Sandy Ferber | Fantasy Literature: Fantasy and Science Fiction Book and Audiobook Reviews

The Feast of Bacchus: It’s Greek to me

The Feast of Bacchus by Ernest G. Henham

Tenebrae (1898), by the London-born writer Ernest G. Henham, had turned out to be one of my favorite reading experiences of 2023, and I had been wanting to read another book from this same author ever since. A Gothically inflected tale dealing with fratricide, madness, and a 20-foot-long spider monstrosity, Tenebrae was a deliciously morbid treat; one that had been rescued from over a century’s worth of oblivion by the fine folks at Valancourt Books.

The Glorious Pool: Bottoms up!

The Glorious Pool by Thorne Smith

In Ron Howard’s 1985 film Cocoon, a group of seniors becomes rejuvenated as a result of taking a dip in a swimming pool whose waters had been infused with “life force” by some extraterrestrial visitors. But as it turns out, this was not the first time that some aged adults had discovered a Fountain of Youth of sorts in such a place. Thus, over half a century earlier, we find a similar setup – although with a completely different explanation – in Thorne Smith’s remarkably madcap fantasy The Glorious Pool.

The Complete John Silence Stories: The doctor is in

The Complete John Silence Stories by Algernon Blackwood

For English author Algernon Blackwood, success as a writer came fairly late in life. Although today deemed one of the 20th century’s greatest purveyors of supernatural and “weird” fiction, Blackwood evinced little interest in the field until he was in his mid-30s. Up till that time, he had tried his hand in numerous professions – from a dairy farmer in Canada to a NYC journalist, from hotel operator to model, from personal secretary to bartender. It wasn’t until Blackwood turned 37 that his first short-story collection,

Snow Rubies: Baz Kill

Snow Rubies by Ganpat

As you might have noticed, thanks to the publishing company known as Armchair Fiction, I have lately been on something of a reading binge when it comes to lost-race fare. Just recently, I wrote here of three books in Armchair’s ongoing Lost World – Lost Race Classics series, which currently stands at a most impressive 58 titles. Those novels were James De Mille’s A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder (1888),

The Isle of Forgotten People: Yellow flowers in the yellow sea

The Isle of Forgotten People by Thompson Cross

For almost a decade now, the publisher known as Armchair Fiction has been a godsend of sorts for all readers of lost world/lost race fare. The company released its first such book in 2015 – Pierre Benoit’s 1919 classic Atlantida – and as of today, its Lost World – Lost Race Classics series stands at a very impressive 58 volumes, with no end in sight. I have recently written here of two of those 58 books – James De Mille’s excellent A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder (1888) and Will N.

The Land of the Changing Sun: Underground morons

The Land of the Changing Sun by Will N. Harben

Released seven years after English author H. Rider Haggard sensationally jump-started the “lost world” craze in fiction with his seminal novels King Solomon’s Mines (1885), She (1887) and Allan Quatermain (also 1887), American author Will N. Harben’s only contribution to the genre, The Land of the Changing Sun, is a decidedly second-rate affair that yet manages to somehow entertain.

A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder: Antarctic bizarros

A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder by James De Mille

As I believe I’ve mentioned elsewhere, British author H. Rider Haggard‘s back-to-back-to-back releases of King Solomon’s Mines, She, and Allan Quatermain from 1885 – 1887 served as a sort of triple shock wave on the worldwide literary community. From that point and for the next half a century, scores of imitators would come out with hundreds of works that attempted to emulate the so-called “Father of the Lost-Word Novel,” and with varying degrees of success.

Nick and the Glimmung: Likeable city!

Nick and the Glimmung by Philip K. Dick

In his 1969 novel Galactic Pot-Healer, cult author Philip K. Dick introduced his readers to a character named Glimmung: a semidivine being who calls ceramic repairman Joe Fernwright, among others, to Plowman’s Planet (aka Sirius 5) to help raise a sunken cathedral from the oceanic depths. Confusingly described by Dick as weighing 40,000 tons and, later, 80,000 tons, Glimmung was yet a truly fascinating creation. But as it turns out,

So Bright The Vision: Brownies and milk

So Bright The Vision by Clifford D. Simak

I have been on something of a kick this past year as regards Clifford D. Simak and his shorter fiction of the 1950s. All the Traps of Earth (1962), The Worlds of Clifford Simak (1961) and Other Worlds of Clifford Simak (1962) had all proved to be truly wonderful – or perhaps I should say “wonder-filled” – collections,

THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E.: Sandy reviews 23 U.N.C.L.E. novels

THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E.

Perhaps you would have to be a baby boomer to fully understand just how big a deal The Man From U.N.C.L.E. was back in the mid to late 1960s. Riding the crest of the spy-wave mania created by the seismic shock that were the James Bond films starting in 1962, The Man From U.N.C.L.E. debuted on NBC TV in September 1964 and ran for four seasons; well, actually, 3 ½, that final season having the plug pulled on it after just 16 episodes.

June 14th, 2024. Sandy Ferber | J. Hunter Holly | SFF Reviews | 17 comments |

Author: Sandy Ferber

The Feast of Bacchus: It’s Greek to me

The Glorious Pool: Bottoms up!

The Complete John Silence Stories: The doctor is in

Snow Rubies: Baz Kill

The Isle of Forgotten People: Yellow flowers in the yellow sea

The Land of the Changing Sun: Underground morons

A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder: Antarctic bizarros

Nick and the Glimmung: Likeable city!

So Bright The Vision: Brownies and milk

THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E.: Sandy reviews 23 U.N.C.L.E. novels

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