Search Results for: "discovering robert e. howard"

The Public Life of Sherlock Holmes: Dark Winds – Good Show, Bad Hillerman

Comments 4 comments

So, I wrote a three-part series, covering about 5,000 words, on Tony Hillerman and his Navajo Tribal Police series. I said this at the end of the third one: “Somewhere down the line, there will be a post about the four movies (and several failed attempts at such) made from these books.” Back in July of 2021, I wrote this essay, optimistically excited about AMC’s upcoming series based on Hillerman’s books. The six-episode series aired back in June, but I…

Read More Read More

Talking The Rings of Power: Numenor

Comments 8 comments

Sticking with my assessment that it’s better than The Shannara Chronicles, but not as good as Wheel of Time, it’s back to The Rings of Power. Previously, I visited the sad story of Miriel (Tar-Miriel). Tolkien speculated on a couple back-stories to her marriage to Ar-Pharazon, but dropped all of them. Click on over and check that one out. He had some neat ideas. I will say that I think that Numenor is one of the two strongest points in…

Read More Read More

A (Black) Gat in the Hand: Norbert Davis’ Max Latin

Comments 0 Comment

“You’re the second guy I’ve met within hours who seems to think a gat in the hand means a world by the tail.” – Phillip Marlowe in Raymond Chandler’s The Big Sleep (Gat — Prohibition Era term for a gun. Shortened version of Gatling Gun) A Black Gat in the Hand makes a rare Fall guest appearance! I think that John D. MacDonald was one of the greatest writers of the 20th Century – in any genre. He’s my favorite…

Read More Read More

What I’m Watching: November 2022

Comments 8 comments

Still reading and writing about Numenor, and Khazad-dum, for upcoming essays, so Talking The Rings of Power takes the week off. The Downfall of Numenor, the new book put together by Brian Sibley, is pretty good. The narrative flow works, and Alan Lee’s sketches are really nice. If you liked his Sketchbooks for The Lord of the Rings, and The Hobbit, you’ll definitely like the volume and quality of these sketches. And, I switched gears a little bit and I…

Read More Read More

Talking The Rings of Power: Harfoots :-(

Comments 4 comments

I eagerly tuned in a couple weeks ago to watch the Georgia – Tennessee game. Having beaten Alabama in one of the most exciting games of the season, the Vols were ready to establish themselves as the new kid on the block and hit the College Football Playoff like Mt. Vesuvius exploding. Yeah… I’ve always liked the phrase, “The moment was not too big for him.” This was the biggest moment in Tennessee football since Tee Martin took them to…

Read More Read More

Talking The Rings of Power: Miriel

Comments 1 comment

Talking The Rings of Power continues; wherein I look at something good, and something bad, about one element of the show. Then I talk a lot more about Tolkien’s actual writings about it. THIS SERIES IS FULL OF SPOILERS – related to the show, and Tolkien’s writings. You have been warned! I’m still working on the Numenor entry, as that Middle Earth version of the Atlantis story is a favorite. This week, I’ll look at Miriel, a tragic figure in…

Read More Read More

Talking The Rings of Power – Tolkien Trivia

Comments 6 comments

Okay – you have seen all of season one of The Rings of Power. Well, if you haven’t, might be some spoilers below… After writing about The Istari last week, it was logical to cover the harfoots today. But they are ruining the show, and I’m just not up right now for a couple thousand words on criticizing the overbearing, completely unwarranted, hobbit presence in The Rings of Power. The Second Age is about elves and men. With some dwarves…

Read More Read More

Talking The Rings of Power – The Istari

Comments 5 comments

So – season one of Amazon’s massively expensive Second Age epic, The Rings of Power, has fully aired. I have mixed feelings about it. It’s definitely better than MTV’s teen-drama take on Shannara (The Sword of Shannara is one of my all-time favorite novels). But I liked the Wheel of Time better than Rings. And that certainly had some flaws. So, still sorting through things. I’m going to do a re-watch, really paying attention and trying to be a little…

Read More Read More

Some Tolkien Thoughts…

Comments 4 comments

So, I’ve got over 1,500 words about season one of The Rings of Power, but it wasn’t gonna be wrestled into shape for this morning. So, I’ll work on tidying that up by next Monday. And I’m working on a basic Reader’s Guide to The Silmarillion: which, while my favorite Tolkien book, is, admittedly, not an easy read. But that’s not ready. So, I decided to write about a few Tolkien-related topics today. And awaaaay we go: Lord of the…

Read More Read More

Steamed: What I’ve Been Playing: October, 2022

Comments 0 Comment

So….the last three weeks I’ve shared what I’ve been watching; what I’ve been listening to; and what I’ve been reading. Let’s go for the grand slam and I’ll mention what I’ve been playing this year. ELDER SCROLLS ONLINE I never jumped full-bore into the MMO world. I preferred CRPGs, like Dark Sun, Baldur’s Gate, and Neverwinter Nights. I gave Pathfinder: Kingmaker a long try (gets bogged down in the details – like food management). And the first two Mount and…

Read More Read More