American Writers (One Hundred Pages at a Time)

H. P. Lovecraft Book Club: Series 9: Episode 15: Tarbis of of the Lake

A story E. Hoffman Price that discussed with H. P. Lovecraft, TARBIS OF THE LAKE is a supernatural love story about a stalker mummy.

Episode 477: Neal Stephenson: Odalisque (1)

Set immediately after KING OF THE VAGABONDS, ODALISQUE follows Eliza in the Versailles court caught between the French and William of Orange. This novel is partly epistolary.

H. P. Lovecraft Book Club: Series 9: Episode 14: The R. H. Barlow Revisions

In this episode of the H. P. Lovecraft Book Club I look at a bunch of works by R. H. Barlow, which Lovecraft helped revise. They area an interesting mix that show the development of a young talent. My favorite is TILL A' THE SEAS.

Episode 476: Neal Stephenson: The King of the Vagabonds (3)

The final part of my review of THE KING OF THE VAGABONDS by Neal Stephenson. Watch as Jack descends into madness, helps Huguenot galley slaves, crashes a party and becomes infamous. We also see Eliza get trapped.

Episode 475: Neal Stephenson: The King of the Vagabonds (2)

In this episode of my coverage of THE BAROQUE CYCLE by Neal Stephenson, I dig deeper into KING OF THE VAGABONDS. Jack and Eliza learn about commerce and witches before going their separate ways. They will meet again in 20 years or so.

H. P. Lovecraft Book Club: Series 9: Episode 13: The Disinternment

This is a pretty wild story by Duane Rimel, and revised by H. P. Lovecraft, about a leprosy infection leading to the machinations of a mad scientist. Recommended.

H. P. Lovecraft Book Club: Duane Rimel Revisions-1

Here, I look at two Duane W. Rimel stories revised by H. P. Lovecraft: THE TREE ON THE HILL and THE SORCERY OF APHLAR. They are fine.

Episode 474: Neal Stephenson: King of the Vagabonds (1)

Part one of my review of KING OF THE VAGABONDS from the BAROQUE CYCLE by Neal Stephenson. In this section we meet two more of our heroes of the story: Jack Shaftoe and Eliza. Through this story we get another view of European society during the Baroque

H. P. Lovecraft Book Club: Series 9: Episode 11: The Horror in the Burying Ground

Seen as the last of the H. P. Lovecraft stories ghost-written for Hazel Heald. The scenes with old people telling stories in general shops gives me a real Stephen King vibe. 

Episode 473: Neal Stephenson: Quicksilver(3)

In the later parts of QUICKSILVER (from THE BAROQUE CYCLE) we see Daniel Waterhouse become a public figure, meet Leibniz, and witness the horrible banking system of 1660s England.

H. P. Lovecraft Book Club: Series 9: Episode 10: Out of the Aeons

I look at yet another H.P. Lovecraft story. In this episode it is the Hazel Heald revision OUT OF THE AEONS. This story is notable for its world building and a possible cameo by Randolph Carter.

Episode 472: Neal Stephenson: Quicksilver (2)

In this section of QUICKSILVER we get a close look at the Royal Society in the mid-1660s. Neal Stephenson has great fun characterizing people like Oldenburg, Hooke, Wilkins, and (the fictional) Daniel Waterhouse.

Episode 471: Neal Stephenson: Quicksilver (1)

I am excited to present part 1 (of 24) of my examination of THE BAROQUE CYCLE by Neal Stephenson. In this part we meet Daniel Waterhouse and the eternal wizard Enoch Root while getting a sense of the numerous themes in the series.

H. P. Lovecraft Book Club: Series 9: Episode 9: The Horror in the Museum

In this story written by Hazel Heald and H. P. Lovecraft (mostly ghostwritten by HPL), we explore an amazing wax museum with a horrible special exhibit. One of the most delightful of the Lovecraft collaborations.

Episode 470: William Wells Brown: My Southern Home (2)

The final episode in my series on William Wells Brown explores the second half of MY SOUTHERN HOME, the author's second memoir.

Next up, a special series on Neal Stephenson's BAROQUE CYCLE.

Episode 469: William Wells Brown: My Southern Home (1)

MY SOUTHERN HOME is a memoir by William Wells Brown written toward the end of his life. It rehashed much from his earlier writers, but from the perspective of a more sober old man.

H. P. Lovecraft Book Club: Series 9: Episode 8: Winged Death

In another of Lovecraft's Hazel Heald revisions (ghostwriting)--WINGED DEATH--we get a fascinating tale of science, empire, and revenge. Like THE MAN OF STONE, we get most of the story from the villain' point of view.

H. P. Lovecraft Book Club: Series 9: Episode 8: The Man in Stone

The first of five collaborations between H. P. Lovecraft and Hazel Heald. In this story, a wizard uses black magic to punish his adulterous wife. Through a framed narrative our authors give us a window into the mind of the villain.

Episode 468: William Wells Brown: The Black Man

In 1862, William Wells Brown wrote a series of short biographies of black activists, politicians, scientists, and artists in an attempt to prove black people's capacity for self-rule in the context of the Emancipation Proclamation. It begins with a great philosophical essay.