Map Monday, Middle Earth to Scale

Tolkien’s Middle Earth was the first fantasy world I encountered. As much as I enjoyed the stories, I loved the maps as much or even more. Admittedly as a young child, in addition to dinosaurs, space ships, and castles I also drew maps. Fortunately my mother is a rather fastidious… Read more“Map Monday, Middle Earth to Scale”

Map Monday, Happy 50th Birthday to Star Trek

NBC broadcast the first episode of Star Trek on September 8th 1966.  Sold as a spacey version of Wagon Train the series took a cerebral twist.  Told through a sixties cultural lens it explored racism,  fear of technology, and weapons of mass destruction.  Unfortunately the five year mission of the… Read more“Map Monday, Happy 50th Birthday to Star Trek”

The value of mythology in a fantasy story

I’ve made no secret that I’m a big Tolkien fan. After devouring the stories published during his lifetime, I took a short detour into his notes and unfinished tales published by his son. I’ve even listened through the entire ‘Silmarillion Seminar’ a series of discussions hosted by Corey Olson, aka… Read more“The value of mythology in a fantasy story”