Possessed by G. Firth Scott
In my recent review of Elliott O’Donnell’s 1912 novel of the supernatural, The Sorcery Club, I mentioned that the book had been initially released by the British publisher William Rider & Son, which, after taking over the occult publisher Phillip Wellby in 1908, proceeded to come out with some two dozen outre works from 1910 – 1924. In 1911, the firm would release Bram Stoker’s classic (and, for me, borderline unreadable) The Lair of the White Worm,
June 12th, 2023. Sandy Ferber´s rating: 4 | G. Firth Scott | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Sorcery Club by Elliott O’Donnell
1912 was something of a banner year in the field of fantastic literature. Here in the U.S., Edgar Rice Burroughs jump-started his writing career with the releases of Tarzan of the Apes and A Princess of Mars, while Jack London came out with one of his finest fantasy creations, The Scarlet Plague. Meanwhile, on the other side of the pond,
June 6th, 2023. Sandy Ferber´s rating: 4.5 | Elliott O’Donnell | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Pan’s Garden by Algernon Blackwood
By the time the renowned British writer Algernon Blackwood released his first collection of short stories, The Empty House, in 1906, he was already 37 years old and had led a life as full of adventure and incident as anyone you might possibly name. He had already worked as a dairy farmer and hotel operator in Canada, gone prospecting for gold in Alaska, been a bartender, and worked as a NYC reporter for The Evening Sun,
January 13th, 2022. Sandy Ferber´s rating: 5 | Algernon Blackwood | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | 8 comments |
The Scarlet Plague by Jack London
Editor’s note: Because it’s in the public domain, it’s easy to find an inexpensive electronic copy of this book.
By the time Jack London released his post-apocalyptic novel The Scarlet Plague in 1912, the author was 36 years old — just four years shy of his premature passing in 1916 — and yet had already managed to cram in more incident and adventure into those three dozen years than most folks do in their lifetime.
April 24th, 2018. Sandy Ferber´s rating: 4 | Jack London | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
The Night Land by William Hope Hodgson
William Hope Hodgson‘s epic novel The Night Land was chosen for inclusion in James Cawthorn and Michael Moorcock‘s Fantasy: The 100 Best Books, and yet in this overview volume’s sister collection, Horror: 100 Best Books, Stephen Jones and Kim Newman surprisingly declare the novel to be “unreadable.” No less a critic than H.P.
February 3rd, 2014. Sandy Ferber´s rating: 5 | William Hope Hodgson | Horror, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 4 comments |
The Book of Wonder by Lord Dunsany
Geek that I am, I actually read The Book of Wonder to prepare for the Tolkien Professor’s Faerie & Fantasy podcast seminar that covers the book. I am rather conflicted about Lord Dunsany in general and this book in particular. After finishing the first half I found that The Book of Wonder more or less confirmed my initial impressions of Dunsany gathered when I first read The Hashish Man and Other Stories many years ago;
July 11th, 2012. Terry Lago´s rating: 3 | Lord Dunsany | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | no comments |
What a fascinating exploration of Edwige Fenech's contributions to the giallo genre! I love how the post highlights her unique…
Pretty challenging book. Cut by half, speed up the cadence. Trying to figure out the plot, the main point of…
Thanks for the kind words, Marion! Coming as they are from a professional writer, they are much appreciated!
Wonderful review, Sandy.
The "body count" bothered me a bit less because being dead seemed more like an inconvenience than anything else... unlike…