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The End of Time and Me: Michael Moorcock’s Dancers at the End of Time

The End of Time and Me: Michael Moorcock’s Dancers at the End of Time

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The Dancers at the End of Time trilogy: An Alien Heat, The Hollow Lands,
and The End of All Songs (Avon Books, September and November 1977,
and June 1978). Cover art by Stanislaw Fernandes

When I discovered Moorcock in the early 1980s, I read his trilogy Dancers at the End of Time and the associated novel A Messiah at the End of Time. I remember enjoying the trilogy, though I have only vague memories of the stand-alone novel. Back in 2017, I re-read Moorcock’s Elric series and wrote about it for Black Gate. In 2020, I did the same for his Corum novels and in 2022, I revisited Erekose. Rather than look at Hawkmoon, which I last re-read in 2010, I decided to dive into The End of Time sequence.

In addition to The Dancers at the End of Time trilogy and the novel The Transformation of Miss Mavis Ming (also published as Messiah at the End of Time and Constant Fire), Moorcock has written several short stories that belong to the sequence: “Pale Roses,” “White Stars,” “Ancient Shadows,” “Elric at the End of Time,” and “Sumptuous Dress: A Question of Size at the End of Time.” Although most were published before I read the trilogy, I believe I missed all of them with the exception of “Elric at the End of Time.”

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Of Artistry, Addiction, and Self-discovery: Forthcoming Memoir of Fantasy Artist Tom Barber

Of Artistry, Addiction, and Self-discovery: Forthcoming Memoir of Fantasy Artist Tom Barber

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The art of Tom Barber: Amazing Science Fiction, March 1976, and the first issue of the
paperback version of Weird Tales, edited by Lin Carter (Zebra Books, December 1980)

The arts are not a way to make a living. They are a very human way of making life more bearable. Practicing an art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow, for heaven’s sake.

–Kurt Vonnegut

Tom Barber was working in a commercial art studio in the mid 70s when he walked into a local bookstore while on lunch break. He found a book of illustrations by N.C. Wyeth, picked it up, leafed through it.

Returning to work, he marched into his boss’ office and gave his two-week notice.

“I didn’t know what I wanted to do, but after looking at those paintings I knew it was something along those lines,” he said.

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A Master of his Art: Rattle of Bones and Other Terrifying Tales by Robert E. Howard

A Master of his Art: Rattle of Bones and Other Terrifying Tales by Robert E. Howard

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Rattle of Bones and Other Terrifying Tales (Clover Press, October 20, 2020). Cover by Gabriel Rodriguez

“Damned be the dark ends of the earth where old horrors live again.”
— Robert E. Howard

Some of the finest gifts are from your buddy, a kindred spirit and dog brother in REH fandom, such as that damnable reprobate, Levi Combs. At Gamehole Con this year, Levi gifted me with this beautiful copy of Rattle of Bones and Other Terrifying Tales, by Robert E. Howard. And what a treasure it is!

This collection contains some of REH’s finest horror yarns, such as “In the Forest of Villefère,” “Wolfshead,” “Sea Curse,” “Rattle of Bones,” “The Touch of Death,” “Dig Me No Grave,” “People of the Dark,” and “The House of Arabu.” It was published by Clover Press and features beautiful art by Gabriel Rodriguez. It also features an afterword by horror master Steve Niles, perhaps best known for 30 Days of Night.

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The Tuvela Theory: The Demon Breed by James H. Schmitz

The Tuvela Theory: The Demon Breed by James H. Schmitz

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The Demon Breed (Ace Books, September 1979). Cover by Bob Adragna

Earlier this year, I visited my city library during a book sale. One of the things I spotted on their shelves was a novel by James H. Schmitz that I wasn’t familiar with. I’ve liked Schmitz since I discovered his story “Novice” in the collection Analog 2 — so I bought this one.

The Demon Breed came out in 1968, fairly late in Schmitz’s career, which lasted from 1943 to 1974. Like a large part of his work, it first appeared in Analog, where it was serialized as The Tuvela. Most of what he wrote was short fiction, including his best known story, “The Witches of Karres,” expanded into a novel with the same title in 1966; The Demon Breed is one of only four novels, and by today’s standards, a fairly short one.

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Howard Andrew Jones’ Lord of a Shattered Land and the Serious Business of Swords, Sorcery, and Comedy

Howard Andrew Jones’ Lord of a Shattered Land and the Serious Business of Swords, Sorcery, and Comedy

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Lord of a Shattered Land (Baen Books, August 1, 2023). Cover by Dave Seeley

At about the halfway mark in Howard Andrew Jones’s Lord of a Shattered Land, the excellent opening volume of The Chronicles of Hanuvar, the author shifts gears. “Against the run of play,” he opts for comedy.

Lord of a Shattered Land is set up in episodic form, such that each of the chapters can be read independently. The first eight unfold through tightly plotted escapades that firmly position Hanuvar, the refugee general, as a heroic figure. His journeys bring him face-to-face with enemy soldiers and more than a few gruesome creatures.

As ever, the line between horror and S&S remains thin –– but that’s a discussion for another post. For today, I’m sticking with Chapter Nine, “The Autumn Horse,” in which Jones signals that he’s ready for a change of pace. To accomplish this, he has a single tool, the same one employed by every humble scrivener, and that, of course, is prose.

So how, exactly, does Jones haul Hanuvar, however briefly, into the realm of the comedic?

Let’s find out. Nuts and bolts, look out below!

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What I’ve Been Listening To: August (II) 2024

What I’ve Been Listening To: August (II) 2024

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I posted last week about several audiobooks I’ve been listening to. Audiobooks totally fit in with my lifestyle (to the extent I have one). I can listen to them while working, driving, writing, falling asleep, walking outside, and even watching soccer which I’m not too invested in.

I wouldn’t get to a lot of the stuff I listen to, if I had to read it. I mean, you have never heard such caterwauling as the folks in the carpool when I read a paperback while driving. Yeesh!

I re-listen to a lot of stuff. But between Audible Premium, and select library borrows through the Hoopla app, I have audiobooks going a lot of the time.

Here are some more recent listens – some repeats, some brand new to my ears.

LEAPHORN AND CHEE – Tony Hillerman

I did a rather in-depth three-part series on Tony Hillerman and his terrific police procedurals set on the Navajo reservation. I have read/listened to this series a dozen times over the years. I absolutely love it. Somewhere I’ve got some cassette tapes, read by Hillerman himself. But between DVDs and Audible, I’ve managed to get unabridged (do NOT get the abridged versions. Not nearly as good) versions of each novel, read well by George Guidall.

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Janet Morris, May 25, 1946 – August 10, 2024

Janet Morris, May 25, 1946 – August 10, 2024

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High Couch of Silistra (Bantam Books, May 1977) and The Golden Sword
(Baen, November 1984). Covers by Boris Vallejo and Victoria Poyser

Just after I put up my first Harold Lamb post I found out that an author I much admired and who has influenced my work, had died. Janet Morris. I’ll get back to Lamb next post but wanted to take a moment to comment on Ms. Morris. I only wish I’d done this before she died. I knew she was in ill health so I only have myself to blame for not getting up a post about her sooner.

I first read Janet in the Thieves’ World series where her style and characterizations stood out even among other outstanding authors. I followed her then as she took some of the Thieves’ World characters into novels and as she wrote, edited, and produced various heroic fantasy collections. I’ll talk about the Thieves’ World series later but here I want to focus on just some of Janet Morris’s other writing.

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A Red Desert World, Full of Mystery: Old Mars, edited by George R.R. Martin & Gardner Dozois

A Red Desert World, Full of Mystery: Old Mars, edited by George R.R. Martin & Gardner Dozois

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Old Mars (Bantam Books, October 8, 2013). Cover by Stephen Youll

This isn’t a Sword & Planet collection per se but is likely to prove interesting to readers of S&P.

It’s a big book, 548 pages of reading in 15 longish stories and an introduction by Martin. All the tales evoke the kind of Mars that readers of Burroughs, Bradbury, and Brackett will recognize — a red desert world full of mystery.

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Not Fade Away: The Cemetery of Untold Stories by Julia Alvarez

Not Fade Away: The Cemetery of Untold Stories by Julia Alvarez

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The Cemetery of Untold Stories (Algonquin Books, April 2, 2024). Cover artist unknown

We live our life telling a story

Of what we’ve said and done

But lately you caused me to worry

That you’re spinning fiction

— Amanda Fish, “The Hard Way,” Kingdom

What perhaps separates humans from our fellow creatures is the capacity, indeed the compulsion, of storytelling. Hardly an original observation on my part (cf., The Stortelling Animal by Jonathan Gottschall), though for all we know the white whale biting off the mad captain’s leg is vocalized in Cetacea pods.

Stories, and discussions of stories, are why you are all reading here. Of course it’s not limited to the literate classes, as the rich oral tradition of ancient cultures demonstrates, not to mention the popularity among screen-addicts of  so-called “reality shows” of otherwise untalented people whose only achievement is being on a reality show. Though even that low level of celebrityhood is further diluted in an era where just about everyone has their own Instagram following.

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What I’ve Been Listening To: August, 2024

What I’ve Been Listening To: August, 2024

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A (Black) Gat in the Hand takes another week off, as I’ve continued listening to audiobooks daily. Last month I talked about some of my Audible choices. Whether I’m working, writing, driving, or trying to fall asleep, I am often listening to an audiobook. Often it’s a repeat, so my attention doesn’t have to be focused. But also, new things I wouldn’t get to otherwise.

EGIL & NIX – Paul S. Kemp

My Dungeons & Dragons-playing middle-school self devoured Elric, and Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser; loving both series’. But while I’ve re-read the Melnibonian many times, Leiber’s series lost its appeal. I’ve tried re-reading it a couple times, and just wasn’t into it.

I did enjoy, however, the first two of three Egil & Nix novels by Paul Kemp. These are absolutely an homage to Leiber’s duo. Anyone who likes Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser should really enjoy this pair. The constant non-swearing swearing (shite, farkin) is tiresome, but some authors seem to think it’s useful. Whatever.

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