The Disappearing Dwarf
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The Disappearing Dwarf
''The Disappearing Dwarf'' (1983) is a fantasy novel by American writer James Blaylock, his second published book and the second of the trilogy that started with '' The Elfin Ship''. The characters are mostly drawn from the first book, while the plot revolves around another encounter with the villain Selznak. As before, the world has magic as well as pseudo-science, and scientific explanation depends on tongue-in-cheek scientific concepts. The story is set in a world in which human beings live alongside elves, dwarves, goblins, and other fanciful beings including linkmen, a kind of gnome. Plot summary Professor Wurzle, a know-it-all scientist, inveigles Jonathan, the master cheeseman of the High Valley, into accompanying him on a trip downriver. Wurzle's real plan is to revisit Hightower Castle, from which the heroes routed Selznak in the previous novel. There the pair discover a treasure map and encounter Miles the Magician, a travelling wizard, in a nearby inn. Miles alerts ...
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WikiProject Novels
A WikiProject, or Wikiproject, is a Wikimedia movement affinity group for contributors with shared goals. WikiProjects are prevalent within the largest wiki, Wikipedia, and exist to varying degrees within sister projects such as Wiktionary, Wikiquote, Wikidata, and Wikisource. They also exist in different languages, and translation of articles is a form of their collaboration. During the COVID-19 pandemic, CBS News noted the role of Wikipedia's WikiProject Medicine in maintaining the accuracy of articles related to the disease. Another WikiProject that has drawn attention is WikiProject Women Scientists, which was profiled by '' Smithsonian'' for its efforts to improve coverage of women scientists which the profile noted had "helped increase the number of female scientists on Wikipedia from around 1,600 to over 5,000". On Wikipedia Some Wikipedia WikiProjects are substantial enough to engage in cooperative activities with outside organizations relevant to the field at issue. For e ...
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WikiProject Books
A WikiProject, or Wikiproject, is a Wikimedia movement affinity group for contributors with shared goals. WikiProjects are prevalent within the largest wiki, Wikipedia, and exist to varying degrees within sister projects such as Wiktionary, Wikiquote, Wikidata, and Wikisource. They also exist in different languages, and translation of articles is a form of their collaboration. During the COVID-19 pandemic, CBS News noted the role of Wikipedia's WikiProject Medicine in maintaining the accuracy of articles related to the disease. Another WikiProject that has drawn attention is WikiProject Women Scientists, which was profiled by '' Smithsonian'' for its efforts to improve coverage of women scientists which the profile noted had "helped increase the number of female scientists on Wikipedia from around 1,600 to over 5,000". On Wikipedia Some Wikipedia WikiProjects are substantial enough to engage in cooperative activities with outside organizations relevant to the field at issue. For e ...
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Darrell K
Darrell is a given name derived from an English surname, which was derived from Norman-French , originally denoting one who came from Airelle in France. There are no longer any towns in France called Airelle, but is the French word for huckleberry. Darrell may refer to: Sports * Darrell Allums (born 1958), American basketball player * Darrell Armstrong, NBA basketball player * Darrell Campbell, American football defensive tackle on the practice squad of the Chicago Bears * Darrell Clarke, manager of Bristol Rovers football club * Darrell Daniels, American football player * Darrell Evans, former third baseman and first baseman in Major League Baseball * Darrell Green, cornerback for the Washington Redskins from 1983 to 2002 * Darrell Griffith, former NBA basketball player who spent his entire career with the Utah Jazz * Darrell Jackson, American football wide receiver currently playing for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League * Darrell Johnson, Major League Bas ...
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Fantasy Novel
Fantasy literature is literature set in an imaginary universe, often but not always without any locations, events, or people from the real world. Magic, the supernatural and magical creatures are common in many of these imaginary worlds. Fantasy literature may be directed at both children and adults. Fantasy is a subgenre of speculative fiction and is distinguished from the genres of science fiction and horror by the absence of scientific or macabre themes, respectively, though these genres overlap. Historically, most works of fantasy were written, however, since the 1960s, a growing segment of the fantasy genre has taken the form of films, television programs, graphic novels, video games, music and art. Many fantasy novels originally written for children and adolescents also attract an adult audience. Examples include ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'', the '' Harry Potter'' series, '' The Chronicles of Narnia'', and ''The Hobbit''. History Beginnings Stories invo ...
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Del Rey Books
Del Rey Books is a branch of Ballantine Books, which is owned by Random House and, in turn, by Penguin Random House. It is a separate imprint established in 1977 under the editorship of author Lester del Rey and his wife Judy-Lynn del Rey. It specializes in science fiction and fantasy books, and formerly manga under its (now defunct) Del Rey Manga imprint. The first new novel published by Del Rey was ''The Sword of Shannara'' by Terry Brooks in 1977. Del Rey also publishes the ''Star Wars'' novels under the LucasBooks sub-imprint (licensed from Lucasfilm, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Studios division of The Walt Disney Company). Authors *Piers Anthony *Isaac Asimov * Stephen Baxter *Amber Benson *Ray Bradbury *Terry Brooks *Pierce Brown *Bonnie Burton *Jack L. Chalker * Arthur C. Clarke * James Clemens *Dan Cragg * Brian Daley * Maurice G. Dantec * Philip K. Dick * Stephen R. Donaldson *David Eddings *Philip José Farmer *Mick Farren * Joe Clifford Faust *Lynn Flewellin ...
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The Elfin Ship
''The Elfin Ship'' (1982) is a fantasy novel by American writer James Blaylock, his first published book. It is the first of three fantasies by Blaylock about a world peopled by elves, dwarves, goblins, and humans, as well as a smattering of wizards, witches, and other beings. The world has magic as well as pseudo-science. Scientific explanation depends on such tongue-in-cheek concepts as The Five Standard Shapes, The Three Major Urges, and The Six Links of Bestial Sciences. Many of the characters use hyper-polite, conciliatory language. Plot summary The story centers on a river trip organized when trading ships with Christmas items inexplicably fail to arrive. Unknown to the heroes, their route downriver to a seaside trading center will take them through areas under siege from evil forces including crazed goblins, malevolent witches, and the sinister dwarf Selznak. Professor Wurzle provides somewhat misguided explanations and histories for events as they arise. The younges ...
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The Stone Giant (Novel)
''The Stone Giant'' (1989) is a fantasy novel by American writer James Blaylock, a prequel to his first published book, ''The Elfin Ship'', and thus the end (as of 2008) of a loose trilogy of comic fantasy novels including ''The Disappearing Dwarf''. Although written some years after the other two novels, the setting once again features a mix of fantasy and steampunk elements but unlike the others, the protagonist in ''The Stone Giant'' is the roguish Theophile Escargot. Few of the characters from the previous novels appear but the antagonist is once again the evil sorcerer Selznak (although referred to as "Uncle Abner" in the story). The book was first published as an Ace paperback by Berkley Books. The story, a parody of the heroic quest, is set in a world where human beings live alongside elves, goblins, witches, wizards, and other fantastic beings. There Theophile Escargot, a Rip Van Winkle-like malcontent, has series of comic misadventures while attempting both to impres ...
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Fantasy Novel
Fantasy literature is literature set in an imaginary universe, often but not always without any locations, events, or people from the real world. Magic, the supernatural and magical creatures are common in many of these imaginary worlds. Fantasy literature may be directed at both children and adults. Fantasy is a subgenre of speculative fiction and is distinguished from the genres of science fiction and horror by the absence of scientific or macabre themes, respectively, though these genres overlap. Historically, most works of fantasy were written, however, since the 1960s, a growing segment of the fantasy genre has taken the form of films, television programs, graphic novels, video games, music and art. Many fantasy novels originally written for children and adolescents also attract an adult audience. Examples include ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'', the '' Harry Potter'' series, '' The Chronicles of Narnia'', and ''The Hobbit''. History Beginnings Stories invo ...
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James Blaylock
James Paul Blaylock (born September 20, 1950) is an American fantasy author. He is noted for a distinctive, humorous style, as well as being one of the pioneers of the steampunk genre of science fiction. Blaylock has cited Jules Verne, H. G. Wells, Robert Louis Stevenson, Arthur Conan Doyle and Charles Dickens as his inspirations. He was born in Long Beach, California; studied English at California State University, Fullerton, receiving an M.A. in 1974; and lives in Orange, California, teaching creative writing at Chapman University. He taught at the Orange County School of the arts until 2013. Many of his books are set in Orange County, California, and can more specifically be termed " fabulism"that is, fantastic things happen in our present-day world, rather than in high fantasy, where the setting is often some other world. His works have also been categorized as magic realism. He and his friends Tim Powers and K. W. Jeter were mentored by Philip K. Dick. Along with Powers, ...
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Gnome
A gnome is a mythological creature and diminutive spirit in Renaissance magic and alchemy, first introduced by Paracelsus in the 16th century and later adopted by more recent authors including those of modern fantasy literature. Its characteristics have been reinterpreted to suit the needs of various story tellers, but it is typically said to be a small humanoid that lives underground. Diminutive statues of gnomes introduced as lawn ornaments during the 19th century grew in popularity during the 20th century and came to be known as garden gnomes. History Origins The word comes from Renaissance Latin ''gnomus'', which first appears in ''A Book on Nymphs, Sylphs, Pygmies, and Salamanders, and on the Other Spirits'' by Paracelsus, published posthumously in Nysa in 1566 (and again in the Johannes Huser edition of 1589–1591 from an autograph by Paracelsus). The term may be an original invention of Paracelsus, possibly deriving the term from Latin ''gēnomos'' (itself represen ...
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Paperweight
A paperweight is a small solid object heavy enough, when placed on top of papers, to keep them from blowing away in a breeze or from moving under the strokes of a painting brush (as with Chinese calligraphy). While any object, such as a stone, can serve as a paperweight, decorative paperweights of glass are produced, either by individual artisans or factories, usually in limited editions, and are collected as works of fine glass art, some of which are exhibited in museums. First produced in about 1845, particularly in France, such decorative paperweights declined in popularity before undergoing a revival in the mid-twentieth century. Basic features Decorative glass paperweights have a flat or slightly concave base, usually polished but sometimes frosted, cut glass, cut in one of several variations (e.g. star-cut bases have a multi-pointed star, while a diamond cut base has grooves cut in a criss-cross pattern), although a footed weight has a flange in the base. The ground on w ...
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Panegyric
A panegyric ( or ) is a formal public speech or written verse, delivered in high praise of a person or thing. The original panegyrics were speeches delivered at public events in ancient Athens. Etymology The word originated as a compound of grc, παν- 'all' (the form taken by the word πᾶν, neuter of πᾶς 'all', when that is used as a prefix) and the word grc, ἄγυρις, ágyris 'assembly' (an Aeolic dialect form, corresponding to the Attic or Ionic form grc, ἀγορά, agorá). Compounded, these gave grc, πανήγυρις, panḗgyris 'general or national assembly, especially a festival in honour of a god' and the derived adjective grc, πανηγυρικός, panēgyrikós 'of or for a public assembly or festival'. In Hellenistic Greek the noun came also to mean 'a festal oration, laudatory speech', and the adjective 'of or relating to a eulogy, flattering'. The noun grc, πανήγυρις, panḗgyris had been borrowed into Classical Latin by around the ...
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