Charles D Shell

Brand Loyalty in Fandom

(Originally posted on June 13, 2018) Brand loyalty isn’t a mindset found solely in fandom, but it does seem very strong there.  What do I mean when I say “brand loyalty”?  Essentially it’s fans of some particular franchise–Star Wars, for instance–who will defend anything Star Wars no matter the quality. What causes this phenomenon?  I […]

Krull: A Flawed Movie That Could Have Been Great

(Originally posted on May 10, 2017) In the ancient days of yore (1983) I viewed a movie called Krull.  It is a strange tale.  Neither science fiction nor fantasy.  Not great, but not terrible.  I weep for the movie it could have been. This chimera of a movie is the tale of an alien invasion […]

Dragonslayer: A Forgotten Fantasy Movie

(Originally posted on February 15, 2017) Disney released Dragonslayer in the year 1981.  The movie came out only a couple of years after the less-than-stellar The Black Hole in 1979.  It is Disney’s next attempt at a more adult-themed movie.  For the most part, it succeeded. Coming out of the dismal decade of the 70s, […]

Quag Keep: The First D&D Novel

(Originally posted on December 14, 2016) Lo, those many years ago (1981) when I read Andre Norton’s novel Quag Keep.  A copy presented itself in my Middle School library. A dragon appeared on the cover and fantasy had just fastened into my pubescent consciousness, leading to a reading. Quag Keep is a queer duck of […]

Television That Needs More Love: Brimstone

(Originally posted on December 7, 2016) Brimstone came out in 1998, roughly the time another hellish series called GvsE (Good versus Evil) appeared.  Both series were similar in plot, and I don’t know if one copied another.  I do know I enjoyed Brimstone, whereas I found GvsE forgettable. Basic plot goes like this: Ezekial “Zeke” […]

Piers Anthony: Apprentice Adept

(Originally posted on Oct 12, 2016.) Piers Anthony is a best-selling fantasy author who most people associate with the pun-filled Xanth books (of which there are 39!)  However, he’s been prolific for several other science fiction and fantasy series, such as the sci-fi/fantasy series called Apprentice Adept. Piers is an oddball writer.  I’ve read a […]

Jack L. Chalker: River of the Dancing Gods Series

(Originally posted on Sept 26, 2016) Jack L. Chalker was a prolific and fascinating author, best known for his Well World series of science fiction novels.  I definitely remember the Well World series with fondness, but I also remember his lesser-known Dancing Gods novels. These books are a queer duck mix of straight fantasy mixed […]

Stephen Fabian: An Artist Who Needs More Love

(Originally posted on Aug 24, 2016.) Many years ago, while stationed in Wildflecken, Germany, I bought the 2nd Edition AD&D new boxed set of the Ravenloft  role-playing game campaign setting.   I was exposed to artwork from an artist heretofore unknown to me: Stephen Fabian.  These were in the days where game companies couldn’t really […]

The Lords of Dus by Lawrence Watt-Evans

(Originally posted on August 9, 2016) The Lords of Dus were the first fantasy novels I ever read by Lawrence Watt-Evans–way, way back in the early 80s.  I’d seen the four novels sitting on the rack at Waldenbooks for a while and finally decided to give the first one, The Lure of the Basilisk, a […]

Roger Zelazny and the Chronicles of Amber

(Originally Posted on August 3rd, 2016) This is my first post in a long time, and I apologize. Okay, I wanted to talk about a subject and individual I care deeply about–The Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny (May 13, 1937 – June 14, 1995.)  Usually the response I get from people–especially younger ones is: […]