Paper Cuts

We're off on a journey into what the author, L. Frank Baum, calls a modern fairytale, to see another one of the real hits of the public domain, this time digging into the antics of not just Dorothy, but all her delightful friends, besides! Well, really, we meet her major enemy as well, and what most people would call (and I'm putting this charitably here) a charlatan! A con man, even! Well, I mean, how else would you ask me to inte...

With a name like The Forgotten Planet, you immediately wonder what's going to cause someone to forget a WHOLE PLANET, but this particular tale really takes us on some twists and turns before we find out just what's going on, there. As I say, a lot of these old short story collections from the public domain have a surprising quantity of solid concepts, writing, and even execution! Aren't you glad I go trawling through the massive li...

From high in the air, there is a terror descending upon us. No, no, not like that, it's some kind of menace in the air lanes! Well, if we're getting out of the way of that, we should head to space proper! Need something really special? Why not head for someplace uncharted! Well, I've heard tell of a forgotten planet that'd have all sorts of neat stuff within. Ah, I see, I see, you don't have the stomach for space travel, well, the...

Celebrating a huge milestone for the twitch audience, we dive into another issue of Astounding Stories! This time, in the July 1930 issue, we'll dive into many stories, not the least of which being one in which we learn of a world blocked from its final frontier. What lies beyond the heaviside layer? What noble heroes may operate the flyer managing to plumb the depths of this, our darkest sea? And most importantly, will the reporte...

Our time in the Crystal Age, brief as though it has been, made for quite the tale! Loads of twists and turns have lead us throughout this stunning little pastoral view of a future that did not come to pass. How they went for our main character? Well, you've heard two thirds of it already, so I'm sure you'll enjoy the remaining piece! 

I know, I know, I say I enjoy every story we wind up reading on the show, but this one's really go...

As we continue the tale of our intrepid isekai protagonist, we find that he is, unlike the standard isekai lad, having trouble with the local language. That darn semantic shift, it really does come for us all! Luckily, we're not quite so impacted by this trouble, unless you're also digging up old and middle english texts (like I've been doing offscreen, considering giving a few a read for the show!). 

However, like the isekai prot...

I must admit, when I got around to editing this episode, I genuinely didn't remember much about the opening of this book. It definitely leans into that old problem that these public domain books have, where at the time, the opening would have been quite thrilling, but something's changed in the intervening years, and it takes its sweet time getting your attention. Maybe I'm just jaded by the absolute glut of isekai lately, where th...

Fall is a great time to dive into tales of the supernatural, and what's more supernatural than your local fair folk, hm? Well, don't get me wrong here, fall's just the best time, I can enjoy a wild tale of a man who's on a journey to see and hear things far beyond what he ought to be experiencing any time! That makes this particular story a great fit for the moment both you, me, and past-me who recorded it, at least, if you ask me....

We travel farther into the wild world of the red planet, led on and on and on by our dear protagonist, John Carter, who definitely is NOT a Mary Sue and you SHOULDN'T flame Borroughs on AO3 about it, no way. I goof, but seriously, this is a fantastic example of how a wildly overpowered main character simply needs to be written carefully to make for engaging storytelling. I mean, the guy teaches himself TELEPATHY and I'm still inter...

Ok, Ok, enough short stories for now. Let's dive into a book that was SUPER popular for its time, and one that honestly, I'm shocked had its popularity killed by the botched disney adaptation. I mean, for context, Edgar Rice Borroughs' other major work, Tarzan, is EASILY recognizable and often parodied (I mean, look at how often the stereotypical "Yell while swinging on a vine" trope is used!), and yet, I was genuinely surprised by...

Definitely didn't forget to click publish, nuh uh, no way!

This batch of stories gets kinda wild in its concepts, very much a creeping horror in its science fiction! Not only do we discover the almost religious terror that can be inspired by the unknown, but we also discover that you REALLY should handle your household products with care, it's not only mustard gas you could be making by accident! Also, we get WHAMMIED by a punch ...

Guess who forgot to click publish on this? it's me! I did that!

This week, we dive into another couple of short stories, this time hitting up two huge Halloween favorites you may have read in English class, Fall of the House of Usher and The Pit and the Pendulum! I'm a known enjoyer of Poe's general creeping horror, and also a HUGE sucker for weird old science fiction premises, so The Lost Kazoofalum also really appeals to my inte...

Another batch of short stories in this episode, gang! Some personal favorites of mine this time (I know, I know, I say a lot of the books on here are my favorites, but I genuinely DO love the creeping horror of Amontillado, and Ring Once for Death inverts a trope that I think sorely needs inverting, anyway!) alongside one that, I must admit, I really didn't care for on my first english class reading, and was really begging to be re...

Wierdly enough, I remember as a kid reading Through the Looking Glass much more often than the original tale. There was always something about the way it went, I just preferred it. Or maybe it was just easier to find in the collection of children's stories my grandma left on my bedside table when I slept up there? Who knows, either way this one is one of my favorites, even if I don't bother with any of its adaptations. I will say, ...

This time, we finish up The First Men in the Moon! Just what happens to our intrepid hero when he lands upon our earthly shores once more, and more importantly, will he save his more scientifically minded comrade? No spoilers, but I think the ending we got was a great way to set end things off! Honestly, the big surprise is how great that short story we read in the second half is, if you ask me. Really great stuff, plays off of the...

The Cavorite is working its lovely gravity defying magic, and so Idina Menzel isn't the only one soaring to new heights around here! The moon is a most peculiar place, with odd blue lights, odder little mushroom lads that would do NUMBERS on tumblr today, and outright strange folk tending weird little cattle. If only we could bottle the solid air they're finding on the moon, I'd love to have a little novelty bottle of "fresh lunar ...

A new book is always a lovely sight around here, and that goes double for starting a new book from a favorite author of mine. H.G. Wells is solidly a member of the english canon for a reason, sure, but he's also just plain and simple a nostalgic author for me to read. Sure, I really only zoned in on a few books of his, but that just leaves us plenty of room to find new tales of his here!

Also, please tell me I'm not the only one wh...

In this, our pentultimate dive into Dracula, we find that there's no shortage of good old fashioned american gusto. Yep, our good friend Quincy Morris has returned to the story, and in stereotypical fashion, rather than listening to the expert on the matter of vampiric weaknesses, he just straight up SHOOTS AT DRACULA! Fun fact, in an early draft of the book, Quincy was supposed to show up with a WHOLE MACHINE GUN in the final act!...

Listen, I'm not normally one for the whole style of epilogue that comes up at the end of this book, but I really think it shines here! Not every book earns just how that end changes the context of the original final scene, but given the absolute MESS the gang went through, I think they deserve a little comfortable time. And no, I wouldn't call that a spoiler, you don't know how they got to that epilogue! This is a really REALLY lon...