Other | Karavansara

12 September 2015
by Davide Mana 2 Comments

Everything must go

I hope you don’t mind if I wax philosophical for a moment.
Here on the side is one of those memes¹.

I fully subscribe the idea – I’ve been told an awful number of times that I would not make it, whatever it was I was doing.
And I proved them wrong.

An example?
The English teacher that on the first day, in high school, told me I would never learn English, never speak it, never understand it.
I thought about her a lot while I was living and studying in London.

So yes – I often feel like quitting, but then I remember the people out there waiting for me to quit, and start cheering.

And before you say paranoid, believe me, I’ve been there, and heard the cheers. Continue reading →

Today is my brother’s birthday

11 September 2015 by Davide Mana Leave a comment

7 September 2015
by Davide Mana Leave a comment

Warren Murphy, R.I.P.

I just learned about the death, on September the 4th, of Warren Murphy.

Some probably remember Murphy as the screenwriter of the Mel Gibson vehicle, Lethal Weapon II, but to pulp lovers he will forever be half of the creative team that brought us The Destroyer.

Murphy’s piece in the book The Fine Art of Murder, in which he explains how, together with Richard Sapir, he created the character of Remo Williams in the original Created, the Destroyer, as a satire of certian macho-oriented thrillers – and the book was bought and published as a bona-fide thriller – was what caused me to track down and read the first volumes in the Destroyer series.

With tongue firmly in cheek, an obvious gusto for excess and a collection of over-the-top situations, characters and events, the Remo Williams novel are at the same time the apex of the paperback originals that replaced the pulps in the ’70s, and a satire of that same subgenre. They mix spy story, science fiction, martial arts, with a large side serving of irony.

I am saddened by the passing of Warren Murphy.
He was one of the last giants of pulpdom.

1 September 2015
by Davide Mana Leave a comment

Burroughs’ Birthday

September the first is Edgar Rice Burroughs‘ birthday.
One of the great storytellers of the 20th century, Burroughs has left behind a corpus of narratives that are fun, entertaining, and much more sophisticated than those that never read them believe.

Like most kids in my generation I discovered Burroughs through the Tarzan movies, that were once the basic fare provided by the TV during the summer – and also, our parish cinema used to feature Tarzan in massive doses.

I discovered John Carter when I was in high school – and it caused a lot of raised eyebrows, not only from my teachers, but from my schoolmates too.
Stories set on Mars, written in the 1920s and 1930s?
C’mon.

Why don’t you read something more… realistic?

A few years more, and my Pellucidar or Venus paperbacks would be harshly criticized by friends that were “really into” cyberpunk.
More recently, poor ERB and his readers have been accused of almost everything, from violence to elephant poaching to rape, and a lot of friends frowned – once again – at my decision to re-read the Tarzan novels. As I said, a lot of people that never read Burroughs entertain a lot of weird ideas about his books. Continue reading →

24 August 2015
by Davide Mana 4 Comments

The Ministry of Thunder – a 16-words review

I do not normally share the reviews of my novel, The Ministry of Thunder, here on my blog.
I like to keep things classy, you see.

But when one of the most popular and well-loved authors of science fiction out there takes a moment to write a review of my book, what the heck… I know it’s not classy at all, but I have to share it.

I spent many summers reading S.M. Stirling‘s books.
I am proud, and moved, that he now read my novel.

22 August 2015
by Davide Mana Leave a comment

Valerie – a character sketch

I’m taking part in the latest Flash Fiction Challenge from Chuck Wendig.
The challenge: create a character in less than 250 words, and leave it open to use in the forthcoming Flash Fiction Challenge.

So, here goes… Valerie Continue reading →

15 August 2015
by Davide Mana 14 Comments

The Anti-Damsel Blogathon: Mrs Emma Peel

She was my first crush, back when I was something like eight years old, and she’s certainly one of the strongest influences on my intellectual development (if any).
Emma Peel, as portrayed by Dame Diana Rigg, is one of the icons of the 1960s, a sex symbol, and one of the earliest strong, empowered female leads in television entertainment.