Iron Lung: An Honest Review

Iron Lung: An Honest Review

Good afterevenmorn, Readers!

I took myself on a date Thursday night. It was very romantic. I first went to a bookshop to pick up a new book for myself (this was because I had forgotten to take my book with me, and could not spend the evening passing time without a book. It is law that if you forget the book you intended to bring, you must procure a new one. I don’t make the rules (I do, in fact, make the rules)). I do so love a bookshop that is full of books. So many have “branched out” relegating the books to a tiny corner and filling the space with other stuff. I’m diverting, but this is a worthy digression.

Anyway, after treating myself to a new book, I ventured over to a restaurant and treated myself to dinner and a couple of drinks. Given how cold it was in Ottawa Thursday night (-22C or so before the windchill… I might be wrong, but I think that is somewhere around -8F), I was surprised by how busy it had gotten; a fact I only realised when it was time to pay up and head over to the cinema. It is a very good book, so far.

So off to the cinema I went, with a full stomach, to watch the new indie horror film Iron Lung, scripted, produced, directed by and staring YouTube personality Markiplier. I did not know what to expect. I have spent the better part of the lead up to the release of the film avoiding everything to do with it in order to go in as fresh and unspoiled as possible. I was expecting it to be very much an amateur film; rough around the edges, perhaps a little silly where it ought not b… you know… normal mistakes from amateur filmmakers with their first feature. I did not get what I expected.

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Oh, Those Deranged Mutant Killer Monster Snow Goons…

Oh, Those Deranged Mutant Killer Monster Snow Goons…

I’m working on a Douglas Adams post as part of an upcoming recurring feature on his non-fiction quotes.

But I got sidetracked reading Calvin and Hobbes this past weekend. Much of America is in a war against brutal weather. We got over 16 inches of snow in Central Ohio, and sub-zero wind chill has been a regular thing. Throughout the country, people are seeing snow for the first time in decades; and in huge amounts.

There are some terrific Winter strips for Calvin and Hobbes; that was definitely a more magical time when we were kids. As opposed to multiple sessions digging out the car; to go to work, now. Sigh…

Life through Calvin’s eyes is a treat to read after all these years. And even as adults, we can still find ourselves locked in family battles over the thermostat setting. Fox Trot, another favorite cartoon of mine, deals with that more than once. As a family with three kids, you can imagine it.

Here, Dad ends the debate with a valid parental option, as he often does. And Calvin gives up. I really enjoy these interchanges, which often involve grumpy old man ‘builds character’ lessons.

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The Sword & Sorcery of Robert Holdstock: The Berserker Series

The Sword & Sorcery of Robert Holdstock: The Berserker Series

Robert Holdstock’s Berserker Series, published under the name Chris Carlsen. Sphere Books, 1977-1979. Covers by Melvyn Grant

A series that I wanted but had a difficult time getting was the Berserker series by Chris Carlsen. There are three books, all from Sphere Books, published in 1977, 1977, & 1979 respectively. I finally got the last one and just finished reading it. The series is:

1. Shadow of the Wolf (August 1977)
2. The Bull Chief (October 1977)
3. The Horned Warrior (1979)

ISFDB lists Melvyn Grant as the cover artist on #1 and 3, and I’m pretty sure book 2 is by him as well. These books are pot boiling, action pulp style Sword & Sorcery novels, and it was quite a surprise when I found out Chris Carlsen was really Robert Holdstock (1948 – 2009).

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My Top Thirty Films, Part 3

My Top Thirty Films, Part 3

The Party (United Artists, April 4, 1968)

Following the excellent Starship Troopers feedback last week, here’s a selection that might be a little less controversial.

Kidding.

The Party (1968)

Who’s in it?

Peter Sellers, Claudine Longet, Steve Franken, Denny Miller

What’s it about?

Hrundi V. Bakshi (Sellers) is an up and coming Indian actor who dreams of the big time. Unfortunately, being prone to mishaps leads to him blowing up a very expensive film set, and he is fired on the spot. Due to a clerical error though, he ends up on the guest list to a party being thrown by the film’s producer, and he attends in the hope that he can apologize in person. Through no fault of his own, Bakshi stumbles through one surreal incident after another, ultimately leading to the partial destruction of a Hollywood mansion, and a blossoming romance with a young French starlet.

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Forgotten Authors: Robert Moore Williams

Forgotten Authors: Robert Moore Williams

Robert Moore Williams

Robert Moore Williams was born in Farmington, Missouri on June 19, 1907 and attended the Missouri School of Journalism, from which he graduated in 1931 with a Bachelor of Arts in journalism. He married Margaret Jelley in 1938 and they had one daughter. The couple divorced in 1952.

Williams published his first short story, “Zero as a Limit” in the July 1937 issue of Astounding Science Fiction, at the time still edited by F. Orlin Tremaine. Later in 1937, he published a story in Thrilling Wonder Stories, edited by Mort Weissinger, and his third story, “Flight of the Dawn Star” appeared in the March 1938 issue of Astounding, now edited by John W. Campbell, Jr. By the end of 1938, he added Amazing Stories, edited by Raymond A. Palmer to the list of magazines and editors he sold to.

In addition to science fiction, Williams published in a variety of other genres, occasionally using pseudonyms, including John S. Browning, H.H. Harmon, and Russell Storm. He also used the house name E.K. Jarvis on some stories written for the Ziff-Davis magazines, such as “Hickson’s Strange Adventure.” Although Williams was the most prolific (and possibly only) author to use the Jarvis name in the 40s, Robert Bloch used it most often in the 50s, with seven stories appearing under that byline. Other authors to use it included Paul W. Fairman, Harlan Ellison, Robert Silverberg, and Henry Slesar.

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Dark Muse News: Anna Smith Spark’s A Sword of Bronze and Ashes

Dark Muse News: Anna Smith Spark’s A Sword of Bronze and Ashes

A Sword of Bronze and Ashes, September 12, 2023, FLAME TREE PRESS (Cover illustration by Broci)

Welcome to more Dark Muse News. This post reviews Anna Smith Spark’s A Sword of Bronze and Ashes. It was released in September 2023 (Flame Tree Press, cover illustration by Broci) and is the first book of the series The Making of This World: Ruined. The sequel, A Sword of Gold and Ruin, was recently published in October, 2025.

Anna Smith Spark is known as the Queen of Grimdark, a moniker she acquired with her Empires of Dust series. You can expect the same poetic brutality here.  Her style and approach are very unique but are reminiscent of Tanith Lee. Literary wording may keep you distanced as a reader, but the raw emotion expressed throughout is so real that it makes the fantasy feel real, too.  We interviewed Anna Smith Spark in 2019 – Disgust and Desire as part of our Beauty in Weird Fiction series, where she revealed all sorts of muses and inspirations. That year, we hosted a Q&A Session at Gen Con; there, she, John O’Neill, and I showed off our footwear (link); Anna’s footwear won hands down!

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The Conan novels of John Maddox Roberts

The Conan novels of John Maddox Roberts

The Conan novels of John Maddox Roberts (Tor Books, 1985-1995). Covers by Boris, Ken Kelly, and Julie Bell

The name John Maddox Roberts (1947 – ) first came to my attention as a writer of Conan sword & sorcery pastiches from Tor. He wrote eight, and when I talk to other REH fans Roberts’ name is almost always listed near the top of the Conan pastiche writers.

Of the pastiches that were published by Tor between 1982 and 2004, I’d have to agree, although I like the earlier pastiches by Andy Offutt and Karl Edward Wagner better.

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Dave Hook on The Island of Dr. Death and Other Stories and Other Stories by Gene Wolfe

Dave Hook on The Island of Dr. Death and Other Stories and Other Stories by Gene Wolfe

The Island of Doctor Death and Other Stories and Other Stories (Pocket Books, June 1980). Cover by Don Maitz)

It’s still January, which means I haven’t yet abandoned my ambitious New Year’s Resolution to get caught up on my favorite blogs. I started with Rich Horton’s excellent Strange at Ecbatan, and this week I’ve been spending time at Dave Hook’s book blog A Deep Look by Dave Hook.

As the name implies, Dave spends his time on his reviews, with deep dives that usually include a lot of biographical information and entertaining anecdotes. His recent reviews include looks at David G. Hartwell & Kathryn Cramer’s groundbreaking 2002 anthology The Hard SF Renaissance, Alastair Reynolds’ 2021 collection Belladonna Nights and Other Stories, and a long-forgotten SF anthology from 1954, Sam Moskowitz’s Editor’s Choice in Science Fiction.

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Five Things I Think I Think (January, 2026)

Five Things I Think I Think (January, 2026)

It’s been quite a while since I’ve shared some Things I Think. Since I just jumped back down the Castle rabbit hole, and finished off the associated Nikki Heat books, I had the basis for this column. And away we go!

1 – CASTLE STILL SLAMS

Nathan Fillion was a big name on the nerd convention circuit (you know I was a nerd way back when it got you laughed at in school) due to the cult favorite, Firefly. He’d had some attention in more mainstream things such as Two Guys, a Girl, and a Pizza Place, but in 2009 a buddy cop show launched him to stardom. He was Richard Castle, a James Patterson-like writer who works with NYC detective Kate Beckett (Stana Katic). It’s an odd couple pairing, with the immature Castle constantly annoying the professional driven Beckett.

I like a drama buddy cop show with humor, and Castle is one of the best. There are some over-arching story-lines, and even a big cast change. Humor, original crimes, good cast: this show worked. I’m on season two of my first-ever re-watch, and this is still a favorite show. It holds up, and Fillion really shines. It’s got more humor than his current hit show, The Rookie, which I also watch.

The show ran eight seasons, with viewership trending downward, as is often the case in long-running ones. But it got to where Fillion and Stanic were not even speaking off camera. It was abruptly announced that the show would continue without Katic – only Fillion. Not long after that, it was canceled outright. Several Castle co-stars have appeared on The Rookie. Katic has not been one of them. But you can’t go wrong watching Castle.

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My Top Thirty Films, Part 2

My Top Thirty Films, Part 2

Silent Running (Universal Pictures, March 10, 1972)

I’ve had a little think about my favorite films, and what makes them my favorites. As you will see, my choices are on the whole rather fluffy, but these are the films that I return to time and time again for comfort, or as a way to reset my brain. I’d be very interested to find out if any of my favorites align with any of your own – please let me know in the comments below!

Read Part 1 here. Without further ado, in no particular order, and no ratings (because they are all 10s), let’s get cracking!

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