Search Results for: tale covers

The Ordinary is Ephemeral: Robert E. Howard, Clark Ashton Smith, H.P. Lovecraft, and the Battle Against Modernism

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Weird Tales of Modernity: The Ephemerality of the Ordinary in the Stories of Robert E. Howard, Clark Ashton Smith, and H.P. Lovecraft Jason Ray Carney McFarland & Company (205 pages, $39.95 in paperback/$23.99 digital, July 26, 2019) Jason Carney’s thesis in Weird Tales of Modernity is that, in their reaction to modernism, the artistic and literary movement that upended culture as it had been accepted in the Victorian and Edwardian eras, the Weird Tales Three — Howard, Smith, and Lovecraft…

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Vintage Treasures: Sword-Dancer by Jennifer Roberson

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Sword-Dancer by Jennifer Roberson. DAW paperback original, 1986. Cover by Kathy Wyatt Jennifer Roberson was one of the 80s class of DAW women writers. Her first short short story, “The Lady and the Tiger,” the genesis for the Tiger and Del series, appeared in Marion Zimmer Bradley’s groundbreaking Sword and Sorceress 2 in 1985. Like Mercedes Lackey, Mickey Zucker Reichert, Cheryl J. Franklin (whom I covered last week) and others, Roberson was a fixture on bookstores shelves and the DAW catalog all through the 80s and…

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Mysterious Islands, Giant Trees, and Reptilian Aliens: Cirsova Magazine Summer Special #2

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Cover by Robert Zoltan On May 22, Cirsova Magazine announced the release of their second Summer Special issue (full and very impressive title: Cirsova Magazine of Thrilling Adventure and Daring Suspense: Summer Special #2). The first one was released last June and was a sturdy 293 pages; it contained tales by Misha Burnett, Schuyler Hernstrom, and others, including a big science fiction novella by Caroline Furlong. This year’s version is a little most modest (143 pages), but it contains a full eleven…

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Uncanny X-Men, Part 12: X-Men Guest Appearances in 1971-1972 and Hank gets Furry!

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We’re back in the Bronze Age, baby! We left the original X-Men in John’s Byrne’s X-Men: The Hidden Years and in this 12th installment in my reread of all the X-Men, we’re now into the guest appearances our merry mutants made in the dark period between 1970 and 1975 when they weren’t being published regularly. I want to go over The Amazing Spider-Man #92 (guest-starring Iceman), The Incredible Hulk #150 (guest-starring Havok and Polaris), Marvel-Team-Up #4 (featuring Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Angel and Professor X), Amazing Adventures #9-10 (starring the…

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Vintage Treasures: The Inquisitor by Cheryl J. Franklin

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The Inquisitor by Cheryl J. Franklin. DAW, 1992. Cover by Les Edwards Cheryl J. Franklin was one of a reliable stable of women writers upon whom DAW built a mighty paperback dynasty in the late 80s and early 90s. While science fiction of the 60s and 70s was dominated by slender volumes of male-focused adventure, DAW (and others) shook things up at the end of the century — and grabbed an impressive share of the market in the process — by showcasing female writers and…

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Andrew Liptak on 15 New Science Fiction and Fantasy Books to Check Out in May

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I don’t know where John DeNardo vanished to this month. Ever since The Barnes & Noble Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog shut down, taking their excellent monthly summary with tbem, I’ve grown to rely on John’s monthly SF book survey at Kirkus Reviews pretty heavily. It didn’t appear in May — but fortunately Andrew Liptak at Polygon came through, so I don’t have to wrap up the month dangerously uninformed. What does Andrew recommend for us in May? Let’s have a look….

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Adventure and Tragedy on a Far Future Earth: Keith West on Zothique by Clark Ashton Smith

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Zothique by Clark Ashton Smith. Ballantine Adult Fantasy #16, 1976. Cover by George Barr Some years back Keith West wrote a series of articles for Black Gate on the legendary Ballantine Adult Fantasy series edited by Lin Carter. In fifteen pieces between 2013-2015 Keith covered the first fourteen or so titles, including The Blue Star by Fletcher Pratt, The King of Elfland’s Daughter by Lord Dunsany, and The Doom that Came to Sarnath by H. P. Lovecraft. Yesterday I was delighted…

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The Art of Author Branding: The Ace Robert Silverberg

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The Ace Robert Silverberg: skewed titles and unclutterd art. The Seed of Earth, The Silent Invaders, Recalled to Life, Next Stop the Stars, Collision Course and Stepsons of Terra. All from 1977. Covers by Don Punchatz If you cruised the bookstore and supermarket racks in the 70s and 80s for science fiction paperbacks, Robert Silverberg was everywhere. I mean, everywhere. It wasn’t just that he was enormously productive — that was certainly true. But his books remained in print, or were returned to…

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Wendy N. Wagner will Assume Editorial Reins at Nightmare Magazine with Issue #100

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Recent issues of Nightmare Magazine. Covers by Alexandra Petruk / Adobe Stock Images Nightmare may well be the best magazine of horror and dark fantasy on the market. In the last twelve months, under the skilled editorial guidance of John Joseph Adams, it’s published original fiction by Simon Strantzas, Adam-Troy Castro, Brian Evenson, Rich Larson, Ray Nayler, Senaa Ahmad, and many others. However, JJA is a busy guy. In addition to Nightmare he also edits the acclaimed Lightspeed magazine, a line…

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Galaxy Science Fiction, October 1954: A Retro-Review

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Cover art by Mel Hunter My apologies for an extended absence from posting reviews. Personal matters took my focus and drive, but I’m back again for another retro-review of Galaxy Science Fiction — in this case the October, 1954 issue. Mel Hunter’s cover art is titled “The Latest in Dugout Canoes.” At least, I think that’s the title. It’s listed inside as “Lastest”, which I think is a typo, given that lastest isn’t a word. But even in a prestigious magazine…

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