.D.B.”(Illicit Diamond Buyer) appeared in the June 1944 issue of The Wide World. Our next story in this issue of The Wide World takes us to South Africa during the diamond boom in 1929. The government is wanting to clamp down on illegal prospecting and has been buying up and securing […]
We might argue about whether Donald A Wollheim is the most significant figure in 20th Century science fiction[1] but there can be little doubt about the influence he had on the development of modern science fiction and fantasy[2] is both broad and deep. He leapt onto the stage early as an ardent fan, and immediately […]
Forgotten Sword and Sorcery Artists: John Alvin
Sunday , 10, September 2017 Uncategorized 3 CommentsJohn Alvin (1948-2008) is an artist whose art you have seen many times but did not know it. John Alvin painted the movie posters for a good portion of 1980s blockbusters including most Disney movies from the 80s and 90s: Toys, Under Siege, Radio Flyer, The Black Cauldron, Red Dawn, The Dark Crystal, Raiders of […]
Short Reviews – “Old White Face” by Allen Borders
Friday , 8, September 2017 Uncategorized Leave a comment“Old White Face” by Allen Borders appeared in the June 1944 issue of The Wide World. We get our first real high-stakes thriller in the June issue with “Old White Face”. Not that keeping a gold-mine open and the workers employed or one man’s quest to not starve in Depression era California weren’t high stakes… […]
Classic Traveller: Session Report 2
Thursday , 7, September 2017 Tabletop Games, Traveller, Uncategorized 1 CommentSo. I haven’t posted session reports since Jeffro, as a player, has been posting reports of our sessions. For a summary of how things have gone see these posts: http://www.castaliahouse.com/classic-traveller-session-report/ http://www.castaliahouse.com/on-the-table-honest-to-goodness-classic-traveller/ http://www.castaliahouse.com/on-the-table-journey-to-the-planet-of-the-amazon-women/ http://www.castaliahouse.com/on-the-table-pure-unadulterated-traveller/ However, I thought it time for an update of the overall course of things. The party has split. We have a Freetrader […]
The war lords and bandits of Western China thought all visitors were fair game—until they ran into Norcross and his hard-boiled black army from the American Expeditionary Forces. Starting in 2015, Altus Press has rereleased the stories that filled the first and the greatest of pulps, Argosy Magazine, with its Argosy Library line. With over […]
SUPERVERSIVE: Mixing the Pulp with the Superversive in “Justified”
Tuesday , 5, September 2017 Superversive, Uncategorized 15 CommentsI know I already talked about “Justified” once, and I know it’s not sci-fi or fantasy, but I recently re-watched an episode titled “Peace of Mind”, and…trust me. This is worth the digression. While the critical consensus tends to disagree, real fans know that the high point of the show is the final three episodes […]
Forgotten Sword and Sorcery Artists: Rodney Matthews
Sunday , 3, September 2017 Uncategorized 5 CommentsThe second half of the 1970s was a golden age for British paperback cover illustration. Bruce Pennington, Melvyn Grant, Chris Achilleos all created memorable book covers. Another member of this group is Rodney Matthews. From his website: “Born in 1945, in Paulton, North Somerset, Matthews was fascinated by nature from an early age. He spent […]
That Time Ray Bradbury Got Told “Short Stories Don’t Sell”
Friday , 1, September 2017 Uncategorized 2 CommentsAnd I met all the editors. And they all said,”Well don’t you have a novel?” I said, “no, I’m a sprinter; I write short stories.” “Well, we don’t publish short stories. They don’t sell.” And I was ready to go home defeated. And the last night there I had dinner with Walter Bradbury– no relation– […]