Search Results for: "discovering robert e. howard"

Nero Wolfe’s Brownstone – 3 Good Reasons: ‘Black Orchids’

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What flummery is this? I have not written about Nero Wolfe since last Summer? There has not been a 3 Good Reasons in four years? What kind of mystery blogger is this Bryne fellow? Most unsatisfactory. So… Welcome to another installment of 3 Good Reasons. With a goal of eventually tackling every tale of the Corpus, I’ll give three reasons why the particular story at hand is the best Nero Wolfe of them all. Since I’m writing over seventy ‘Best…

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’24? in 42′ with…Bob Byrne????

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Jason Waltz kicked off season two of his 24? in 42 podcast interviews with your very own Monday morning columnist. The prior installment was with Malazan’s Ian C. Esslemont, so I’m in pretty good company here. It should not surprise you that I was all over the place, covering Robert E. Howard, Michael Moorcock, Columbo, books on writing and screenwriting, Encyclopedia Brown, the Civil War, Tolkien, The Constitutional Convention of 1787, Lawrence Block, Steven Hockensmith, Norbert Davis, and much more.

Eleven Years of Monday Mornings with Bob

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Wow. Eleven years ago today, on March 10, 2014, I became an official Black Gate blogger. The Public Life of Sherlock Holmes kicked off a three year run, bringing a mystery presence every Monday morning. I roamed off topic a bit – but NOTHING like I do now. I mean, did you read last week’s baseball post? Encouraged by my buddy William Patrick Maynard (an established Black Gater), I went from some uknown guy commenting on other people’s posts, to…

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Was Don Newcombe a Hall of Famer? – Spring means Baseball

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I have occasionally strayed off topic here at Black Gate, KISS, the Beach Boys, Humphrey Bogart…stuff like that. I played tee-ball as a tyke and have loved baseball my whole life. With a new season dawning (one in which my beloved Dodgers are the reigning World Series champs for the fourth time since I was born), I wanted to talk baseball. And I think that sharing about Don Newcombe is the way to do it. In 1949’s (sappy) It Happens…

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Guns or Butter? Total War: Warhammer II

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I came to Total War way back when, through TW: Rome. Arriving in 2004, it was the third game in the TW series, after Shogun, and Medieval. I liked it, though I wasn’t addicted – as I was to many games back then. But it was fun marshaling armies, and then marching them out to crush your enemies. I talked about it a little bit a few weeks ago in my RTS overview (man, Myth: The Fallen Lords was such…

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What I’ve Been Listening To: February, 2025

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I haven’t shared what I’ve been listening to, since November. How have you lasted this long??? Let’s rectify that right now, shall we? ISAAC STEELE & THE FOREVER MAN – Daniel Rigby This is the first of two originals produced by Audible as The Isaac Steele Chronicles – it’s not a print or digital book turned into an audiobook. Rigby wrote it, and he narrates as well. He sounds a lot like Cary Elwes, which totally works for me (you…

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Beware of Greeks Bearing Gifts (and giant wooden horses. I mean, seriously!)

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The story of Troy has been my favorite myth since I was a little kid. Greek mythology is far and away my favorite (Norse is a distant second), and I used to check Bullfinch’s out of my grade school library and lug it home. That was a relatively big book. I have my own copy now, of course. The worst part, is I always root for the Trojans. It never ends well for them. If they had just listened to…

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Looking Back at RTS – and Myth: The Fallen Lords

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So….one of the rabbit holes I periodically jump down is Total War: Warhammer II. That’s easily my favorite in the Total War series (I played a boatload of TW: I as well. You can use units from I, in II, in some campaigns, which increases the utility of the first game. I appreciate that. I struggle with the first 15-or-so turns, and frequently abandon a new game, pick another faction, and try again. I like playing different factions, so that’s…

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Ten Things I Think I Think: January 2025

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It’s been a whole month since I randomly shared my opinions on things I think. How in the world have you made it through the start of this new year, without that???? So, I think that: 1) THE LORD OF A SHATTERED LAND IS TERRIFIC If you follow me on Facebook – or even read my column here every Monday – you know I’ve been talking about my Black Gate buddy Howard Andrew Jones, who passed away earlier this month….

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An Important Life – Howard Andrew Jones (1968 – 2025)

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A LIFE IS NOT IMPORTANT EXCEPT IN THE IMPACT IT HAS ON OTHER LIVES – Jackie Robinson’s epitaph I did an interview last week with Jason Waltz for his ’24 in 42′ podcast (Yeah, I know: You just can’t wait to hear that one…). One of the questions was about my favorite quote/lyric/poem/motivational thought. Some of you who know me probably figure it’s a Bible verse. And there are a couple that are right up there. But it’s the epitaph…

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