Collection
September 2018
The Word-Hoard: Dray
Dray n. A vehicle used to haul goods; especially a strong cart or wagon without sides. v. To haul on a dray. Not too long ago…
The Word-Hoard: Shagreen
Shagreen n. 1. An untanned leather covered with small round granulations and usually dyed green. 2. The rough skin of various sharks and rays when covered with small,…
The Fantasy of Edgar Allen Poe
It seems to be a recurring theme with me – that for years I was unaware of such-and-such an author or was mistaken about the nature of his…
Introduction to the Insane Scifi of Cordwainer Smith
Last month I wrote about the largely forgotten grandmaster of weird SFF, Clark Ashton Smith. Recently I’ve revisited the “best of” collection of another undeservedly obscured scifi great…
The Word-Hoard: Gulliver’s Travels
It’s a shame, but I think the term “classic literature” puts off a lot of readers. I know that for my part, I long considered “the classics” ponderous…
Jurgen the Clever
Owing to the intensity of starting a new job in a rushed situation, my reading of Witch World has been placed on hold. I have, however, been able to…
Doing Mobile SFF for Free!
On the most recent episode of Geek Gab, our hosts talked a little about reading and buying digital vs paper books. Of course it’s not a new discussion…
The Word-Hoard: Pellmell
Pellmell adv. 1. In a disorderly, headlong haste; in a recklessly hurried manner. 2. In a confused or jumbled mass, crowd, manner, etc. adj. 1. Indiscriminate; disorderly; confused.…
Jack Vance, Andre Norton, and Plot Hooking
Last week, back at the Bushi homeland, Gita wrote a piece about plotting, and Jordan of Anachronistic Robot posted an essay about short story structure. This got me…
The Witcher and the Tower of Mice
It’s been a while since I played The Witcher 3 for PC, and I imagine it’ll be some time before I’m able to go back to it. Was…