Month: September 2018

Reading Edgar Rice Burroughs: Pellucidar (Books 1-3)

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This entry is part 1 of 1 in the series Reading Edgar Rice Burroughs

So… this post was originally part of a different post, rounding up fiction books I’ve read in 2018, but for a couple of reasons—length, viability as a post series—I figured I’d instead do one post rounding up general reading, and another specifically tracking my readings of Edgar Rice Burroughs.  Because the thing is, I’ve been on an Edgar Rice Burroughs kick. It’s not nostalgia at work, note: though I know of Tarzan and Barsoom because I grew up in Western culture in the 1970s and 1980s, and yes, I saw the Disney film John Carter of Mars (and didn’t hate …

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Recent Readings: Nonfiction

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Here’s the complement to the recent readings post that went up not long ago detailing fiction I’d read lately. This time, I’m covering the (shorter) list of nonfiction works I’ve checked out so far this year, since the last books-I’ve-read post. As usual, it omits RPG books, for which I’m slowly working up a set of reviews that will be posted separately.  

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The Intelligent Sword

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Everyone knows Stormbringer, the sword wielded by Elric—even people like me, who’ve barely read any of the Elric stories. Stormbringer is notorious in part because it’s the prototypical “intelligent sword” that old-timer RPG fans remember being a big deal in 1st edition AD&D.  Now, there are rules for intelligent magic items in 5E, of course, and there’s certainly precedent in fantasy literature for intelligent or sentient magical objects that aren’t swords—the Lord of the Rings features one prominently—but I feel like the “intelligent sword” trope has kind of fallen by the wayside… at least, it felt like that when the trope came …

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The Apex Book of World SF, Volume 5

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Since the Apex Book of World SF series launched a decade ago, I’ve always wished that I could help get a Korean story into the series. Well… that’s finally happened.  In the forthcoming fifth volume of the series, edited by Cristina Jurado (and with Lavie Tidhar as the series editor), that’s finally happened. My co-translation with Jihyun Park of Boyoung Kim’s tale of Lamarckian evolution, mythic Korean beasts, and metamorphosis, “An Evolutionary Myth,” will be reprinted, alongside what looks to be another fascinating and amazing collection of work from around the world.  Preorders are now open, and you can get …

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Ex Libris Miskatonici, by Joan C. Stanley

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Update (18 October 2018): If you’re interested in getting a copy of this book, and think the asking prices online are insane, you should try email Necronomicon Press. In the post below, I mention emailing them but not the response, which came soon after I published this post. They had copies in stay… and may still have them. This is where to go if you’d like to inquire. And have a look around: there’s some other cool stuff available on the site, too. (I rather wish I’d gotten Jason C. Eckhardt’s Off the Ancient Track: A Lovecraftian Guide to New …

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