Ken Lizzi's Blog, page 5

Red Moon and Black Mountain

Joy Chant’s Red Moon and Black Mountain is a book I wanted to like more than I actually did. I’ve a notion that timing is a factor. Had I read it, oh, 40 years ago, I might have thoroughly enjoyed it. It is, after all, an ambitious piece of fantasy, the language skillfully and often beautifully written. Just the sort of thing for teenaged me. For the reader I am today, however, it didn’t completely land.

The culminating showdown and the battle between the Chosen One and the Dark Lord should provide a tremendous payoff. The sacrifices and the deaths of heroic supporting characters should freight the reader with an emotional payload of loss. Unfortunately, in Red Moon, this does not happen. This is due, I think, in part to word count. That is, to length. The paperback weighs in at a relatively svelte 268 pages. That is sufficient to provide world building for a smaller scale story. But for what is clearly intended to be an epic, with world altering stakes, 268 pages simply isn’t enough.

The book begins as a portal fantasy (�� la C.S. Lewis), with a teenage boy and his two younger siblings crossing a gate and finding themselves in a world of magic, warriors, unicorns, enchanters, evil sorcerers, etc. These POV characters are our introduction to the fantasy world and we receive much of our information through them. I think the book would have benefited from a subplot featuring a POV character or two from the fantasy world; a hundred additional pages or so with some essential quest tying into the main story, allowing the writer time to introduce the cultures, races, religions, and history. As it is, the reader is given a paucity of details, often sketchy, and those sometimes come rather too late in the story to allow for any connection or emotional investment in the fate of any particular character or group other than the three kids from Earth.

Joy Chant, I can’t help but assume, wrote the book while in the thrall of the spell cast by The Lord of the Rings. The 1970 copyright year is suggestive. The internal evidence seems to support this conjecture as well. (Frodo Lives! Gandalf for ��President!) While Red Moon is no slavish, Iron Tower trilogy scene-for-scene rewrite, it is replete with analogous aspects, tropes, characters, and events that evoke elements of LOTR. The tragic Starborn echo Tolkien’s elves. There is even a Tom Bombadill-esque character. Chant seems to have several favorite scenes or bits of imagery that she wishes to pay homage to. The muster and roll call before Minas Tirith, the fateful romance between Aragorn and Arwen, Frodo’s willing self-sacrifice, etc. There’s nothing wrong with any of this. I just couldn’t avoid noticing them as they cropped up (and there are possibly some I missed.)

I want to highlight at least one positive aspect. The final, bittersweet chapters, extending far beyond what might be considered the normal endpoint (more LOTR comparisons) work very well. Focused on an individual POV character, with whom we’ve spent at least half the story, the emotional payoff feels earned. I only wish I could have felt the same way about the rest of the book.

I want to reiterate that this isn’t a bad book. On the contrary, it is quite decent. I just feel it could have been better. I don’t like writing less than glowing reviews. Who am I, after all, to criticize popular, successful authors? I wanted Red Moon to live up to the review on the back cover: “A strong and beautiful and perfect book.” Perhaps, some decades ago, hungry for more LOTR, I would have thought the same. Maybe it will still reach that height for you. Give it a try.

If you are looking for something shorter than an epic fantasy with the fate of the world at stake (and don’t we all need a break from time to time?), I do have short stories available in two recent publications. (And no — for those with occasional lapses in reading comprehension — I’m not inviting comparison or making any claim of superiority to the item just reviewed. I almost always end these posts with a sales pitch, and here we are at the end.)

 

A Cimmerian Christmas

Conan wished he was in Argos, or perhaps even Kush. Anywhere warm. Cimmeria was no place to spend the winter. Cold, gray, bleak. And direly lacking in plentiful meat and drink.

So he found himself pushing through a howling blizzard, scarce able to see five feet before him, and that only thanks to a strange globe of illumination. At least the carcass slung across his shoulders offered some warmth in addition to the strange light guiding his way.

The hut at which he���d taken shelter for the bitter Yuletide appeared, a dim solidity in a universe of white. Firelight glinted at the edges of the door. Conan booted it open. The crone who occupied the hut greeted him with a toothless smile.

���See,��� she cackled triumphantly. ���Crom provides.���

Conan tossed the small caribou onto the hard packed dirt floor, its antlers hitting with an almost musical ring. He drew his broadsword and hacked off the head, terminating the red glow that had been persistently casting an almost lamplike glow from the animal���s nose.

���Crom provides? Bah!��� Conan scoffed. ���I provided. And ���twas no easy feat. The beast moved so swiftly, as if dancing on air. I could not deliver a decent slash. I was forced to thrust and stab until I���d fairly riddled it with steel.���

Apologies to Robert E. Howard and Robert L. May.

I hope you all enjoyed Christmas. If you are still looking for gifts, why not audiobooks?

Cirsova Winter 2024 Issue

Just in time for Christmas I bring you an unalloyed self-promotional post. God bless us everyone! And especially me.

The winter edition of Cirsova magazine is out. And — this is the important part, so pay attention — it contains a story by me. It’s The Red Hat, one of my Cesar the Bravo sword-and-sorcery tales. There are also several other stories that you may like, but focus now. This is about me.

No, enough of that. Humor doesn’t always come through as intended. The point is, the magazine is out. If you are the sort of person intrigued by a “Magazine of Thrilling Adventure and Daring Suspense” then this is right in your wheelhouse. The pulps didn’t die. They are alive and well in the page of Cirsova magazine. If you happen to pick this up, and if you enjoyed my story, pay special attention to the Notes page at the back. There is information contained therein that might interest you. I will certainly be addressing it at some point in the coming months.

I hope you enjoy your festivities this week. I have the tree up and decorated. The HA is excited to open her presents. The cats are thrilled to have a tree to lurk beneath and a new water dish to lap from. My mother-in-law is here through the first week of the new year. And MBW’s present finally arrived. The tracking notes suggest it had quite an adventure getting here. So it is beginning to look a lot like Christmas at Casa Lizzi.

One more thing. I would be remiss if I didn’t remind you that I also have a story in Swords & Sorceries: Tales of Heroic Fantasy volume 9, published just last month.

Wassail!

 

A Long Expected Party

My grandmother celebrated her centennial on Friday. It isn’t precisely eleventy-one years, but it is an impressive span nonetheless. And she is still chugging along.

MBW, the HA, and I jetted off from Casa Lizzi to San Diego. We shared a rented house in the SD suburb of La Mesa with my mother and sister.

I accompanied my mother and sister on a visit to the beach on Coronado Island.

MBW and the HA took in the San Diego Zoo.

Friday we all visited the nearby Mount Helix park to absorb the view.

Afterwards we joined much of the extended Lizzi clan for the matriarch’s festivities.

A century. One hundred years. Just take a moment to consider the changes my grandmother has seen, the events she has observed unfold over her lifetime. 1924 was only six years removed from the end of the Great War. The Great Depression hadn’t yet occurred. Prohibition was nearing its midpoint. The Model T Ford had still three more years of production. And then came WWII, the American economic boom, social upheaval, Vietnam, the moon landing, the oil crisis, the smashing 80’s, and so on. Quite a colorful hundred years of history to live through, triumph and tragedy, high drama and farce, history’s pageantry and pathos.

Thinking about it is enough to make one wish for some light entertainment. May I suggest the Semi-Autos and Sorcery series? (Look, I don’t have a publicist. I have to shill my wares personally.)

Alan Garner’s “The Weirdstone of Brisingamen” and “The Moon of Gomrath.”

The cover of the 1960 Ace paperback of Alan Garner’s The Weirdstone of Brisingamen guaranteed I’d pick this up when I found it in a used bookstore in Galveston, Texas. It’s Jack Gaughan art, and I had to read the story that inspired that image.

The cover blurb states that Weirdstone is “A fantastic novel in the Tolkien tradition.” I can’t really fault that description. It does evoke elements of The Lord of the Rings, sharing motifs and thematic elements. This isn’t a result of Garner attempting note-for-note mimicry (c.f. Dennis McKiernan’s The Iron Tower trilogy.) The stories and settings are entirely too dissimilar for that to be the case. Rather they share some of the same source material, and must necessarily resonate with readers on a similar frequency.

The Andre Norton introduction to this edition suggestions that the book is not a juvenile. I’m not entirely sure I agree. During my drives to take the HA to school, we have been listening to The Dark is Rising series and The Chronicles of Prydain. I consider Weirdstone to fit comfortably in with these: tales featuring youthful protagonists that deal with dark supernatural elements and frequently traffic in tense, even frightening dangers. I can see the point, however: there is less whimsy about Weirdstone; a slightly more adult tone.

The story itself is engrossing. It reads as a sort of greatest hits of Western legend, from Scandinavia to Ireland, with an extra helping of Welsh. The narrative moves along briskly, and the dangers Susan and Colin face — the mythic friends and foes, escapes, combat, and magic — build and snowball. (The description of a certain spelunking excursion might well bring a cold sweat to the claustrophobically inclined. Good writing.) And then it ends, rather abruptly.

Happily I encountered the sequel in another bookstore.

The Moon of Gomrath picks up months after the events of The Weirdstone of Brisingamen��and involve the attempted revenge by one of the villains of Weirdstone. This one offers more of the same, adding additional elements of Western European myth to the pot for spice and flavor. The pace is even faster (and the book shorter.) It is a quick read that grabs you and drags you along for the duration. Susan, it seems, is herself a mythic being (or destined to be so.) Combatting the vengeful villain, she embroils her brother, a company of light elves, a couple of dwarfs, the Wild Hunt, one of the Tuatha de Dannan, and many more in a deadly struggle.

Good stuff, and occasionally rather grim. Though, again, there is no real culmination. No denouement. But some quick internet sleuthing reveals that there is a third book, Boneland, creating a complete trilogy. So, one more book I need to lay my hands on.

If you are interested in laying your hands on some new books, why not give my Semi-Autos and Sorcery series a try?

A Galveston Thanksgiving

Once again the day of thankfulness and overeating arrived. I spent this one with MBW and the HA in Galveston. We rented a room in a mansion in the historic district. Wednesday featured a visit to a used bookstore (from which I was at length pried away by MBW) and a distillery. Thursday consisted of overindulgence, then I took the HA to an arcade (with a full bar, so we were both happy.)

I did enjoy the stay in the old mansion. The wooden floors creaked pleasantly, the room offered a cozy window nook to sit and read, the front porch provided a decent view and shelter from the wind gusting in from the Gulf of Mexico, and the dining room was an ideal venue for an abbreviated feast for three.

I did (and still do) feel thankful. Leaving aside personal reasons for gratitude, from the writing perspective I am thankful. On the Monday preceding Thanksgiving, I completed the first draft of the third book of my Twilight Galaxy (working title) series. Once I finish revisions and polish it up, I’ll be ready to pitch the series. My latest short story was published not too long ago in Swords and Sorceries: Tales of Heroic Fantasy Volume 9. (Get yours now.) Another is scheduled for publication December 17. (Check back in a few weeks for details.) I’ve jumped right into another story of Badulf the German (earlier stories should begin to see publication in 2025.)

I hope you and yours are doing well and have plenty to be thankful for.

They Can’t All Be Winners: “Demon in the Mirror” and “Thor: Love and Thunder”

We all know the aphorism: If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all. The problem is that this week’s post would minuscule, or even absent entirely were I to adhere to that admonition.

I did not have high hopes for Andrew Offutt and Richard Lyon’s Demon in the Mirror. So I suppose at the very least I wasn’t disappointed. I should probably start with the good aspects I found. The treasure hunt set-up allowed for a sequence of vignettes or short stories. The authors took advantage of this format to stretch creativity. (To the breaking point, if you ask me, but I am trying to start with the positives.) A few exciting S&S escapades did result. And as the narrative wound on, it did grow on me somewhat.

That is about as far as I can honestly praise this one, I’m afraid. I did not find Red Faux-nya to be a credible action heroine. The prurient, leering descriptions of ersatz Valeria, (Tania, the voluptuous, red-headed captain of the pirate ship Vixen (natch)) exceeded the general genre norms and bordered on soft-core pornography. And as much as I admired the novelties the authors invented and the sheer creativity involved, the resultant concepts frequently defied credibility. The storm riding chapter nearly led me to abandon the book. But I persevered. For you Dear Reader. Look, I’ve read (and even enjoyed) a lot of subpar material, but this one did not work for me. Maybe it will for you. I won’t judge. I understand that this is the first book of a trilogy. I won’t be picking up the sequels. Not a recommend.

Continuing on as a nattering nabob of negativity, I come to Thor: Love and Thunder. Happily for me it was on television, so I didn’t have to pay for it. Thus endeth the positives.

Look, Thor: Ragnarok is a favorite of mine. It chugged along as an engaging action piece. Over this core, Taika Waititi overlaid a welcome helping of humor. And to this, he added a judicious sprinkling of whimsy, such as Jeff Goldblum’s performance, and the Waititi voiced rock alien. It worked. Unfortunately, the lesson Waititi appeared to take from Ragnarok was that its success was due to the humor and whimsy. So he produced a comedy with few good laughs and an overabundance of whimsy. The rock alien’s role expands far beyond its deserts and wears out its welcome. Russel Crowe takes over from Goldblum. But as game as Crowe is, the entire concept is played entirely for laughs and lacks the undertone of menace that is required to sell the scene. So much whimsy inevitably descends into inanity. The whole thing quickly becomes silly. It is pointless, ridiculous froth; not fun at all. The essential action story core is almost entirely absent. Which is too bad. The grim origin story of the God Butcher is effecting, and the pathos of Jane Foster’s facing terminal cancer is moving. But these elements are at odds with the ‘tween cartoon atmosphere of the film and Waititi doesn’t seem much interested in them. He is more concerned with stuffing the flick with sight gags. The thing is a mess, as close to an objectively bad piece of entertainment as an inherently subjective matter can be. Not even low expectations could save it.

I wish I could have offered something more positive this week, but such was the hand I was dealt.

On a happier note, both MBW and the HA had birthdays this week. MBW’s birthday dinner was fine and the HA thoroughly enjoyed her birthday party. The after party at my place with wings, beer, and leftover pizza worked well for me. And my recently published story remains available to read in Swords and Sorceries: Tales of Heroic Fantasy Volume 9. Add to that a new story nearing publication in just under a month. More on that later.

 

Wandering Dunsany’s “Beyond the Fields We Know.”

Beyond the Fields We Know is part of the peerless Adult Fantasy series, edited by Lin Carter. Carter curates and edits selections from Lord Dunsany and once again proves his editorial chops. This is an excellent collection and the editorial material isn’t merely filler.

The collection starts with early Dunsany, printing his complete The Gods of Pegana, followed by Tales from Pegana. These are remarkably innovative short tales or vignettes. Dunsany not only creates a new pantheon and mythology, he also tantalizing suggests morals and aphorisms clouded in a haze of almost tangible profundity. The stories are on occasion droll, at other times they border on elegiac. Sometimes they manage both.

We then get a play, King Argimenes and the Unknown Warrior. I enjoyed reading it and would like to see it performed. One of Carter’s intriguing editorial titbits that he drops here and there throughout the collection is that Fletcher Pratt set The Well of the Unicorn in the universe of King Argimenes. I like that sort of connection, not merely because I am a fan of the book, but because it reveals a link, a chain of influences.

Poetry follows. And I didn’t mind. These are fun to read, like the works of Kipling or the doggerel of John Myers Myers.

There follows a sequence of short stories from other collections, most of which I’ve read before but was happy to encounter again, including the classic Chu-bu and Sheemish. Most notably, however, was the last story, a sequel to the amusing The Loot of Bombasharna, entitled A Story of Land and Sea. It doesn’t disappoint and ends the collection on a humorous high note.

I mentioned the quality Carter’s editorial material. His Afterword, The Naming of Names is worthwhile reading. For example: he notes that the first fantasy novel (in his judgment) was published in 1895 (William Morris’ The Wood Beyond the World, presumably, though I believe it first saw print the year before.) In 1895 George MacDonald was 71, Dunsany 17, Eddison 13, Merritt 11, Lovecraft 5, Tolkien 3, and Clark Ashton Smith 2. While that may not be the most trenchant bit of trivia, I found that overlap of the lives of essential fantasists…fascinating.

Recommended.

Also recommended, for mercenary purposes, is Swords & Sorceries: Tales of Heroic Fantasy volume 9, containing a short story by yours truly. Pick up a copy if you are in the mood for some tales of adventure, swordsmen, foul wizards, and bloody action.

Swords & Sorceries: Tales of Heroic Fantasy Volume 9

I cut my writing teeth on short stories before turning my attention to novels. I still like to work with the shorter form on occasion. In fact my entire published output this year will, it seems, be a couple of short stories. (I’ve been laboring steadily this year on a three-book series, attempting to get each volume complete and polished before approaching a publisher. Publishers like series fiction, but not the first book. They don’t want to take a risk on the first book, hoping it sells and that the author can produce another before readers’ interest dies. They want a package, ready to drop. Meaning the risk transfers to the writer. Such is the business.)

One of those aforementioned stories should be out in December. The other is out right now. Fulgin the Grim: Retribution is one of the tales in the ninth volume of the Parallel Universe Publications’ Swords & Sorceries: Tales of Heroic Fantasy��anthology series.

I haven’t received my author’s copy yet, but the line-up looks promising. I’m expecting some rousing adventure yarns. Let me know what you think of the book and, if you don’t mind, my contribution. Happy reading.

Swords & Sorceries: Tales of Heroic Fiction Volume 9

I cut my writing teeth on short stories before turning my attention to novels. I still like to work with the shorter form on occasion. In fact my entire published output this year will, it seems, be a couple of short stories. (I’ve been laboring steadily this year on a three-book series, attempting to get each volume complete and polished before approaching a publisher. Publishers like series fiction, but not the first book. They don’t want to take a risk on the first book, hoping it sells and that the author can produce another before readers’ interest dies. They want a package, ready to drop. Meaning the risk transfers to the writer. Such is the business.)

One of those aforementioned stories should be out in December. The other is out right now. Fulgin the Grim: Retribution is one of the tales in the ninth volume of the Parallel Universe Publications’ Swords & Sorceries: Tales of Heroic Fiction anthology series.

I haven’t received my author’s copy yet, but the line-up looks promising. I’m expecting some rousing adventure yarns. Let me know what you think of the book and, if you don’t mind, my contribution. Happy reading.