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80s

Oct
14
book cover depicting a dragon perched on a crumbling stone arch that overlooks a distant city.

The Wordsmiths and the Warguild (1987)

teenage fantasy protagonist but make him act like an actual teenage boy
7 min read
Aug
02
book cover depicting a silver needle-shaped spaceship on a verdant alien landscape

Paradise and Hell: “The Gardens of Delight” by Ian Watson

with some thoughts on the value of modesty in fiction
6 min read
Mar
10
book cover depicting a stone bust of a human head surrounded by animal heads

"The Zen Gun" (1983)

cosmic decadence and unionised robots
6 min read
Nov
04
A man in medieval clothes clutches a bloody blade. Behind him is a pile of skulls and an emerald serpent.

Go Directly To Hell: Michael Shea’s “Nifft the Lean”

A face-melting feast
8 min read
Sep
18
Lurid 70s sci-fi painting, woman in alien landscape with tentacle emerging from her chest

Death is the Soul-Vulture: Ian Watson’s “Deathhunter”

A psychedelic afterlife fantasy that comes so close to greatness
9 min read
Aug
14
Book cover featuring a fantasy castle, a river of lava and mushroom-shaped mountains

"The Wizards and the Warriors": A Lost Treasure of 80s Fantasy

At first glance, Hugh Cook’s The Wizards and the Warriors (1986) presents a very unpromising prospect. There is the
8 min read
Jun
17
Cover depicting a crying blue-skinned woman in front of a celestial door in front of an exploding planet

Eden Among the Stars: Pauline Gedge’s “Stargate”

An obscure science-fantasy explores the bounds of Tolkien's legacy
9 min read
Jan
16
Book cover featuring a chess board in front of a fantasy-looking lake and mountains

Chess, Sex and Death: Ian Watson's "Queenmagic, Kingmagic"

On sacrificial kings and cold wars
8 min read
Dec
11
Photo of the novel. Cover art features a man on a robotic fire-breathing horse being attacked by giant purple hands.

The Psychedelic Wizardry of Roger Zelazny’s "The Changing Land"

On bibliophilia, van art wizards, and integrity in fiction
7 min read