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Hunger by Knut Hamsun
A book jot from January 2022: I just finished reading Hunger (1890) by Knut Hamsun, translated by Robert Bly. This novel is narrated by an unnamed protagonist living in the city of Christiania (modern-day Oslo) near the end of the 19th century. He is extremely destitute, often homeless, and his penurious existence combined with a…
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Wulf the Barbarian
In a continuation of my recent sword and sorcery (and specifically barbarian) comic book reading foray, I jumped into the world of Wulf the Barbarian by Atlas Comics. This is the Atlas publisher from the 1970s, usually referred to as Atlas/Seaboard to distinguish it from the much earlier pre-Marvel Atlas of the 1950s. If Claw…
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Bajazet by Jean Racine
I recently read Bajazet, a tragedy in five acts written by Jean Racine (translated by Robert Bruce Boswell) and first staged in 1672. The setting is the Ottoman Empire in the early 17th century. The characters and plot are inspired by what was, at the time, recent history, which is unusual for Racine’s historical plays.…
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Claw the Unconquered
Sword and sorcery is a genre that I find often appealing and only sometimes satisfying. Perhaps it is the propensity for a general deficiency in characterization, or the oft over-used tropes and situations. Regardless, it’s a realm of fiction I return to time and again and, despite my previous criticisms, thoroughly enjoy. Recently I delved…
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Tartuffe by Moliere
Book jot from January 2022: I just finished reading Tartuffe (1664) by Moliere, translated by John Wood and David Coward. It is the first thing I’ve read by him. I’m used to reading theatrical tragedies and a comedy was refreshingly unexpected. The play revolves around a religious hypocrite and his manipulative influence over a man…
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Hercules Unbound!
I recently finished reading Hercules Unbound, a 12 issue series of comics published by DC from 1975 to 1977. This title started off very strong, with writing by Gerry Conway, pencils by José Luis García-López, and inks by Wally Wood. That is an incredible team! This was some of García-López’s first work with DC. He…
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A Pair of Blue Eyes by Thomas Hardy
I recently finished reading A Pair of Blue Eyes (1873) by Thomas Hardy. It was his third published book and one of many “Wessex” novels he wrote, Wessex being his imagined region of England. I have heard Hardy’s writing referred to as an acquired taste…I’m not sure if this is true, but I find his…
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Darkness and Light by Paul B. Thompson and Tonya R. Carter (Dragonlance Preludes #1)
I just finished reading Darkness and Light by Paul B. Thompson and Tonya R. Carter. It is a Dragonlance fantasy novel and the first in the Preludes series. These books are set in the five years before the first of the Dragonlance Chronicles, Dragons of Autumn Twilight. I loved the Chronicles as a kid and…
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White Fang by Jack London
I just finished reading White Fang (1906), a novel by Jack London. The story of White Fang’s life begins in the northern territories of Canada during the Gold Rush of the 1890s. Born to Old One Eye, a wolf, and Kiche, a wolf-dog, White Fang’s world slowly expands from the cave of his birth to…
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Gamebooks!
Here is a gallery of book covers from some gamebooks I really love! Thanks to Demian’s Gamebook website for the scans (I am not at home and unable to scan or photograph my own copies right now).