Posts Tagged ‘ Lars Walker ’

Moments with Father Aillil

May 28, 2011
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Moments with Father Aillil

By Mike Gray Here are just a few of the memorable moments found in Lars Walker‘s Father Aillil saga. From Erling’s Word: “You’re saying you’re dead?” I put in. He looked at me as if he’d forgotten my existence. “Of course I’m dead,” he said. “You mean you didn’t know? The last thing I ever saw on earth was the welcome spectacle of your back heading down the road and away from the monastery, before I fell into the apoplectic fit that killed me. You may add to your catalogue of sins the occasion of a good man’s death.” — Then was a time. The arrows rained on us until our shields were hedgehogs’ backs. One man after another screamed and lay screaming until the arrows finished him, for we were too busy to help. Aki’s men attacked on all sides, and we thrust at them with spears, and when one went down another took his place, and if he warded well with his shield he got in close to the parapet and we had to discourage him with axes and swords. I had thought my shield light at first. Now it weighed like an anvil, and my axe like

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Books Reviewed: The Saga of Father Aillil

May 28, 2011
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Books Reviewed: The Saga of Father Aillil

By Mike Gray “Norway is great because we’re wolves in a world of sheep!” The calendar says it has been nearly a thousand years since the advent of Christ. But for Father Aillil, the priest of a recently converted Viking lord, the news of the “White Christ” is only now penetrating into Norse culture — and it’s meeting considerable resistance. Erling’s Word (1997) Collected in The Year of the Warrior (2000) “I think you’re as fair as a summer morning with the sun rising over Lough Erne. The grass is dewy and fat, so a man could live on it, and the flowers open their mouths and praise God with a song of sweet odor, and the birds raise a hymn they learned from Solomon two thousand years since, and have passed on in secret to their children ever after. And far across the water you can see swans swimming, and the sunrise tints them pink, and the breeze is so mild and gentle it’s like the hand of your mother on your forehead when you’re a child, and sick, and she fears to lose you.” Father Aillil hasn’t always been a priest. He is pretty much minding his own

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Prose & Poetry Update

May 24, 2011
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Prose & Poetry Update

This week’s issue begins and ends with G.K. Chesterton. Up first, the “Prophet of Common Sense” on Art, Literature and accepting the status quo: “The beautification of the world is not a work of nature, but a work of art, then it involves an artist.” – Illustrated London News, 9-18-09 “By a curious confusion, many modern critics have passed from the proposition that a masterpiece may be unpopular to the other proposition that unless it is unpopular it cannot be a masterpiece.” – On Detective Novels, Generally Speaking “And all over the world, the old literature, the popular literature, is the same. It consists of very dignified sorrow and very undignified fun. Its sad tales are of broken hearts; its happy tales are of broken heads.” – Charles Dickens “The aim of good prose words is to mean what they say. The aim of good poetical words is to mean what they do not say.” – Daily News, 4-22-05 “A dead thing can go with the stream, but only a living thing can go against it.” – The Everlasting Man, 1925 Short Fiction The Disadvantage of Having Two Heads written & illustrated by G.K. Chesterton “A little boy once looked

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Prose and Poetry Update

May 17, 2011
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Prose and Poetry Update

While the Newt flames out after less than a week in the spotlight as the “Big Republican On Campus,” folks might want to think about something other than politics. How about a good story? But first, a few literary quotes on good and evil, and the love of books. “No one who can read, ever looks at a book, even unopened on a shelf, like one who cannot.” – Charles Dickens, Our Mutual Friend “When I am king, they shall not have bread and shelter only, but also teachings out of books; for a full belly is little worth where the mind is starved.” – Mark Twain, The Prince and The Pauper “The devil’s agents may be of flesh and blood, may they not?” – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Hound of the Baskervilles “We live in a world of transgressions and selfishness, and no pictures that represent us otherwise can be true, though, happily, for human nature, gleamings of that pure spirit in whose likeness man has been fashioned are to be seen, relieving its deformities, and mitigating if not excusing its crimes.” – James Fenimore cooper, The Deerslayer Short Fiction Luck by Mark Twain “It was at a

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Prose & Poetry Update

May 9, 2011
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Prose & Poetry Update

Enjoy a bevy of literary links including Andrew Klavan, Rudyard Kipling, Evelyn Waugh, John Buchan, George Washington’s Beer, and a love poem by Pablo Neruda. But first some quotes from great literature concerning justice, war and liberty. “There are times, young fellah, when every one of us must make a stand for human right and justice, or you never feel clean again.” – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Lost World “The Almighty gave us our lives, and I suppose He meant us to defend them, at least I have always acted on that, and I hope it will not be brought up against me when my clock strikes.” – H. Rider Haggard, King Solomon’s Mines “Peril, loneliness, an uncertain future, are not oppressive evils, so long as the frame is healthy and the faculties are employed; so long, especially, as Liberty lends us her wings, and Hope guides us by her star.” – Charlotte Bronte, Villette “You know, there are two good things in life, freedom of thought and freedom of action.” – W. Somerset Maugham, Of Human Bondage Short Fiction A Creed, A Word and a Blade of Grass by Peter Orullian “The familiar glow of candlelight was the

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This Week in Prose and Poetry

January 24, 2011
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This Week in Prose and Poetry

Short Fiction The Quiet Man by Maurice Walsh  “Shawn Kelvin, a blithe young lad of 20, went to the States to seek his fortune. And 15 years thereafter he returned to his native Kerry, his blitheness sobered and his youth dried to the core, and whether he had made his fortune or whether he had not no one could be knowing for certain. For he was a quiet man, not given to talking about himself and the things he had done.” Why Can’t He Be You by Eve Tushnet / From the journal Dappled Thing’s Fifth Anniversary Issue “Oh, Nina, you haven’t signed up yet-can you take one of the,” and Dorrie was turning the clipboard toward me with her usual unhappy smile, “morning slots?” “Sure. Where is this place?” Cigarette. Cigarette. Cigarette!” “It’s a Planned Parenthood on 17th Street. There’ll be a carpool if you want.” Reviews & Interviews Lars Walker reviews I, Sniper by Stephen Hunter “Yet another Bob Lee Swagger novel from Stephen Hunter, and let me tell you, this one’s a dandy.” Madeline Goes to Washington “Meghan Cox Gurdon reviews four illustrated books for

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This Week in Prose Fiction and Poetry

January 3, 2011
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This Week in Prose Fiction and Poetry

Short Fiction Willful Murder from Raffles: The Amateur Cracksman (1899) by E. W. Hornung “In short, our most successful escapades would prove the greatest weariness of all in narrative form; and none more so than the dull affair of the Ardagh emeralds, some eight or nine weeks after the Milchester cricket week. The former, however, had a sequel that I would rather forget than all our burglaries put together.” Whitefoot by Wendell Berry “Her name was Peromyscus leucopus, but she did not know it. I think it had been a long time since the mice around Port William spoke English, let alone Latin. Her language was a dialect of Mouse, a tongue for which we humans have never developed a vocabulary or a grammar. Because I don’t know her name in Mouse, I will call her Whitefoot.” The Hog Lot Shooting by Ellen Gray Massey, originally published online at Frontier Tales Magazine. “Ocie Tulley frowned as she handed the neatly typed and bound manuscript back to the young man who was eagerly awaiting her opinion. “Lies,” she said.” Bridesicle by Will McIntosh, the 2010 Hugo Award winner for Best Short Story, originally published in Asimov’s Science Fiction. “Once she’d let

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TAC Fiction Review, With a Bit of Poetry

October 17, 2010
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TAC Fiction Review, With a Bit of Poetry

This week’s Review presents a couple of mysteries from the Victorian Age, inspired by Mike Gray’s American Culture post, titled “A Note About Victorian Detective Fiction“. But first there’s an introduction and one writer’s top ten list of Victorian Detective stories. Then it’s Edgar Allan Poe’s sequel to “The Murder in the Rue Morgue,” followed by a story written in 1893 by Catherine Louisa Pirkis. This Review isn’t limited to Detective Fiction. Other stories included in this issue are classics by Daniel Keyes and Leo Tolstoy. Following the mystery is poetry by Robert W. Service, which directly challenges anyone who would sit idly by when faced with what is an obvious wrong. The Writing Life is addressed, this week, by none other than C.S. Lewis. Prof. David Downing presents five points offered to a little girl in Florida, who had written to ‘Jack’ for tips on writing. Enjoy. Victorian Detective Fiction: An Introduction James McCreet’s Top 10 Victorian Detective Stories “The Mystery of Marie Roget” by Edgar Allan Poe “The Ghost of Fountain Lane” by Catherine Louisa Pirkis “Flowers for Algernon” by Daniel Keyes “God Sees the Truth, But Waits” by Leo Tolstoy Reviews: Beyond Hardboiled – Lavonne Neff reviews

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TAC’s Fiction and Poetry Review

October 10, 2010
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TAC’s Fiction and Poetry Review

This week’s issue begins with the fantastic and closes with a great man of letters, who takes poetic license, literally, with a pivotal 16th century event. Some might describe much included below as escapist drivel, but as Tolkien wrote ‘Why should a man be scorned, if, finding himself in prison, he tries to get out and go home? Or if, when he cannot do so, he thinks and talks about other topics than jailers and prison-walls?” Short Fiction & Excerpts: The Dark Muse by Karl Edward Wagner “Alpha Ralpha Boulevard” by Cordwainer Smith “The Lady Who Sailed the Soul” by Cordwainer Smith “Twenty-Ten” by Christian Moody Essays, Commentary, and Criticism: Gospel Echoes in Fantastic Fiction – Part I and Part II by Travis Buchanan Religious Science Fiction? by Hal G.P. Colebatch Are Labels Useful? or Why I’m not sure about “Christian” Literature This Side of Sunday: Theological Fiction in Light of G.K. Chesterton’s The Man Who Was Thursday (link opens PDF document) Reviews: Learning to ‘Pack a Punch’ in 150 Pages – Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg reviews Philip Roth’s Nemesis News: The Imaginative Conservative on Mario Vargas Llosa’s Nobel Prize for Literature Literary Criticism Comes to the Movies – ” ‘Howl,’

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Prose Fiction Update With A Bit of Poetry

July 30, 2010
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Prose Fiction Update With A Bit of Poetry

Another week, another passel of links into the wide, wide world of wondrous word-smithery.  This week closes out with a bit of verse from Gerard Manley Hopkins, who was born on July 28, 1844. Short Fiction: “The Doors” by E.B. White When Jane Met Rochester – A scene from Libby Sternberg’s soon to be released novel Sloane Hall The Sisters of the Sacred Heart Criticism and Commentary: The Real Carver: Expansive or Minimal? “The Designs of E.B. White” by Gerald Weales What is Art? A Fish Studying Water – On studying and teaching one’s native language Comics and Graphic Novels vs. The Critics Fritz Leiber Tackled the Oil Spill First News and Reviews: “If any form of pleasure is exhibited, report to me and it will be prohibited…” – A brief review of Lars Walker’s West Oversea. In Defence of Amazon – The online bookseller isn’t to blame for the book industry’s failures Point Break - John J. Miller’s brief comments on Stephen Koch‘s The Breaking Point: Hemingway, Dos Passos, and the Murder of Jose Robles Andrew Klavan reviews David Wong’s John Dies At The End The Writing Life: Wright’s Writing Corner: Cotton Candy Writing And now for some of that high culture stuff. A bit

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Prose Fiction Update

July 23, 2010
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Prose Fiction Update

For your reading pleasure, as the work week comes to a close. Spend some time this weekend with a selection of links from this week’s Fiction Friday newsletter, produced by the Culture Alliance. Here is a miscellany of short fiction, news, opinion, advice and criticism from the publishing world. Short Fiction The Taborin Scale – a novella by Lucius Shepard “The Story Teller” by Saki (H.H. Munro b.1870 – d.1916) Reviews Triple Crown by Dick Francis – A Review by Lars Walker The Prince of Mist by Carlos Ruiz Zafon – a review by Bill Shepard News, Interviews and Opinion Four Reasons Why Authors Should Use LinkedIn – HT: Phil at BrandywineBooks.net Audio Interview with John C. Gardner San Diego Comic-Con: Scott Pilgrim, ‘Ulysses Seen,’ and a Layoff at Del Rey A Wry Dystopian Seer – The Wall Street Journal interviews Gary Shteyngart Harlequin Builds a Non-Fiction Presence Print Sales Up Double Digits at Amazon Literary Criticism Excerpt from “Introduction on the Republication of On Moral Fiction” Moral Fiction - The Atlantic Magazine’s Mary Gordon discusses Gardner’s On Moral Fiction Writing Advice Wright’s Writing Corner: What To Do When Your Outline Breaks Announcements PW Calls for Information: War & Military – “Needed: Publishers’/editors’ written comments about

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Fiction Friday

January 29, 2010
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Fiction Friday

Some in Hollywood might think folks on the Right have limited artistic ability and should stick with on investment banking and talk radio. Others, with a more open mind, believe people should pursue any vocation to which they feel called. A novelist in Minneapolis, thankfully, is not taking career advice from Hollywood. The Culture Alliance’s latest Fiction Friday newsletter focused on the work of Lars Walker, particularly West Oversea. Lars Walker has written five novels, Erling’s Word, Wolf Time, The Year of the Warrior, Blood & Judgment,  and West Oversea: A Norse Saga of Mystery, Adventure and Faith. Anthony Sacramone, writing at First Things blog “First Thoughts,” had this to say about Year of the Warrior, a sequel of sorts to West Oversea: Wow. From the first sentence I was hooked. An Irishman taken as a slave by vikings passes himself off as a Catholic priest in Norway amid warrior heathen—and blood-curdling wackiness ensues. It’s fun, at times funny, and always compelling storytelling. It mixes fiction with history, faith with doubt, and most important, it’s wise and subversive, conveying a gospel message not just to the worshipers of Thor and Odin but to the readers as well. The law has

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