Search Results for: Andre Norton

Talking Tolkien: The Architects of Modern Fantasy, Tolkien and Norton – by Ruth de Jauregui

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Talking Tolkien is back for another installment and Ruth de Jauregui brings in another Fantasy giant, the great Andre Norton. Those DAW paperbacks are classics. Read on! The influences of J.R.R. Tolkien and Andre Norton fill the world of speculative fiction and, while the genre existed before and after both authors, their works have forever shaped new authors and the flow of the modern fantasy novel. Tolkien forged the modern rendition of the epic journey tale that has its roots…

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Vintage Treasures: Swords Against Darkness edited by Andrew J. Offutt

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Swords Against Darkness (Zebra Books, February 1977). Cover  by Frank Frazetta Sword Against Darkness was a seminal five-volume sword & sorcery anthology series edited by Andrew J. Offutt in the late seventies (1977-79). It published original fantasy by some of the biggest names of the era, including Andre Norton, Tanith Lee, Keith Taylor, Charles de Lint, Charles R. Saunders, Orson Scott Card, Simon R. Green, David C. Smith, Robert E. Vardeman, Darrell Schweitzer, Diana L. Paxson, and many others. The…

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Andrew Liptak on 18 Science Fiction and Fantasy Books to Read this January

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Holy cats, it’s the last few hours of January. I’m already a month behind on my 2018 reading plan. How the heck did that happen?? In cases like this I’ve learned (through long experience) that it’s best to distract myself with books until the problem goes away. To do that I turn to the always reliable Andrew Liptak at The Verge, and his monthly recommended reading column. Let’s dig in and see what Andrew has for us this month. First…

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Andrew Liptak on 16 SF, Fantasy, and Horror Books to Read in July

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By my count, there are two days left in July. If I don’t sleep for the next two days, and ignore e-mail and the phone, I may be able salvage some of my July reading plan. Of course, that assumes I don’t discover a new batch of enticing July titles. And with Andrew Liptak on the job, chances of that are slim. Over at The Verge, he’s compiled a list of 16 science fiction, fantasy, and horror books to read…

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Andrew Liptak on 39 SF, Fantasy, and Horror Books to Read in June

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Last January, over at The Verge, Andrew Liptak combed through publisher catalogs and countless press releases to produce 16 SF and fantasy books worth noting. He did the same thing in March and came up with 23 titles. His June report includes a whopping 39 books. I can see this month is going to take some serious reading time if I even want to pretend to keep up. Andrew’s list includes new titles by Tanya Huff, Catherynne M. Valente, Terry Brooks, Brenda…

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Andrew Liptak on 23 Science Fiction and Fantasy Novels to Read this March

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Over at The Verge, our man Andrew Liptak faithfully executes his duty to highlight the most intriguing books of the month. And what a fine selection he’s lined up for March! He starts with Lotus Blue by Cat Spars, published in paperback by Talos on March 7. Star and Nene are orphans who are part of a caravan of traders in a post-apocalyptic world inhabited by rogue semi-sentient machinery and other monsters. When their caravan sees a satellite crash to…

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Andrew Liptak on 33 SF and Fantasy Books Everyone Will Be Talking About in 2017

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I don’t know about you, but given the choice between reading the best books of 2017 and the ones everyone’s talking about…. I think I’d go with the latter. Because books that aren’t talked about are soon forgotten, and forgotten books are irrelevant books. And who wants to waste their time on irrelevant books? Fortunately, we’re here to talk about the 2017 books that are already generating a lot of buzz. Today’s arbiter of excellence is Andrew Liptak who, in…

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Andrew Liptak on 16 SF and Fantasy Novels You Don’t Want to Miss in January

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Good golly, we’re more than halfway through January already. How the heck did that happen? I still have over a dozen January new releases to cover! Well, no use complaining about it… especially when I could use that energy to cheat, instead. Rather than tell you about the best new books in January myself, I could just let the distinguished Andrew Liptak do it. Over at The Verge, Andrew has jotted down his thoughts on 16 science fiction and fantasy…

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Andrew Liptak on All the Best SF and Fantasy You Missed in August

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Over at The Verge, Andrew Liptak has posted a handy little reader’s guide titled “New Adventures: all the best science fiction and fantasy books coming out in August.” It appeared way back on August 1, but I just got around to reading it now, which really makes it All the Best SF and Fantasy I Missed in August. But whatever, it’s packed with lots of great recommended reading, and anyway September looks a lot quieter than August, so maybe I…

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Margaret St. Clair, Andrew Offutt, and Appendix N: Advanced Readings in D&D

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I think I’ve read — and written — more about Gygax’s Appendix N in the last year than I have in the past three decades. I’m not sure why there’s been such a recent surge of interest in a relatively short addendum to a 1979 gaming volume, to be honest, but I credit James Maliszewski. He’s examined Appendix N more diligently than any other fan writer, with several intriguing articles on his popular gaming blog Grognardia over the years. Those…

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