The Functional Nerds Episode 035 - James Enge

"In the 35th episode of the Functional Nerds, we welcome back Blake Charlton & James Enge to talk dyslexia, Latin, Greek & why other languages have fewer folks suffering from dyslexia versus English, then break out into a fantastic chat on music, instruments and how language plays a huge part in how music has developed over centuries, then onto mythology and how it influences Fantasy works today, then into video games, comic books, YA novels, Spellbound, The Wolf Age and much, much more."


Unheard.

http://www.box.net/shared/static/mrey8705vn.mp3

Bookish Dreaming Talking To Pyr - Gillian Polack

A multi-author round-table interview/discussion in some depth.

"JE: There are so many great books out there that I’ve never heard of, I’m more eager to sponge on other people’s experience and get new recommendations than I am to make them. But, tossing these vain scruples aside, one book I like to recommend is Gibbon’s Decline & Fall of the Roman Empire. Gibbon, in some ways, was a racist, classist, cynical, smug little prick. But he wrote stunningly beautiful English prose; he knew a lot; he could tell a good story and, when evidence failed him, he wasn’t wholly disinclined to make stuff up, an important virtue (and vice) in a historian. And, for an eighteenth century English Tory, he could sometimes be surprisingly sympathetic towards people unlike himself. The book is so huge that people tend to avoid it, or they read abridged versions that leave out things like the footnotes, where half the good lines are. But if you just read the first third or so (unabridged) you’ll get the best parts, with the craziest emperors playing whack-a-mole with usurpers and the western empire getting smashed up by barbarians and the martyr-speckled persecutions and the Gnostic theology and the whatnot followed by more copiously annotated whatnot.

Another recommendation I usually make, when I can overcome my natural hesitancy to impose my opinion on others, is to read Leigh Brackett. She has no particular claim to fame, apart from being the greatest sword-and-planet writer ever, and also the fact that she was a genius scriptwriter and a talented writer of detective fiction and westerns and postapocalyptic sf and... Okay, let me rephrase: she has a freakishly varied set of claims to fame. She was a wonderful stylist, always using the right word, never its second cousin. She was a great storyteller. And she belongs to the pulpy tradition that sf/f seems eager to leave behind and should not."


5 out of 5

http://www.bibliobuffet.com/bookish-dreaming/1402-talking-to-pyr-110710

Sword and Sorcery'’s Next Big Thing Interview with - James Enge

"Also, in This Crooked Way, you take the story from various view points, giving it a mosaic feel that’s very unlike most classical Sword and Sorcery. Why did you chose to do this? What were you trying to accomplish?

I think you’re right that the shifting point-of-view is very different from classic S&S, which has normally been restricted 3rd person. Maybe Fafhrd is the POV character in one story and the Gray Mouser in another, but I usually doesn’t switch between 1st person narrators. (Zelazny’s Amber series is sort of an exception here, but Zelazny is always exceptional.) But I wanted to look at Morlock from different angles, see him and his actions through different eyes and, frankly, to hear other voices. (Morlock doesn’t talk much, at least when he’s sober.) It was an interesting technical challenge to tell a story with different members of the cast stepping forward to take a solo, as it were. And some readers have liked this and some have really hated it, even people who ended up liking the book.

The episodic nature of THIS CROOKED WAY is more traditional, like Leiber’s Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser books, or Vance’s Dying Earth series or Moorcock’s Elric stories (which I first read in the fix-up versions DAW published inthe 70s; it’s been interesting to reread them in the restored Ballantine editions). I badly wanted to write an episodic novel. There’s something satisfying to me in a story that has a series of plot arcs, each of which has a culmination, but all of which are part of a bigger arc which has its own resolution."


4.5 out of 5

http://pauljessup.com/2010/10/11/interview-with-james-enge-sword-and-sorcerys-next-big-thing/

The Functional Nerds 27 - James Enge

"In our 27th episode, John & I are joined by James Enge – author of Blood of Ambrose, This Crooked Way, and the upcoming The Wolf Age. With James we chat about Latin, Morlock, sword & socrcery, Blood of Ambrose, The Crooked lady, Merlin, publishing, Popular Science, Norse mythology, Mickey Zucker Reinhurt, Jack Vance, Fritz Lieber, Roman & Greek mythology, Thor, Beta Ray Bill, Dwarves, creating languages, Klingon & PYR books."


4 out of 5

http://www.box.net/shared/static/c34tvqe3sh.mp3

Writing: Serial Characters and the Book Deal - James Enge and Howard Andrew Jones

"A growing number of Black Gate authors have moved on to book deals, and some were published novelists before they appeared in the magazine.

Two of us, James Enge and myself, landed book deals featuring recurring characters that had appeared in Black Gate short stories.

They were the Dabir & Asim stories for me (”Whispers from the Stone” and “Sight of Vengeance“) and the Morlock tales for James (six appearances in BG so far, starting with “Turn Up This Crooked Way” and “Payment Deferred,” and most recently the novella “Destroyer” in Black Gate 14)."


3.5 out of 5

http://www.blackgate.com/2010/10/04/writing-serial-characters-and-the-book-deal/

Take Five With - James Enge

"1. Ghost-powered zeppelins are the safest kind of airship. Unless you’re a werewolf."


3 out of 5

http://suvudu.com/2010/09/take-five-with-james-enge-author-the-wolf-age.html

The Wolf Age 1 - James Enge

An online novel excerpt.


4 out of 5


http://pyrsamples.blogspot.com/2010/09/wolf-age-by-james-enge.html

Blood of Ambrose - James Enge

2009 World Fantasy Award nomination for best novel.


4.5 out of 5

Quote - James M. Pfundstein

"I always present myself as the soul of innocence, the better to further my works of corruption."


4.5 out of 5

ISFDB Bibliography - James Enge

Online, but ISFDB doesn't cover some of his publications, as policy.


3.5 out of 5

http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?James_Enge

Email - James Enge

jamesenge@gmail.com

Wikipedia - James Enge

Onlne encyclopedia entry:

James Enge
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from James enge)James M. Pfundstein
Pen name James Enge
Occupation Lecturer, Author
Language English
Nationality American
Education PhD in Classics
Alma mater University of Minnesota
Period 2008 - Present
Genres fantasy,sword and sorcery
Notable work(s) Morlock the Maker series.

Influences[show]

Official website


James Enge is the pseudonym of James M. Pfundstein, an American fantasy and sword and sorcery author. His best known work is the ongoing Morlock the Maker series.[1]Contents [hide]
1 Biography
2 Bibliography
3 References
4 External links

[edit]
Biography

James M. Pfundstein has a PhD from the University of Minnesota [2] and is a lecturer at Bowling Green State University in the Department of Romance and Classical Studies.[3] He is represented by the Onyxhawke Agency. [4]
[edit]
Bibliography

Morlock the Maker: Novels[5]
Blood of Ambrose (2009), ISBN 9781591027362
This Crooked Way (2009), ISBN 978-1591027843
The Wolf Age (2010), ISBN 9781616142438

Morlock the Maker Short Stories published in Black_Gate_(magazine) and online
"Blood From A Stone"
"A Book Of Silences"
A Covenant With Death
"Fire and Sleet"
"The Gordian Stone"
The Lawless Hours
"Payment Deferred"
"Payment In Full
"The Red Worm's Way"
Turn Up This Crooked Way

Other Stories
"Brother Solson and Sister Luna"
[edit]
References
^ Anders, Lou (07 April 2009). "Morlock Ambrosius Master of Makers". Tor.com. Retrieved 26 May 2010.
^ "University of Minnesota Classical and Near Eastern Studies Dissertations". University of Minnesota. Retrieved 26 May 2010.
^ "James Pfundstein's University Page". Bowling Green State University. Retrieved 26 May 2010.
^ "Onyxhawke Agency". Onxyhawke Agency. Retrieved 26 May 2010.
^ "Pyr Bibliography". Retrieved 26 May 2010.
[edit]
External links
James Enge Official website
James Enge's Blog
James Enge's Twitter
James Enge (ology)
James Enge on Facebook
Q&A with Stargate Producer Joseph Mallozzi
Review of Blood of Ambrose at Fantasy Book Critic
Long Detailed Review of Blood of Ambrose at Not Free SF Reader
Fantasy Book Critic Interview


3.5 out of 5

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_enge

F&SF Competition 71 - James Enge

First Place

"It was a dark and ion-stormy night, as you know, Bob, and as you also know ion-storms are especially dangerous in the orbit of Tau Deltoid IV."
"I do know it, Brent, and I would also add that proton-showers can have a nasty effect on a ship's trichometers anywhere in the Tau Deltoid system."
"God, how I hate you!" simmered Brent, who resented any mention of shipboard trichometers because of their nigh-infinite bulbulousness.
"Not as much as I hate myself," beamed Bob plangently.
—James M. Pfundstein
Bowling Green, OH"


4 out of 5

http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/2006/competition0605.htm

Twitter - James Enge

Appears he just signed up :-


4 out of 5

http://twitter.com/jamesenge

Blood From A Stone - James Enge

Short Story

Number of words : 2000
Percent of complex words : 5.7
Average syllables per word : 1.4
Average words per sentence : 17.5


READABILITY INDICES

Fog : 9.3
Flesch : 73.5
Flesch-Kincaid : 7.4


: Blood From A Stone - James Enge


CHARACTERS

Morlock the Maker : Blood From A Stone - James Enge

Itinerant sword and sorcerer.


ANIMALS

Stone monster : Blood From A Stone - James Enge

Morlock's opponent, but not a golem. Possible horse eater. Apparently constructed.

Velox : Blood From A Stone - James Enge

Morlock's horse.


WEAPONS

Tyrfing : Blood From A Stone - James Enge

Morlock's magic sword.


PLANTS

Xakth : Blood From A Stone - James Enge

Useful for making ropes.


PLACE

Northold : Blood From A Stone - James Enge

Under these mountains Morlock grew up.

Ontil : Blood From A Stone - James Enge

Has a palindromic ancient script.

Kirach Kund : Blood From A Stone - James Enge

The River of Skulls, in Dwarvish.

Sarkunden : Blood From A Stone - James Enge

Morlock's next destination.


PLOT

Morlock is rudely awakened by a stone monster, which he dispatches thanks to blubbing and skills. He also takes it apart to discover it might eat horses, but probably not his. So he has to look elsewhere.


3.5 out of 5

http://pyrsamples.blogspot.com/2009/10/this-crooked-way-by-james-enge.html

Sarkunden : Blood From A Stone - James Enge

Morlock's next destination.


3 out of 5

Kirach Kund : Blood From A Stone - James Enge

The River of Skulls, in Dwarvish.


3.5 out of 5

Ontil : Blood From A Stone - James Enge

Has a palindromic ancient script.


3.5 out of 5

Northold : Blood From A Stone - James Enge

Under these mountains Morlock grew up.


3 out of 5

Xakth : Blood From A Stone - James Enge

Useful for making ropes.


3.5 out of 5

Tyrfing : Blood From A Stone - James Enge

Morlock's magic sword.


4 out of 5

Velox : Blood From A Stone - James Enge

Morlock's horse.


3.5 out of 5

Stone monster : Blood From A Stone - James Enge

Morlock's opponent, but not a golem. Possible horse eater. Apparently constructed.


4 out of 5

Morlock the Maker : Blood From A Stone - James Enge

Itinerant sword and sorcerer.


5 out of 5

The Gordian Stone - James Enge

Vignette

Number of words : 508
Percent of complex words : 6.1
Average syllables per word : 1.4
Average words per sentence : 16.4


READABILITY INDICES

Fog : 9.0
Flesch : 73.3
Flesch-Kincaid : 7.1

: Gordian Stone - James Enge

CHARACTERS

Morlock the Maker : Gordian Stone - James Enge

An itinerant swordsman-wizard.

Stone : Gordian Stone - James Enge

Wants to know the meaning of existence.


PLOT

Morlock is wandering as is his wont, when a stone asks him some questions, not being able to get out and about to discover information. Talking to animals that pass is no good either. So Morlock chops the stone in two, so now they have conversation.


3 out of 5

http://www.everydayfiction.com/the-gordian-stone-by-james-enge/

Stone : The Gordian Stone - James Enge

Wants to know the meaning of existence.


4 out of 5

Morlock the Maker : The Gordian Stone - James Enge

An itinerant swordsman-wizard.


5 out of 5

I Should Be Writing Podcast - James Enge

A short interview about 13 minutes in.

Unseen.


http://media.rawvoice.com/fpm_shouldbewriting/media.farpointmedia.net/isbw/isbw_show140_100120.mp3

Swords From the East Introduction - James Enge

Swords from the East
Harold Lamb
Edited by Howard Andrew Jones
Introduction by James Enge
paperback
2010. 496 pp.
2 illustrations, 1 appendix
978-0-8032-1949-6$24.95 t


Unseen.


http://www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/product/Swords-from-the-East,674193.aspx

Turn Up This Crooked Way - Chuck Lukacs

Morlock the Maker and pet.


4 out of 5

http://www.blackgate.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/morlock2.jpg

Turn Up This Crooked Way - James Enge

"So he sat down again and took off his shoes. After writing his name and a few other words on the heel of his left shoe, he trimmed a strip of leather from the sole and tied it around his bare left foot at the arch. He did the same with the other shoe (and foot). He muttered a few more words (familiar to those-who-know). Then he picked up the shoes, one in each hand, and tossed them onto the path. They landed, side by side, toes forward, about two paces distant.

He stood up and moved his feet experimentally. The empty shoes mimicked the motion of his feet. He stepped forward onto the path; the shoes politely maintained the two-pace distance, hopping ahead of him step by step. Morlock nodded, content. Then he strapped his backpack to his slightly crooked shoulders and walked, barefoot, into the deadly woods.

Morlock first became aware of the trap through a sensation of walking on air.

He stopped in his tracks and looked at his shoes. They stood on an ordinary stretch of path, dry earth speckled with small sharp stones. But just in front of his bare feet he saw a dark shoe-shaped patch of nothingness.

Morlock nodded and scraped his right foot on the path; the right shoe mimicked it, brushing away a paper-thin surface of earth suspended in the air, revealing the nothingness beneath.

“Well-made,” Morlock the Maker conceded. No doubt the pit beneath the path concealed some deadly thing - that was rather crude. But Morlock liked the sheet of earth hanging in the air, and would have liked to know how it was done."


4.5 out of 5

http://www.blackgate.com/fiction-excerpt-turn-up-this-crooked-way/

Payment Deferred - Chuck Lukacs

Illustration from the story.


4 out of 5

http://www.blackgate.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/morlock4.jpg

Payment Deferred - James Enge

"“Ten days law — that’s what you got, eh?” the thug whispered. “Ten days to reach the border, then if they catch you inside it — zzccch! When’d your time run out, uh, was it twenny days ago? Thirty?”

“Two months.”

“Sure. Call a Keep, scut-face. By sunrise they’ll have your head drying on a stake upside the Kund-Way Gate.”

“I won’t be calling the Keepers of the Peace,” Morlock agreed. The crooked half-smile on his face was as cold as his ice-gray eyes. “What will I do instead?”

“You can’t kill me, crooky-boy — ” the thug began, with suddenly shrill bravado.

“I can kill you. But I won’t. I’ll cut your tendons and pull your cheek-rings. I can sell the metal for drinking money at any bar in this town, as long as the story goes with it. And I’ll make sure everyone knows where I last saw you.”"


4 out of 5

http://www.blackgate.com/fiction-excerpt-payment-deferred/

The Lawless Hours - James Enge

"It went on for a while longer until the Enemy gave up and the illusion-bait disappeared. Left behind (because it was real, not illusion) was an immense man-trap — or horse-trap, really, since it was made to catch our horses as we gallopped to the rescue. I dismounted and went forward to move the thing out of the way and break it with my truncheon. Liskin remained on his horse as look-out, which was in accordance with the Rules and (for once) good sense besides.

“Be careful!” he called to me as I hustled the shattered trap over to the side of the road. “There’s sure to be a Bargainer or two nearby in the wood!”

“You think?” I grunted as I hurled the broken metal into the woods. At that moment I was glaring eye-to-eye with a Bargainer crouching in the brush alongside the road. He made no move toward me, nor I to him, but he smiled at me, showing his teeth filed sharp as needles."


4 out of 5


http://www.blackgate.com/fiction-excerpt-the-lawless-hours/

The Lawless Hours - Chuck Lukacs

Morlock is no vermophobe.


4 out of 5

http://www.blackgate.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/lawless2.jpg

R.I.P.: Enge Unicorns etc. - James Enge

"You know that guy, Austin Tappan Wright, who spent his entire life writing a massive utopian novel Islandia, a fantastic work in every sense, which only saw print after his death?

I hate that guy.

Not because there was anything wrong with him, a fine person by all accounts, or his masterpiece, a cleanly written and intensely imagined fantasy. No, it’s just that one tends to hate what one fears and for a long time I feared a minor-league version of his fate. I often envisioned someone, after my death, clearing away my papers (or data clouds, or whatever we’ll be using for documents in the distant, I say distant, future) and finding references to someone named Morlock. “Did Enge write fiction?” they’d say in my recurring nightmare. “I thought he just killed undergraduates with humiliating questions about gerunds and Zeus’ sex life.”"


3.5 out of 5

http://www.blackgate.com/2008/11/26/rip-enge-unicorns-etc/

Mike Kabongo - James Enge

If you look, not quite sure why it is called OnyxHawke? Cooler than beige?


3.5 out of 5

http://www.onyxhawke.com/index.php

Killer Trees with Icy Fangs Roasting on an Open Fire - James Enge

"Virginia: Please snap out of it. The world is drenched in things that don’t exist. I could mention the evergreen genre of “what I shoulda told him was…” conversations, or all those stories about “the fish (or the mastodon or the mating prospect) that got away.” But just because it’s fresh in my mind–and seasonal, too–I’d rather discuss the Attack of the Glittering Trees."


3.5 out of 5

http://www.blackgate.com/2008/12/24/killer-trees-with-icy-fangs-roasting-on-an-open-fire/

Night Thoughts: Rereading Le Guin's The Language of the Night - James Enge

"I recently reread Le Guin’s Language of the Night, and for a while I thought it might be a mistake. The book is a hodge-podge: printed versions of short speeches, introductions to her earlier Hainish novels, full essays with footnotes to provide that added kick, and a light frosting (in the edition I was using to reread) of Le Guin’s own second thoughts (mostly about issues of gender). Even back in my 20s I didn’t think all this stuff was equally valuable, and on my recent reread I was finding that a lot of what I had once taken as axiomatic was now useless to me."


3.5 out of 5

http://www.blackgate.com/2009/02/11/night-thoughts-rereading-le-guins-the-language-of-the-night/

Back Away from the Egg! Or: Getting Straight to It - James Enge

"Here’s Horace’s advice to the apprentice storyteller: lie like a rat-bastard. I wish more young people would take it to heart."


3.5 out of 5

http://www.blackgate.com/2009/02/18/back-away-from-the-egg-or-getting-straight-to-it/#comments

The Blish Is Back: James Blish's The Warriors of Day - James Enge

"I thought I was done with this series of posts on planetary romance, a.k.a. sword-and planet, at least until the new edition of Kline’s Outlaws of Mars comes out. But then I came across a reference to James Blish’s Sword of Xota (a.k.a. The Warriors of Day). I had a hard time believing it was for real. Blish, the hardnosed “‘Sour Bill’ Atheling”, the apostle of modernism in literature and Spenglerism in history, the author of the quadruply ambitious trilogy After Such Knowledge (a four-book trilogy–ambition has no higher scope–no, I don’t believe in your five-book trilogy–sheesh, will this parenthesis never end?)–that Blish was the author of a planetary romance?"


4 out of 5

http://www.blackgate.com/2009/02/25/the-blish-is-back-james-blishs-the-warriors-of-day/#more-1394

Velox - Chuck Lukacs

Morlock the Maker and his horse.


4 out of 5

http://www.blackgate.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/silences.jpg

Robots Have Tales: Henry Kuttner's Gallagher Stories - James Enge

"As to the “perfect book”–the new issue from Paizo Press’ Planet Stories line, Henry Kuttner’s Robots Have No Tails, may not be perfect in some absolute sense (although it comes pretty close) but it’s certainly one that I and others have been looking forward to for years. And it’s only the latest (hopefully not the last) in a series of Kuttner reprints from Planet that now includes Elak of Atlantis, his pioneering sword-and-sorcery stories, and The Dark World, probably the best of his swashbuckling adventure tales. (I say “probably” only because I can’t claim to have read all of Kuttner–maybe no one has, although Planet publisher Erik Mona has certainly come closer than most.)"


3.5 out of 5

http://www.blackgate.com/2009/07/08/robots-have-tales-henry-kuttners-gallagher-stories/#more-2622

Who Gods There?: The Elder Gods by Don A. Stuart - James Enge

"Don A. Stuart’s “The Elder Gods” is a fantasy novella from the late 1930s that reads a lot like the science fiction being written around the same time. That’s no accident: the author behind the pseudonym is John W. Campbell, once a leading light in the “super science” stories of the 1930s, later a pioneer of a more sophisticated form of speculative fiction, and (by the time the work under review appeared) he was well into his third and longest career as the influential editor of Astounding Science Fiction–and the new fantasy magazine Unknown, in which “The Elder Gods” first appeared. (I reread it in a rather battered copy of the 1970s Ace reprint of The Moon is Hell; but there’s a NESFA edition of Campbell’s Stuart stories, including “The Elder Gods”. That’s what I’d recommend seeking out, if you’re interested, as there are some typographical glitches in the Ace edition; plus, it may be harder to find; plus, I’ve always thought “The Moon Is Hell” was a stupid title.)"


3.5 out of 5


http://www.blackgate.com/2009/10/14/who-gods-there-the-elder-gods-by-don-a-stuart/

Views Re Reviews - James Enge

"Blood of Ambrose has been out for a while now and it’s starting to be reviewed, rather generously on the whole (a not-uncommon reception for first novels, so I’m trying not to be an egomaniac about it). The reviews somehow make the publication more real to Enge-the-reader (as opposed to Enge-the-writer; these guys aren’t usually on speaking terms). I was looking at the review in Romantic Times Book Review and found myself wondering whether I should trust the reviewer’s judgement and buy the book, when I realized that there were already a few copies of the thing scattered around the house. Presumably these surreal “oh, yeah, that’s me” events will taper off after a while."


3 out of 5

http://www.blackgate.com/2009/04/08/views-re-reviews/

Shadow of the Bunny - James Enge

"I thought I got off easy this year, as the Bunny brought me something I’d often thought about getting myself: the complete Spider-Man (complete at least through 2005). I haven’t been reading a lot of comics lately, but the Sam Raimi movies reminded me of how much I liked Spider-Man as a kid, and I’d often thought about having another look at them to see if they stood up to rereading."


3.5 out of 5

http://www.blackgate.com/2009/04/17/shadow-of-the-bunny/

The Good the Brown and the Kornbluth - James Enge

"Everyone who loves imaginative fiction should raise their voice, frequently, in praise of NESFA, the venerable fan group whose press has been doing great work, putting out archival collections of classic sf in hardcovers. I was reminded of this earlier this week when reading Frederik Pohl’s pleasant reminiscence of his onetime collaborator Cyril Kornbluth (the fierce and witty genius who, too young, died a horrible suburban death right out of a Mad Men episode)."


3.5 out of 5

http://www.blackgate.com/2009/04/22/the-good-the-brown-and-the-kornbluth/

There Wolf! (Dreadful Skin by Cherie Priest) - James Enge

"The cross-genrefication of all genres has produced some interesting work. It’s true that if someone describes a book as “steampunk slash horror slash fantasy slash splatterpunk slash slash with a pinch of oregano” I’m likely to quietly sidle away,"


3 out of 5

http://www.blackgate.com/2009/05/20/there-wolf-dreadful-skin-by-cherie-priest/

Tooth without Consequences: Dreams with Sharp Teeth - James Enge

"Dreams with Sharp Teeth was more than a quarter of a century in the making; the first footage was shot in the early 1980s and was used in a PBS special; the film-makers kept coming back for more until they had a feature-length documentary (including lots of older material) which premiered in April 2007. It’s about someone named Harlan Ellison. "


3.5 out of 5

http://www.blackgate.com/2009/05/28/tooth-without-consequences-dreams-with-sharp-teeth/

Moonbats and Penny Papers: The Sun and the Moon by Matthew Goodman - James Enge

"This is a strange book about a strange event in a strange time. In the summer of 1835, the first successful penny paper in New York published a series of articles documenting an extraordinary series of discoveries by the most famous astronomer in the world, John Herschel (son of the even-more-famous William Herschel). With the aid of a new optical technology and the pristinely clear skies over the Cape of Good Hope, Herschel had discovered life and, indeed, civilization on the moon."


3.5 out of 5

http://www.blackgate.com/2009/07/30/moonbats-and-penny-papers-the-sun-and-the-moon-by-matthew-goodman/#more-2804

Brass Tak: Stargate by Stephen Robinett - James Enge

"But without question the novel that addicted me to serial fiction was Analog’s summer serial from 1974, Stargate by Tak Hallus. Except it wasn’t really by Tak Hallus at all: eventually the author dropped his false whiskers and started publishing under his real name, Stephen Robinett. The word “takhallus” is apparently used in Farsi and other languages to mean “pseudonym”, which seems sufficient justification to me. Robinett reportedly dropped the moniker because Harry Harrison casually remarked in conversation, “That pen-name is ugly, ugly, UGLY!” Eh. All I can say is that I never found “Stephen Robinett” as engaging or as memorable as “Tak Hallus”."


3.5 out of 5

http://www.blackgate.com/2009/08/05/brass-tak-stargate-by-stephen-robinett/#more-2885

SF/F: Field or Dangerfield? - James Enge

"If genre fiction wants to go on being creative, productive of new ideas and new dreams and new stories, it should steer clear of the respectable. That way blandness lies."


3 out of 5

http://www.blackgate.com/2009/10/08/sff-field-or-dangerfield/#more-3618

Solomon Kane - Sword and Solomon: The Beginning of Sword and Sorcery

"Robert E. Howard wrote a lot of stuff worth reading, but for me his central importance lies in the invention of sword-and-sorcery (as the genre was later named by Fritz Leiber). Not in the Conan stories, though: I go along with those who argue that sword-and-sorcery actually begins with the Solomon Kane stories (some of which are online, having battled their way past Mickey Mouse into the public domain; all of them have been collected into a wonderful Ballantine volume, The Savage Tales of Solomon Kane)."


3 out of 5

http://www.blackgate.com/2010/01/22/sword-and-solomon-the-beginning-of-sword-and-sorcery/

Payment In Full - Chuck Lukacs

Illustration for the story.


4 out of 5

http://www.blackgate.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/bg_12_payment_in_full.jpg

Fiction Excerpt: Payment In Full - James Enge

"“You can tell?” I asked faintly.

“I taught Charis how to make a decent eyeball,” Morlock grumbled. He unrolled the sheet in his hand and glanced at it, adding, “The life-scroll isn’t in his handwriting. And the stupid thing couldn’t even speak properly. Not the product of the establishment’s greatest wonder-worker.” “But maybe,” I guessed, “the chief assistant master thaumaturge-in-training?”

“Exactly,” Morlock approved. “Thend: get him.”"


4 out of 5

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