The 1981 editors of Asimov's magazine use stories from their own periodical to illustrate some excellent points about how to write good science fiction. Do not worry if your stories do not involve robots and aliens, any fiction writer would find plenty to help here.

Despite the outdatedness, as the editors lecture on how to set your typewriter in order to produce clear manuscripts, using the short stories is a great idea. Even the stories' authors admit their work is flawed. Throw in a great bibliography and reading list, and some very funny observations from the editors about submissions (they are rejecting papers you typed on, not you personally) and this is a quick read and very informative. I highly recommend it if you can find it!

This book is not only suited for people preparing their break-through as a science-fiction author. It
is as well suited for all who care about books and do not just simply want to consume them.
Instead of reading tons of boring theoretical papers on literature, those people should rather
consider reading this book. Besides a theoretical introduction, it contains commented short-stories.
A very good mixture.

After chatting informally with George Scithers a few times in the rec.arts.sf.written newsgroup, I decided to get the book and read the answers to all the questions that I didn't dare blurt out in the newsgroup, primarily "how do you get published! "

This book did a wonderful job of showing me the other side of the desk, of what editors are looking for when they look at manuscripts and how to ensure the story you tell is the one that they absolutely must have. (It's not a formula book; it's showing how to shape your story so it fits the -story's- needs, rather than a preconceived notion of what the editor wants.)

Highly recommended.

The complete guide to the life and work of Lord Dunsany by one of the world's foremost Dunsany experts. Covers every aspect of his writing, from the early fantasies to the later mainstream novels and mysteries. Highly recommended.

Lord Dunsany is best known for having written some of the earliest fantasy, and the first fantastical works of genuine lyricism. But what is not widely-known about him is that he also fought in World War I, of which his experiences are recorded in "Tales of War."

"Prayer of the Men of Daleswood" is unusual for Dunsany, in that it is entirely composed of a monologue about a village called Daleswood. "Road" is a touching story about the "road" to peace that the men killed in the war had made. "Imperial Monument" reflects on the lasting effects of the war on France, Germany, and others. "Walk to the Trenches" is a meditative examination of the landscape around the trenches. "Walk in Picardy" offers a look into the trek of a soldier into the trenches. "What Happened on the Night of the Twenty-Seventh" is a story about Dick Cheeser, a pleasantly ordinary English boy who has his first night as a sentry. "Standing To" is about the dawn on the battlefield. "Splendid Traveller" hints at fantasy, the story of a British airman. "England" is a solid little dialogue-driven tale where a Private and a Sargeant have a talk about sausages, gardens, and other things in England. "Shells" is Dunsany's description of German guns and shells; there is something almost alarmingly clinical about this essay, until the final paragraph. "Two Degrees of Envy" is a unique story, about two unfortunate men -- one English, one German -- who are envied by their former comrades. "Master of No Man's Land" is a mildly humorous story about a rutabaga.

"Weeds and Wire" is a rather sad story about English soldiers wandering through the ruins of a French village. "Spring in England and Flanders" reflects on two different springs in two different countries -- one intact, one a wasteland. "Nightmare Countries" is a reflection on the hideous condition of WWI France. "Spring and the Kaiser" sadly reflects on how the German leaders weren't happy with simple, peaceful contentment. "Two Songs" is about mirrored events in both England and France. "Punishment" is a haunting, Dickensian story about a phantom who takes the Kaiser on a tour of the homes that he has destroyed. "English Spirit" is about Cane, a man who has been to war and doesn't want to go again. "An Investigation Into the Causes and Origin of the War" is about the "imperial barber... that eccentric man whose name so few remember." "Lost" is about the last chance of Hitler for redemption. "Last Mirage" is a poetic look at how France is a "desert" for the Nazis. "Famous Man" is about an unnamed, famous personage (Churchill?) who visits after World War I. "Oases of Death" is about tiny gravesites that are left green. "Anglo-Saxon Tyranny" is a reflection on American and English sea-power. "Memories" is a reflection on Ireland in the first World War. "Movement" is a story about a weird crank in England, who becomes very vocal upon the beginning of the war. "Nature's Cad" is a rather weird story about a gorilla. "Home of Herr Schnitzelhaaser" is a saddening story about an old man, an old woman, and their pig. "Deed of Mercy" is a demonstration about how even evil people can give acts of mercy. "Last Scene of All" is a saddening story about a dying man and what he sees. "Old England" is a fitting finale to the collection, in which old John Plowman thinks about the men injured in the war.

Though the events of this book are either real or set in real situations, there is a vague sense of unreality in almost all of them. Only a few don't display Dunsany's dreamy prose, such as "Prayer" and "England," which have a solidly English feel to the dialogue and descriptions. The overall feeling of "Tales" is not anger or fear, but simply a sadness that all those people were killed, and the devastating effects on the countrypeople of both allies and enemies alike in the future. At the same time, like J.R.R. Tolkien, he shows good insight into the ordinary guys who were called from peaceful country homes to fight.

For some G-rated insight into the minds of the soldiers in the World Wars, this is a unique and interesting collection of stories and essays.

Lord Dunsany is best known for having written some of the earliest fantasy, and the first fantastical works of genuine lyricism. But what is not widely-known about him is that he also fought in World War I, of which his experiences are recorded in "Tales of War."

"Prayer of the Men of Daleswood" is unusual for Dunsany, in that it is entirely composed of a monologue about a village called Daleswood. "Road" is a touching story about the "road" to peace that the men killed in the war had made. "Imperial Monument" reflects on the lasting effects of the war on France, Germany, and others. "Walk to the Trenches" is a meditative examination of the landscape around the trenches. "Walk in Picardy" offers a look into the trek of a soldier into the trenches. "What Happened on the Night of the Twenty-Seventh" is a story about Dick Cheeser, a pleasantly ordinary English boy who has his first night as a sentry. "Standing To" is about the dawn on the battlefield. "Splendid Traveller" hints at fantasy, the story of a British airman. "England" is a solid little dialogue-driven tale where a Private and a Sargeant have a talk about sausages, gardens, and other things in England. "Shells" is Dunsany's description of German guns and shells; there is something almost alarmingly clinical about this essay, until the final paragraph. "Two Degrees of Envy" is a unique story, about two unfortunate men -- one English, one German -- who are envied by their former comrades. "Master of No Man's Land" is a mildly humorous story about a rutabaga.

"Weeds and Wire" is a rather sad story about English soldiers wandering through the ruins of a French village. "Spring in England and Flanders" reflects on two different springs in two different countries -- one intact, one a wasteland. "Nightmare Countries" is a reflection on the hideous condition of WWI France. "Spring and the Kaiser" sadly reflects on how the German leaders weren't happy with simple, peaceful contentment. "Two Songs" is about mirrored events in both England and France. "Punishment" is a haunting, Dickensian story about a phantom who takes the Kaiser on a tour of the homes that he has destroyed. "English Spirit" is about Cane, a man who has been to war and doesn't want to go again. "An Investigation Into the Causes and Origin of the War" is about the "imperial barber... that eccentric man whose name so few remember." "Lost" is about the last chance of Hitler for redemption. "Last Mirage" is a poetic look at how France is a "desert" for the Nazis. "Famous Man" is about an unnamed, famous personage (Churchill?) who visits after World War I. "Oases of Death" is about tiny gravesites that are left green. "Anglo-Saxon Tyranny" is a reflection on American and English sea-power. "Memories" is a reflection on Ireland in the first World War. "Movement" is a story about a weird crank in England, who becomes very vocal upon the beginning of the war. "Nature's Cad" is a rather weird story about a gorilla. "Home of Herr Schnitzelhaaser" is a saddening story about an old man, an old woman, and their pig. "Deed of Mercy" is a demonstration about how even evil people can give acts of mercy. "Last Scene of All" is a saddening story about a dying man and what he sees. "Old England" is a fitting finale to the collection, in which old John Plowman thinks about the men injured in the war.

Though the events of this book are either real or set in real situations, there is a vague sense of unreality in almost all of them. Only a few don't display Dunsany's dreamy prose, such as "Prayer" and "England," which have a solidly English feel to the dialogue and descriptions. The overall feeling of "Tales" is not anger or fear, but simply a sadness that all those people were killed, and the devastating effects on the countrypeople of both allies and enemies alike in the future. At the same time, like J.R.R. Tolkien, he shows good insight into the ordinary guys who were called from peaceful country homes to fight.

For some G-rated insight into the minds of the soldiers in the World Wars, this is a unique and interesting collection of stories and essays.

Classic fantasy, reminiscent of Le Guin's Earthsea trilogy but uniquely Schweitzer's own, as a prince tries to rescue his beloved from the God of Death. Highly recommended.

Fabian's cover and illustrations are amazing.

The Grateful Dead will have to forgive me for borrowing a line of theirs, but it came to mind after finishing this metaphysical tale by Marryat. I've read many of his action-packed sea adventures, but none of them really prepared me for what he has in store for the reader of "The Phantom Ship."

Where to start? There's young Philip Vanderdecken, who pledges his soul to redeem the sins of his father, who committed murder on the high seas and is thus condemned to eternally ply the stormy oceans until his son can track him down (no mean feat considering the father is something akin to a ghostly spirit), and provide the blasphemous father with the only means of achieving redemption....that is, to kiss a holy relic of the Cross. Whew!

I'm not sure Marryat was at the height of his narrative powers when he penned this sad, strange tale. Frankly, the story line gets, if you will forgive the pun, a bit choppy. But Marryat can be forgiven. What he has to say about the uneasy juxtaposition of traditional Catholicism and Middle Eastern spiritualism has a certain poignancy. So, too, does the depiction of men corroded through and through by their insatiable lust for gold.

Strangely, despite all of the tragedies (and there are many), I for one was not really moved by some very horrific events, which is not to say that there are no moving moments in this 300+ page novel. Surely, the story of Philip's heroic wife, Amine, will touch even the most insulated heart. But, perhaps, in Marryat's effort to narrate so many metaphysical twists and turns, he may have sacrificed a bit of good old fashioned human drama.

I will say, however, that there are parts that may scare the heck out of you. In one scene, Philip is sailing in the South Seas with his faithful companion, Krantz, who relates a childhood story that will make your flesh crawl. Not for the faint hearted.

The revival of the 19th Century Marryat novels is tied in no small way to the success of Patrick O'Brian. It is tempting, therefore, to draw at least one small contrast between the two. Both authors provide their readers with plenty of morality. The difference, of course, is that Marryat's morality is fairly straight forward and unambiguous, as in "The Phantom Ship." O'Brian's "morality" is of an entirely different dimension.

I wouldn't say "The Phantom Ship" is a must-read, even for Marryat fans. But, still a worthwhile diversion. I just wouldn't start out on this voyage if you're looking for an uplifting, heart-warming story. That is not to be found here. This is a voyage with no return.

Once upon a time, somewhere in the middle of the XVII century, Mynheer Captain Vanderdecken defied God and brought a curse of the Heavens on himself and his crew, to sail in doom and suffering until the Day of Judgment, bringing despair and death to encountered seamen, unless the holy relic is offered to him, for that is the only chance of forgiveness for Captain Vanderdecken. The phantom ship thus haunts the Cape, later to be know as the Cape of Hope, at the southern outskirts of Africa, but of course, since it's no longer of this earth, it may appear anywhere at the wild seas, serving as a fatal prophecy of disaster. The captain's wife keeps the secret to herself, until one day her son is grown enough to make a decision to go to sea. Frightened out of her wits, the widow reveals the secret, and thus Philip Vanderdecken learns that his fate, his destiny, is to find his doomed father and salvage his soul from eternal hell. And so begins the most revered nautical tale of adventure, a literary account of the Flying Dutchman legend, written by Captain Marryat, the man who spent the best years of his life at the seas in the service of the United Kingdom. Written in the first half of the XIX century, when the literary form of the novel was in its toddler stage, "The Phantom Ship" is astoundingly modern in expression, although the language is often very ancient. Together with the protagonists, we sail around the Cape, we travel around the globe through the Magellan straits dividing the savage land of Patagonia from Terra del Fuego, the door to the Antarctic; in a never-ending series of breathtaking adventures we discover the nautical world of the XVII century, where the Indian and Atlantic Oceans with the surrounding shores were the battlefield where Portugal, Holland, Spain and England fought for domination. Despite the fact that this text will soon be two hundred years old, I can guarantee that you will read this novel more than once, simply because good adventure never gets old, and the ancient world of wooden ships is as enchanting as ever. And then there are the historical and theological aspects of the book. Needless to say, in the mid XVII century the Holy Inquisition was at the peak of its power. "The Phantom Ship", the mythical tale of the Flying Dutchman, is also contextually rich, and offers a plausible, though grim, portrayal of the times. The books is thus serious, analytical, well-researched, and enriched by the author's personal experiences - in addition to the invariably entertaining and often horrifying tale of the cursed ship. The century which just passed was the century of the imperfect man, with atrocities and weaknesses in the spotlight, and it's indeed refreshing to read a novel where it's a perfectly natural phenomenon that all things are in place, men were men and women weren't; and the words, terms and descriptions hadn't lost their original meaning yet. This novel is guaranteed to entertain, do not hesitate to pick it up.

An excellent collection of fantasy and horror short stories from an under-appreciated author. My only qualm about the book is that several of the stories hit the same note -- not enough differences in all of them -- but overall it's an excellent collection. Recommended.

Aside from being "disquieting," these 15 tightly-written horror stories are tinged with a bittersweet melancholy that can only come from a writer who has written a lot, read a lot, and lived a lot. A good example of this is "Clocks," which concerns a widower being visited by the spirit of his dead wife. He can't stop himself from resurrecting her spirit at the same time every year, making us wonder if we would do the same thing. It would be psychologically unhealthy to keep bringing back your loved one, but who would refrain from doing so? But don't worry; TRANSIENTS has the expected and enjoyable chills. Be prepared to drown in "Pennies from Hell" and to see new faces (you'll understand what I mean) in "Peeling It Off."

Edited by Schweitzer, this book contains 11 essays on as many "early" fantasy writers, including Lord Dunasny, James Branch Cabell, Mervyn Wall, John Collier, A. Merritt, E. R. Eddison, Algernon Blackwood, David Lindsay, L. Frank Baum, Henry Kuttner and H. Warner Munn. Anyone interested in these Pre-Tolkien fantasists and their works, or simply have had enough of the overly-dominant Tolkiensque flavor that shadows the genre today will do well to buy and read this book. As usual, this trade paperback published by Wildside Press has an very ugly cover, but it's the contents that matter.

Grayhawk

Anyone looking to find out more about their favorite Horror Writer H. P. Lovecraft, should definitely read Darrell's extensive study. The Bibliography of rare editions and his background biographical information makes this a must with all the dates of publication and actual time frames of publishing cycles expertly annotated and chronologically noted. A must for every Lovecraft fan. Loki(S.D. Larkin)

The contrived situations, coincidences, and overwrought events in this book overwhelm what little character insight and logic are there. Plot-driven, it does engage the way an old fashioned horror movie might, but there are repetitious circlings in the narrative and such helplessness in the protagonist that reader frustration is inevitable. I would have loved this book as a young teen had I been able to master the older English.

this is the third of radcliffe's five "gothic romances" and it truly marks the emerging radcliffean heroine,scene painting, suspense and "romance" that Mother Radcliffe is known for. I am only going to point out that this is a strong novel and should be read with "The Italian" and her longer absolute masterpiece, "The Mysteries of Udolpho." If you are a fan of the gothic and wish to find out how the gothic was born and transformed by Mrs. Radcliffe in the revolutionary 1790s you must read this and the other two novels by her mentioned above.

The story of a persecuted girl who is delivered from one person to another who are compelled by different motives to decide her destiny. Her beauty and refinement of character attract many to her, but only one wins her love and proves worthy of it by his noble actions.

The plots of Radcliffe's mysteries have been efficiently summarized by Russell Noyes in an introduction of 1956:

"The hero is a gentleman of noble birth, likely as not in some sort of disgrace; the heroine, an orphan-heiress, high-strung and sensitive, and highly susceptible to music and poetry and to nature in its most romantic moods. A prominent role is given to the tyrant-villain. He is a man of fierce and morose passions obsessed by the love of power and riches. The villain can usually be counted on to confine the heroine in the haunted wing of a castle because she refuses to marry someone she hates. Whatever the details, Mrs. Radcliffe generally manages the plot and action so that the chief impression is a sense of the young heroine's incessant danger. On oft-repeated midnight prowls about the gloomy passageways of a rambling, ruined castle, the heroine in a quiver of excitement (largely self-induced) experiences a series of hair-raising adventures and narrow escapes. Her emotional tension is kept to the pitch by a succession of strange sights and sounds . . . and by an assorted array of sliding panels, trap doors, faded hangings, veiled portraits, bloodstained garments, and even dark and desperate characters."

Many reviewers claim that no other Radcliffe mystery measures up to her Mysteries of Udolpho. I was hesitant to read others after reading Udolpho and loving it, but I decided not to trust the reviewers and read three more. The same beautiful descriptions, the stories within stories and the mysteries appearing and perplexing the reader, then having full explanations continued to adorn her most marvellous writings. If you want one more page-turner, you have it in this story. The literary beauty and the mysterious characters and events will keep you reading.