Philip Athans > Recent Status Updates

Absolutely no way to predict the twists and turns this story takes.

The story “Jirel Meets Magic” raises the cosmic horror level a few dozen notches… and I’m not complaining! These exercises in vividly described hellscapes continue to fascinate.

Thomas Browne’s Religio Medici is so wildly and unashamedly antisemitic it descends into what feels like self-parody but is in fact simply deplorable.

Why am I continuing to read this meandering, dogmatic spasm of superstition and xenophobia?

The second story, "Black God's Kiss," is a direct sequel to the first story, so any discussion of plot would be filled with spoilers. Suffice it to say, though, this story kicks things up a notch, adding surrealism to sword & sorcery and weird horror--a trifecta C.L. Moore pulls off admirably.

I could write a four-page paragraph, as obsequious as it is verbose, on why I also abandoned the second Milton piece (On Education) but I'd hate to try to compete with the Master Himself.

BLACK GOD'S KISS

It took me a few pages to grow accustomed to C.L. Moore's particular voice, but having easily passed that hurdle I was 100% in.

This story combines sword & sorcery and weird horror so perfectly it's now hard for me to think of them as in anyway separate sub-genres. This story was spectacular.

Switched editions from the full (almost) 2000-pages of both volumes to one book at a time. So, there were notes, but alas…

Anyway, finished City of Illusions this morning and loved it!My favorite so far. Really blows the Hainish universe wide open in surprising ways.

“There was something about the easy fearlessness of these men, and the frequent touches of comedy which relieved their doings that was highly satisfying.”