The entry point of this blogpost is Barbara Chase-Riboud’s historical novel Hottentot Venus (2003). It’s the life story of the real Sarah Baartman, the so-called “the Hottentot Venus.” It’s also an immersive tour of turn-of-the-19th-century South Africa, England and France and a staggering work of literature. You should read it or have Robin Miles read it to … More Hottentot Venus (2003) and H. Rider Haggard’s Hans
We are six weeks out from my trip to Mars (Barsoom), Pennsylvania, for PulpFest and FarmerCon. This year, my homestretch is weighted towards hero stories, lost races & worlds, and authors whom I’m actually likely to meet: Print or eBooks The Squeaking Goblin by Kenneth Robeson (aka Lester Dent) (UPDATE: finished 6/20/17) — Art Sippo told … More Pre-PulpFest/FarmerCon To Read List
The appeal of Tarzan is straightforward. He is an English peer raised by anthropoid apes to become an immortal jungle adventurer. Tarzan is super-strong and is curious about everything. He can talk to animals. He has access to fabulous wealth. According to Philip José Farmer, Tarzan is totally free of neurosis and eventually will travel … More Tarzan and the Golden Lion (1922)
On December 24, 1884, the king pulled out his pencil once again. He was on the verge of losing to the French the area of the north of the Congo’s mouth, a region for which he had entertained great hopes and that he would surrender only with pain in his heart. As compensation, on that … More Clipping: Leopold Draws Up the Congo Free State
This is the first post in a series driven by my partner Sabor’s keen interest in popular music. In it, she and I will be looking at some hits of yesteryear and elucidating their queer subtexts. It’s surprising we didn’t realize how queer a song “Mr. Jones” is until now. Upon review, the song is about … More Sabor’s Queer Jukebox: “Mr. Jones”
New Mister Miracle hits a little close to home: Paste: Tom, you’ve described this as “an epic about a harrowing tale trying not to be told.” That’s an amazing contradiction. Why would an epic not want to be told? King: I think because it’s your epic, or it’s like in an interview like this, or … More Clipping: Paste Interview with Tom King and Mitch Gerads RE new Mister Miracle
My partner is Sabor the lioness–a curious animal who shares my sense of humor even if we’re different species with different aesthetic sensibilities. Sometimes we like to watch old genre movies and we write down her thoughts about them. The other night we finally watched Waterworld. She demanded her thoughts be published here. Waterworld needs no … More Movie Night with Sabor: Waterworld (1995)
In a book review last week, I mentioned that the uranium used to explode Hiroshima and Nagasaki (pictured above) came from the Belgian Congo. Today, I’ll look more at that through Spies in the Congo (2016) by Susan Williams, with an audio book narrated by Justine Eyre. The book is about how OSS agents and their “cut-outs” secured … More From Katanga to Hiroshima; or the Pulp Fiction Author Who Was a Spy
[Tarzan] toured much of England. He loved the Lake District when it was not raining. . . .But he was appalled by the grey, grimy, dismal factory cities of Manchester and Liverpool. What he learned of the lives of the factory workers enabled him to understand his [self-proletarianized Socialist] grandfather’s strong reactions. But he had … More An Ape-Man for All Seasons: Tarzan for May Day
by H. Rider Haggard. Narrated by William Boyde. Nada the Lily is Shakespeare-level epic tragedy. It consists primarily of prophecies of doom and long-winded monologues in the thou-form. These are interspersed with fantastic elements and frenetic moments of human carnage to great effect. I really really like this book although, for me, it peaked about three-fourths … More Nada the Lily (1892)
A Feast Known 