Macbeth, A Tragedy by William Shalespeare,

Macbeth, A Gothic Chaos

Shakespeare explores the tragic consequences of ambition and human weakness in his masterful study of guilt, The Tragedy of Macbeth. Greed and shame struggle mightily for the souls of the protagonists as they submit to supernatural forces that press cruelly at the soft core of humanity. The play’s dark landscape, cast with threads of secret desires and murderous intent, with …

Top 100 Sf and Fantasy. Conan. Robert E Howard, These Fantastic Worlds

100 Top SF & F Books. Conan the Conqueror. Robert E. Howard

Conan: adventurer, mercenary, reaver, butcher of wizards and demons, in this short paperback we meet him late in life, as King of Aquilonia, his rule threatened by dark forces beyond the understanding of humankind. Howard delivers Conan’s trademark taciturnity, a warrior who doesn’t think or emote too much, but acts decisively and lustily. This was my first introduction to the gritty …

William Morris, Acanthus design

William Morris: Utopia, Industry and Art

The works of William Morris pulsate with energy, passion and inventiveness. His appeal, still strong today through the medium of his designs for wallpapers and fabrics, derives from the breadth of his achievements, a concern for his fellow man and the powerfully sympathetic response to nature which fed the swirling patterns of his decorative designs. Poet, painter, designer, typographer, polemicist, …

Frank Herbert's Dune

Top 100 SF & Fantasy Books. Dune by Frank Herbert.

Dune. Forget the movie and the mini-series, just read the book. It’s an epic sf read of Shakespearean proportions and delves into every crevice of life. Grander than Game of Thrones, more sweeping than Star Wars, as fundamental as a religious text Dune has the power to enthral, and that’s just what it did to me when I was young …