And now to sink for all time my reputation as a serious literary intellect. In my college days I couldn’t get enough of Star Trek–specifically Star Trek novels, and Penguin Books was cooperating by pumping out a title or three per quarter. Needless to say, quality varied, and “good” can certainly be a matter of … More In which Captain Kirk is the very model of a modern major general.
One of the things I was warned about, when I started marketing Wearing the Cape, was that some nosy Parkers would actually want to interview me about the book. Why? I’m not trying to be obtuse; it’s simply that, as a reader, I was never that interested in authors or interviews with them. If I … More Q&A: Loving The Grilling.
When one thinks of time travel stories, H.G. Well’s Time Machine comes to mind, and Ray Bradbury’s The Thunder Of Its Wings, and then of course Back To The Future I, II, and III, and… The point is that most time travel stories lead to far-distant adventures, danger, or history-threatening paradox. And then there is … More Its name is Montmorency.
Alternative-history novels are fairly common now, stories where history diverged because of a single changed event. What is less common is alt-history fantasy. Historical alt-history fantasy is least common of all. Back in 1988, Melissa Scott, better known for her science fiction works, pulled this rarest of stories off beautifully. Continuing my reviews of “lost … More A Midsummer Night’s Alt-History.
Once upon a time, women in stories were pretty much there to be rescued. But in the 20th Century, woman went from being man’s “helpmeet” to being man’s partner (the details are still being discussed, but at least in our part of the world the new arrangement has been pretty much universally accepted). Let’s look … More Wonder Women, Part 2: From Damsels In Distress To Chicks With Guns.
Now that the hoped-for Wonder Woman TV series has died in production, I think this is a good moment to talk about superheroines (or, to be PC, female superheroes) and their treatment in comics and cartoons. I’m not going to try and cover the whole subject–that would take a book and probably has. Let’s start … More Wonder Women; Both Functional And Decorative.
Writers are an insecure bunch, at least going from my admittedly-small sample group. Why? Because if a writer is lucky he will have a writing-group able to help him with style and such, and a few alpha and beta-readers (usually friends unless he’s got an agent and an editor), to help him catch the serious … More The Midas Review
Marion G. Harmon, A Writer in Vegas. 