Author Archives: JE

About JE

James Enge is the author of the World-Fantasy-Award-nominated novel Blood of Ambrose (Pyr, April 2009). His latest book is The Wide World's End. His short fiction has appeared in Black Gate, Tales from the Magician's Skull, The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction and elsewhere.

Thrush to Judgement

Posted on July 3, 2024 by JE

I’ve been rereading Petronius’ Satyricon, to take my mind off the imminent death of democracy in America. It’s not working that well, because Trimalchio (the wealthy boor who is the anti-protagonist of his own episode in the novel) keeps reminding … Continue reading →

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Pane/Counterpane

Posted on June 24, 2024 by JE

I’ve often wondered what was counter about counterpane—whether it was somehow the opposite of pane (e.g. “a pane of glass”). Turns out: no. In fact, says the AHD, Old French countrepointe is an eggcorn for coultepointe, derived from Medieval Latin … Continue reading →

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Carney Knowledge: MADBALL by Fredric Brown

Posted on June 15, 2024 by JE

Fredric Brown was one of the best writers of sf at shorter lengths–especially very short lengths. His story “Knock” was so short he had to write a longer story to embed it in. His “Puppet Show” brilliantly mocked the Campbellian … Continue reading →

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Hair Apparent

Posted on June 15, 2024 by JE

I was turning for comfort and relief to Seneca, as I often do, when he turned around and stabbed me in the eyeball with this triple-forked slam. He’s writing about his contemporaries who have screwed-up priorities. His contemporaries, but maybe … Continue reading →

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Breslin vs. Trump

Posted on May 31, 2024 by JE

As Fate or Chaos would have it, the LoA collection of Jimmy Breslin arrived on my doorstep this week, so that on the evening when Trump’s guilty verdict was announced in Manhattan, I got to read Breslin’s verdict on Trump … Continue reading →

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Happy Days Are Where, Again?

Posted on May 17, 2024 by JE

So I got an Apple Pencil to use with my iPad. Like everything else produced by Apple it’s a Guaranteed Game-Changer™ that is guaranteed to change your life, or at least your GAME. (I’m been a Mac-user since the early … Continue reading →

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Actis Temporibus

Posted on January 1, 2024 by JE

For a few years I’ve had a Latin version of “Auld Lang Syne” on my Latin-for-the-holidays handout, but I’ve never been crazy about it. For one thing, it erases the repetitions in the original. For another, references to drinking have … Continue reading →

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Fair or Unfair?

Posted on November 5, 2023 by JE

In the course of an ultimately frustrating and pointless conversation online today, I found myself thinking of the multiple meanings of fair in English–at once, “light-skinned/light-haired”, “beautiful”, and “just, even-handed”. The meanings are so different that I wondered if they … Continue reading →

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The Shadow Nose

Posted on October 22, 2023 by JE

I’m reading Ǫrvar Odds saga at odd moments when I should be working, lately. I was looking up útnes which C&V (un)helpfully gloss as “an outer ness”. The AHD more helpfully told me that a ness is a cape or … Continue reading →

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Ear Ye! Ear Ye!

Posted on October 3, 2023 by JE

Typo of the day resulted from a cut-and-paste error. It started its journey as Dear editors and ended up as ear editors. Ear editors: some kind of digital plastic surgeon, I guess? “Have you run this lobe past the ear … Continue reading →

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