Weird #3 The Willows by Algernon Blackwood (1907)

No weird tale that I have read captures a sense of dread and impending doom so subtly and beautifully in its descriptions of the natural world as "The Willows" by Algernon Blackwood (1907), the third story included in The Weird: A Compendium of Strange and Dark Tales. In this story, two canoeists journey down the …

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Archaeological Adventure Fiction II: Uncharted: Poe’s Fortune

Last week's post discussed the Indiana Jones series and the works of pulp fiction author A. Merritt, who may have partly influenced the movies. One modern (or postmodern) narrative continues the tradition of what I call archaeological adventure fiction: the video game series Uncharted. Hero Nathan Drake is a professional thief, who believes he is …

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Archaeological Adventure Fiction I: Indiana Jones and the Genre of Enlightenment

"Archaeology is the search for fact. Not truth. [...] So forget any ideas you’ve got about lost cities, exotic travel, and digging up the world. You do not follow maps to buried treasure and "X" never, ever, marks the spot. Seventy percent of all archaeology is done in the library. Research. Reading. We cannot afford …

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Perdido Street Station by China Miéville

Every once in a while, I pick up a book that inspires me into creativity and haunts my dreams. Perdido Street Station by China Miéville is one such book, a celebration of the alien, the urban, and the grotesque. New Crobuzon is a corrupt city with an underground network of criminals--only a part of whom …

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