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Post by dem bones on May 22, 2009 22:43:41 GMT
Simon Majors (Gardner F. Fox) - Druid Stone (NEL, 1970: originally Paperback Library, 1967) Blurb A Black Magic Novel Of Terror
The supernatural rears its terrifying head in this occult story of ancient sorcery struggling to deliver the modern world into the hands of the devil himself.
Brian Creoghan's fight against this devouring evil in the haunting atmosphere of a quiet village - and in a strange barbaric land of thousands of years ago - is an unforgettable adventure into the dark unknown.
This is a chilling story of witchcraft and sorcery written with all the horrifying power and reality of a Dennis Wheatley.All the Paperback Library gems Haining could have snagged on his early American jaunts and he comes away with this. Curt is less than impressed on Groovy Age, muttering darkly of "fantasyland episodes" which are "barely even readable". Justin signs off his review in Paperback Fanatic #8 with "your eyes may never forgive you if you read this one!". Can it be that we are holding before us that holiest of holiest, the worst NEL ever? I'd like to be able to throw my hat in the ring, come up with a glowing endorsement for The Druid Stone even if only to be perverse, but truth is, in three attempts, I've progressed no further than twelve pages before Mr. Majors' affected prose style has done for me to the point where a rematch with Dracula And The Virgins Of The Undead seems like the most attractive proposition ever. Respect! If anyone other than the seriously dedicated gents mentioned above have made it past Brian Creoghan's tedious meditations on whether or not his neighbour, Benius Foss, is a witch on account of keeping a pair of cats, now is your opportunity to shine.
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Post by dem bones on Aug 12, 2017 20:29:17 GMT
Not that it makes Mr. Majors' prose any less impenetrable, but the Paperback Library original at least has Victor Kalim's cover artwork to soften the blow.
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Post by helrunar on Oct 12, 2019 12:12:35 GMT
I like both covers, but the Victor Kalim one is definitely the more eye-catching. I've seen several people here mention Mr Fox but have to confess I know nothing of him or his oeuvre.
Now you've got me wondering about Dracula and the Virgins of the Undead. It sounds funny, but is most likely a simple, dreary bore, from your hint about it.
cheers, H.
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Post by dem bones on Oct 12, 2019 14:24:00 GMT
I like both covers, but the Victor Kalim one is definitely the more eye-catching. I've seen several people here mention Mr Fox but have to confess I know nothing of him or his oeuvre. Now you've got me wondering about Dracula and the Virgins of the Undead. It sounds funny, but is most likely a simple, dreary bore, from your hint about it. cheers, H. Dracula and the Virgins of the UndeadFranklin and Andreas call it best. God help me, I'm tempted to revisit ...
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Post by Jojo Lapin X on Oct 12, 2019 14:38:21 GMT
I've seen several people here mention Mr Fox but have to confess I know nothing of him or his oeuvre. Happily for you, there is a brand new biography just out.
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Post by helrunar on Oct 12, 2019 15:48:19 GMT
What's it called, Jojo--Gardner Fox, Noted Guy N Smith Wannabe?
Curious, Hel
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Post by fritzmaitland on Oct 12, 2019 16:34:53 GMT
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Post by andydecker on Oct 12, 2019 17:30:32 GMT
I've seen several people here mention Mr Fox but have to confess I know nothing of him or his oeuvre. Happily for you, there is a brand new biography just out. I thought this was a joke I don't believe it.
While a lot of Fox' work is the epitome of dull hackwork and a lot of the listing of his work is a bit dubious - it is kind of hard to bring the writer of "Flash of Two Worlds" and the writer of "The Lady from L.U.S.T. on the same page, is this really the same guy? - some work is competent. His fantasy like "Kyrik - Warlock Warrior" is not much worse than a lot of John Jakes' fantasy or Lin Carter's. And compared with a lot of todays self-published books in the vein of "Seven Swords in Search of an Editor" it is even readable. At least he knew how to construct a story.
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Post by Jojo Lapin X on Oct 12, 2019 18:00:10 GMT
I thought this was a joke I don't believe it. Gardner F Fox was a very important comics writer.
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Post by andydecker on Oct 12, 2019 18:29:51 GMT
I thought this was a joke I don't believe it. Gardner F Fox was a very important comics writer. This is true. No doubt about this.
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Post by cauldronbrewer on Oct 12, 2019 18:52:37 GMT
His fantasy like "Kyrik - Warlock Warrior" is not much worse than a lot of John Jakes' fantasy or Lin Carter's. Not much worse than Lin Carter's fantasy? That's Nictzin Dyalhis territory...
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Post by helrunar on Oct 12, 2019 21:05:52 GMT
I really, truly knew nothing about Mr Fox or his work. I apologize if I upset anyone here. I'm not as well informed as many of you are.
Lin Carter was very important to me back in the early 70s--as an editor. I tried reading some of his fiction (he had this bizarre faux Robert E Howard series called something like Thongor, Raging Hunk of the Steppes) and was very disappointed. In many ways I was a very naive teen.
Recently, on a whim, I attempted to read the electronic edition of a novelette billed as a "Cozy Witch Mystery." The author appeared to be neurotic, flailing and semi-literate. The real horror now is that whenever I visit a certain online retail site, it keeps "suggesting" I "might be interested in" bucketloads of similar crap, mostly the work of authors with names like Sky, Heather, Amber and Tiffani. Their emissions are billed as "cozy" or "whimsical" or rom-something. Beyond ghastly.
In today's world, no talent at all is required to get work published in the e-market. All that you have to do is have a software program that mixes up various buzzwords with some generically stereotypical "characters" and voila--you've got a "novel."
Dan Ross would have creamed at the thought of it.
cheers, H
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Post by andydecker on Oct 12, 2019 21:30:29 GMT
I really, truly knew nothing about Mr Fox or his work. I apologize if I upset anyone here. I'm not as well informed as many of you are. No harm done! If I came about as being upset, this is a misunderstanding. Blame it on my lacking the subtleties of the language. Back when I wrote an article about the sex spy spoof series Lady of L.U.S.T I just sampled some information on Fox. But not enough. At the time I only had read a few of his fantasy novels of the Kothar series and some of his work for Marvel for Dr.Strange and Tomb of Dracula, which I always thought mediocre. While I like a lot of different comics and was a collector for a long time (not any longer, though), I never liked the old DC series. Never a fan of The Flash or Justice League, especially not of the 50/60s stuff. Which as I gathered was Fox' best time. But this is just not for me.
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Post by helrunar on Oct 12, 2019 22:49:41 GMT
Thanks, Andreas. It says on Wikipedia that he was inducted posthumously into the Will Eisner and Jack Kirby Halls of Fame and received various other posthumous awards. He was in his 50s when the Sixties really got going so I would think he was a bit older than many of the other artists who were at work in those days.
I had to look up Marv Wolfman to see if that was really his name, or a pseudonym. I can just imagine the jokes he had to endure as a kid and all the stupid howling from other kids. Perhaps it all eventually led to Tomb of Dracula.
Fox doesn't seem to have written very many novels, judging from Wikipedia.
cheers, Steve
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Post by cauldronbrewer on Oct 12, 2019 22:56:00 GMT
Lin Carter was very important to me back in the early 70s--as an editor. I tried reading some of his fiction (he had this bizarre faux Robert E Howard series called something like Thongor, Raging Hunk of the Steppes) and was very disappointed. In many ways I was a very naive teen. A while back, we debated the merits of Thongor on the Vault. I was among those who were not impressed (on the other hand, we did praise Carter's work as an editor). Recently, on a whim, I attempted to read the electronic edition of a novelette billed as a "Cozy Witch Mystery." The author appeared to be neurotic, flailing and semi-literate. The real horror now is that whenever I visit a certain online retail site, it keeps "suggesting" I "might be interested in" bucketloads of similar crap, mostly the work of authors with names like Sky, Heather, Amber and Tiffani. Their emissions are billed as "cozy" or "whimsical" or rom-something. Beyond ghastly. I had no idea that "cozy witch mystery" was its own sub-genre. A big one, judging by my search results.
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