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About time I picked this up again. Okay, back to the slave pits. No, literally - the chapter I left off on was really focused on the family slaves.

The final entry in the Grasm trilogy, "Cities Below the Strand," again puts an emphasis on sorcery over swords. No swords are drawn in this tale, but there is a deep cut of nihilism here, particularly as regards both the past and the future of Grasm himself. This is a small window into what could be a large, inglorious panorama both for the barbarian himself and for his world s a whole. Hearts die, nations collapse.

Another story of Grasm the Barbarian, "Scream of the Bluejay," is a barnacle-encrusted sea-salt soaked rope of a tale about revenental vengeance. While the center of attention in the story isn't the barbarian, it says much about him and twists in such a way as to wring out more of his past. It's a clever tale of sword and sorcery, of regret, betrayal, and murder; a hideously glorious, horrifically beautiful tale.

I had forgotten how outrageously funny this book is (if you've got a British sense of humor, which I do, having lived there in the heyday of The Young Ones). I am intrigued all over again (because I've forgotten since last time I read this) about how the titular character's name was originally supposed to be "Trismegistus," but was changed to "Tristram," two VERY different names, if you know the roots of each.

(This is the Occult Press version). If Howard had cast aside all prudery and collaborated with William Burroughs, this might start to approximate the style of "The Monarch in Disarray," but this tale is much more transgressive, visceral, and psychedelic than that. It's a decadent sword & sorcery tale, pushed to carnal extremes with an emphasis on the sorcery and its deeper effects on the psyche. Grasm > Conan, maybe.

Tomorrow, I travel to Sturgeon Bay, WI to visit the bookstore/recordstore/ephemera store "Within Things". Very excited. We'll see if I'm capable of paying the mortgage any more after I'm done. I really want to do my review of Rucker's "Now It's Dark" (it's excellent), but I need to sleep. That's a long drive up and back tomorrow.

Tomorrow, I travel to Sturgeon Bay, WI to visit the bookstore/recordstore/ephemera store "Within Things". Very excited. We'll see if I'm capable of paying the mortgage any more after I'm done.

I'm reading the Occult Press version, gifted to me and signed by Adam.

I'll have some very good news about one of my novellas and a publisher I'd hoped to print my work for many years now. Can't say much at the moment, but I will before too long. Don't want to jinx it, but I am jazzed about this one!

Wow. "The Seventh Wave" finishes this volume with, dare I say it? A splash. At turns, deeply sad, empathetic, and desperate, this story ends on a high note of pure terror. Possibly the most effective story in the volume, the voice of the narrator is strong, not in intensity, but in its depth. And the story will push and pull at your heartstrings until they're about to break until the inevitable, yet shocking end.

Slawkenbergius, I think I love you. These sections have the most dense concentration of subtle innuendo that I've ever read. My, oh my, Sterne has made noses soooo naughty!

"An Element of Blank" presents a coming-of-age story of three girls, now women, who experienced something - though it's never quite clear how fully - of a demonic possession those many years ago. Now, the possessor is back and the girls are wiser and braver than . . . what, exactly? Memory is a fickle mistress and cannot be trusted. And, yet, it must. But trauma, while it cannot erase the past, can redact it.

Okay, gotta crank through some reading now that I'm back from vacation. Ironic, I guess, but taking an Alaska cruise leaves little time for reading as there's so much to see. Also, I took lots of notes in my writing "Uncommon Book," which is going to result in a short story or two. But I've just received two books from a friend (Adam Cantwell) and I'm going to a bookstore next week and, yes, I will buy books.

Got a decent chunk of this read while on vacation. And by "decent chunk," I mean 9 pages, of which I really understood maybe a third. When I finally get more facile with Latin, I'll go through it again (and probably laugh at my wholly incorrect and inadequate notes). Yes, this is a reading experiment. I'm allowed to fail and try again.

I suspected the final conceit of "So Much Wine" about three-quarters of the way through. The disconcerting narrative could only lead to one conclusion, in the end. I was right. But I still love this story, not because of the way it concludes, but because the writing throughout devoured my attention, pulling it away from the fact that I already knew what was coming. The journey is more important than the destination.

There's just enough Lovecraft in "The Unknown Chambers" to call the story Lovecraftian. "Deep Ones" are mentioned once, as is Lovecraft himself. If you're familiar with the mythos, you'll figure out what's happening or going to happen early on. If not, then this might be a good introduction to Lovecraftiana not from thr man himself. Disconcerting and stultifying, it's a good mythos tale, but not spectacular.

It's only two pages since my last update, but this is actually quick progress for me. Learning Latin takes time, and I knew this was going to be challenge when I started (digging in to a text like this). So, I'm plugging away and learning more as I go. Of course, I'll have to reread the first part of the book after I finish, so I can revisit and see how far I've come with the language.

Another story in the register of Aickman, "The Vestige" tracks a hapless traveler who has lost his passport, phone, and money. A traveling worst nightmare scenario. But it's not the terror of the loss or fear of being a stranger in a strange land that affect the reader, though these are sharp elements in the story. It's the mystery of a past that might not have been and a present that also might not be.

I love Tristram's asides to the reader. In this most recent one he says, essentially (I'm paraphrasing) - "I've just told you an unfortunate incident about noses. It ties back to a story about an ancestor and his nose. Noses are important. Here, I will show you why they are so important, as I am an authority on noses. Isn't this all so wonderful?"

Is it condescension or coaching or both? I don't care. I love it.

I need to sit with "Knots" for a while. It's a story about control and abuse, but there's a supernatural thread passing throughout that takes it firmly into the territory of the weird. It's heartbreaking, though, to think of those in abusive relationships that can't or won't get out. What are the knots that tie them to the situation? Mental illness? Emotional immaturity? Or something much more sinister than that?

Finally, a preface! Now maybe the main character can be born!!!

Just got word that my short story "Black Eyed Finch" will be published as a chapbook by Zagava press.

More potential news on the horizon . . . I'm a little giddy about this one.

Egaeus Press's anthology A Soliloquy for Pan recently went through it's second printing snd, once again, I missed my chance to get a copy. If Rucker's "The Secret Woods" is representative of the quality of the other stories in that volume, I have lost out on a treasure. It evoked in me both a deep emotional response and intellectual resonance. It's a gem in Rucker's crown.

Rucker captures liminality in a bottle in "The Other Side". It's not a horrific tale, far from it, though the weird element might be considered horrific by some. Dark? Yes. But this was a somber contemplative piece drenched in sadness. Reflective and vaguely hopeful at the same time. Not only is liminality the subject of the story, but Rucker has captured the feel and mood of the liminal. Outstanding!

Man, when is this child going to be born for crying out loud?!?