The Silver Key

"Wonder had gone away, and he had forgotten that all life is only a set of pictures in the brain, among which there is no difference betwixt those born of real things and those born of inward dreamings, and no cause to value the one above the other." --H.P. Lovecraft, The Silver Key

Saturday, February 7, 2026

On seeing bands, of which you have no familiarity, live: A night with Opeth and Katatonia

›
Somewhere around 1998 I stopped keeping up with new heavy metal. I could not tell you precisely why, only that I gave up the ghost somewhere...
4 comments:
Thursday, February 5, 2026

A couple of books I am looking forward to reading: The Tower and the Ruin; To Leave a Warrior Behind

›
I don't know about you but my TBR pile is the size of a telephone pole. I have a towering pile of books I want to read, or re-read, and ...
2 comments:
Tuesday, February 3, 2026

Tom Barber post up on the blog of DMR Books

›
Tom with a couple of covers... he signed these for me. Head on over to the blog of DMR Books for more of a formal introduction to Tom Barber...
2 comments:
Sunday, February 1, 2026

Brandon Sanderson articulates the exact problem with AI in the arts

›
A new video by Brandon Sanderson puts a finger on a point I’ve felt but hadn’t quite articulated. I’m not a Sanderson fan so please divorce ...
2 comments:
Saturday, January 31, 2026

Against the Demon World by Dave Ritzlin, a review

›
( Note: I was given an advance reading copy of this book, which comes out next week.) It was a life of little but feeding, fighting, and for...
2 comments:
Wednesday, January 28, 2026

A heavy metal rant: Stop the Di’Anno v. Dickinson, Ozzy v. Dio forever wars. Forever.

›
"Never, this is the end" ... of tired internet arguments. So sayeth Dio. Every so often I need to let out a good rant. It gets my ...
8 comments:
Saturday, January 24, 2026

Understanding The Lord of the Rings

›
Ambush by Justin Gerard. Right now (with a brief diversion into REH for his 120th) it's all Lord of the Rings, all the time. Last weeken...
›
Home
View web version

About Me

Brian Murphy
Marketing professional by day; skald in the Hall of Fire by night; and member of the S.H.I.E.L.D.W.A.L.L. Author of Flame and Crimson: A History of Sword-and-Sorcery (2020, Pulp Hero Press). Essayist and reviewer for numerous web and print-based fantasy and sword-and-sorcery publications, including The Cimmerian, Black Gate, Tales from the Magician's Skull, Mythprint, REH: Two-Gun Raconteur, The Dark Man, DMR Blog, Skelos, and SFFaudio.com. Two-time Robert E. Howard Foundation award winner: The Atlantean (Outstanding Achievement/Book for Flame and Crimson) and The Venarium (emerging scholar in REH studies).
View my complete profile

StatCounter

Powered by Blogger.