Books I Read in July 2022

 Six books this month.

Black Wings Has My Angel (1953) by Elliot Chaze

An escaped convict who served in WWII teams up with a woman on the run for the ultimate heist. The characters are flawed but fascinating. The prose is clear and elegant, the dialogue is sharp, and the story is haunting. One of the best crime noir novels I’ve ever read. 

The Runestaff (1969) by Michael Moorcock

An exciting conclusion to the History of the Runestaff. As with the previous volumes the story is very fast paced. The book is divided into three parts and everything is set up for the final confrontation by the end of part two. 

If I have a criticism, it’s that so many things happen and get wrapped up really, and I mean really quickly, in the last few chapters. On the other hand, it was a heck of a wild ride. I’m looking forward to reading more of Moorcock’s work. 

Far Away and Never (1996) by Ramsey Campbell 

This is a collection of sword and sorcery and fantasy stories by Ramsey Campbell, an author more well known for his horror stories.

One of the stories, “The Ways of Chaos,” is actually Campbell’s chapter of a round-robin novel based on a Robert E. Howard fragment. It didn’t do anything for me, probably because it’s part of a longer work. Three of the other stories are fantasy stories in the vein of Clark Ashton Smith. I found them to be a little wordy and obscure. 

My favorite stories are the first four sword and sorcery stories featuring a wandering swordsman named Ryre. In each story Ryre has to use his wits to deal with something monstrous. These stories first appeared in the Swords Against Darkness paperback anthology series in the 70s. They were creepy and creative. 

Night Winds (1978) by Karl Edward Wagner

This is a collection of stories about Kane, a wandering swordsman cursed with immortality. One of the things I really like about these stories is that they are all different. The first story kept me guessing until the very end, the second story begins with an interesting conversation which leads to all out adventure, the next two have different elements of gothic horror, the story after that is epic, and the last is a great example of travelers telling stories at an isolated inn. Another thing I liked is that all the stories have layers and interesting themes that become apparent once you get to the end. It’s all very well done. Every story is a standout.

My full review can be found here:

We Learn by Writing: Night Winds by Karl Edward Wagner

Bloodstone (1975) by Karl Edward Wagner

Kane the immortal swordsman comes across a mysterious ring. He learns that it’s part of a giant gemstone called Bloodstone, which controls a lost city from the stars. The city is now overrun by the Rillyti, devolved lizard men descendants of the original builders. Kane plays two sides against each other in an attempt to take control of the city. This was a wild mix of fantasy and science fiction with some great characters. I loved it. 

Dark Crusade (1976) by Karl Edward Wagner 

Kane deals with a deadly cult that has come to power and is storming the land. As in Bloodstone, Kane is manipulating various groups in order to come out on top. The book is well titled. Wagner was doing Games of Thrones-like grimdark stories in the 70s, folks. I learned from the Dark Crusade podcast that Wagner spent six months researching pre-firearm cavalry battles and it shows. The battles were thrilling. I enjoyed it but Night Winds is my favorite.

Books I Read in June 2022

Seven books this month. 

Companions on the Road (1977) by Tanith Lee 

This is a collection of two Tanith Lee fantasy novellas that were originally published as chapbooks. 

In “Companions on the Road.” two soldiers and a thief make off with a chalice after the sacking of a citadel. They then find themselves pursued by three dark riders. 

In “The Winter Players,” a young priestess tracks a thief after he steals an artifact from the temple she is responsible for. 

As in the other work I’ve read by Tanith Lee, the prose in each story was lyrical and descriptive. At only about a hundred pages each, Lee introduces convincing settings, fleshes out interesting characters, and builds tension. I enjoyed both stories and their conclusions immensely. 

The Magic Man and Other Science-Fantasy Stories (1965) by Charles Beaumont 

Charles Beaumont was an American author of short stories and novels, as well as scripts for television and movies. He wrote a number of classic Twilight Zone episodes and his novel The Intruder (1962) was adapted into a film starring William Shatner. Unfortunately, Beaumont passed away at the age of 38. 

The stories from this collection were chosen from three earlier collections. The stories are a mix of dark suspense with some science-fiction. I enjoyed them. Many of the stories definitely have a Twilight Zone-like feel. If you like dark stories or stories with dark humor, you’ll probably like them too. 

There’s a foreword by Ray Bradbury and an afterword by Richard Matheson. Bradbury was mentor to both Matheson and Beaumont, and Matheson and Beaumont were friends.

Favorite Stories:

“Miss Gentilbelle” 

“The Vanishing American”

“The Dark Music” 

“A Death in the Country” 

The Summer Book (1972) by Tove Jansson 

This novel by the creator of the Moomin characters tells the story of six-year-old Sophia and her grandmother as they spend the summer on an island in the Gulf of Finland. 

Sophia’s father is also on the island but he’s usually in the background. Sophia and her grandmother play together, go on walks, and have talks about all kinds of things including life, love, and even death. 

Each chapter is a vignette, but they subtly build upon each other. As you read you learn more about the characters, the island, and the surrounding ocean. 

The grandmother had difficulty moving around and was cranky sometimes and Sophia could be volatile and impetuous, but the love they felt for each other was clear.  The characters felt very real to me. 

When I got to the end of the book, I didn’t want it to end, just like the summers of my childhood.

Waking Nightmares (1993) by Ramsey Campbell 

This is a collection of nineteen Ramsey Campbell horror short stories from the 1970s and 1980s. There’s also an introduction by the author in which he talks about the origins of the stories.

In a previous Campbell collection I read, Demons by Daylight, there were some stories I just couldn’t wrap my head around. That wasn’t the case with this collection.

While I enjoyed some more than others, I enjoyed them all. The stories are atmospheric and just the right length. Most of the stories have well done, creepy endings. One of my favorite stories, “The Guide,” was inspired by the ghost stories of M. R. James, which I read at the end of last year. 

Favorite Stories:

“The Guide” 

“In the Trees”

“Bedtime Story” 

“Jack in the Box”

“Meeting the Author”

The Jewel in the Skull (1967), The Mad God’s Amulet (1968), The Sword of Dawn (1968) by Michael Moorcock 

These are the first three books of The History of the Runestaff series by fantasy author Michael Moorcock. They are part of his Eternal Champion series.

In a far-off future, after a great apocalypse, the brutal Dark Empire of Granbretan seeks to conquer all of Europe. Count Brass of Kamarg seeks to remain neutral. Dorian Hawkmoon of Köln, a prisoner of the Dark Empire is fitted with a black jewel that allows his captors to observe what he sees. He is sent to gain the trust of Count Brass and kidnap his daughter. If Hawkmoon doesn’t obey, the jewel will kill him. 

The world is interesting, the story is imaginative, and there’s lots of action. The books are short and the events move quickly. I wasn’t surprised when I read that Moorcock wrote these books in three days each. They’re pulpy and a lot of fun but things get a little repetitive in the third book. 

These short novels are from early in Moorcock’s career so there’s a focus on action and just some hints of the themes that he will apparently explore in his later work. At the end of the third book things are set up for the final volume. I’m looking forward to reading it to see how things play out.