Moe Lane's Blog, page 2

Tweet of the Day, I’m Laughing And Steamed At The Same Time edition.

Laughing because George Martin really has answered the question, “What would happen if we took all of the heroics out of heroic fantasy?” Steamed because God help you if you want to write a heroic fantasy trilogy these days. Nobody’s going to trust you.

This is beyond embarrassing at this point https://t.co/A7p7Iw3FaP pic.twitter.com/oyrSI3fMsy

— Katie Roome (@RedHedgedragon) November 21, 2025

Not that Martin cares, either way. He got paid, which is admittedly the goal. He’s never gonna even know that I’m specifically pissed off at him; and if he ever does, it will mean precisely nothing to him.

Such is life.

#commissionearned

New Hyborian Age location just dropped!

Semiyarka! City of Seven Ravines! No, that’s what the archeologists called it. Because they’re entitled to a bit of fun, too.

The early city of Semiyarka spanned 346 acres (140 hectares) — more than four times larger than contemporaneous villages in the region. The site, which dates to 1600 B.C., is the first site in the region discovered to have significant space dedicated to metallurgy and tin-bronze production, according to the study, published Tuesday (Nov. 18) in the journal Antiquity.

“Semiyarka transforms our understanding of steppe societies,” study first author Miljana Radivojević, an archaeologist at University College London, said in a statement. “It demonstrates that mobile communities were capable of building and sustaining permanent, well-organized settlements centered on large-scale metallurgical production.”

Now, do understand that this is a late Bronze Age settlement, which in this case means about 1600 BC. ‘City’ is also a relative term in this context: they don’t talk population, but from the pictures I’d be surprised if this place had more than a few hundred people in it at any time. They are certain that the site was used for bronze production, since they’ve found the kind of trash and detritus associated with that, but everything else is speculation.

So it is not Semiyarka, long-conquered and restive under the Turanian yoke. It is not low-built and brooding above its infamous Seven Hells, where foul creatures lurk, bathed too long in the runoff of a thousand forges. Those creatures are not fat from the flesh of desperate fools who seek to harvest their brazen-dusted hides for the use of the bronzeworks above. There was no corrupted Cult of the Forge, last remnants of the old, pre-Turanian pantheon, which offers up suitable sacrifices in exchange for the cities unique king-bronze weapons. King-bronze weapons cannot shatter iron ones and blunt steel, and has a price to match. It’s none of these things.

…Now ask me if I care.

Moe Lane

PS: This is, by the way, a legitimately cool discovery.

H/T: Hot Air.

$87 to go for the year!

Well, it’s like this. This has already been the best year for me so far on Amazon, thanks to the entire GHOSTS ON AN ALIEN WIND thing that happened earlier*. But if I make eighty seven more bucks on Amazon before December 31, it’ll be officially twice a good a year as last year.

So, hey: Christmas is coming. Give the gift of me.

Moe Lane

#commissionearned

*Short version: there was a nasty little social media witch hunt in an independent book contest I was participating in, I left the contest in disgust when the first scalp was taken, and I got swept up in the backlash to the witch hunt. Very nice, but I hope all the people who bought the book ended up reading it. GHOSTS is a good book.

I give up: this week is just one medical thing after another.

The latest saga? My wife had to go in for an emergency checkup to see if she had a grinding problem. She actually had a ‘oh, hey, her now previous-dentist completely missed this infected tooth and so we’re gonna need to do a root canal in a couple of weeks’ problem. So getting that under some kind of control took up a lot of the day. Maybe this is… a hint? From the universe?

Mind you, I still need to finish the first draft. O happy day.

Moe Lane

PS: Don’t mind me, I’m just venting.

The KEN WRITES ABOUT STUFF Bundle of Holding.

I already have the Ken Writes About Stuff Bundle of Holding. Had it for years, in fact. But it’s all good stuff! Well worth picking up, especially if you’re trying to get your GUMSHOE and/or cosmic horror on. Check it out.

Oh, *joyous* day: I have to contact my health care insurance provider.

I generally have a happy relationship with my insurance provider: to wit, we never, ever talk to each other if we can possibly help it. They approve everything normal, I don’t ask for anything fancy, and we spend entire years in mutual respectful silence. Yes, I know that this is unusual, not to say downright aristocratic. I am aware how blessed I am.

Alas, getting on the weight loss drugs requires precertification that my insurance will cover it in the first place. This alone felt… unnatural. So did the endless menu recitals, the lack of an actual option to select, the please-holds that went to voicemail, and the final casual admission (via an AI voice assistance) that the entire office is out for training this morning and won’t be back until 1 PM Eastern Time. I’m getting a faint glimmering of a hint of a shadow of a reflection of a glimpse of a notion about why people hate health care providers these days.

‘Cripple Creek.’

Cripple Creek, Earl Scruggs and Lester Flatt

#commissionearned

Getting better…

Did a lot of writing today, mostly because the physical energy levels required were actually low. I know I should not be surprised that minor illnesses bite a little harder when you’re in your fifties. And yet, here we are.

On the other hand, I did realize that I might be able to have two books ready for next year, instead of one. FALLING WALLS OF LUNACY pretty much is a novel; I just need to write the last story (tentative title: “The Crawling Order.”). We’ll see how that goes in December.

Moe Lane

PS: In the meantime… my stuff!

The MONARCH: LEGACY OF MONSTERS Season 2 teaser trailer.

I need to finish season one of MONARCH: LEGACY OF MONSTERS, mind you. It was good, but I have a hard time keeping up with television shows these days. I’m always thinking that I could be spending the time doing something else.

New BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER a sequel, not a reboot.

I watched Buffy religiously, back in the day. I may not be entirely objective about this news, particularly since Joss Whedon is in no way associated with the show. I’m not entirely objective about him, either.

[BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER executive producer Chloe] Zhao recently wrapped filming on the pilot, which introduces Star Wars: Skeleton Crew actor Ryan Kiera Armstrong as Nova, the new Slayer who steps into the spotlight. Gellar is back in full Buffy mode, and Zhao made it clear during a conversation with Variety that this project builds directly on the original series.

Here is how she explained it: “It is not a reboot. It’s a sequel. You can never replace these characters. I would never allow that. And Sarah’s back. I love my cast, the new cast. We will bring back OG characters for sure.