Been reading the 163x Grantville alternate history series again, mostly because I wanted to. 1636: The Kremlin Games (authors Eric Flint, Gorg Huff, and Paula Goodlett) is a reasonably standalone novel in that series, and pretty engrossing. Russia’s always an interesting locale to put a speculative fiction story, not least because the place seems half-fantastic to Western readers anyway.
And so, adieu to The Day of the Triffids.
This is pretty cool. “Far Below” was written by Frank Barbour Johnson in 1939*, and it is remarkable how close it matches up to a modern Cthulhu Mythos story. It’s not officially part of the Mythos, although Johnson name-drops Lovecraft in the story and it’s blatantly obvious that the tale draws from “Pickman’s Model.” This radio play is a decent adaptation, although they had to add a character because the original is essentially a monologue.
Check it out. Continue reading Hey! A radio play adaption of “Far Below.”
I typically pick up these graphic novels as soon as Studio Foglio Kickstarts them, and Girl Genius Volume 16 is no exception. Girl Genius has been going on since… wow. I can’t remember when I wasn’t reading Girl Genius online. According to Wikipedia they started the comic in 2001 and put it online in 2005, which means that I’ve been reading it religiously for sixteen years. ‘Course, I’ve been reading Phil Foglio himself for almost thirty.
Because I’m OLD. Or at least getting there. Anyway, good series, check it out.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/girlgenius/the-incorruptible-library-a-girl-genius-graphic-no?ref=user_menu
John Wyndham’s The Day of the Triffids is of interest to me not just because of the book, but because for some reason I thought that I was thinking of the 1962 movie version of it when I was actually thinking of the 1981 BBC miniseries. Which makes more sense, because I was wondering how 1962 could have possibly managed to make a movie that was actually faithful to the book. Short answer: it didn’t, of course. Anyway, good book, well worth revisiting’ but just remember that it was written in the 1950s.
And so, adieu to A Civil Campaign. Continue reading Book of the Week: The Day of the Triffids.
Specifically, the Dark Adventure Radio Theater The Haunter of the Dark. The actual CD goes out next week, but if you pre-ordered it, check your email. They’re sending out links.
The Haunter of the Dark is HP Lovecraft’s last known story, one of his best stories, and also one of his most influential ones. Lots of people have taken no little inspiration from HPL’s Starry Wisdom cult and/or Shining Trapezohedron; there’s just something about the concepts that spark ideas in modern Mythos writers. And let me take this opportunity to recommend, once again, The Starry Wisdom Library: The Catalogue of the Greatest Occult Book Auction of All Time to all serious Lovecraft fans or gamemasters. It is a marvelous resource for anyone writing or gaming in this genre, and (just in case the title didn’t make it obvious) it draws directly from The Haunter of the Dark. Check it out. Check it all out.
Volume 1 of Tour de Lovecraft is useful and insightful*. The news that a second volume will be Kickstartered next month is welcome news. Ken Hite:
Particularly since I don’t think that I’ve actually read Ken’s Lost in Lovecraft’s stuff. Always nice to hear that there’s new material to read on the horizon, hey?
Moe Lane
*Although six hundred dollar for a print copy sounds absurd. So absurd, in fact, that I’m not going to try to flog my own copy for that kind of money. I mean, geez, it’s ten bucks on the Kindle.
“Don’t cry. You can cry when you’re dead.”
Or is it:
“There’s always an armory.”
Either works, in context. Continue reading So, what IS the traditional Tesladyne mantra?
I’m kind of unsure whether I should make Lois McMaster Bujold’s A Civil Campaign the Book of the Week. I mean, yes, it’s bloody brilliant. The Vorkosigan series generally is, and Bujold has a remarkable capacity for precipitating out genuine hilarity from the most unpromising of sources. I just don’t know whether or not it’s the best gateway to the entire Vorkosigan series. Of course, most people here don’t really need to be told to buy this book, do they? You already know. You probably already have.
Ach, well, maybe somebody will see this post someday in a Google search.
And thus, we say adieu to The Hunt For Red October. Continue reading Book of the Week: A Civil Campaign.
It makes sense. I guess.
Fresh off critical favorite The Leftovers, Damon Lindelof is in talks for a potential Watchmen TV series for HBO. Sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that the project is in the early development stages. An official deal is not yet in place. Representatives for HBO and producer Warner Bros. Television declined comment.
Continue reading HBO negotiating to bring Watchmen to small screen.
I got turned on to Tom Clancy novels by a buddy in college. The Hunt For Red October was maybe the first one I read, because of the movie (which is, of course, excellent, and not least because it boasts a remarkably good cast). It was about then, I think, that I started coming to the (at the time) uncomfortable realization that maybe Ronald Reagan wasn’t an amiable dunce after all. …Much followed, from that.
And so, adieu to Hard Magic. Continue reading Book of the Week: The Hunt For Red October.
