Robertson Fantasy Works

 It was pleasant autumn day. The remaining four Blackfyre fighter planes of Wolf Squadron of the 23rd Aviation Regiment soared across the countryside. They had taken heavy losses during the first months of the war. The skill of the Luftwehr pilots had taken the Royal Air Corps by surprise and they had lost many good pilots. Squadron Leader David MacCraig was in the lead position. He turned on his radio and held his face mask up to his mouth "All planes report in, we are nearing the border," he said. "Wolf-Three standing by," came a woman's voice. MacCraig knew the voice. Flight Lieutenant Victoria Winter was one of the best pilots in the regiment. He had a theory that her elven senses gave her an edge in the air; not that there was anything wrong with that. She had saved his life numerous times. "'Wolf-Four standin' by," a gruff voice crackled over the Radio. Warrant Officer Arzeg 'Bull' Whitaker was the only orc in the regiment. MacCra...

 The Appalachian Mountains are old. They are were around before the dinosaurs. They were formed hundreds of millions of years ago. When one visits Appalachia they are filled with a sense of history, something ancient. They were around before the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Chippewa, Delaware, Eel River, Haudenosaunee, Kaskaskia, Kickapoo, Miami, Ottawa, Piankeshaw, Potawatomi, Shawnee, Wea, and Wyandot tread their ancient hills. Though they are no longer tall, the Appalachian Mountains hold an untold majesty. They once stood as tall as the Himalayas, proud and powerful. But through the inevitable passage of time, they have been worn down and become small. But that does not take away their history. Their caves have no bones because they were around before bones. They hold ancient, eldritch memories that our human minds can't comprehend. Their subterranean passages run deep and hide many secrets. Down in the darkness, not even God can say what lurks in the umbral fog deep underground. An an...

So, last night I went to an advance showing of Color Out of Space. If you don't know, it is based on the H.P. Lovecraft short story by the same name, though HP used the Commonwealth spelling. The movie opens up with a passage from the short story: "West of Arkham the hills rise wild, and there are valleys with deep woods that no axe has ever cut. There are dark narrow glens where the trees slope fantastically, and where thin brooklets trickle without ever having caught the glint of sunlight." I'm sure more of the first paragraph of the story was used but I can't quite remember exactly. The movie also ends with a quote from the story, "What it is, only God knows. In terms of matter I suppose the thing Ammi described would be called a gas, but this gas obeyed laws that are not of our cosmos. This was no fruit of such worlds and suns as shine on the telescopes and photographic plates of our observatories. This was no breath from the skies whose motions and di...

So I'm a bit behind here, but I wanted to give my thoughts on Netflix's "The Witcher". I've played a few of the games, and am about half way through the first book. But I want to judge the show as a stand alone thing. I want to come at it as someone who doesn't know much about the world and as someone who loves studying medieval history. I'm going to watch the whole series through and then go back episode by episode and discuss my thoughts. So far I am really enjoying the show. I'm hooked and will get back to ya'll with some reviews and my thoughts on the episodes. Cheers, Enkelli

I just got back from the theater. I thought about it a lot on my way home, and I'm not sure where to begin. I'm not going to discuss spoilers, so don't worry. So, Jojo Rabbit. Where do I begin? Well it takes place in Nazi Germany and our main character Jojo is a member of the Hitler Youth. Oh yeah, his imaginary friend is Hitler (played by Taika Watiti). Because I feel the movie is so powerful I don't want to say any more about the story. The cast is absolutely fantastic. Roman Griffin Davis as Jojo gives an incredibly performance. I think he is going to go far as an actor. Taika Watiti as Adolf is an absolute riot. He really nails what a ten year old boy would think of Hitler. Thomasin McKenzie as Elsa is amazing. She is completely believable as a scared young girl who is also very intelligent and cunning. Scarlett Johansson is delightful as a single mother trying to raise her son. Sam Rockwell as Captain Klenzendorf was one of my favourite characters. You can tell...

So, this is more of a list than an article. But I've noticed in various forms of media some (probably nitpicky things) that pull me out of a show, movie, or book. Because of this, I have developed a list of things to avoid while writing a medieval styled fantasy story. People do not sing, they chant. Swords sing. (If you want to be poetic) A sword has a blade length of ~25-30". A long sword could have a blade length of ~33"-43". A great sword would have a blade length of ~48"+ Swords are dangerous and inflict terrible injuries. There are plenty of videos of sword tests on line.  Example A warrior "lays upon the enemy" (If you want to be poetic) Arrows are not "fired", they are "loosed" Haybales do  not  exist; hay stacks do. Hay bales are a product of the Industrial Revolution Axes and spears are more common than swords.  They are cheap to make and easy to learn to use. Also, everyone has an axe to cut wood. ...