Category Archives: reviews

Book Review Mini: Frankenstein (Shelley)

Posted on August 30, 2021 by Joseph

What’s it about? (SPOILERS!) Victor Frankenstein goes to college to study science and medicine. He eventually discovers a formula and process for building a living being out of spare parts. But he finds his creation hideous and runs away from … Continue reading →

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Book Review Mini: Beowulf (Heaney)

Posted on August 26, 2021 by Joseph

What’s it about? (SPOILERS!) The hero Beowulf sails to the great hall of Heorot where the people are being terrorized by the monster Grendel. After a some courtly conversation, boasting, and insults, Beowulf and his men go to sleep in … Continue reading →

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Review: Elric: The Sailor on the Seas of Fate (Moorcock)

Posted on November 11, 2019 by Joe

Elric, rebel sorcerer and albino outcast, would-be emperor and reluctant servant of Chaos, continues his wayward journey across his strange world, trying to learn new virtues and ideas of justice before he returns home to take his rightful place on … Continue reading →

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Review: Elric: The Fortress of the Pearl (Moorcock)

Posted on October 6, 2019 by Joe

Having conquered his upstart cousin and acquired the soul-devouring sword Stormbringer, young emperor Elric sets out to explore the world to learn wisdom and justice so he can transform his people from amoral decadents into virtuous paragons. But his journey … Continue reading →

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Review: Elric of Melnibone and Other Stories (Moorcock)

Posted on September 27, 2019 by Joe

Elric of Melnibone is often introduced and discussed in contrast to Conan the Cimmerian, so I will bow to that most noble tradition now. Robert E. Howard‘s Conan is an American fantasy hero of great strength and courage, powerful mirth … Continue reading →

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Review: Koshchei the Deathless (Mignola)

Posted on September 26, 2019 by Joe

I’ve always had a soft spot for eastern European folklore and mythology. I grew up on Norse and Greek myths, and later Egyptian and Celtic. But Slavic myths were harder to stumble upon (when I was young and you had … Continue reading →

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Review: The God Engines by John Scalzi

Posted on August 7, 2019 by Joe

This 2009 short novel by science fiction writer John Scalzi does a fair job of blurring genre lines. It’s about space ships and a galactic empire! But it’s also about living gods, faith, magic, and monsters. As a short book, … Continue reading →

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Review: The Dying Earth series by Jack Vance

Posted on July 31, 2019 by Joe

This series of short stories and fix-up novels by Jack Vance spanning the 1950s to 1980s is one of my favorite works of fantasy. It’s about morally gray characters just trying to survive, it’s about a dying world where people … Continue reading →

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Review: The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle

Posted on July 24, 2019 by Joe

This novel (and animated film) by Peter S. Beagle was written in 1968, and remains one of my favorite fantasy works, in part for its lyrical fairy tale language and for its piercingly honest and often sad journey into loneliness, … Continue reading →

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Review: The Black Company by Glen Cook

Posted on June 27, 2019 by Joe

This novel by Glen Cook was written in 1984, and from what I hear it was an influential fantasy book in that era, particularly as it uniquely combined a cast of low-fantasy anti-hero mercenaries with a high-fantasy world of magic … Continue reading →

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