At the tender age of nine, and against his mother’s better judgement, Julio Cortázar (1914-1984) managed to get his hands on an Edgar Allan Poe collection. Years later, Cortázar recalled in an interview for The Paris Review: “[S]he thought I was too young and she was right. The book scared me and I was ill…
In Twenty Trillion Leagues Under the Sea, Adam Roberts revisits Jules Verne's classic story, adding a sci-fi twist complete with illustrations (available January 13, 2015). It is 1958 and France's first nuclear submarine, Plongeur, leaves port for the first of its sea trials. On board, gathered together for the first time, are one of…
From Shakespeare to Sherlock, Hercule Poirot to James Bond, London has always had a rich literary history. And now you can sit on it! Thanks to The National Literacy Trust, along with its public art promotor Wild in Art, 50 benches have been commissioned that will be painted to look like open books portraying scenes…
The Aylesford Skull by James P. Blaylock marks the author’s return to steampunk with an adventure featuring Victorian gentleman and inventor Langdon St. Ives (available January 15, 2013). It is the summer of 1883 and Professor Langdon St. Ives—brilliant but eccentric scientist and explorer—is coming to enjoy country life in Aylesford with his beloved wife…
I’ll probably wait for The Raven on DVD or on Demand. You know that new movie starring John Cusack as Edgar Allan Poe, wherein the famous author goes hunting a murderer who’s imitating the plots from his stories? It’s not that I don’t like Cusack, because I do. Or that I don’t like Poe, because…
