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The author of Skulls in the Stars is a professor of physics, specializing in optical science, at UNC Charlotte. The blog covers topics in physics and optics, the history of science, classic pulp fantasy and horror fiction, and the surprising intersections between these areas. -
Category Archives: Weird fiction
A. Merritt’s The Ship of Ishtar
(I’ve been working on a particularly difficult science post for a week now, and the end is still a ways off. In the meantime, I thought I’d catch up a little on my weird fiction posts.) Author A. Merritt (1884-1943) … Continue reading
Posted in Adventure fiction, Robert E. Howard, Weird fiction
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Richard Marsh’s The Goddess: A Demon (Valancourt edition)
With the release of the Valancourt edition of Richard Marsh’s The Goddess: A Demon, I thought I’d repost my earlier review of the book, with some modifications specific to this edition. I’ve read a lot of the books of Richard … Continue reading
Posted in Horror, Mystery/thriller
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Jeff VanderMeer’s Finch
I’ve had the good fortune to read many good works of weird fiction since starting this blog — in fact, one of the major motivations for starting the blog was to “force” myself to get back into reading strange and … Continue reading
Posted in Horror, Science fiction, Weird fiction
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Robert E. Howard’s El Borak
Finally, I’ve gotten to read some new Robert E. Howard! Well, not new — Robert E. Howard committed suicide in 1936 — but new to me, anyway! For those who are unfamiliar, Robert E. Howard (1906-1936) was a Texas author … Continue reading
Posted in Adventure fiction, Robert E. Howard
5 Comments
“The Wicker Tree?” (Updated)
This one was an immediate WTF moment for me: Robin Hardy, the writer/director of the original version of the film The Wicker Man (1973), is “reimagining” his film as The Wicker Tree, slated for release sometime this year: For those … Continue reading
Posted in ... the Hell?, Entertainment, Horror, Robert E. Howard
2 Comments
“Supernatural Buchan”, by John Buchan
One of the truly fascinating things about writers of weird fiction is how many of them are remarkably accomplished in other aspects of their lives. We have folks such as A. Merritt, who had a very successful career as a … Continue reading
Posted in Horror, Weird fiction
3 Comments
Richard Marsh’s A Spoiler of Men
I have yet to be really disappointed by the works of Richard Marsh (1857-1915)! Over the Christmas holiday, I spent some time reading A Spoiler of Men (1905) , which has recently been reprinted by the always great Valancourt Books, … Continue reading
Posted in Horror, Mystery/thriller
2 Comments
M.P. Shiel’s Prince Zaleski
Valancourt Books continues to release fascinating literary treasures that have been buried and forgotten for ages! The most recent of these is a collection of stories by M.P. Shiel about his character Prince Zaleski: We’ve encountered Matthew Phipps Shiel (1865-1947) … Continue reading
Posted in Mystery/thriller
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The Beast with Five Fingers by W.F. Harvey
I’ve been trying to keep up with my weird fiction reading while I’ve been working on my physics textbook, though it’s been pretty hard to read a major work considering I spend most of my evenings doing research for the … Continue reading
Posted in Horror, Mystery/thriller
3 Comments
Henry Kuttner’s Destination Infinity
Henry Kuttner is, for me, one of those authors who never disappoints, and is always thought-provoking. He had an incredibly vivid imagination, and each of his works is absolutely unique, seamlessly blending pulp adventure with science fiction. I’ve discussed a … Continue reading
Posted in Science fiction
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