Art created in AI. Arthur Rackham-like, no?
Tag: Fairy tales
Nov 30
Masks of the Snow Queen, Part 1
For many years my favorite science fiction novel was The Snow Queen by Joan D. Vinge. The book was a comfort read for me. I had read it so often I could quote it, and given a sentence or two from anywhere in the book, I could tell what came before, and what came after. …
Aug 31
The Problem of Susan and Other Stories [Review]
The Problem of Susan and Other Stories by Neil Gaiman (writer); P. Craig Russell (art and adpatation); Scott Hampton (art); Paul Chadwick (art), Lovern Kindzierski (art); Galen Showman, Rick Parker, Gaspar Saladino (lettering) Dark Horse Books, 2019 Finally, after 2 1/2 years, I’m getting around to writing a review of this book. For those who …
Jun 15
Worldbuilding Wednesday 6/15/22: Queen Swanwhite’s
xxxxDescendants (Narnia XXXII)
As I wrote in my previous post, Queen Swanwhite is something of an oddity, in Narnian terms. The reader hears about her only through the comments of another character, unlike, say, Ram the Great and King Erlian, two other characters the reader never meets but receive a mention from Lewis-the-narrator with the authorial …
Apr 06
Worldbuilding Wednesday 4/6/22: English Folk Beings
In Lloyd Alexander’s Chronicles of Prydain series, one of the main characters is Gurgi, a sort of apelike wild man who Taran, the protagonist of the series, first encounters living in the forest. Though a pest at first, Gurgi later grows into his own as a hero and participant in Taran’s quest. Though Gurgi struck …
Nov 15
Beauty and the Boar
Illustrations for the fairy tale Beauty and the Beast all seem to highlight the same moment, as portrayed here. The two are seated together, the beast pledging his devotion, while Beauty looks away, pleased but ambivalent. This one, using the palette and style of the 1960s, shows the encounter in slightly abstracted form, with a …
Oct 20
Worldbuilding Wednesday 10/20/21: The Best of
xxxxTwittersnips (Fairy Tales)
Russian fairy tales have a cast of characters rarely heard above in the West. I believe the pic above is of Alkonost and Sirin, two mythical, woman-headed birds with bewitching voices. Unlike the sirens, they used their singing for good, bringing happiness to those deserving. The cave full of giant gem crystals is an unfamiliar …
Feb 10
Worldbuilding Wednesday 2/10/21: Fairy Tales I
Fairy tales were not intended for children. I repeat that, fairy tales were NOT intended for children. Just take a look at the Kay Nielson illustration for Cinderella above. Despite the name, Kay is a he, a classically trained Danish artist who worked heavily during the first half of the 20th century. The moment depicts …
Jul 08
Naughty Arabian Nights
Some kinky, Aubrey Beardsley-like shenanigans are going on in this Arabian Nights illustration by early twentieth century book illustrator Kay Nielson. Not for kids.
Feb 08
The Thorn Boy [Review]
The Thorn Boy by Storm Constantine Stark House, 2001 Better known as a fantasy novelist, Storm Constantine has also written a surprising number of short stories. This collection, published in 2001, features nine stories set in or around the fictional kingdom of Magravandias, which figures in her Sea Dragon Heir trilogy. The Magravandias world resembles …
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