Category Archives: review or meta-review

A Walk Around the Parker: Westlake’s THE HUNTER and Boorman’s POINT BLANK

Posted on May 22, 2026 by JE

I recently rewatched John Boorman’s Point Blank, which caused me to reread the novel it was loosely based on, The Hunter by Donald Westlake (writing as Richard Stark). The Hunter is very low on my always-reread list, and would not … Continue reading →

Posted in books, comedy, movie review, mystery, review or meta-review | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on A Walk Around the Parker: Westlake’s THE HUNTER and Boorman’s POINT BLANK

Escape is No Escape

Posted on April 23, 2026 by JE

For escape, in the midst of the grading storm that always accompanies finals, I’m reading Innes’ England Under the Tudors (3rd ed; 1911). It scratches a longstanding itch to sort out the reigns and events of the pre-Liz Tudors, and … Continue reading →

Posted in academia, Adventures in the Public Domain, books, comedy, history, review or meta-review, television | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Escape is No Escape

Permanent Records

Posted on November 2, 2025 by JE

I’ve been dabbling in the used-record market to feed the maw of my newish turntable. One thing I’ve really wanted was Cal Tjader’s Tjader Plays Mambo (1956), which is long out of print. I managed to find a copy in … Continue reading →

Posted in music, review or meta-review | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Permanent Records

October 23: The Day of Might

Posted on October 23, 2025 by JE

At the Fortress of Engitude, we’re celebrating the Day of Might, proclaimed by the late, unceasingly great Howard Jones as a day for celebrating sword and sorcery, heroic fantasy, and heroic fiction generally.

Posted in books, fantasy, fantasy art, music, Myth & Legend, review or meta-review, sff | Tagged , , | Comments Off on October 23: The Day of Might

This Means Snore: THE WAR OF THE ROSES by William Adler

Posted on September 3, 2025 by JE

I’ve never seen the Danny De Vito film The War of the Roses (1989). It came out during the first Christmas season that I celebrated with my first wife and my first child. I had lots of things to occupy … Continue reading →

Posted in books, Myth & Legend, review or meta-review | 1 Comment

The SF/F Watcher’s Lament

Posted on August 11, 2025 by JE

Of all sad words of tongue or pen,the saddest are “Prequel again?”

Posted in review or meta-review, sff, writing | Comments Off on The SF/F Watcher’s Lament

Deus Ex Homine: Brackett’s THE SWORD OF RHIANNON and Zelazny’s ISLE OF THE DEAD

Posted on August 10, 2025 by JE

I’ve been following with interest Steven Silver’s great series of reviews of the Tor Double books at the Black Gate. His latest, scrupulously fair, review of Brackett’s The Sword of Rhiannon+de Camp’s Divide and Conquer reminded me of one of … Continue reading →

Posted in art, books, fantasy, fantasy art, magic, Myth & Legend, review or meta-review, sff, sword-and-sorcery, words, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Deus Ex Homine: Brackett’s THE SWORD OF RHIANNON and Zelazny’s ISLE OF THE DEAD

Two Duds: WAS IT MURDER? by James Hilton and A QUESTION OF PROOF by Nicholas Blake

Posted on August 9, 2025 by JE

Fiction set at upper-class British schools was a popular genre in the 19th and early 20th C, and murder mysteries were the dominant form of popular fiction in the early and mid-20th century, so it’s only natural that cross-pollination would … Continue reading →

Posted in academia, books, mystery, review or meta-review | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Two Duds: WAS IT MURDER? by James Hilton and A QUESTION OF PROOF by Nicholas Blake

This Way to the Egress: IMMORTALITY, INC. by Robert Sheckley

Posted on July 8, 2025 by JE

Executive summary: Immortality, Inc., Sheckley’s first novel, is a fast-moving tour of wonders and horrors, well worth reading, even if its individual parts are greater than the novel as a whole. The novel goes by a number of different names. … Continue reading →

Posted in art, books, review or meta-review, sff, sword-and-sorcery, werewolves | Tagged | Comments Off on This Way to the Egress: IMMORTALITY, INC. by Robert Sheckley

Where Ignorance Is Blish: PLANET STORIES, July 1951

Posted on July 4, 2025 by JE

If an evil fate cast me back in time to the late 1930s, and I were compelled to join one of the factions emerging in the tempest-filled teapot of early sf fandom, I would probably side with the Futurians. They … Continue reading →

Posted in art, books, fantasy, fantasy art, review or meta-review, sff | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment