Ken Lizzi's Blog, page 42
April 16, 2022
Rainy Day Reading. Resurrected Post.
The grey days are here again. The storms roll inland from the Pacific in succession, bringing the seemingly continuous rain. The temperatures drop and coats come out of the closet. The days grow shorter. The nagging bugs commence. My daughter has already picked up a cold from somewhere and has graciously shared it with my wife. I imagine I���ll get to join the fun soon enough.
Goodbye summer. Hello long hours indoors. Those with the time curl up under a warm blanket and read. For the purpose of this web log post I���ll pretend I���m one of those fortunate folks with time on their hands, and not someone with a full-time job, a wife and infant deserving attention, novels to write, and a home to keep clean and maintained. I���m going to pretend I can do more than snatch a few minutes here and there to read.
What then is on the shelf? Currently I���m near a third of the way into ���The Elfin Ship��� by James Blaylock. So far it is the perfect seasonal book, opening as it does with the sentence ���Summer had somehow passed along into autumn, as it will, and with October came a good bit of rain.��� How can you beat that for fall reading? Maybe a re-read��on Halloween of ���A Night in the Lonesome October�����by Roger Zelazny.
Playing along with the scenario that I could actually while away the grey hours like a rainy-day reader and move along to the next book in short-order, next I���d pick up ���Hawk��� by Steven Brust. My guess it is more properly a summer book, but I don���t intend to wait that long to find out what happens next to Vlad Taltos. I suppose a massive, 1,000 page epic fantasy would be a more appropriate choice for the season. Does anyone have any fiction suggestions for my fictional self? What���s in your reading queue?
Peregrine: Primus, Philosophy and Picaresque. Resurrected Post.
I���ve written before about Avram Davidson. Might he not have graced the list of an alternate Appendix N? If I recall correctly, Gary Gygax was a Christian. Whether observant or not. But it is possible that he might find Avram Davidson���s rather acid and frequent criticism of religion distasteful and thus did not consider him an influence upon D&D. Pure speculation on my part.
The point is, I���m writing about Avram Davidson again. I just finished�����Peregrine: Primus,�����a short novel by Davidson, published in 1971. It is an interesting and entertaining read. It is in part a bildungsroman and in part a picaresque. A picaresque as composed by James Branch Cabell and John Meyers Meyers writing in tandem, if that gives you an idea of the style and quality. Funny stuff, droll, learned, rife with wordplay and bawdy innuendo.
It is set during the decline of the Roman Empire, yet it must be classified as fantasy rather than historical fiction due to the occasional magical and mystical elements. It tells the journey of Peregrine, a bastard son of the petty king of the last pagan kingdom in the tattered remains of the Roman Empire. Peregrine has come of age, and by law and custom must quit the kingdom. He���s accompanied by the expected wizardly advisor and the expected smarter-than-he-first-appears servant. But this being Davidson, these stock characters are far from stock. Nothing follows the standard fantasy script, including the encounter with a fire-breathing dragon.
This being Davidson, the narrative spends a great deal of the word count poking fun at religion. I don���t have an ox to gore here, so I found the descriptions of the various heresies, orthodoxies, and non-christian religions amusing. This is also a book of its time. Davidson���s depiction of the Huns and of women would not likely have survived the PC sniff test of publishers today. So there���s plenty in here to offend just about anyone. Unsurprisingly ��� walrus-hided curmudgeon that I am ��� ��I was chuckling through most of it.
The end, now, there���s something to chew on. You might hate it. You might consider it a fitting end for an unconventional book that frequently trafficked in the troubling side of fervent religious belief. You might wonder if there is a sequel. And there apparently are two. I���ll have to track them down.
Phoenix. Resurrected Post.
Something you learn when traveling with an infant is that on any given day of the trip you can plan one thing. One event, one sight-seeing excursion, one (relatively) leisure restaurant meal. The rest of the day is governed by the baby���s sleeping schedule. Decent accommodations are vital. A pool helps. A television with access to children���s programming doesn���t hurt. A well-stocked refrigerator goes a long way towards easing the times spent in guest housing.
So many thanks to a generous friend for putting up with me, my beautiful wife Isa, and my rambunctious and rambling ten-month old daugher V.V.
And thanks to the greater Phoenix area for providing a thing-a-day for us to do during our mini-vacation.
Of course my usual luck had to assert itself at least once. We left Portland on a bright, warm October day to arrive in rainy Phoenix. So much for soaking up as much sun as possible in preparation for the commencement of Portland���s gray months. But the weather cleared by the next afternoon and we enjoyed the sort of hammering heat that allows we Portlanders to be grateful for our more mild climate.
The drivers of Phoenix also welcomed me to the continuous Phoenix Grand Prix, running 24-hours a day on the streets and freeways. Thanks, it was delightful, whether I was driving the borrowed Grand Cherokee, or as a passenger, clutching white knuckled at the ���oh shit��� handle.
I can report that V.V. thoroughly enjoyed the aquarium, entranced by the strange creatures swimming by, above, below, or around her. The zoo was hit-and-miss. The orangutan definitely was a hit. MBW liked the zoo as well, though perhaps next time she���d prefer if we arrived at a cooler time of day.
Perhaps next trip we can spend more time at the Railroad Museum in Scottsdale. I did not see enough of it to form any particular opinion.
The two brew-pubs we visited met with my approval. I���m happy to report that you can get decent IPAs in Phoenix.
Visually Phoenix is an interesting departure for someone from Portland. There���s the obvious difference in coloration, red sand and blue skies instead of pervasive green. But other than a few visually striking buttes jutting up from the valley floor, the city and suburbs are remarkably flat. One doesn���t think of Portland as a particularly hilly burg ��� San Francisco holds that reputation ��� but frequent elevation changes are basic to the sightlines pretty much anywhere in Portland. So the grid of streets scratched in to God���s pool table is a notable Phoenix feature.
And now, back to my regularly scheduled months of cloud and rain.
April 10, 2022
A Child’s Library. Resurrected Post.
I���ve been thinking about what books to purchase for Victoria Valentina. With what titles shall I stock her library? Honestly I���ve been pondering this since before she was born. Look, that���s just how I am. Don���t judge me.
I���ve already picked up a paperback copy of��Tbe Wind in the Willows. She may be about a decade from appreciating that one. I read it aloud to my wife. It���s been more than thirty years since I���d last read it. It held up, though it is more ponderous and somewhat less whimsical than I remember.
A boxed set of of A.A. Milne is probably at the head of the list.��Winnie-the-Pooh,��When We Were Young, etc. Maybe Beatrix Potter. These are likely the foundations, the talking animals, stuffed or otherwise. We can move on to��Charlotte���s Web��later.
I���ll probably want a nice hardcover, illustrated fairy-tale collection. And a Hans Christian Anderson collection. I���ve already got��The Hobbit, copies in English and Spanish. But this might be an excuse to buy another edition.
Looking at this selection I see a decided predilection toward the fantastic. Is it any wonder I write fantasy and science-fiction? I suppose I���ll want to pick up a Laura Ingalls Wilder set as well. Establish some historical grounding. I���ve got editions of Robin Hood and King Arthur tales, but those hardly qualify as historical.
Some might say that the books I���ve selected are written for more advanced readers, that contemporary children���s books are more age-appropriate. Some would say that the concepts and vocabulary in my selections will prove challenging for little Victoria, that the language is outmoded, the morals old-fashioned, that I���m attempting to impose my own childhood on my daughter.
You know what? I don���t see a problem with any of that.
Of course, she won���t even turn one until November. So I���ve got some time.
Oregon Brewers Festival 2014. Resurrected Post
I���m giving the usual topics a miss today in order to discuss beer. Specifically the beers I sampled at the 2014��Oregon Brewers Festival. I do wonder about the missing apostrophe in Brewers. Is not the Festival possessed by the Brewers? Well, never mind.
I didn���t ride my bicycle down to the Portland waterfront this year. For the first time in the twenty plus years I���ve attended the Brew Fest, it was raining. At least it kept the Wednesday afternoon crowd somewhat in check. I drove down with lovely wife Isa and lovely daughter Victoria. Isa drove back. Frankly I wasn���t too displeased to skip the uphill bike ride home.
With festival tasting glass and wooden tokens in hand I began to browse. I decided that this year I���d avoid my usual IPA-heavy selections, sample a wider variety of brews. That���s ��� mostly ��� what I did. Following are my tasting notes.
10 Barrel Brewing Company. Cider Weisse. ABV 5.7%. Refreshing, summery cider with a mild hop bite. Could use a touch more sweetness or a berry tartness.
Fort George Brewery & Public House. The Optimist. ABV 6.9% Verdant hp notes, light citrus. Not much nose. Could use more malt for balance. [Stepping away from my tasting notes for a moment. Yes, I said I���d steer clear of IPAs this year. I like IPAs. Lay off of me, why don���t you.]
Specher Brewery. Abbey Triple. ABV 8.5%. Very smooth Belgian Tripel. Tastes of honey-dipped biscuit.
Paradise Creek Brewery. Huckelberry Pucker. Berliner Weisse. ABV 4.7%. Pale color, like diluted grapefruit juice. Tart, a cherry-berry blend, far from the stereotypical cloying fruit beer. I���m not usually fond of fruit beers, but this I like, and the Mrs. concurs (though she prefered the Cider Weisse.)
Sixpoint Craft Ales. Barrel Aged 3Beans. ABV 10.3%. Mocha ��� a vanilla mocha latte tempered with a beer bitterness. A dessert beer, not a beer drunk for beer���s sake.
Central City Brewing. Red Betty Imperial IPA. ABV 9%. ��Okay, back to the IPAs. But an Imperial IPA so I���m not really cheating. This is terrific! Perfect balance.
Beer Valley Brewing. Heavy Sugars Honey Ale. ABV 7%. Looks like fruit juice. Smells like fruit just beginning to turn. The Mrs. says ���no���. Taste. I agree. Remember the comment about cloying fruit beer? Here���s the apotheosis.
Heathen Brewery. Megadank. ABV 8.2%. Epitomizes the Northwest IPA style You either like that style or you don���t. I like it. [Yes, another IPA. I think I was remarkably restrained.]
Upright Brewing Company. Old News Saison. ABV 5.8%. Decent. Saison���s are distinctive. I tend to like them and I like this one.
Here end the tasting notes. At this point the negative aspect of bringing along my infant, no matter how fetching and delightful, manifested. The hour of departure arrived with wailing insistence. So, a brief foray. But, as ever, rewarding. I think I���ll keep an eye out for Central City. Good stuff.
Kothar — Barbarian Swordsman. Wings and Beer S&S
Gardner Fox���s first Kothar book is Kothar ��� Barbarian Swordsman. The title sums it up nicely. The book is a collection of three Kothar novellas. We get a sort of origin story, in which Kothar acquires his sword Frostfire, the introduction of his nemesis Red Lori, and some fast paced adventures, all prefaced by an excellent introduction from Donald MacIvers, Ph.D.
I���ve written about Kothar before. (Digression: A couple months back my web log essential disappeared. I still have no idea why. A helpful IT guy from Bangladesh helped salvage a small percentage of it, but close to 400 posts simply vanished. Happily I discovered they are all still available on my Goodreads Author page. So I am beginning the slow process of providing resurrected posts. I���m in no rush: I���ve got a career, books to write, and a family that ought to get some attention as well. The point is, the link to the old post now functions. Huzzah! End digression.) Nothing about this introductory volume alters my essential position on the Kothar series. This is stripped down Sword-and-Sorcery. Fox doesn���t dawdle. He has a tale to spin and he���s going to spin it fast. To do so he eliminates all fat from the narrative, providing the bones of the story, just enough connective tissue to let it move, and the minimal amount of skin and muscle required to give it a recognizable shape. A bit of world building that another writer would spread out in paragraphs throughout the story, Fox handles in one run-on sentence within a paragraph that is busy pushing the plot along.
And I���m fine with that. The Kothar stories don���t pretend to be anything they aren���t. This is quick, fun, light entertainment. You don���t always want a multi-course meal at a white tablecloth restaurant, overseen by an attentive waiter and a sommelier. Sometimes you want a plate of wings and a bucket of beers. I���m happy either way. (I had wings last night, in fact. Two sauces: Raspberry habanero and Lime cilantro. And a pint of dark IPA. Mmmm.)
Are there certain deficiencies? If you want to nitpick, sure. The world-building is inconsistent. I���d say sketchy, but the entire edifice is sketchy; that���s a feature, not a failing. (This is rapid, impressionistic charcoal drawing, not painstakingly composed, realistic oil painting.) Mentions of Kothar���s mysterious past (washed ashore in the barbaric northern land of Cumberia, from…somewhere) never lead anywhere, as far as I recall. (I still haven���t picked up book 4. Maybe it comes up there.) And Fox likes to throw in terms that don���t really fit in the milieu, words that are tied to a monotheistic European middle-ages rather than a (far future?) polytheistic fantasy hodgepodge: cathedra, prie-dieu, etc. Do I care? You know the answer to that. Of course I don���t. I devoured this slim volume. I found it goes well with double IPAs. Your accompaniment may differ, suit your own taste.
You know what just might suit your taste? One of my books. Pick up Blood and Jade if you are in the mood for S&S in a modern setting. I think you���ll like it.
Gardner Fox, Appendix N. Resurrected Post
Today I���m turning my attention once again to Appendix N. The writer in the spotlight this time is Gardner Fox. Not exactly a household name, not even among aficionados of sword-and-sorcery fiction. He���s probably better known to comic book fans as a prolific comics scripter, writing from the 1930s into the 1980s. His claim to Appendix N membership is predicated on his��Kothar��sword-and-sorcery novels.
It is hard to evaluate Kothar without appearing to damn Fox with faint praise. That���s unfortunate, since the truth is that I like Kothar. The novels are entertaining, and that���s the entire point of a sword and sorcery tale. Fox succeeded. He brought to life this fellow:
���a giant youth���leading a grey horse. He wore a mail shirt that glittered as if newly polished, there was a leather kilt about his loins, and a great sword with a red gem set into its hilt bobbed at his side. A yellow mane of uncut hair hung down to his shoulders���
If you read that description and it imparts a sensation akin to homecoming, if reading that makes you want to settle in for a satisfying S&S yarn, then Kothar is exactly the book for you. Gardner Fox ticks all the barbarian boxes.��All��the boxes. And therein lies the issue.
With Kothar, Fox has constructed the barbarians��� barbarian. Kothar is, in a sense, the generic S&S barbarian. He���s the benchmark against which all other sword-swinging, loin-cloth-and-sandal clad heroes measure themselves. If Conan is the��ur��barbarian, then Kothar is the barbarian after being thoroughly market-tested and vetted by every department at Corporate.
Like I said, damning with faint praise. But the reason Kothar sailed through Corporate and won over the test audiences during market research, is that he works. He���s entertaining. Kothar novels provide the goods: a mighty-thewed hero, diabolical wizards, demons, monsters, magical swords, buxom wenches, barroom brawls, exotic locals, chases, clanging sword fights. A Kothar novel might not remain lodged in your memory, but damnit, you had fun reading it. And what���s wrong with that? Gardner Fox earned his spot in Appendix N.
Book Signing, Once Again (Resurrected Post)
July 20, 2014
Book Signing, Once Again
Honestly I would have considered the event a success if I���d only sold a single copy. So I left the signing yesterday more than contented. I���d like to thank Jan���s Paperbacks for hosting the event. Also Jack Whitsel for suggesting that I join him at the table. I owe many thanks to those who stopped by the table, especially those who bought a copy of Reunion. I hope you enjoy the book and that my signature doesn���t hurt the resale value.
And additional thanks to all the store patrons that afternoon for leaving some of the cookies. I was hungry.
It���s an odd feeling, sitting at a table facing the front door when a customer walks in. Expectancy. Elation when a complete stranger picks up your book and announces the intention to buy a copy. Embarrassment, as an incoming customer turns his head and edges around the table to avoid eye contact. It���s okay, bookstore patron, I���m not upset at you for failing to buy my book. I���m not a used car salesman, I���m not going to apply high-pressure sales tactics. For one thing I don���t know any. Say hello, have a cookie, take a bookmark. No hard feelings.
In all, a good afternoon at the bookstore. I walked in a with a box full of copies of Reunion, walked out with only two copies left. Yeah, a good day.
April 3, 2022
The Web Log is Traveling
Here is a short, pictorial post. I drove down the Oregon Coast Friday, spent the night in Florence. Then on to Crescent City, California Saturday. Driving back home this morning, intending to arrive after the Open House is finished and all of those strangers are out of what is still my house. So, in no particular order, enjoy some pictures.
Crescent City SealsLest I forget, here is the obligatory “buy my books.” They are entertaining.
March 27, 2022
Top Ten S&S Characters
Swords and Sorcery fiction provides us with exciting action in memorable settings. It also drops terrific characters into those settings and lets them run free. Some of those characters have stood the test of time. I���ve selected ten of those that I consider the pantheon of the genre. There is no science here. It is arbitrary and personal. Feel free to disagree. There is no way to be wrong in these exercises.
So, in no particular order (except, perhaps for number one) I present my selection for the Top Ten Greatest S&S Characters. Cue fanfare.
Leading off, to no one���s surprise, is Conan, REH���s quintessential barbarian hero. He sets the bar, and it is a doozy. To some extent it is unfortunate that Conan established a template, because Howard wrote a much more interesting character than a blundering, hot-headed, sword-swinging barbarian. Conan is curious, mercurial, intelligent, driven, and possessed of a wicked sense of humor.
In that last respect, Conan stands in contrast with number two: Solomon Kane. To reiterate, this isn���t a ranking. But since REH wrote both characters, it seemed most appropriate to place the adjacent to each other. Where Conan is riotous, boisterous, and ready to enjoy what the world has to offer, Solomon Kane is dour, reserved, and, ahem, puritanical. He is single-minded, with a self-imposed mission of ridding the world of evil. This monomania allows REH to focus on a primary aspect of the character, showing that there can be complexity even in a character with a narrow range of motivation.
Let���s move from Solomon Kane to Kane. Now that���s a leap. Where Solomon Kane is driven to do the right thing no matter the cost, Edward Wagner���s Kane is amoral to the last degree. He will do whatever it takes to serve his own interest, no matter the cost to anyone else. Kane is as brave as any other character on this list; self-interested does not necessarily equate to cowardice. He���s built in the mold of Conan rather than Solomon Kane, perhaps even bigger than Conan. And as a near immortal he���s had centuries to hone his skills in battle. He���s an assassin, a scholar, and a sorcerer. Kane is a larger than life character who trails havoc in his wake.��
Even bigger than Kane ��� taller at least ��� is Fafhrd. Fritz Leiber���s creation possesses a touch of Kane���s amorality tempered with some of Conan���s barbaric chivalry. Fafhrd has an artistic streak. He���s something of a bard. He���s also prone to enthusiasms and compulsions. He���ll follow a trail ��� a legend concerning treasure, a woman ��� long after it has clearly grown treacherous and fool hardy. He���ll throw himself into religion. Or scale a mountain or sail across an ocean merely for the challenge. Like Conan he���s a thief and a carouser. Unlike Conan, he���s more inclined to make attachments. For example…
The Gray Mouser. I suppose I could have listed both Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser as a single entry. They are, after all, the Twain. That way I could have given myself an eleventh pick. But they are two entirely different characters and sometimes are at odds. Mouser is diminutive, his fighting style dependent upon speed and agility rather than strength. He���s a thief and a dabbler in magic. Both of which get him in trouble from time to time. He���s more curious than Fafhrd, though sometimes ��� not always ��� more wary, and willing to regroup when circumstances indicate. It seems the Twain take turns bailing each other out of the consequences of their enthusiasms.
Speaking of thieves, I���d be remiss not to include the inimitable Cugel the Clever, Jack Vance���s rogue. He too dabbles in magic. His attempts to acquire magical artifacts lead him into all manner of messes. His cleverness and ruthlessness see him free. Only to find he���s been too clever by half, getting himself into yet another mess. Cugel is distinctive. His actions can be as repellent as Kane���s one moment then as amusing as Fafhrd���s or the Gray Mouser���s the next. I half considered Hanse Shadowspawn when pondering S&S thieves. But Cugel is iconic, whereas I sold all of my Thieves��� World novels years back after a re-read of the entire series (an exercise in diminishing returns.)��
As seems to be a commonality with most of these characters, Michael Moorcock���s Elric is multitalented. Not only is he a gifted warrior ��� at least when his weaknesses are compensated for by drugs or the vampiric aid of the sword, Stormbringer ��� he is also a sorcerer of note, able to call on the aid of elementals or his patron, the demon Arioch. Now, I must confess that Elric doesn���t resonate with the Ken Lizzi of, let���s say mature years, as he did with teenage Ken Lizzi. I find the frequent sturm and angst, the navel-gazing and pessimism somewhat off putting. Of the Eternal Champions, my preference is Corum. But I can���t deny Elric���s position in the pantheon.
Perhaps to compensate for including an obvious choice, next up is Vlad Taltos. Like Kane he is an assassin. He���s also a witch. Like Gray Mouser he relies on speed and finesses to fight. Though not because he is necessarily smaller than other men. Vlad Taltos is a human living in a city dominated by ��� let���s just call them elves. Much taller than men and very long-lived. It is a world in which sorcery is commonplace. Vlad has a chip on his shoulder. He���s constantly walking against the wind, always the smallest man in the room, overlooked or outright scorned.. He���s a sarcastic wise ass in a world in which his mouth can constantly get him into trouble.�� Yet he���s not without resources. At least in the first few books of the series he���s the head of the local crime syndicate. And he is lucky in his friends. ���S&S, Ken?��� you ask. I think so. At least most of the books.
So far this list has served up warriors, thieves, and sorcerers. And, I suppose, one bard. How about another bard? I considered Poul Anderson���s Cappen Varra. A defensible choice, I think, but I don���t know if quantity of material entirely justified it. So, I give you Keith Taylor���s Felimid mac Fal. He���s an Irish bard in a fantastic version of Dark Ages Europe. He survives his travels and escapades through his wits, his bardic magic, and his skill with his magic sword. The full package, really. He���s often reticent about battle. He���s not driven by avarice, nor an overdeveloped sense of justice. He makes for an interesting, well-rounded S&S character.
But I can���t include Felimid mac Fal without also including Kardios. Manly Wade Wellman���s bard is also a traveler with a (sort of) magic sword. But instead of a Dark Ages setting, Kardios wanders through the world in the aftermath of the fall of Atlantis (which he had a hand in causing.) He too relies on his wits and his sword arm, though he lacks any skill with magic. Kardios is a throwback, a classic hero in the mold of Ulysses or Sinbad.
And there you have it. Where have I gone wrong? Who did I leave out? Who should I have not included in the first place?
As always, I���ll end with the grift. Check out my Semi-Autos and Sorcery series. Book one here. Book two here. Book three here. Then tell me what you think of Karl Thorson as a contemporary S&S character.
