JUN 21 Appendix
N Archaeology: The Ballantine Adult Fantasy Series by Michael Curtis
More than a decade before Gary Gygax assembled his list of
influential fantasy authors and titles—the famed “Appendix N” which appeared in
the Dungeon Masters Guide published in 1979—another author was hard at work
compiling a list of fantasy stories to introduce to the reading public. Both
catalogs would include some of the same authors on their rolls, and it is safe
to say that without the first list, Gary Gygax may never have discovered some
of the names that helped influence fantasy role-playing. In the spirit of
Goodman Games’ ongoing efforts to return to the roots of the hobby, we now go
one step further to explore the fertile landscape from which those roots drew
nourishment. This earlier catalog was the Ballantine Adult Fantasy Series.
Edited by Lin Carter, an esteemed author of science fiction and fantasy in his
own right, this literary series was comprised of more than sixty titles
released between 1969 and 1974 by Ballantine Books.
JUN 24 Classic
Covers: Ballantine Fantasy
The decade of fantasy publishing kicked off by the runaway
success of the The Lord of the Rings produced not only a flurry of reprints of
classic fantasy, but also an entire crop of creative, iconic, and visionary
cover designs. Ballantine Books launched its iconic Ballantine Adult Fantasy
line on the strength of the fantasy boom, featuring cover art as wonderous as
the contents of the books themselves. We’ve
gathered together some of our favorite covers below to share with you. Enjoy!
JUN 28 A
Hero Emerges: Young Thongor by Fletcher Vredenburgh
I have an extreme hate-love-hate relationship with the work
of Lin Carter. He was the Chun the Unavoidable of sword-and-sorcery, his
efforts still coloring the genre he loved so much, even nearly thirty-five
years after his death. His work as an author and probably the greatest promoter
of sword-and-sorcery are things most of us can only aspire to, knowing full
well we can never achieve his level of fantastic devotion. The Ballantine Adult
Fantasy line, the five volumes of Flashing Swords! and many of the assorted
anthologies he edited are still books every fantasy fan should own. That said, few will ever aspire to his
accomplishments as a writer.
JUL 1 Charles
R. Saunders’ Nyumbani Tales
In Nyumbani Tales (MV Media 2017), sword-and-sorcery great
Charles Saunders collects 13 short stories spanning his early career, work that
had previously appeared in a variety of publications, from small press ‘zines
like Weirdbook and Black Lite, to mass market anthologies such as Beyond the
Fields We Know and Hecate’s Cauldron. Fans of Saunders’ Imaro series will
already be somewhat familiar with his short fiction, since the earliest parts
of that epic were built upon the classic early Imaro shorts that first won the
character his reputation. And, while many of the stories within Nyumbani Tales
aren’t strictly speaking sword-and-sorcery, there are not only familiar faces
here for Imaro fans, but a great deal of familiar ground as well. That familiar
ground, of course, is Nyumbani itself, Saunders’ fantastic African setting.
JUL 5 Where
to Start Your Summer Reading
Whether you’ve got vacation from work or school, prefer to
shelter-in-place with some strong air-conditioning, or have just recently
defeated an interdimensional incursion of home-besieging swine-things and find
yourself with a block of free time—it’s a fine occasion for some summer
reading! Tales From the Magician’s Skull’s ongoing Where to Start series of
articles are written specifically to introduce readers to new (old!) fiction,
with particular care taken to untangle some of the more confusing or
overwhelming aspects of convoluted publication histories and multiple editions.
They are also written by folks who absolutely love the authors, characters, and
series in question, and want to share that love with the world.
JUL 8 Congratulations
to the 2022 Robert E. Howard Award Winners
Last month’s Robert E. Howard Awards, given by the Robert E. Howard Foundation during the annual celebration of REH’s life and work that is Howard Days, in Cross Plains, Texas, is a chance to honor all of those dedicated scholars, publishers, editors, and artists whose scholarship and passion ensure that REH’s work thrives nearly a century on. Dozens of talented and devoted creators were nominated for awards in various categories, but of course, only a few could win! Readers of Tales From the Magician’s Skull, both print and online, will recognize some of those names, such as frequent contributor Brian Murphy winning in the Emerging Scholar Category, and Jason Ray Carney scoring in the Literary Achievement Category for his helming of Whetstone: The Amateur Magazine of Pulp Sword and Sorcery. Outstanding Achievement in Anthology/Collection went to Jason M. Waltz’s Robert E. Howard Changed My Life, with a list of contributors that is a veritable who’s who in the field of Howard Studies but with four very important writers from our own TFTMS: Managing Editor Howard Andrew Jones, and bedrock contributors Adrian Cole, John C. Hocking, and C.L. Werner. The full list of winners is below; to them, and to all the nominees for their extraordinary work, Tales From the Magician’s Skull salutes you!
