The History of Fantasy, Part I: Books of Monsters
Some people like to date Fantasy as starting with Tolkien, some like to reach back to the tales of the ancient world, but I like to split the difference and start with Beowulf. […]
Sword & Sorcery – What’s In A Name?
Sword & Sorcery has become a term of derision since the 1980s. There are good reasons for this but much of that derision is out of ignorance. The barbarian baby has been thrown out with […]
¿Y si Venus tuviera vida? Una vieja historia de Bradbury y Brackett
Venus. Following the recent report of life-chemicals found in its atmosphere, is it any wonder that we’re all thinking swampy things again?
Muse of a Wizard
Open your heart to a fantasy tale, ones like your mother told you when you were still small.
Improbable Interviews – Cherith Baldry
An interview with Cherith Baldry, one of the contributors to the anthology Improbable Botany.
The Greatest Fantasy Novels of All Time Part 11
A new fantasy entry for the greatest fantasy novels of all time.
The Greatest Fantasy Novels of All Time Part 10
The character of the young Arthur, known as Wart, was so finely crafted that famous authors such as J. K. Rowling and Neil Gaiman have confessed to borrowing elements of the character for their own stories.
The Greatest Fantasy Novels of All Time Part 9
A new addition to the Greatest SF&F works of all time!
Science Fiction Christmas
Since this is my last post before Christmas I feel I should at least acknowledge the holiday season. Not everybody celebrates, true, but in this day and age everybody knows about it. So, Christmas is […]
The 72nd Worldcon Voters will Forge History
The Hugos are upon us. RK gives you even more (and better reasons) to join up and vote!
Story and Metaphor in Art Form: How Writing and Painting Whisper or Shout Their Truths
Every artist is a reporter of life and truth; examining the similarities between art and writing.
Why Science Fiction Has a Troubled Relationship With Utopias
Maybe it’s time to donate to SETI … and vote for politicians who believe that Gross National Happiness is less important than Gross National Aerospace Investment.
SWORD & SORCERY & J. R. R. TOLKIEN
In September 1937 an English Don named John Ronald Reuel Tolkien published a children’s book called The Hobbit. Robert E. Howard, the creator of Conan, had been dead for fifteen months. In 1950 Gnome Press […]
Zero-Magic Fantasy
Zero-magic fantasy is a growing subgenre. But can it ever rise above the level of thought experiment? And what are the tradeoffs?
American Tolkien
There is a kind of writer whose name evokes not just the titles of their best-known novels or the characters in them, but a certain way of experiencing the world. If one hears the name […]
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