Search Results for: book club

Random Reviews: “The Loser of Solitaire” by Paul David Novitski

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The introduction to Paul David Novitski’s short story “The Loser of Solitaire” in the January 1979 issue of Fantastic Stories notes “Paul Novitski is not a prolific author.” In fact, he sees to have published a total of five short stories over a period of seven years, with the first two, appearing in 1973 and 1975, published under the name Alpajpuri, and the last three, all appearing in 1979 under his own name. Novitski tells the story of a man…

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

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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…

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Vintage Treasures: The Best of British SF 1 and 2 edited by Mike Ashley

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The Best of British SF 1 and 2 (Orbit, 1977). Covers by Bob Layzell Every once in a while I sit back, take stock of our accomplishments, and think, “Man. We’ve showcased countless forgotten writers here at Black Gate, discussed tens of thousands of neglected books, writing late into the night on tight deadlines, and nobody has spell checked anything.” Still, I’m justifiably proud of what we’ve accomplished in the 23 years this website has been live. Though I do…

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Peter Straub: Men Love Him, Women Want to be Like Him 

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TIna Jens and Peter Straub Peter Straub, who passed away on September 4, was the Toastmaster at World Horror Convention 2006 San Francisco. Tina Jens was asked to write his “appreciation” essay for the program book. Here it is, in its entirety. Barbie wants to be an astronaut. Geena Davis wants to be president. When I grow up, want to be Peter Straub. We’ve all got to have our dreams. And let’s face it, as dreams so, I’m shooting for…

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Ellsworth’s Cinema of Swords: They Might Be Giants

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The Giant of Marathon (Italy/France, 1959) When you think of Italian cinema, probably the first thing that comes to mind are its great dramatic directors such as Roberto Rossellini, Vittorio De Sica, and Federico Fellini. But you wouldn’t be reading this fine website devoted to genre fiction if the second thing wasn’t Italy’s action films, the Spaghetti Westerns, such as The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly from the decade of 1964-74, and the historical epics from the decade before…

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In Hell, Everyone’s Pants are on Fire: A preview of Liars in Hell

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In Hell, Everyone’s Pants are on Fire! Faux News and Big Lies might feel like a contemporary pain, but rest assured, dear reader! Your curse has been shared. Liars have been meddling with humanity throughout history. Here ye the accounts of their eternal demise journaled by the damnedest writers in perdition. Note, that each themed entry in the Heroes in Hell™ series can be read separately. Hell has many entry points. Going back some years ago to Doctors in Hell…

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Vintage Treasures: Tales from the Spaceport Bar edited by George H. Scithers and Darrell Schweitzer

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Tales from the Spaceport Bar and Another Round at the Spaceport Bar (Avon Books, 1987 and 1989). Covers by James Warhola and Doug Beekman Science fiction has a rep for being serious stuff. Tales of dystopias, climate catastrophes and environmental collapse, dire warnings about worrying trends, that’s SF in a nutshell. Even dressed up in its best story-telling adventure garb, Star Wars or Mad Max-style, it’s still often perceived as all about desperate battles in apocalyptic settings. Of course, science…

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A (Black) Gat in the Hand: Shovel’s Painful Predicament

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“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) I am far more into pastiche – that emulation of an author’s style – than parody, which uses the author’s work to get a laugh. But I do read a little parody; and have written…

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A (Black) Gat in the Hand: Spicy Adventures from Robert E. Howard

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“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) Last week, we followed Robert E. Howard out of our usual mean streets, and into the Shudder Pulps. Well, Two-Gun Bob is our tour guide again this week, as we wander into Spicy Adventures territory….

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A (Black) Gat in the Hand: Weird Menace from Robert E. Howard

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“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) My area of expertise is the hardboiled/Pi genre. But today, we’ll jump over to the ‘shudder pulps.’ In 1933, Popular Publications (Harry Steeger) switched the ailing Dime Mystery over to a new, weird menace format….

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