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In the Grip of the Minotaur
In the Grip of the Minotaur, a novel by Farnham Bishop and Arthur Gilchrist Brodeur, was serialised in Adventure magazine in 1916. It might play a bit fast and loose with history but it’s undeniably entertaining. And it has Vikings taking on the Minoan Empire! Here's my review on my book blog.
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Talbot Mundy's Tros
Talbot Mundy (1879-1940) is a little-known writer today, which is unfortunate. He was not only one of the masters of the adventure tale but a major force in the development of pulp fiction. He contributed to pulp magazines such as Adventure and Argosy and wrote 45 novels.
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A. Merritt’s Dwellers in the Mirage
Abraham Merritt (1884-1942), usually known simply as A. Merritt, was one of the more interesting American pulp writers of horror and fantastic fiction. Dwellers in the Mirage was one of several “lost world” novels that he wrote and as usual he gives the sub-genre his own distinctive twists.
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the cost of magic
One of the things I liked about Guy Gavriel Kay’s Tigana, and also most of Tim Powers’ fantasy novels, is that magic is either difficult to do or it imposes a heavy cost on the magic user. This has the advantage of making magic less than all-powerful and therefore means the author cannot easily use magic to get out of plot difficulties ( Read more... ) -
The Casebook of Carnacki the Ghost Finder, by William Hope Hodgson
An Edwardian psychic detective chases Scooby Doo villains and the occasional Outer Monstrosity.
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1939 Retro-Hugo Awards Best Novel
The 1939 Retro-Hugo Awards were awarded this month. The five nominees for best novel were:
The Sword in the Stone, T. H. White (Collins)
Out of the Silent Planet, C. S. Lewis (The Bodley Head)
Galactic Patrol, E. E. Smith (Astounding Stories, February 1938)
The Legion of Time, Jack Williamson (Astounding Science-Fiction, July 1938)
Carson of Venus ( Read more... )
