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Tag: Michael Curtis

Tonight the Keepers of Mystery discuss one of the novels of Poul Anderson, The Broken Sword. Specifically cited on Appendix N, it has also been cited by author Michael Moorcock as having greatly influenced his stories.

The book tells the story of Skafloc, elven-fosterling and originally son of Orm the Strong. The story begins with the marriage of Orm the Strong and Aelfrida of the English. Orm kills a witch’s family on the land and later half-converts to Christianity, but quarrels with the local priest and sends him off the land. Meanwhile, an elf named Imric, with the help of the witch, seeks to capture the newly born son of Orm. In his place, Imric leaves a changeling called Valgard. The real son of Orm is taken away to elven lands and named Skafloc by the elves who raise him. As the story continues, both Skafloc and Valgard have significant roles in the war between the trolls and the elves as things escalate until the restoration of…the Broken Sword.

podcast Alexander James Adams, Ashraf Braden, Beyond the Black Gate, Colin Brodd, Dan Osarchuk, David W. Fisher, Divinities & Cults Vol 1, Doom of the Savage Kings, Dying Earth, Ed Stanek, Glowburn, Greg Oppedisano, Harley Stroh, Heather Alexander, Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson, Isles of the Celts, James Spahn, James Walls, Källa, Kamila, Lankhmar, Lukwata, Magnús Þór Sigmundsson, Marc Bruner, Michael Curtis, Poul Anderson, Rafn R. Jónsson, Ragnarök Nordic Viking Folk, Sequentia Ensemble, Sigur Rós, Skáld, Steindór Andersen and Maria Huld Markan Sigfúsdóttir, Terry Olson, The Bachwezi, The Broken Sword, The Isle of Fury, The Kakondo, the Old Gods Return, The Purple Planet, The Sorcerer’s Tower of Sanguine Slant, The Tale of Halfdanur the Black, The Trolls of Mistwood, Thieves of Cold Corner, Tribes of the North, Twilight of the Solstice, Týr, Valkyrik, Viking Crawl Classics, Warrior Horde of the Einherjar

Sanctum Secorum #50 – The Tower of the Elephant

March 14, 2023Written by Gatekeeper

Sanctum Secorum #49 – The Charwoman’s Shadow

February 15, 2023Written by Gatekeeper

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Tonight the Keepers of Mystery discuss a work by Lord Dunsany, The Charwoman’s Shadow. Published in 1926, before the term “fantasy” had ever been used to describe the genre.

An old woman who spends her days scrubbing the floors might be an unlikely damsel in distress, but Lord Dunsany proves once again his mastery of the fantastical. The Charwoman’s Shadow is a beautiful tale of a sorcerer’s apprentice who discovers his master’s nefarious usage of stolen shadows, and vows to save the charwoman from her slavery.

Sanctum Secorum #44 – The High Crusade (The Lost Episode)

July 26, 2020Written by Gatekeeper

Sanctum Secorum #43 – The Carnelian Cube

February 21, 2019Written by Gatekeeper

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The carnelian cube of the title is a small red “dream stone” confiscated by archaeologist Arthur Cleveland Finch from Tiridat Ariminian, one of the workers on the dig he is supervising in Cappadocia. It bears an inscription in Etruscan that appears to identify its original possessor as Apollonius of Tyana, a wandering ascetic/philosopher/wonderworker who lived from 15-100AD. Supposedly, the stone allows the bearer to attain the world of his dreams. Arthur Finch is a man who *thinks* that he knows what he wants… until he has it. Once he has it, the task becomes how to get rid of it.

To sleep, perchance to …. create a new reality!

Welcome to the Sanctum Secorum podcast. Tonight, the Keepers of Mysteries boldly explore the dream world of The Carnelian Cube by L. Sprague de Camp and Fletcher Pratt.

Sanctum Secorum #41 – Gone with the Gods

December 6, 2018Written by Gatekeeper

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The main character of “Gone with the Gods” would seem to be a thinly disguised Offutt, a writer who turns out a prodigious number of novels at the back and call of his editor, writing in whatever genre is hot at the moment to fulfill the needs of an insatiable audience. When his editor calls him to look into the possibility that a former fraternity brother of the editor’s has invented a time machine, and asks him to check out the possibility that the device is real so the editor can invest in it, the authors finds himself looking into the far-fetched claim. Of course the time machine, disguised as a VW microbus, eventually works and Harvey Moss, the author, Mark Ventnor, the publisher, and Ben Corrick, the inventor, all take their turns traveling in the bus, only to learn its limitations. It can only go one day into the future, but anywhen in the past. Although it remains tied to Earth, so they don’t have to worry about showing up in outer space, they do figure out how to take it to different places on Earth. Eventually, in order to make some money, Moss travels back in time to spur human development and plant evidence that he can use to write a best selling book that Ventnor can publish and sell.

Welcome to the Sanctum Secorum podcast. Tonight we look to the past while we discuss Andrew J. Offutt’s tongue in cheek time travel story, Gone with the Gods.

Sanctum Secorum #40 – A Martian Odyssey

November 19, 2018Written by Gatekeeper

Sanctum Secorum #39 – Greyfax Grimwald

October 16, 2018Written by Gatekeeper

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Drawn together by an enchanted summons, three loyal friends — Bear, Dwarf, and Otter — bid farewell to their fair home in the kingdom of Lorini and embark on a magical journey to the fabled World Beyond Time. A place where glows the ageless Circle of Light.

Along the way they meet many marvelous friends, including the mighty wizard Greyfax Grimwald. But little does the trio realize the dangers that await them: the gloomy border of the Northerland … the green fires of the Palace of Darkness…evil spells and dark enchantments … the dread city of Humans and — most fearsome of all — the evil Dark Queen.

Welcome to the Sanctum Secorum podcast. Tonight we take a walk on the wild side with a special-length episode where we discuss Greyfax Grimwald, the first of the Circle of Light series and pair it with Primal Tales.

Sanctum Secorum #38 – Nine Princes in Amber

September 6, 2018Written by Gatekeeper

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Carl Corey wakes in a medical clinic, with little to no knowledge of who he is or how he got there. He suspects he is being over-medicated, so he overpowers the nurse and doctor and escapes his room. He finds the manager of the clinic, and learns that he was recovering from a car accident in a private clinic, paid for by his sister, Evelyn Flaumel.

He flees and heads to her house. She addresses him as Corwin and calls herself Flora. Hiding his lack of memory, he convinces her to let him stay. In Flora’s library he locates a set of customized Tarot cards— the Trumps—whose Major Arcana are replaced with images which he recognizes as his family. As he looks over the cards he remembers all his brothers: sneaky Random, Julian the hunter, well-built Gérard, arrogant Eric, himself, Benedict the master tactician and swordsman, sinister Caine, scheming Bleys, and the mysterious Brand. He also views his four sisters: Flora who offered him sanctuary, Deirdre who was dear to him, reserved Llewella, and Fiona, whom Corwin hated. Carl Corey investigates, discovering the truth, piece by piece: he is really Prince Corwin, of Amber, the one true world of which our Earth is just a shadow. He is one of nine men who might rule Amber, if he can fight his way past the armies of his older brother Eric.

Welcome to the Sanctum Secorum podcast. Returning from our Gen Con Hiatus, tonight we discuss Nine Princes in Amber, the first book of Roger Zelazny’s Amber Chronicles and we match it up with the noir goodness that it Nowhere City Nights.

Sanctum Secorum #37 – The Maker of Universes

July 13, 2018Written by Gatekeeper

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The story follows Robert Wolff, a man disenchanted with his life and his marriage. One day, while looking at a new house, Wolff discovers a strange horn in the basement. Blowing the horn, Wolff is transported to a strange new world, the World of Tiers. Wolff finds himself initially in an edenic paradise known as Okeanos. This region is the first level of the planet, which contains a number of tiers like a wedding cake, separated by vast mountain ranges. The entire planet is ruled over by a cruel and mysterious lord named Jadawin, who created it. Okeanos consists of a beach, an ocean, and a small forest and is populated by nymph-like humans who originated in and near ancient Greece. In this new world, Wolff regains his youth and vigor and falls in love with a local woman named Chryseis who lived in Troy at the time of the Trojan War.

Welcome to the Sanctum Secorum podcast. Tonight we discuss the Maker of Universes, the first book in Philip José Farmer’s World of Tiers series and pair it up with The Dread God Al-Khazadar.

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Tag: Michael Curtis

Sanctum Secorum #51 – The Broken Sword

Sanctum Secorum #50 – The Tower of the Elephant

Sanctum Secorum #49 – The Charwoman’s Shadow

Sanctum Secorum #44 – The High Crusade (The Lost Episode)

Sanctum Secorum #43 – The Carnelian Cube

Sanctum Secorum #41 – Gone with the Gods

Sanctum Secorum #40 – A Martian Odyssey

Sanctum Secorum #39 – Greyfax Grimwald

Sanctum Secorum #38 – Nine Princes in Amber

Sanctum Secorum #37 – The Maker of Universes

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