Jorkens
Joseph Jorkens (usually referred to simply as Jorkens) is the lead character in over 150 short stories written between 1925 and 1957 by the Irish author Lord Dunsany, noted for his fantasy short stories, fantastic plays, novels and other writings. The Jorkens stories, primarily fantasy but also including elements of adventure, mystery and science fiction literature, have been collected in a series of six books, and were a key inspiration for the "fantastic club tale" type of short story. Development Origins In the middle volume of his autobiographical trilogy, ''While the Sirens Slept'', Dunsany notes the creation of Mr Jorkens, on the 29 and 30 March in 1925, when "I wrote a tale called The Tale of the Abu Laheeb. There was in this tale more description of the upper reaches of the White Nile or of the Bahr-el-Gazal than I have given here; indeed the whole setting of that fantastic story may be regarded as accurately true to life, though not the tale itself. I mention this shor ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Lord Dunsany
Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett, 18th Baron of Dunsany (; 24 July 1878 – 25 October 1957, usually Lord Dunsany) was an Anglo-Irish writer and dramatist. Over 90 volumes of fiction, essays, poems and plays appeared in his lifetime.Lanham, Maryland, USA, 1993: Rowman & Littlefield; Joshi, S.T. and Schweitzer, Darrell; Lord Dunsany: A Comprehensive Bibliography (Studies in Supernatural Literature series). Material has continued to appear. He gained a name in the 1910s as a great writer in the English-speaking world. Best known today are the 1924 fantasy novel, ''The King of Elfland's Daughter'', and his first book, ''The Gods of Pegāna'', which depicts a fictional pantheon. Born in London as heir to an old Irish peerage, he was raised partly in Kent, but later lived mainly at Ireland's possibly longest-inhabited home, Dunsany Castle near Tara. He worked with W. B. Yeats and Lady Gregory supporting the Abbey Theatre and some fellow writers. He was a chess and pistol champio ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Tales From Gavagan's Bar
''Tales from Gavagan's Bar'' is a collection of fantasy short stories by American writers L. Sprague de Camp and Fletcher Pratt, illustrated by the latter's wife Inga Pratt. It was first published in hardcover by Twayne Publishers in 1953; an expanded edition rearranging the contents and adding pieces not in the first was published in hardcover by Owlswick Press in June 1978. The original illustrations were retained in this edition. It was subsequently issued in paperback (without the illustrations) by Bantam Books in January 1980. An e-book edition was published by Gollancz's SF Gateway imprint on September 29, 2011 as part of a general release of de Camp's works in electronic form. The collection has also been published in German. Most of the pieces were originally published between 1950 and 1954, twelve in ''The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction'', three in ''Weird Tales'', and eleven in the first edition of the collection; two additional tales subsequently appeared in ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Tales From The White Hart
''Tales from the White Hart'' is a collection of short stories by science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke, in the "club tales" style. Thirteen of the fifteen stories originally appeared across a number of different publications. "Moving Spirit" and "The Defenestration of Ermintrude Inch" were first published in this book and hence presumably were written specifically for it. "The Defenestration of Ermintrude Inch" rounds off the cycle of stories and explicitly mentions their book publication. The White Hart is a pub (modelled on the White Horse, New Fetter Lane, just north of Fleet Street, once the weekly rendezvous of science fiction fans in London till the mid 50s, when they moved to the Globe pub in Hatton Garden) where a character named Harry Purvis tells a series of tall tales. Incidental characters inhabiting the White Hart include science fiction writers Samuel Youd (also known as John Christopher), John Wyndham (John Beynon), and Clarke himself in addition to the na ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Commander McBragg
Commander McBragg is a cartoon character who appeared in short segments (usually 90 seconds) produced by Total Television Productions and animated by Gamma Productions. These segments first appeared in 1963 on the animated series ''Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales'',Markstein, Don"Commander McBragg."Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Accessed July 17, 2008. on Toontracker.com. Accessed July 17, 2008. then on the '''' animated television show from 1964 to 1973, and have appeared in some syndicated prints of '' The Bullwinkle Show'', '' [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Callahan's Crosstime Saloon
Callahan's Place is a fictional bar with strongly community-minded and empathetic clientele, part of the fictional universe of American writer Spider Robinson. It appears in the ''Callahan's Crosstime Saloon'' stories (compiled in the first novel of the same name) along with its sequels ''Time Travelers Strictly Cash'' and ''Callahan's Secret''; most of the beloved barflies appear in the further sequels ''The Callahan Touch'', ''Callahan's Legacy'', ''Callahan's Key'', and ''Callahan's Con'', and the computer game. Synopsis The bar is run by Mike Callahan. The regulars are welcoming and willing to listen to any visitor's problems, no matter how strange, but do not snoop if a visitor is unwilling to share. Strange visitors and unusual events turn up frequently in the stories. Regulars at Callahan's include a talking dog, several extraterrestrials and time travelers, an ethical vampire, a couple of Irish mythological beings, and an obscenity-spewing parrot. The stories ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Brigadier Ffellowes
Sterling Edmund Lanier (December 18, 1927 – June 28, 2007) was an American editor, science fiction author and sculptor. He is perhaps known best as the editor who championed the publication of Frank Herbert’s bestselling novel ''Dune''. Life Lanier was born on December 18, 1927 in New York City to Priscilla Thorne Taylor and Berwick Bruce Lanier. He was trained as an anthropologist and archaeologist, and educated at Harvard, from which he graduated during 1951. He was a lifelong devotee of speculative fiction, as well as a cryptozoology enthusiast. Before beginning his literary career Lanier worked as a research historian at the Winterthur Museum from 1958 to 1960. He died in Sarasota, Florida, at the age of 79. Literary career Lanier's career as an author and editor began during 1961, when his first short story was published and he became an editor for Chilton Books. He was with Chilton in 1965, when he was instrumental in persuading the firm to publish Frank Herbert’s '' ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sidney Sime
Sidney Herbert Sime (;1865 – 22 May 1941) — he usually signed his works as S. H. Sime — was an early 20th century English artist, mostly remembered for his fantastic and satirical artwork, especially his story illustrations for Irish fantasy author Lord Dunsany. (Sime is pronounced like "seem".) Life Early life Sime was born in Hulme, Manchester in poverty in 1865. A five-year career in the Yorkshire coal mines as a "scoop pusher" was attended by a number of horrific accidents including one in which he almost lost his life. There followed work at a linen shop, a barbers, and as a signwriter (setting up in his own right); finally he studied at the Liverpool School of Art. During his time at Liverpool, he won several awards. Publishing Sime quickly became famous for drawings and illustrations with fantastic themes, with a presence in ''Pick-Me-Up'', '' The Idler'' and the ''Pall Mall Gazette''. The fantastic treatment often masked biting satire, especially aimed at the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mystery Fiction
Mystery is a genre fiction, fiction genre where the nature of an event, usually a murder or other crime, remains wiktionary:mysterious, mysterious until the end of the story. Often within a closed circle of suspects, each suspect is usually provided with a credible motive and a reasonable opportunity for committing the crime. The central character is often a detective (such as Sherlock Holmes), who eventually solves the mystery by logical deduction from facts presented to the reader. Some mystery books are non-fiction. Mystery fiction can be detective stories in which the emphasis is on the puzzle or suspense element and its logical solution such as a whodunit. Mystery fiction can be contrasted with hardboiled detective stories, which focus on action and gritty realism. Mystery fiction can involve a supernatural mystery in which the solution does not have to be logical and even in which there is no crime involved. This usage was common in the pulp magazines of the 1930s and 1940s ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Cars Toons
''Cars Toons'' is a television series of American computer-animated short films produced by Pixar. It features the main characters Lightning McQueen and Mater from Pixar's ''Cars'' franchise non-canonically in the original plot. Larry the Cable Guy reprises his role as Mater while Keith Ferguson replaces Owen Wilson as the voice of Lightning McQueen until ''The Radiator Springs 500 ½'', when Wilson reprises his role. The series premiered on October 27, 2008 on both Disney Channel, Toon Disney and ABC Family. Not exclusive to television, the shorts were also released on home media and/or as theatrical shorts. The series ended on May 20, 2014 with ''The Radiator Springs 500 ½'' being the final short to be made. Premise ''Mater's Tall Tales'' All ''Cars Toons'' in ''Mater's Tall Tales'' follow a shared formula: Each episode opens with Mater popping out of his garage door and declaring, "If I'm lyin', I'm cryin'!" (or a variation thereof as seen on the home media and televisio ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Spider Robinson
Spider Robinson (born November 24, 1948) is an American-born Canadian list of science fiction authors, science fiction author. He has won a number of awards for his hard science fiction and humorous stories, including the Hugo Award 1977 and 1983, and another Hugo with his co-author and wife Jeanne Robinson in 1978. Early life and education Robinson was born in the Bronx, New York City; his father was a salesman. He was an avid reader of science fiction, and it was his early childhood exposure to the Heinlein juveniles, juvenile novels of Robert Heinlein that later influenced him to become a writer. He attended a Catholic high school, spending his junior year in a seminary; this was followed by two years in a Catholic college, and five years at the Stony Brook University, State University of New York at Stony Brook in the 1960s, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in English. While at Stony Brook, Spider entertained at campus coffeehouses and gatherings, strumming his guitar and ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Union Club Mysteries
''The Union Club Mysteries'' is a collection of mystery short stories by American author Isaac Asimov featuring his fictional mystery solver Griswold. It was first published in hardcover by Doubleday in 1983 and in paperback by the Fawcett Crest imprint of Ballantine Books in 1985. The book collects thirty stories by Asimov, originally printed in ''Gallery'' magazine, together with a foreword and afterword by the author. Each story is set at a club known as the Union Club, in which a conversation between three members prompts a fourth member, Griswold, to tell about a mystery he has solved. These are often tall stories, and often based on his time in US intelligence. The format is based on that utilized by P. G. Wodehouse in recounting his golf stories. Asimov wrote a total of 55 Union Club stories. As well as the 30 in this book, three more were collected in '' The Best Mysteries of Isaac Asimov'' (Doubleday, 1986). The other 22 have never been collected in any of Asimov's bo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Black Widowers
The Black Widowers is a fictional men-only dining club created by Isaac Asimov for a series of sixty-six mystery stories that he started writing in 1971. Most of the stories were first published in ''Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine'', though a few first appeared in ''Fantasy & Science Fiction'', ''Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine'', and the various book collections into which the stories were eventually gathered. Asimov wrote "there are few stories I write that I enjoy as much as I enjoy my Black Widowers." Synopsis Most of the stories follow the same basic convention: the six club members meet once a month at a private room at the Milano restaurant at Fifth and Eighteenth in New York. Each one takes a turn to act as host for the evening and brings along a guest for the occasion. The guest may be a friend, relative or colleague from work (women are not allowed). The meal is served by the incomparable waiter Henry Jackson — almost invariably referred to as simply Henry & ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |