Tag: Books’n’shit

[Booktalk] A Literary Appendix N; The Volsunga Saga (William Morris & Eirikir Magnusson)

November 8, 2020

The Volsunga saga or Saga of the Volsungs is probably the most influential of the Viking sagas, serving as inspirational fuel for the likes of Wagner, Eddison and Tolkien. In this evil age, it is all but forgotten by the common man. It is time to bring it back and remember the old ways. Now … More [Booktalk] A Literary Appendix N; The Volsunga Saga (William Morris & Eirikir Magnusson)

[Booktalk] The Well at the World’s End (William Morris)

October 13, 2020

William Morris is arguably the world’s first fantasy writer. There were stories with elements in them that the author believed was fiction (just look at the Gothic period), but Morris was the first to set his story in an entirely fictional world. Coming out in 1896, Well at the World’s End spans 4 volumes and … More [Booktalk] The Well at the World’s End (William Morris)

[Booktalk] Actual Appendix N: The King of Elfland’s Daughter by Lord Dunsany

September 19, 2020

As a break from this series, let’s take a look at an entry that is actually on the appendix N. Lord Dunsany is a turn of the century author of “weird” and fantastic fiction and was much admired by the likes of Lovecraft, Howard, C.A. Smith and Tolkien, among countless others. The King of Elfland’s … More [Booktalk] Actual Appendix N: The King of Elfland’s Daughter by Lord Dunsany

[Booktalk] A Literary Appendix N; Xenophon’s Anabasis

September 2, 2020

The world is changing. As the wheel of time grinds on we are seperated further from the roots of our past and cast forth into the seething cauldron of the future, wherein all manner of streams are converged and distilled down to form the murky, indistinct soup of modern popculture. To prevent fantasy from sliding … More [Booktalk] A Literary Appendix N; Xenophon’s Anabasis

[Booktalk] A literary Appendix N; The Aenead

August 21, 2020

A.k.a History’s first fanfiction a.k.a Warhammer -400 B.C., the Aenead is an essential part of the Classic Western Canon that has mostly sunk into obscurity among my generation. For shame, says I. Here’s why it rocks. The Aenead is the unofficial sequel to Homer’s Illiad and Odyssey, and follows the adventures of Aeneas, son of … More [Booktalk] A literary Appendix N; The Aenead

[Autism] Deriving Levels For Fighting Men From Literary Sources

June 15, 2020

A continuation of our previous entry while I struggle manfully through my homework for a donation. Last time when we spitballed some level requirements for the great heroes of the Illiad we ran into comparatively little disagreement as regards to the relative position of the various heroes but the most coherent disagreement was voiced by … More [Autism] Deriving Levels For Fighting Men From Literary Sources

[Booktalk] Describing Combat & A literary Appendix N; The Illiad

May 31, 2020

No game this weekend because of scheduling conflicts. Next week! It’s long been my contention that a lot of GMs and settings make their games unnecessarily shitty by having no idea what the various components of the D&D universe are based on or what they are meant to represent. The result is a disjointed mess, … More [Booktalk] Describing Combat & A literary Appendix N; The Illiad

[Book Review] Science Fiction for REAL MEN(tm); War Machine by Andy Remic

September 23, 2016

There are two things I can be said to cherish, or at least approximate the emotion as far as my cold, dead ice-lump allows.  The first is Science Fiction. Ever since I was but a sprightly young swamp-German (a truly magnificent slur coined by a certain British Poofter with a fondness for vampire cossplay), my … More [Book Review] Science Fiction for REAL MEN(tm); War Machine by Andy Remic