The Pros and Cons of Comicon
It is the day before the first day of spring. As I sit in my office chair, working at my computer, the giant snow thrower passes by and deposits a massive blast of snow onto […]
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You Got Grit in my Fantasy Story
(Cue stoner voice) “You got grit in my fantasy story, man!” “Nah man, you got fantasy in my gritty story, dude!” Convergent evolution is the acquisition of the same biological trait in unrelated lineages. The […]
The Fury – Blu-ray and Expanded Soundtrack
Those difficult teen years. A time when you have no money, power or influence, and have to spend your day going to school without getting paid for the privilege. Have to do what adults say […]
The Artful Collector: “Excuses, Excuses”
And when we can’t have what we want….despite our best efforts to strategize for maximum gain? Then What? Oh, do we have excuses. Pick one: 1. End up the underbidder? “It was too expensive for […]
Anime roundup 3/24/2013: High Anxiety
Space Brothers #49 – Yes, international viewers who may not be familiar with the southwestern US, there are rattlesnakes near Amarillo, and yes, if you’re going to be walking through the wilderness around there for […]
Finding Women in Science Fiction
Where are all of the women writers in Science Fiction? Some are among us and we don’t even know it.
ASM Blog Horde Interview with Michael J. Sullivan
Welcome to the Amazing Stories BLOG HORDE INTERVIEWS! The ASM Blog Horde is a diverse and wonderful species. I have the privilege of talking with all of them, and I get to share those chats with […]
Interview with a Wizard: Mike Mearls
Pull the blinds and turn off the phone, it’s time to head to the Game Room and lock in on some hardcore meta-gaming action. In the Game Room we will explore the world of gaming […]
The History of Fantasy, Part III: I Think You Got a Little Grit In Your … Everything
I’d mentioned previously the spectrum of modern fantasy is fairly disparate, but if you go into the library or a bookstore it’s really borne out. So I think the best way to discuss the topic […]
Interview with Pam Uphoff
This week I interviewed another who had taken a less than traditional approach to publishing, Pam Uphoff. Pam has 12 titles on Amazon that I count, and I have been reading her excellent series Wine […]
The Howl of Family: A Review of Wolf Children
To smile through any hardship is a commendable virtue for anyone to have. Continuing to do so while having to raise two half-human, half-wolf children is something on a different world of resilience altogether. The […]
Anime roundup 3/17/2013: Showdown time
So here’s how this works: Every week, I commentate on the latest episodes of various anime series, and then we all discuss further in the comments! Then in April, From the New World will end […]
The Artful Collector: Collecting Strategies Part 5 “Living Dangerously”
There is one strategy for collecting that I haven’t yet mentioned. It is not only potentially the most expensive, it is also the most dangerous. Buy What Everyone Else is Buying Pick any one of […]
ASM Blog Horde Interview with Diane Severson
Welcome to the Amazing Stories BLOG HORDE INTERVIEWS! The ASM Blog Horde is a diverse and wonderful species. I have the privilege of talking with all of them, and I get to share those chats with […]
Woman, You Make Me Sick and Other Adventures in Freefall
These offputting objects killed the novel. Let’s dance. ‘Cos it’s more fun reading in freefall.
Crossroads: The Western Hero in Speculative Fiction
Someone once said that every story starts with someone either coming to town, or leaving town. And there is no genre for which this adage holds more true than the western. It probably takes us […]
We’ve Gone to See the Wizard and Tra La Tra La Tra La: A review of Oz The Great and Powerful
About five minutes after leaving the theater I ended the title take of the Wizard of Oz’s signature song with “…and we’re not happy at all.” (‘We’ve gone to see the Wizard and we’re not […]
The Good and Bad Sides of Digital Minimalism
I strive to be a minimalist, that is, someone who has few physical possessions. For a geek and an Aspie with OCE, this scenario is fraught with problems. For example it’s taken me a good […]
Reviews of Unknown or Underappreciated Books Post #4 Her Majesty’s Wizard by Christopher Stasheff
Hello again, and welcome back! So – what, exactly, do I mean by ‘unknown or underappreciated’? To put it simply – not everyone is a Kevin J. Anderson or David Weber or Eric Flint or […]
Karmic Demons and the Power of Compassion: Buddhist Philosophy in Modern Myth
I would put forward that the next thing is going to be a story, because right now, people really don’t have a big story, a big software. . . . They don’t have a big […]
NOT QUITE SWORD & SORCERY: EARLY FANTASY
Robert E. Howard may have invented Sword & Sorcery with the first King Kull tale, but he was not the only author working with the raw materials of heroic fantasy. We have already mentioned C. […]
Oz Don’t Look Like That!
With the release of the new movie OZ: The Great and Powerful this weekend, the world created by L. Frank Baum back in 1900 is getting a fresh look. Revisiting a classic is always a good […]
The Fuzzy Line Between Science Fiction and Fantasy
Pull the blinds and turn off the phone, it’s time to head to the Game Room and lock in on some hardcore meta-gaming action. In the Game Room we will explore the world of gaming […]
Characters: Song of Ice & Fire’s Tyrion Lannister
Tyrion Lannister has become a household name. Anyone who knows someone with an HBO subscription has heard of him. George RR Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire has been making waves throughout the fantasy community […]
Why Sorcerers Have Long Grizzled Beards
Ever notice that fictional sorcerers always seem to have long, grizzled beards? Ever wondered why? Well, probably you haven’t, but you’re about to find out. The sorcerer “look” originally comes from a real-life sorcerer named […]
The James Allison Stories: Dreaming of the Past
Robert E. Howard produced several series: Solomon Kane, Kull of Valusia, Bran Mak Morn, and finally Conan the Cimmerian, all existing more or less in the same world at different times. In “Kings of the […]
The Science Fiction Fan’s Bucket List
I’ve been fortunate to be able to travel a lot and do many things I’ve always wanted to do. Some of my opportunities have been work related (e.g. using the Hubble Space Telescope, and helping […]
Crossroads: Is this a Kissing Book? SFF’s Relationship with Romance
Whenever I think of speculative fiction’s relationship to romance, I am always reminded of that scene in The Princess Bride where Fred Savage’s character interrupts his grandpa and – voice dripping with scorn – asks: […]
Amazing Stories from Mexico – Book Review: Three Messages and a Warning – edited by Eduardo Jimenez Mayo and Chris N. Brown
Three Messages and a Warning – Contemporary Mexican Short Stories of the Fantastic – edited by Eduardo Jimenez Mayo and Chris N. Brown Small Beer Press 2011 Trade Paperback ISBN: 978-193152031-7 I was drawn to […]
The Artful Collector: Collecting Strategies Part 2 “Whatever It Takes”
Rich men (I am going to fall back on the male gender because most of the collectors in the field of illustration art and books are male) don’t let scarcity stop them from getting what […]
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