Category Archives: sff

“Ixnay on the Ocodilecray!” Lucian Against the Paradoctors

Posted on June 1, 2026 by JE

I’ve been reading a lot of Lucian lately, for reasons that are difficult to explain; maybe I’ll write something about that when I figure it out. But I am finding that he reads better in Greek than he does in … Continue reading →

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Et Thew, Brute?

Posted on November 7, 2025 by JE

Some discussion of thews and thewbilation in the Sword and Sorcery Tavern on Discord made me curious about the etymology of thew. I consulted my friend, the democratic AHD, and it hit me in the face with this. Did not … Continue reading →

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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.

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Joys of Analogue Media

Posted on October 17, 2025 by JE

One of the long-lost pleasures of vinyl that I’m recently recovering is going through stacks of used LPs at record stores. These are thinner on the ground than they were in the 20th C, but when I find one I … Continue reading →

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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?”

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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 →

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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 →

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Of Eeels and Miracles

Posted on July 6, 2025 by JE

The Surprised Eel on their Patreon gives us a very nice piece of writing that usefully complicates some over-simplified worldmaking advice. One thing that leapt out at me was this: “Of course, your fantasy world doesn’t have to work like … Continue reading →

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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 →

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Bookalanche!

Posted on July 2, 2025 by JE

Past Me is sometimes a deadly enemy. For instance, he only left me two pieces of pizza from the other night so that I could celebrate the first day of True Summer with the Breakfast of Champions–cold pizza and hot … Continue reading →

Posted in art, books, fantasy, fantasy art, magic, Myth & Legend, sff, sword-and-sorcery | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments