Literary mashups are very popular at present. You only have to look at Seth Grahame-Smith’s Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter to see the success of such crossovers. I have always enjoyed this sort of material along with the alternative history genre as in such books as Fatherland and The Two Georges. So the prospect of [...]

After yesterdays look at ancient Rome, via “Spartacus: Blood and Sand”, I thought I’d dust off my copy of Suetonius’ “The Twelve Caesars”. Many people consider history (or at least books about it) to be a dry and somewhat dull. Think again. Suetonius’ book is a catalogue of degeneracy’s, perversions and general behaviour that would upset the vicar. It is [...]

In 1989 Eclipse Comics produced a three-part adaptation of “The Hobbit” by Chuck Dixon, Sean Deming and illustrated by David Wenzel. A year later this was subsequently re-issued as a single graphic novel that has remained in print ever since. Tolkien’s text is sensitively abridged rather than broadly adapted and retain much of the original text. There are no major [...]

“The House On The Borderland”, is a “Vertigo” graphic novel adapted by Simon Revelstroke from the 1908 book by William Hope Hodgson. The illustrations come care of Richard Corben of “Hellblazer ” and “Heavy Metal” fame. The story tells a tale of two gentlemen on a weeks fishing holiday in the village of Kraighten. Whilst there, they discover in the [...]

Mr. Tickle was written in 1971 and it is relevant to consider the political and historical landscape of the time, as so much of it is reflected in the subtleties of the text. This was the year that the UK changed its currency through decimalization. While Cambodia was ravaged by the Khmer Rouge, America opened Disney World as a shrine [...]

F. Paul Wilson has always been vitriolic regarding the 1983 film version of his novel. “Visually intriguing, but otherwise utterly incomprehensible.” is one of his more sedate quotes. Michael Mann’s adaptation of the 1981 bestseller is a curiosity in itself, which I will not discuss at great length here. Suffice to say that I may write an extended piece on [...]

The supernatural fiction of Montague Rhodes James represents one of the most important contributions to the ghost story genre. Yet on second and third reading they actually transcend this simple definition and show a far greater depth. They focus on classic themes such as retribution or vengeance, and many other aspects of traditional mythology literature. The protagonists are often social [...]

“The Land That Time Forgot” is an Edgar Rice Burroughs science fantasy novel, the first of his “Caspak” trilogy. The original working title was “The Lost U-Boat.” Commencing as a wartime sea adventure, Burroughs’s story ultimately develops into a lost world saga with similarities to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s “The Lost World” and Jules Verne’s “The Mysterious Island”. What makes [...]

Robert E. Howard’s collective literary work is overshadowed by his most famous character, Conan The Cimmerian. As with Conan Doyle, the success of a single creation can lead to subsequent material being overlooked or discounted. This is a dilemma for any author. Publisher “Wordsworth” has compiled a collection of Howard’s lesser known works, focused on the supernatural and fantastic. Howard’s [...]

I recently found this commentary on “The Hobbit” and its endorsed my opinion that it is a book that often gets marginalised next to “The Lord Of The Rings”. Although written in an idiom appropriate to children, it includes themes, moral dilemmas and ambiguity that are certainly not. Upon mature reflection, “The Hobbit” is a very adult work that raises [...]

William Hope Hodgson (November 15, 1877 – April 1918) was an English author who wrote baroque and arcane horror, fantasy and science fiction. His style and insight drew heavily on his colourful experiences. The son of a Priest he ran away to sea at an early age and travelled widely. He was a keen amateur photographer and achieved some renown [...]

I have recently started reading fiction again after spending half a year studying academic subjects and ploughing my way through non-fiction books. I have always been a fan of the Bond franchise so decided to familiarise myself with the source material. I have found the results to be quite surprising and not at all as I expected. So far I [...]