Long ago, perhaps before high school (1964-1968) I read a novel by Otis Adelbert Kline. It was set on Mars, a Mars similar to that of Edgar Rice Burroughs (Barsoom). The villain was Sarkis the Torturer and there was a particular scene that stuck in my mind over all the intervening decades. I recently tracked it down. The novel was The Outlaws of Mars. From Chapter XII:
More from Robert K. Massie, Castles of Steel: Britain, Germany, and the Winning of the Great War at Sea.
Decades ago I read John Irving’s The Smoke Screen of Jutland and so was familiar with the course of the battle. I had not known, or had forgotten one story:
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I recently read Robert K. Massie’s, Castles of Steel: Britain, Germany, and the Winning of the Great War at Sea
Some of this story I knew from other books, notably Dan Van der Vat’s The Ship that Changed the World: The Escape of the Goeben to the Dardanelles in 1914. In the 1920s Winston Churchill wrote that the Goeben brought “more slaughter, more misery, and more ruin than has ever before been borne within the compass of a ship.” This was because the Goeben forced the Ottoman Empire into World War I on the German side. This in turn led to the breakup of the Ottoman Empires. Long after Churchill wrote those words we are still dealing with the consequences of that: Modern Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Israel were all Ottoman provinces in 1914.
Notes and quotes concerning Myke Cole’s, The Bronze Lie: Shattering the Myth of Spartan Warrior Supremacy. From Amazon:
“The last stand at Thermopylae made the Spartans legends in their own time, famous for their toughness, stoicism and martial prowess – but was this reputation earned?”
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Notes and quotes concerning Myke Cole, Steel Lobsters: Crown, Commonwealth, and the Last Knights in England
“The total time from the moment they donned their armor , to the battle that would see them pass into legend, was about a month. It was a bright, final flash of glory – like the sparkling sun on their polished metal armor – before winking out forever.”
Last month I read Ukraine Update June 14, which begins:
Russia has de-dollarized, and the yuan will now be the main trading currency for Russian citizens. China’s takeover is nearing completion.
This remined me of Robert Heinlein’s novel Sixth Column (originally serialized in 1941, first published in book form in 1949). Continue reading
Somehow Facebook led me to a gaming website to show me Adventures in Fiction: Fletcher Pratt. In fact I was interested. I have read and enjoyed several of his books. In the fantasy genre these include the Harold Shea stories, co-authored with L. Sprague deCamp and the more serious novels The Blue Star and The Well of Unicorn.
Notes from a panel at Capricon 44, Chicago, Feb. 2, 2024. Any mistakes are mine. The panelists are not responsible for any errors here.
Shaun Duke, Jerry Gilio, Bill Higgins, Benjamin Wallin, Gary K Wolfe (moderator)
Since its release in 1974, Joe Haldeman’s Hugo and Nebula Award winning novel The Forever War has been assigned in college classes and hailed as a profound exploration of the dehumanizing effects of war. Now on its 50th anniversary, our panelists look back on the novel’s release, its impact, and its relevance today.
Highlights from Quantum Bullsh*t: How to Ruin Your Life with Advice from Quantum Physics, by Chris Ferrie
From Hilbert Space to Dilbert Space, and beyond 