Dispatches from the silver key

Arcane Arts

I am behind--behind! on everything I want to read. Resigned to the fact that I shall never read everything I want to before I perish.

Maybe Plato was right, I shall be born again … and therefore have another life in which to reduce my TBR.

But I don’t want to stake my future on that possibility. What if I were to be reincarnated before the invention of the printing press?

So I’ll just keep chipping away.

I didn’t get much reading in over the Memorial Day weekend, in part because I was up at our family’s camp. My grandfather had the foresight to invest in a piece of property back in 1954, and the following year he and his buddy built a pair of cabins side-by-side on a low hillside overlooking Highland Lake. I’ve been going up there my entire life.

On the way up I stopped by The Flying Goose in New London for a burger and a couple of cold beers.

My memoir is also taking up huge chunks of my free time. I continue to wage war every time I open the manuscript. My editor is tough, he’s made me question so much. I’ve rewritten, added new scenes, made a few cuts. At other times furiously reject his commentary.

Like I said, war.

The book is growing significantly stronger week-by-week and I believe it is the best thing I’ve ever written. My self-imposed publication deadline is August.

Something old: H. Rider Haggard

Here’s something I plan to read that’s very old, albeit in a newly published volume by Stark House Press: Smith and the Pharaohs and Other Stories.

I moved this to the top of my TBR thanks to a reminder from Deuce Richardson, who wrote the introduction and generously sent me an advance copy.

Not that I needed much urging. I’m a Haggard fan, in particular of Eric Brighteyes and The Wanderer’s Necklace. I might even (gasp) recommend those titles over She or King Solomon’s Mines. Haggard is the grandfather of adventure fiction, and while his writing can take a bit of getting used to for the modern reader, very few have been possessed of the fire of his imagination.

Haggard profoundly shaped 20th-century popular fiction, laying the foundational templates for the "Lost World" and modern exotic adventure genres. He inspired Robert E. Howard, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Edgar Rice Burroughs, and many others, including Carl Jung (?), who reportedly was so captivated by the immortal Queen Ayesha in She that he used her as the psychological archetype for the “anima.”

That’s a cover blurb.

Here are a few of my Haggard reviews from the archives.

​“Unshaken on his rocky throne above the bleak fjords”: A review of H. Rider Haggard’s Eric Brighteyes​

​Victory or Valhalla! A Review of The Wanderer's Necklace.​

Something new (edge): Jirel and the Mirror of Truth

I support contemporary sword-and-sorcery and realized I haven’t reviewed anything from New Edge. I corrected that by reading a short story by Molly Tanzer from vol. 1 no.3 (Summer 2024), “Jirel and the Mirror of Truth,” a new story of the classic C.L. Moore pulp heroine Jirel of Joiry.

I enjoyed “Jirel and the Mirror of Truth.” It moved well. Tanzer packs in a lot of adventure and several memorable scenes into a short space. And it has a unique hook: The story opens with Jirel ensorcelled by a wizard, who is using her sword-arm and military prowess to collect magical artifacts. When not on the battlefield she shares his bed.

Jirel begins to awake and remember her old kingdom of Joiry, and much adventure ensues.

Tanzer doesn’t attempt to replicate Moore’s prose style here, the moody and atmospheric dream sequences of “Black God’s Kiss.” Her style is modern, and places more emphasis on characterization and friendship, pushing the borders of what we might expect to find in S&S. Which is what New Edge advertises on the tin.

Upon opening this volume I also discovered a couple of bonus inserts from the kickstarter—a temporary tattoo and a Solomon Kane cocktail recipe. Happy accident.

The accompanying artwork for this story and the issue in general is quite excellent.

I’ve got some John R. Fultz I need to catch up on next.

Something borrowed, and blue: RIP Ted White

And finally some sad news to report.Ted White, editor of Fantastic from 1969-79, passed away on May 24 at the age of 88.

Along with Cele Goldsmith, White helped revive Conan and sword-and-sorcery in the pages of the magazine.​

White was editor for the first appearance of Leiber’s "The Snow Women" and shepherded that fine story through to publication.​

I don’t believe anyone has properly plumbed the impact of Fantastic or extracted the wisdom of columns and reviews by the likes of Fritz Leiber. Per File 770, it seems that White’s editorials were collected by Ansible Editions in June 2023. But there is a lot more in its yellowing pages for S&S enthusiasts and historians, a gold mine waiting to be excavated.

White also edited Heavy Metal magazine from 1979-80, which makes him a true gentleman and scholar.

​You can find a nice Facebook remembrance here.​

Do you despair of a bottomless reading list? Send Brian said despair