WAAAOO! for Robert E! now thats a litterey hero ive been reading way to little of! Maybe i should do something on the poetry club me and my friends are opening next tuesday, like maybe do a cut up from one of his Conan novels and do it as a Spoken word piece...
I recently bought the movie "The Whole Wide World" on DVD and I must admit Vincent D'Onofrio was quite good in the film playing Robert E Howard (plus he has my vote as hands down best melt your eyeballs romantic screen kiss). Not a bad movie at all!
I saw "Whole Wide World" just after reading Novalyne Prices's "The One Who Walks Alone" and while like any movie it left things out it was remarkably good adaptation of the book and Vincent D'Onofrio really seemed to capture the essence of what I’ve read about Howard. Howard is probably my favorite fantasy author, sure he was a pulp writer, sure some tales were written more for a paycheck than anything else, but the very worse of his stories are still miles above, most of the mamby pamby fantasy of today. Howard could write action with a power few have been able to approach let alone surpass and had this cinematic flair to his prose that just pulls you in, when I read Howard I often feel like I’m watching a movie in my mind eye. And I also enjoyed the sort existential darkness of his tales, to me Howard has lot more in common with Chandler and Hammett than with Tolkien.
I was curious to hear if you thought it bagged him properly, as well. I'd been meaning to read the book, but never did.
I certainly agree with your assessment that Howard's stuff is more "mentally visual" along the lines of Raymond Chandler over Tolkien.
In all honesty, I commit a great sacrilidge, in that while he certainly seemed to be well informed and researched, Tolkien's stuff at times seems (May Dan forgive me) Boring as hell.
I agree with you about Tolkien. I much prefer talking about Lord of the Rings than actually reading it. I like the ideas much more than the execution. Michael Moorcock hates “Lord of the Rings” and goes on about it at length and ad nauseum in his otherwise interesting essay “Wizardry and Wild Romance”. I even agree with some of what he has to say about “Lord of the Rings” but the fact that he attacks it so often and in such a grudge filled nit picky vehemence that it get tiring. But then I’m sure many Tolkien fans hate Moorcock, at least I know Dan did, he read Elric once because he heard Doug and me going on about it and he hated so much he burned the book (he was camping at the time.)
Dan's got a real problem with "The Icky"...A soul-sucking sword probably is up there.
He doesn't really go in for any horror/dark stuff *at all* - I really don't even go into Zombie stuff much with him, even though he doesn't consider thme to be as sinister as vampires/black arts type stuff.
Moorcock is an entertaining writer, but I think he's a lot like Harlan Ellison or George Carlin... An intelligent, but overly nit-picky curmudgeon that started buying his own act.
Yeah I seem to remember him ripping up a black magic card before. Then after that he’d give them to me, I guess he figured I was doomed to damnation anyway, besides I was happy to take them. Eventually though he started to use black magic cards, it may have been my corrupting influence.
I’m with on Moorcock and the others. While I find him amusing Dennis Miller seems to heading down that road as well.
Did he actually use black cards?? That's a shock and a half. For what it's worth, My fave was a red and blue deck... enough weirdness to mess with you, and enough force to hit hard.
I haven't heard much of miller's stuff in recent years, but I could surely see him going in that direction.
If I recall he would only use certain cards if they weren’t too icky. My favorite deck I built was a five color one I made with some dual lands and these artifacts that could make any color if you charged them up. It usually lost against fast decks but if I could survive long enough to get some momentum going then I’d might win, but it was a fun deck to play. Haven’t played magic in long, long, time.
In an odd sort of way yeah... though the stories inspired by his work never quite worked for me. The Cthulhu Mythos and dodgey fantasy never sit as good bedfellows for me.
dodgy - of uncertain outcome; especially fraught with risk; "an extremely dicey future on a brave new world of liquid nitrogen, tar, and smog"- New Yorker
Well OK then. That sorta does makes sense… I'm sure he meant it that way. Why yes of course… of course he did, silly me. Urge to kill...fading...fading...fading
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2006-01-24 01:38 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-01-24 02:01 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-01-24 01:57 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-01-24 02:00 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-01-24 06:30 pm (UTC)Howard is probably my favorite fantasy author, sure he was a pulp writer, sure some tales were written more for a paycheck than anything else, but the very worse of his stories are still miles above, most of the mamby pamby fantasy of today. Howard could write action with a power few have been able to approach let alone surpass and had this cinematic flair to his prose that just pulls you in, when I read Howard I often feel like I’m watching a movie in my mind eye. And I also enjoyed the sort existential darkness of his tales, to me Howard has lot more in common with Chandler and Hammett than with Tolkien.
no subject
Date: 2006-01-24 06:37 pm (UTC)I certainly agree with your assessment that Howard's stuff is more "mentally visual" along the lines of Raymond Chandler over Tolkien.
In all honesty, I commit a great sacrilidge, in that while he certainly seemed to be well informed and researched, Tolkien's stuff at times seems (May Dan forgive me) Boring as hell.
no subject
Date: 2006-01-24 08:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-01-24 08:50 pm (UTC)He doesn't really go in for any horror/dark stuff *at all* - I really don't even go into Zombie stuff much with him, even though he doesn't consider thme to be as sinister as vampires/black arts type stuff.
Moorcock is an entertaining writer, but I think he's a lot like Harlan Ellison or George Carlin... An intelligent, but overly nit-picky curmudgeon that started buying his own act.
no subject
Date: 2006-01-24 09:22 pm (UTC)I’m with on Moorcock and the others. While I find him amusing Dennis Miller seems to heading down that road as well.
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Date: 2006-01-24 09:27 pm (UTC)I haven't heard much of miller's stuff in recent years, but I could surely see him going in that direction.
no subject
Date: 2006-01-24 10:05 pm (UTC)My favorite deck I built was a five color one I made with some dual lands and these artifacts that could make any color if you charged them up. It usually lost against fast decks but if I could survive long enough to get some momentum going then I’d might win, but it was a fun deck to play. Haven’t played magic in long, long, time.
no subject
Date: 2006-01-25 01:30 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-01-24 01:58 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-01-24 01:59 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-01-24 02:01 am (UTC)By Crom!
Re: By Crom!
Date: 2006-01-24 08:55 pm (UTC)Re: By Crom!
Date: 2006-01-24 09:06 pm (UTC)Re: By Crom!
Date: 2006-01-24 09:12 pm (UTC)Re: By Crom!
Date: 2006-01-24 09:01 pm (UTC)dodgy - of uncertain outcome; especially fraught with risk; "an extremely dicey future on a brave new world of liquid nitrogen, tar, and smog"- New Yorker
Re: By Crom!
Date: 2006-01-24 09:30 pm (UTC)Urge to kill...fading...fading...fading
Re: By Crom!
Date: 2006-01-25 01:38 am (UTC)Another foolish, misjudging, life.
At least he'll live long enough to taste conan.
no subject
Date: 2006-01-24 06:31 pm (UTC)