Pulp Appeal: From The Vaults of Imagination: The Forgotten Short Stories of Clark Ashton Smith (Guest Post by Joshua Grasso)

Broadswords and Blasters

Editors’ Note: Joshua Grasso is a professor of English at a small university in Oklahoma, where he teaches courses in British and World literature (the older, the better), as well as comics and popular literature. He has several indie novels available on-line and has recently published stories in Aphelion Magazine and the Exterus anthology, Magissa. He can be found on Facebook at facebook.com/grassonovels or his Amazon author page:amazon.com/Joshua-Grasso If you’d like to submit an article, send us a pitch. Payment is one digital copy of your choice of any issue ofBroadswords and Blasters.

Clark Ashton Smith is a name that exists at the periphery of science fiction and fantasy lore, a name often evoked but rarely read. He is sometimes dismissed as an imitator of Lovecraft, at other times, as a writer whose exotic, hot-house prose often overshadowed his stories. Yet the titles of his numerous…

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Pulp Appeal: Pulp Modern Summer 2019

Broadswords and Blasters

I’m not just covering Pulp Modern’s latest issue because Matt has a story in it. Honest. In fact, although Matt and I have been friends long enough that we started this publication together, he’s not even the reason I picked up this issue. Nope, I picked it up because I wanted to read more Adam S. Furman, Rex Weiner, and C.W. Blackwell, all of whom have graced our own pages. I’m a touch jealous, but damn if these stories don’t deserve to be read. And not just those three, but all of them.

The issue starts off with editor Alec Cizak’s foreword. Other reviews have highlighted his discussion on imagination and done so better than I would, so I’ll just leave it to them. I did want to highlight his discussion on world psychology and how we in 2019 are entering the same headspace as people a hundred years ago…

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Pulp Appeal: Switchblade #9

Broadswords and Blasters

We’ve covered Switchblade before, and editor Matthew X. Gomez even had a flash piece published in Issue Seven, but that’s not going to stop us from covering their latest, Issue 9.

We start with a poem by Willie Smith taking us down to New Orleans in Voodoo Spider which crosses that line between noir and horror with the reader guessing which side of the line it’s on.

“Lucky Fuck” by Jack Bates follows a twisting, small town tale of car accidents, revenge, bitter recriminations and regrets. You’ll be left wondering if the main character is actually lucky, or just unlucky enough to keep from dying.

“Death Letter Blues” by Mark Slade could have used another round of editing, in this editor’s humble opinion, but is a twisted little tale of a man who lives in a reality adjacent to, but not fully in synchronicity with, this world. It’s self-delusion…

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Pulp Appeal: A Rage in Harlem by Chester Himes (Guest Post by Anthony Perconti)

Broadswords and Blasters

Editors’ Note: Anthony Perconti lives and works in the hinterlands of New Jersey with his wife and kids. He enjoys good stories across many different genres and mediums. His articles have appeared inSwords and Sorcery MagazineandDMR Books Blog.

Chester Himes, an African American expat living in France, published his first crime novel in the United States in 1957 under the title of For the Love of Imabelle. This book was eventually re-named to its current moniker, A Rage in Harlem. This is the first book in what came to be known as Himes’ Harlem Cycle (alternately known as the Harlem Detectives series), that was awarded the French Grand Prix de la Litterature Policiere. The main protagonist of the book is Jackson, who resides in Harlem with Imabelle, the love of his life who he plans on marrying. He has a steady job at the local…

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