Author: 5t4n5

Walls — Gaie Sebold

By 5t4n5

Walls -- Gaie SeboldAvailable to read in the anthology, X7.

Wow, that was a weird trip.   This short story starts really strangely, and gets even stranger, as our protagonist, Chrys, who suffers from agoraphobia and can’t go out, gets worse and worse to the point of having what seems to be a total psychotic melt down.

And then everything comes crashing down, and boom!   What an ending.

Ever more wonderful writing and story telling from Gaie, a master of the writing craft.   If you haven’t yet read any of Gaie’s writing then i really suggest you get started, it’s real good fantasy for grown ups who love real good fantasy.

Gaie’s Page

#fantasy #gaiesebold

Ghost in the Shell — James Swallow

By 5t4n5

Ghost in the Shell -- James SwallowBasically, it’s just the film in writing.   Which, if you’re just wanting to read what happens in the film, then great, but personally i feel that this is just totally lazy on the part of the writer: or maybe this is all they were told to do by the rights holder???

The great thing about books, as opposed to film, is that you don’t have to pay for the sets, the extra cameras, the costumes, etc..   In a book the writer is simply limited by their own imagination and language skills, whereas in a film the director/writers are totally and absolutely constrained by finite resources such as finances, but also logistics, cgi limitations, the human elements of everyone involved (remember the pandemic and the disruption that caused to films and tv shows?) and many other things besides.   So to sit down and write a novel based upon a film, one would think a really good writer would have a fucking field day with it, but, with Ghost in the Shell, they didn’t.

Like is say, maybe this was the brief, and when someone throws a bag of money in the direction of writers and tells them what they want writing i would imagine they’ll get plenty of writers clamouring to take on such an easy task as this “novelisation” must have been.

At less than 2300 Kindle Loc points you’re pushing it to label this as a novel anyway.   At this length you’re seriously riding the boundaries between novella and novel.

I suppose they didn’t want to upset the film fans who only have attention spans of two hours.

So yeah, sadly, a total let down.   There could have been so much more background and detail that could have really added to the story.   A seriously wasted opportunity.

James’ Page

#scifi #cyberpunk #jamesswallow

Witchcraft and Sorcery — Volume 1, Number 5

By 5t4n5

Witchcraft and Sorcery -- Volume 1, Number 5You’ll need to have a good hunting to find a copy of this.

The Great Pyramid of Giza •• (1970) •• poem by L. Sprague de Camp (variant of The Great Pyramid)
Welcome as lover come, O thunder •• poem by Anthony Sandor
Editor’s Grimoire (Witchcraft & Sorcery #5) •• essay by Gerald W. Page
The Dark Door •• short story by Leo P. Kelley
Musings (“The little poets sing of little things . . .”) •• (1968) •• poem by Robert E. Howard
House of Evil •• short story by Pauline C. Smith
The Momentary Ghost •• novelette by Gerald W. Page [as by Carleton Grindle]
Portrait of Things to Come •• short story by Leon Zeldis
The Ideas •• short story by Edith Ogutsch and Ross Rocklynne
Four Letters to Clark Ashton Smith •• essay by H. P. Lovecraft
Letter to Clark Ashton Smith, February 16, 1932 •• essay by H. P. Lovecraft
Letter to Clark Ashton Smith, March 2, 1932 •• essay by H. P. Lovecraft
Letter to Clark Ashton Smith, April 4, 1932 •• essay by H. P. Lovecraft
Letter to Clark Ashton Smith, February 18, 1933 •• essay by H. P. Lovecraft
Ghost Tour •• essay by Andre Norton
Mistress of Death •• [Agnes de Chastillon] •• short story by Robert E. Howard and Gerald W. Page
Wind Magic •• short story by Edmund Shirlan
The Forgotten •• poem by Lin Carter
The Hate •• short story by Terri E. Pinckard [as by Terri Pinckard]
Jade Pagoda (Witchcraft & Sorcery #5) •• essay by E. Hoffmann Price
The Rat and the Snake •• short story by A. E. van Vogt
Bruce •• short story by Saliitha Grey
Embarkation of Evil •• short story by C. S. Cobun, Jr.
Smoke •• short story by Gerald W. Page [as by Leo Tifton]
Tower of Blood •• novelette by David A. English
Were-Creature •• short story by Kenneth Pembrooke
Reader’s Eyrie •• essay by Gerald W. Page
Letter (Witchcraft & Sorcery #5) •• essay by James Benton Carr

#andrenorton