|
Post by xerxez on Jan 16, 2019 9:37:03 GMT -6
Hanging out in Halfprice books last week I snagged a copy of Dragontales magazine, the anthology of fiction published in Dragon magazine.
I have greatly enjoyed it. Some of it is rather bad but still fun and a few stories are actually very good.
I found one longer story in it very compelling both as to writing, characters and world concept, it was a tale by a woman named Janrae....Frank, I believe?
She had an interesting setting with some nomadic warriors , a female sorcery cult that had a unicorn as its talisman, and some giant aggressive, flightless birds that were trained to attack people, as well as a horned demon race of sorcerers.
A real boon is that this tale (In the Darkness Hunting) was profusely illustrated by Darlene.
I did a bit of research on the late author and found she was a prolific small press author, a sci fi film journalist, and a fixture at some older sci fi and fantasy conventions. She raised a daughter with another woman who was herself an author of note in literary circles who even worked on a Star Trek episode.
She had a blog which I perused and discovered her to have been a somewhat cantankerous and curmudgeonly soul but I did really enjoy her tale.
There was another really awesome story in there by another author about a maiden captured by a dragon who uses magic and is also somewhat of a sage, in addition to him killing knights who come to rescue her over the years, while he brings her up in educated captivity and she secretly learns magic from his books.
The other notable tale was about two master thieves, a woman and her young male consort, who team up with a sword slinging barbarian to assault a wizards compound the one night a year he sleeps and permits any who will to try and plunder his keep and his treasure if they can brave the gauntlet of his traps, guardians and puzzles, not to mention defy his legendary curse. Not stellar writing but fun.
I may have to collect all of these magazines now!
|
|
|
Post by stevemitchell on Jan 22, 2019 15:20:29 GMT -6
The Deep Gods by David Mason. Mason wrote a handful of very enjoyable sword-and-sorcery novels as paperback originals back in the 1970s; this is one of them.
The Outsider by Stephen King. Law-enforcement personnel follow the bloodstained trail of SOMETHING—a doppelganger, a skinwalker, a mutant?—from Oklahoma to Texas. A good read.
Three Men in the Dark by Jerome K. Jerome, Barry Pain, and Robert Barr. A big collection of supernatural tales by three late 19th/early 20th Century writers better known for their mainstream fiction.
Dunwich by Peter Levenda. This is a sequel to the author’s The Lovecraft Code. The Order of Dagon is still trying to bring the Great Old Ones back to Earth, with Levenda’s widely scattered cast of characters fighting against this dread eventuality. Levenda, who is probably the author of the Simon Necronomicon, includes an occult expert named Simon as one of his protagonists, and also quotes from the Simon Necronomicon. Cheeky!
The Black Pilgrimage and Other Explorations by Rosemary Pardoe. A big collection of essays relating to the ghostly fiction of M. R. James. Very enjoyable.
The Roswell Conspiracy by Nick Redfern. This is a sequel to an earlier work by Mr. Redfern suggesting that the bodies found at the Roswell Crash (well, assuming there were any bodies) were not aliens but instead were deformed Japanese prisoners of war being used in high-altitude balloon experiments.
Draw! by James Reasoner. This is a popular history of gunfights in the Old West, from the famous to the obscure (but interesting). A highly entertaining set of narratives.
Flying Saucer to the Center of Your Mind by John Keel. Another set of UFOlogical essays garnered from the author’s magazine articles.
Brief Answers to the Big Questions by Stephen Hawking. A posthumous collection of essays: “Is there a God?”, “What is inside a black hole?”, “Is time travel possible?”, etc. Lots of ideas to set your mind off and running.
The Doom That Came to Dunwich by Richard A. Lupoff. This collects several of Mr. Lupoff’s stories with Lovecraftian themes.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 17, 2019 14:19:17 GMT -6
I've been reading two books with a similar premise, lately, that might be worth a look to you all, as well: The first is Brian Aldiss' "Helliconia: Spring", the second is Adrian Tchaikovsky's "Children of Time". Both deal with the colonization of alien worlds by humans; both have a different approach to the same tale, and both are pretty good. Sci-Fi is not really a genre I tend to get all too much into: I loved "Star Wars", and I love "Patlabor" more than I would admit. But outside of that, I have never followed the genre in any way. Now, these two books are making me reconsider.
|
|
|
Post by Red Baron on Feb 20, 2019 15:12:16 GMT -6
Just finished "The Face in the Frost", by John Bellairs.
The book sets itself up to be a wonderful mystery/horror story, and then quickly falls apart. I didn't enjoy most of the book, but one scene made up for it all: the tale Roger Bacon relates to Prospero of the monk's book in England. I was completely spooked and on edge for the entire bit, but also very intrigued.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 20, 2019 15:23:14 GMT -6
Just finished "The Face in the Frost", by John Bellairs. The book sets itself up to be a wonderful mystery/horror story, and then quickly falls apart. I didn't enjoy most of the book, but one scene made up for it all: the tale Roger Bacon relates to Prospero of the monk's book in England. I was completely spooked and on edge for the entire bit, but also very intrigued. YOUUUUUU
DESERVE A MEDAL ACTUALLYI read this book as a kid, but forgot the title over years, and have been looking for it for well over a decade. Sorry that the book wasn't to your liking - I don't remember anything to really give a verdict. In any case, you have done me a great service here, Baron!
|
|
|
Post by doublejig2 on Feb 21, 2019 16:07:51 GMT -6
Just finished Civilization and Its Discontents - Sigmund Freud
|
|
|
Post by stevemitchell on Mar 8, 2019 13:09:16 GMT -6
Ride to Hell by Frank Gruber. A Civil War veteran drifts into a life of crime out west. A good but somewhat downbeat Western.
Top Secret Alien Abduction Files by Nick Redfern. Concentrating more on the government’s (alleged) interest in (alleged) abduction events and victims.
Hybrids by Whitley Strieber. Humans experiment with alien DNA and create super-powered hybrids. Natually, the hybrids decide they can live without the humans. . . .
Final Events by Nick Redfern. The latest theory about UFOs: flying saucers come from Hell! And the saucer occupants want to eat the souls of their victims.
The Clock Strikes Twelve by H. Russell Wakefield. Another big collection of ghost stories in the classic tradition, in the expanded Ash-Tree Press edition.
Secret Agent 666 by Richard B. Spence. Aleister Crowley was a novelist, poet, essayist, mountain-climber, and world traveler—and also a drug addict, sexual degenerate (depending on your view of such matters), and arguably the foremost practitioner of the magical arts in the first half of the 20th Century. According to the present work, he was also an informant and agent for the British intelligence services during World War I, the inter-war years, and World War II.
Vietnam by Max Hastings. This covers the entire conflict in Viet Nam, from the French struggles against the Viet Minh in the early 1950s to the final collapse of the south in 1975. The narrative ranges from small-unit battles to high-level policy and strategy meetings. One of the best books I have read on the subject.
Ghost Stories of an Antiquary and More Ghost Stories of an Antiquary by M. R. James. The first two collections of classic ghost stories from James, including such classics as “Count Magnus,” “Oh Whistle My Lad and I’ll Come to You,” and “Casting the Runes.”
The Creeping Death by Maxwell Grant. The Shadow battles a sinister scheme to control the world’s gold markets.
The Hand of a Woman by John Morris. A new theory about the identity of Jack the Ripper (to go along with the three or four dozen previous theories). The author suggests that the Ripper was a woman, specifically Mary Elizabeth Ann Hughes, the wife of a prominent Welsh doctor, who undertook a rampage against the unfortunates of Whitechapel for some interesting, if not entirely convincing, reasons.
|
|
|
Post by doublejig2 on Mar 8, 2019 15:51:29 GMT -6
Just finished: Homer, Iliad and Odyssey CA Smith, The Door to Saturn Bible, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers
|
|
bravewolf
Level 4 Theurgist
I don't care what Howard says.
Posts: 109
|
Post by bravewolf on Mar 8, 2019 21:13:46 GMT -6
The Lost Grimoire (Arduin Grimoire, Vol. IV), David A. Hargrave
A bunch of early issues of Alarums & Excursions.
|
|
artikid
Level 3 Conjurer
Artist for hire
Posts: 70
|
Post by artikid on Mar 9, 2019 10:14:12 GMT -6
Ten little wizards, a Lord Darcy novel by Michael Kurland.
|
|
|
Post by doublejig2 on Mar 23, 2019 13:20:47 GMT -6
Just finished, Aristotle for everybody by Mortimer Adler
|
|
|
Post by doublejig2 on Mar 23, 2019 14:35:03 GMT -6
Started Dreams in the Witch House but it might be too disturbing for me so I'm not sure how much further I am going to go in that one. It is that last thing I need to read to complete the Lovecraft corpus, but I might have to just let that urge for completion go for the sake of my own well-being! Fight on! He he he. In bounds, I'm having the same problem with Clark Ashton Smith.
|
|
|
Post by sirclarence on Mar 24, 2019 1:23:03 GMT -6
Gary Gygax - City of Hawks It's interesting to see how Gary envisioned the City of Greyhawk to look like, which is quite a difference to all the later publications.A fun read so far.
|
|
|
Post by Falconer on Mar 24, 2019 17:48:44 GMT -6
I liked the four earlier books, but that one was odd.
|
|
|
Post by Finarvyn on Mar 25, 2019 5:35:44 GMT -6
Gary Gygax - City of HawksIt's interesting to see how Gary envisioned the City of Greyhawk to look like, which is quite a difference to all the later publications.A fun read so far. Well, remember that Gary's Greyhawk was never the one published as Greyhawk in the TSR products because he didn't want his players getting any secrets from reading the modules. I suspect that his novels really were more like his actual vision of Greyhawk.
|
|
|
Post by scalydemon on Mar 25, 2019 18:57:51 GMT -6
I re-subscribed to the Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction (have subscribed to it off and on over the last 30 years). It is a bit of a mixed bag but there are usually 2-4 stories I enjoy and it is light and i enjoy the size (digest type) and ease of flipping thru these to read quick.
I also found the all 4 books in one of Dying Earth for less than $10 in good shape so picked that up for a reader copy as some of the individual copies I have are too nice shape.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 26, 2019 3:12:23 GMT -6
Got another super-corny nerd tattoo, last week - an image from "The Black Company". So, going back to that series, and rereading it.
|
|
|
Post by Greyharp on Mar 26, 2019 17:38:14 GMT -6
Currently reading chronologically through the Conan stories as published by Sphere Books, after which I'm going to revisit the Heroic Fantasy Quarterly collection as there's some good grim and gritty stuff in there: www.heroicfantasyquarterly.com/
|
|
|
Post by Zenopus on Mar 26, 2019 20:39:48 GMT -6
I'm also reading (or re-reading for some stories) that Conan series, but as Ace paperbacks (I believe the Sphere editions are the same titles). I'm slowly tracking them down at used bookstores. I currently have half of them - volumes 2, 4, 6, 8, 11 and 12. I've read Vol 2 in its entirety and have started Vol 8. I may re-read them in chronological order at some point once (or if) I find them all. I've read a bunch of Conan in the modern Del Rey collections, but I really like reading these paperbacks which are the versions that really made Conan famous and are what the creators and early players of D&D read. And I'm enjoying the de Camp & Carter filler stories that are hard to find other than in these editions. I wrote about how one may have inspired the Ochre Jelly.
|
|
|
Post by Greyharp on Mar 26, 2019 21:56:58 GMT -6
I'm also reading (or re-reading for some stories) that Conan series, but as Ace paperbacks (I believe the Sphere editions are the same titles). I'm slowly tracking them down at used bookstores. I currently have half of them - volumes 2, 4, 6, 8, 11 and 12. I've read Vol 2 in its entirety and have started Vol 8. I may re-read them in chronological order at some point once (or if) I find them all. I've read a bunch of Conan in the modern Del Rey collections, but I really like reading these paperbacks which are the versions that really made Conan famous and are what the creators and early players of D&D read. And I'm enjoying the de Camp & Carter filler stories that are hard to find other than in these editions. I wrote about how one may have inspired the Ochre Jelly.
Yes, much the same reason I'm rereading them. I've bought and sold them at various times over the years and finally decided I needed to keep them. I've got a few gaps in the collection and prices seem to have increased over the last few years, making it harder to complete the collection. And yes I think the Ace/Sphere/Orb editions are all pretty interchangeable. I reckon it's fair to say these books started me on the Sword & Sorcery journey.
I've been using the following 1989 chronology: www.barbariankeep.com/chrono89.html to work my way through them. Will be interesting to read your Ochre Jelly article again once I've got to that story in the timeline, thanks Z.
|
|
|
Post by doublejig2 on Mar 29, 2019 20:51:41 GMT -6
Just finished, Roll the Bones Fight On! compilation.
|
|
|
Post by Falconer on Apr 1, 2019 11:37:11 GMT -6
I’m reading George R.R. Martin according to the programme given below: basically his Ice & Fire fiction (1996-present), plus a single massive collection (2003) of the best of his earlier (70s-80s) short fiction, with commentary by the author. The first four items on the list are a re-read for me—a very rewarding one—, but the story collection is new for me. It’s a great read in and of itself, and it’s all the more fulfilling in that it provides insight into the mind and storytelling style(s) of the author.
1996 A Game of Thrones
1998 The Hedge Knight A Clash of Kings
2000 A Storm of Swords
2003 Dreamsongs The Sworn Sword
2005 A Feast for Crows
2010 The Mystery Knight
2011 A Dance with Dragons
2014 The World of Ice & Fire
2018 Fire & Blood
I am reading “The Hedge Knight,” “The Sworn Sword,” and “The Mystery Knight” from the beautifully illustrated collection A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms (2015), but I find it best to read them in publication order, as details from them get woven into the main novels. Not to mention that they are more lighthearted than the main novels, and thus provide welcome relief.
|
|
|
Post by Finarvyn on Apr 2, 2019 4:08:19 GMT -6
I've read a bunch of Conan in the modern Del Rey collections, but I really like reading these paperbacks which are the versions that really made Conan famous and are what the creators and early players of D&D read. Yeah, that's always been a tricky balance for me and I still own both sets of stories. I grew up on the Ace paperbacks and enjoyed them quite a bit. They certainly influenced how I saw D&D. When I found the Del Ray stories, totally un-edited REH, they just blew me away. It was like finding Conan for the first time all over again, yet I couldn't part with my Ace collection either. I read the Del Ray version exclusively but keep telling myself that I should reread the Ace ones again, for nostalgia sake.
|
|
|
Post by xerxez on Apr 17, 2019 22:04:44 GMT -6
I am reading a nice one right now, Gird; Surrender None, by Elizabeth Moon, Baen Books 1996.
It's the first in a series called the Legacy of Gird.
Gird is a peasant who becomes a soldier and a leader of the downtrodden.
It's very low magic- it might even be no magic, I can't tell yet if the descriptions of magic are really magical or written to seem magical because the author wants you to see it from the perspective of the people of her quasi-medieval fantasy world. It hints at some kind of monster species in the forest, too, but I'm only about three quarters in and have yet to see any really fantastical elements besides the world itself.
The book is very remarkable in two respects (aside from being very well crafted) and that is in it's depiction of military life and also it's portrayal of feudal life from the lowest vantage one could have, that of the people who worked the lord's lands.
Very sympathetic characters, highly believable. The author served as enlisted and later as an officer in the Marines, so she definitely brings something to the book from that background.
I am also reading a book my mother sent me, JRR Tolkien Artist, Illustrator. A collection of all his drawings and paintings, with commentary on the content, processes, and relevance to his tales, it gets into all of his works nearly, including stories he wrote for his children.
Something very beautiful and simple comes through his work--he has a few very good line drawings. There are a few he made from his own imagination that are rather dark and have no relation to the stories-- but they are the rare exception to his usual happy watercolors and pen-work.
|
|
terje
Level 5 Thaumaturgist
Blasphemous accelerator
Posts: 204
|
Post by terje on Apr 18, 2019 3:02:31 GMT -6
Currently reading:
Vastarien #1 2019. High quality as usual, but none of the stories reach the same heights as the best in the previous issues.
Michael Cisco - Secret Hours. A bit slow going so far.
Jeannette Ng - Under the Pendulum Sun. 19th century missionaries bringing the gospel to the fae of Arcadia. I'm hoping this will scratch my Jonathan Strange itch.
|
|
|
Post by Eibon of Mhu-Thulan on Apr 18, 2019 8:04:57 GMT -6
Young Thongor by Lin Carter
Elric The Stealer of Souls by Michael Moorcock
Mysteries of Demeter by Jennifer Reif
The Foundations of High Magick The Magical Philosophy by Melita Denning & Osborne Phillips
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 28, 2019 7:00:36 GMT -6
This one might be of interest to you guys: I'm listening to Larry Niven's entire "The Magic Goes Away" series as audiobooks next week, as I'm doing a particularly long drive. - Looking forward to it; Niven is not usually one of my first choices when I look for something new, but I love anthology series, and I love low-fi fantasy. If only Ithkar was available in this format, aaaah. Also, read part of Niven's "State" series, and those are quite good, as well!
|
|
|
Post by tkdco2 on Apr 30, 2019 21:04:35 GMT -6
I just finished reading a Nero Wolfe novel and started reading a Wallander novel: The Troubled Man.
|
|
terje
Level 5 Thaumaturgist
Blasphemous accelerator
Posts: 204
|
Post by terje on May 1, 2019 3:24:33 GMT -6
Wounds by Nathan Ballingrud
This collection of horror short stories is nothing short of spectacular. Six stories of ordinary (and otherwise...) people on the borderlands of Hell.
|
|
|
Post by makofan on May 5, 2019 13:12:06 GMT -6
Just finished, Roll the Bones Fight On! compilation. Mixed feelings about that anthology. I'd say I like about half the stories
|
|