Clik here to view.
Stop the Madness: Walter M. Miller’s A Canticle for Leibowitz
A Canticle for Leibowitz (Bantam Books reprint edition, August 1976). Cover by Lou Feck In Walter M. Miller, Jr.’s A Canticle for Leibowitz, the humor is bleak, and the future worse. First published...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Cimmerian September – Conan and The Lost Valley of Iskander
Welcome back to week three of Cimmerian September. Now, El Borak rivals Conan for my favorite REH character. I REALLY enjoy those stories. And I like Kirby O’Donnell, and I’ve covered those three...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Mary Poppins by PL Travers
Version 1.0.0 Mary Poppins gave a superior sniff. “Don’t you know,” she said pitingly, “that everybody’s got a Fairyland of their own?” Ultimately, I have Baird Searles (or you have to blame) to thank...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Almost Gothic: The Nine Tailors by Dorothy Sayers
The Nine Tailors, first edition (Harcourt, Brace, 1934) The Nine Tailors has been described as the best of Dorothy Sayers’s novels. It certainly has many of the features of classic literary fiction,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Becoming a Reader
Andre Norton’s Janus novels: Judgment on Janus and Victory on Janus (Fawcett Crest, December 1979 and January 1980). Covers by Ken Barr I read a lot as a kid and read widely, sampling anything I could...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Sour Bill: The Issue at Hand and More Issues at Hand by William Atheling, Jr.
The Issue at Hand, by William Atheling, Jr., AKA James Blish (Advent: Publishers, 1964). Cover by Jon Stopa In 1952, a science fiction fanzine, Sky Hook, began publishing a series of critical essays by...
View ArticleClik here to view.
David C. Smith, Part 5: Sometime Lofty Towers, A Magnificent Work of Sword &...
Sometime Lofty Towers (Brackenbury Books, December 2025). Cover by Saša Đurđević I’ve just finished reading what may be David C. Smith’s best work — Sometime Lofty Towers. My first contact with Smith...
View ArticleClik here to view.
David C. Smith, Part 4: The Fall of the First World and Four Horror Novels
The Fall of the First World trilogy by David C Smith, from Pinnacle Books (1983). Covers by Carl Lundgren and Kevin Johnson David C. Smith also wrote a trilogy of fantasy novels under the collective...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Vampires, Shoggoths, and the Monsters of the Suburbs: The Year’s Best Horror...
The Year’s Best Horror Stories XVI (DAW Books, October 1988). Cover by J.K. Potter The Year’s Best Horror Stories: XVI was the sixteenth in the lineup and the eighth volume edited by the great Karl...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Science Fiction Film Noir: Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny
Lord of Light (Avon Books, January 1969). Cover by Ronald Walotsky His followers called him Mahasamatman and said he was a god. He preferred to drop the Maha- and the -atman, however, and called...
View ArticleClik here to view.
David C. Smith, Part Three: Oron and the Tales of Attluma
The Oron series by David C Smith Although David Smith’s work in the Robert E. Howard Universe is memorable, his best creations to me are his original stories of Attluma. Attluma is an island continent...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Gender Fluid Future on the Moon: John Varley’s Steel Beach
Steel Beach (Ace Books, August 1993). Cover by Todd Cameron Hamilton My hot take for 2026: books are ephemeral. Old news, perhaps, but did any spec-fic writer know this better than John Varley? In...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Severed Arms and the Angel of Death: The Year’s Best Horror Stories: Series...
The Year’s Best Horror Stories XV (DAW Books, October 1987). Cover by Michael Whelan It’s been awhile, but given a nudge from John O’Neill I’m back with the ongoing perusal of DAW’s Year’s Best Horror...
View ArticleClik here to view.
From Woking to Ansby: The High Crusade by Poul Anderson
The High Crusade (Berkley Books, October 1983). Cover by Tom Kidd The High Crusade is one of the earlier novels in Poul Anderson’s long career: serialized in Astounding Science Fiction in the summer...
View ArticleClik here to view.
David C. Smith & Robert E. Howard, Part Two: Red Sonja
Red Sonja by David C. Smith and Richard L. Tierney (Ace Books, December 1981 – May 1983). Covers by Boris Vallejo In addition to his Black Vulmea and Bran Mak Morn stories, David C. Smith collaborated...
View ArticleClik here to view.
David C. Smith & Robert E. Howard, Part One
For the Witch of the Mists by David C. Smith & Richard Tierney (Zebra, January 1978) and The Witch of the Indies by David C. Smith (Zebra, June 1977). Covers by Doug Beekman and Stephen Fabian I...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Tragedy and a Comedy: Murder Must Advertise by Dorothy Sayers
Murder Must Advertise (Pocket Books, 1940) Mr. Tallboy’s eyes, roving negligently round, had fallen on Bredon’s index-card… Neatly printed on the card stood one word. DEATH In Murder Must Advertise,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Epic Science Fiction & Fantasy of Poul Anderson, Part Four: The High...
The High Crusade (Berkley Medallion, March 1978). Cover artist unknown Two other good novels by Anderson are The High Crusade (SF), a humorous look at 14th Century humans getting loose in the universe...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Heaven of Action: Mistress of Mistresses by E.R. Eddison
Mistress of Mistresses (Ballantine Books, August 1967). Cover by Barbara Remington I heard her say, faint as the breath of nightflowers under the stars, “The fabled land of Zimiamvia. Is it true, will...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Epic Science Fiction & Fantasy of Poul Anderson, Part Three: The Broken...
The Broken Sword (Ballantine Adult Fantasy #24, January 1971). Cover by George Barr Read Part One and Part Two of this article here at Black Gate. The Broken Sword is arguably the best book Anderson...
View Article
