T.K. Wade -- Author: July 2023

Monday, July 31, 2023

Fairy Tale Spotlight: Teig O'Kane and the Corpse [Short Story Review]

[This blog spoils the main points of the story but leaves out many of the details.]

"Teig O'Kane and the Corpse" is an Irish fairy tale that was, at the very least, translated by Douglas Hyde. It is a good example of a good fairy/ghost story and honestly perfect for Halloween.

This is stuff of nightmares right here. A guy named Teik O'Kane who pretty much lived his life for fun and frolic gets the attention of the little people who he finds carrying around the corpse of a woman. They tell him that he is going to carry this corpse, but when he refuses, they make it so the corpse is holding onto his back and won't let go.

They then tell him that he has until sunrise to bury that corpse in one of a number of graveyards, but if they don't have room or he can't get into it, he has to keep moving on to the next. Every one of these graveyards is extremely haunted and terrifying in multiple ways. None of them are the same, and none of them (but the last one) let him bury the body. For this reason, he is forced to carry the dead weight (literally) a very long distance throughout the night until he can finally put her to rest.

This whole story was very surreal. It was like Teig existed in the realm of death and fairies for the whole night. It is a story that is brimming with a sense of loneliness. And yet, Teig is not alone. He is surrounded by creatures he doesn't understand nor wants to. It's awful.

This was one of the longer Irish fairy tales that I have, but I honestly could not put it down. It was just so spooky. Gripping too, if you understand my little joke. Imagine having to walk around for hours with a dead body clinging to you. That's crazy. At the very least, it should be enough to straighten a guy out.

I left a lot of details out of this blog, such as the specifics of each haunting, so there's still a good reason to read this one. I recommend it if your in the mood for something real spooky to end your night with.

This blog was written on July 23, 2023.

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Wednesday, July 26, 2023

Fairy Tale Spotlight: The Runaway in Oz [Book Review]

[This blog contains spoilers for a book nobody reads anymore.]

"The Runaway in Oz" is the forty-eighth book in the Oz series originally created by L. Frank Baum. It was written by John R. Neill and published in 1995. I should also mention that the actual book was written in 1943, but John died before he could illustrate it, ultimately leading the publishers to abandon it. This book was finally published, and it was illustrated by Eric Shanower, the man later famous for doing the official Oz graphic novels.

This book follows the same cartoony logic that was present in all of John R. Neill's Oz stories, although it's a bit lighter in this one. It seems he calmed down a bit this time, which isn't such a bad thing. In his other three books, even the houses were alive. That fact is not acknowledged in this one at all, however things like vegetables and shoes still seem to be alive and conscious creatures.

The story is about Scraps who was a character created by Baum himself. She is a colorful ragdoll that was brought to life many books earlier. She tends to be very selfish, impulsive, and enjoys speaking in poetry, although she doesn't have to.

In this book, she ends up feeling unwanted and decides to run away from the Emerald City on a bicycle made out of two giant spools. [She calls it her Spoolicle.] This ends up leading to a number of misadventures where she meets a nerdy boy named Alexample, a powerful plant lady named Popla [She is actually referred to as a power plant. Get it?], and a weird old man who wears pajamas named the Twinkler. [Don't ask. I don't understand it either.]

While she attempts to run away, she causes an insane amount of mischief and ends up getting under the skin of three pursuers, that being Professor Woggle Bug, Jenny Jump, and Jack Pumpkinhead (although Jack was just sort of there for the sake of being there honestly).

Jenny Jump is only ever seen in John R. Neill's Oz stories. She is a fashion stylist known for helping people change their styles by way of a magic turnstile. [Get it?] Even though it isn't mentioned in the book, every single one of her illustrations shows her with a different hair style. I found that to be a nice touch.

I think the one character that rather blew my mind was an extremely manly woman by the name of Fanny. She was a "weather witch," and she was in charge of creating all the weather in the world. She was one absolute unit of manliness. The illustrations made me smile. I like everything about her. She also scared the crap out of me, so it makes me wonder what's wrong with me sometimes. I might just like the idea of really strong women. I'm not sure. I may need a shrink.

Popla the Power Plant was sexy in her own right. She is mostly plant, but she has a human face that sort of sticks out of the leaves. She was very adventurous and she really got along with Scraps the most. There's a good chance that you'd like her as well. [But damn. Fanny. What's wrong with me?]

There was a rather surprising scene in a floating castle where the entire thing begins to melt. The process of its melting goes a bit slowly and lasts an entire chapter. Seeing the characters struggle to keep it intact while it hopelessly falls to pieces was remarkable and exciting as literature. It had me on the edge of my seat. Good stuff.

All in all, this book really slapped. I loved it, and I do recommend it. It just had a way of exciting you. The fact that she was running away wasn't all that depressing because it ended up leading to a impromptu adventure through the Land of Oz. That was the whole point. The point was that there was no point. There was no need for villains or anything. You just get to visit some of the most amazing and crazy parts of Oz, and that made the whole story worth it.

This blog was written on July 12, 2023.

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Monday, July 24, 2023

Fairy Tale Spotlight: The Horse and His Boy [Book Review]

"The Horse and His Boy" is the chronologically third book in "The Chronicles of Narnia" series written by C. S. Lewis. It was published in 1954. This one takes place in that missing time in the last chapter of "A Lion, A Witch, and a Wardrobe." That's cool.

The title is also really funny. It starts off with a boy being the companion of a horse, and not the other way around. Also most of the book doesn't even take place in Narnia. I didn't fully understand that Narnia was a realm within a world and not the world itself, Although the first book seems to suggest that it was all the creation of Aslan anyhow. Weird.

This story covers the journey of a boy named Shasta as he tries to escape to the land of Narnia with his horse Bree. The author writes this one a bit more eloquently and it came across as a fun fantasy adventure from beginning to end.

The most fun I had in it was a battle that took place where an old man basically pulls a John Madden and comments on everything that happens as if it was a sporting event. It made it seem way more exciting than it probably was.

As good and exciting as this story is, it's not my favorite so far. That honor seems to be tied with the first two at the moment. I'm being a little indecisive there, but I still do recommend this one. You may notice that I am trying very hard not to spoil the main points. It's just a good story worth your time, and it also serves as a bit of an anomaly since it technically takes place in the middle of a separate story. Good stuff! I'm looking forward to the next one already!

This blog was written on July 12, 2023.

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Wednesday, July 19, 2023

Fairy Tale Spotlight: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe [Book Review]

"The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" is the chronologically second book in "The Chronicles of Narnia" series written by C. S. Lewis. It was published in 1950. I freaking loved it.

Of course, I already rather knew this story, since it had been adapted so many times into film and series. Apparently these adaptations were mostly faithful to the book because I just felt like I was going over stuff I already knew. How nice is that? Most adaptations go out of their way to change what was in the book!

Flatly, this book is a fantastic Christian allegory that hits extremely hard. Aslan is amazing and never failed to warm my heart. The whole concept of Narnia and the fact that you join these children there feels uncannily real. Both books kind of did that. They make you feel like you're experiencing the story with the protagonists.

The witch is also such a great evil character. She is everything wrong with our world. There are people who seem mostly okay, but they are really horrible deep inside. The nice thing about the witch in Narnia is that there is no game being played. She really is what she seems to be.

The same can be said for Aslan. And if I might, lemme have a word about this lion. Have you noticed that good people love him and evil people hate him? That is an ongoing theme of these books. Who you really are is reflected in how you perceive Aslan. I have seen this happen in real life. Why do people hear the name of God and shutter? Why? There's no point to it! It all comes down to if you want Him or don't want Him. That's what decides who you are... and where you end up.

I absolutely recommend "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe." It's a powerful read. And you might want to ask yourself as you read it: How do you feel about Aslan? Does he fill you with happiness... or are you uncomfortable? Read this book and find out who you truly are!

This blog was written on June 26, 2023.

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Monday, July 17, 2023

Fairy Tale Spotlight: A Legend of Bottle-Hill [Short Story Review]

[This blog completely spoils the story from beginning to end.]

"A Legend of Bottle-Hill" is a short Irish fairy tale written by T. Crofton Croker. I'm not particularly sure when it was first published, but it was likely somewhere in the 19th century.

I have actually covered a couple of Croker's works before. He's really quite good a weaving clever stories. This particular one has a "Jack and the Beanstalk" vibe to it, but without there being a beanstalk or a giant. The formula is still the same with a poor farmer trading a cow for a magical item.

In this case, the fairy offers the farmer a bottle for the cow, but he explains that the bottle is magical and will make him a rich man. The wife understandably is furious when he just comes home with a bottle, but it turns out to be the one thing they really needed. It pretty much provides them with everything they could ever want until they were all rich.

Stupidly, once the farmer gets a bit too complacent, he sells the bottle to the landlord for the ownership of the farm itself. This was dumb because he could have used the bottle to produce the money to simply buy it out right. He then spends money like mad and becomes poor again.

Whelp, it's time to sell another cow to a fairy to get another bottle! That's just what he sets out to do, and just like magic, he finds the fairy and gets a new bottle. What is this fairy doing with all these cows anyhow? Hmm.

Well, feeling pretty lucky, the farmer proceeds to activate the new bottle, but this time angry men pop out and beat the ever-loving crap out of the entire family before jumping back into the bottle. The farmer scrambles to get everyone help first and then he decides to pay the old landlord a visit.

Once he sees his old bottle that actually does the right sort of things, he activated the bad bottle so that the men pop out and begin beating up the landlord and his servants. The farmer says that the men will stop beating him up if he gives him his old bottle back, which the landlord agrees to so that he won't... I dunno... die?

And so the farmer and his wife live the rest of their lives rich and die happy. Shortly after their death, some servant accidently breaks the magic bottle, but I guess it served its purpose.

I totally recommend "A Legend of Bottle-Hill," for its cleverness and wit. I am really beginning to enjoy these T. Croker stories. They are a lot of fun to read.

This blog was written on June 26, 2023.

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Wednesday, July 12, 2023

Fairy Tale Spotlight: An Odd Anomaly in Oz Canonizations

So I just finished writing my review of "The Ozmapolitan of Oz" which is considered to be the forty-fourth book in the Oz series. It's position in the list was chosen by a very noble organization called the International Wizard of Oz Club which also published the book. They were entirely in charge, and are still in charge, of deciding the order the books are intended to be read. [As a side note, I do intend on joining them soon.]

But right after you get done with #44, something really bizarre happens. 45-47 are all books by L. Frank Baum that, for whatever reason, weren't placed near the beginning of the list. This may have been because of an error made long ago before the canon was being given an official order. One might also argue that these books were never considered canon until just recently (as in the 1980's.) Either way, this is where we are at now.

Although I have read these three books, it has been nearly 10 years since I have, so my memory is a little fuzzy. I'll do what I can to, at the very least, give you a brief record of them.

#45: "Queer Visitors from the Marvelous Land of Oz"

This is a story where the fairy characters of Oz such as the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodsman come to the USA and cause a bit of confusion. The idea of it is how strange fairy people are when compared to normal people. I don't particularly remember liking this one very much. I can't tell you why though. It's just been too long.

#46 "The Woggle-Bug Book"

I literally had to look information up on this one just to jog my memory. This is a weird story where the Woggle-Bug shows up in our world and falls in love with a dress in a shop window. Apparently it's filled with racial stereotypes and isn't much liked today. I think I vaguely recall that. Not sure why this one slipped my memory so bad. This book also seems to be the only canon Oz book that doesn't have the word "Oz" in the title. Weird.

#47 "Little Wizard Stories of Oz"

One of my absolute favorites! I was, for the longest time, wondering why this didn't end up in the early list of Oz books. Why is it #47?! It should be #9 based on the publication date, right after "Tik-Tok of Oz." This is basically Baum's Oz short story collection and it is a blast. My favorite will always be "The Cowardly Lion and the Hungry Tiger." If you only read one of them, pick that one, but I believe I enjoyed all of them. Of the three books mentioned here, this is really the only one I recommend.

Whelp, that's all there is for this blog. Everything after that are new canonizations, and I can continue on reading them as I always have. Thanks for reading. I hope you found this little side-step interesting.

This blog was written on June 26, 2023.

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Monday, July 10, 2023

Fairy Tale Spotlight: The Ozmapoliton of Oz [Book Review]

[This blog contains spoilers for a book nobody reads anymore.]

"The Ozmapolitan of Oz" is the forty-fourth book in the Oz series originally created by L. Frank Baum. It was written by Dick Martin and published in 1986. This means that this is the very first Oz book published after I was born. It makes me realize how far I have come in reading these.

The story of this one has to do with a Ozian newspaper run by Tim. It isn't doing particularly well, so Tim decides to go on an expedition across Oz to both find news and to also spread the word about the newspaper in the hopes to get new subscribers. The team is joined by Dorothy, a scowling mifkit named Jinx, and Dorothy's pet cat Eureka.

Most of the adventure has to do with a rendezvous with the Tin Woodsman and the Scarecrow that seems to get thwarted at every opportunity. It ends up leading to a boat ride into a dark cavern that goes on for most of the book. It's hard to believe but a good portion of the story is in near to complete darkness, but somehow it all comes through to the reader quite well.

The encounters along the way were all interesting and fun. There were a bunch of paintbrush people that, when they would paint a portrait of you, it would turn you into the abstract version of the painting. This was bad for all of them but quite worse for the cat. There was also a funny dragon creature underground that was both trying to eat them and make some of them slaves. He was not very bright though--about as dim as the cavern, some might say.

The main intrigue of the story came from the fact that there was a crow that appeared to be sabotaging the expedition along the way... and he seemed to be a familiar of Tim's. This was spotted by Eureka which caused her a lot of confusion. The reason this was weird was because it made Tim look like he was a spy trying to sabotage his own expedition. This gets explained out really well by the end of the story, and I liked what the author did with it.

You may find it interesting that Dick Martin was, at the time, the illustrator of the Oz books. He was also formally the president of the International Wizard of Oz Club, which made him in charge off the canonization of Oz books for a while. After reading his own Oz books, I gotta say that he did an amazing job. I really have no complaints at all. He knows his stuff!

I do recommend this book. It's still out there and accessible. It's also one of the few Oz books where it doesn't involve a child coming in from the USA. That's a pretty rare thing to happen, but it has happened a handful of times up to this point. Give this one a read. It will put a smile on your face.

This blog was written on June 26, 2023.

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Wednesday, July 5, 2023

Fairy Tale Spotlight: The War of the Worlds [Book Review]

"The War of the Worlds" is a novel written by H.G. Wells. The complete novel was published in 1898, which is pretty incredible if you consider what actually happens in this book.

The whole idea of it is that Mars sends troops of aliens in giant tripedal war machines to pretty much conquer the earth. They spend the first part of the invasion very efficiently killing people and destroying human infrastructure. It's terrifying no matter what century it happens in, but I was particularly surprised to see this famous story taking place in the 1800's.

The imagination of H. G. Wells always blows my mind. He saw giant, alien, walking battle tanks roaming around and killing people long before we even had television. It's no wonder that it was made into a blockbuster movie with Ton Cruise in 2005, proving that the story, even in the modern day, entirely works.

Now the book isn't perfect. Much of the story is told from the first person perspective of one man who sadly spends most of his time nowhere near the actual action. He has to relate most of it from second hand information, but a good deal of the story, he is alone and going mad as the world crumbles around him. I kept wanting to see what was going on around the world with the invasion, but sadly I had to endure just this one person's limited perspective.

The latter complaint does not in any way ruin the book or the story. It's a great book and I'll already shoot a recommendation for it right now, but you need to know that this is mainly the singular perspective of one man which does, to its credit, include exciting second hand accounts of others. It's not just a simple narrative of everything that happened that shows all the details of the invasion. If you really want that, you might see the movies which goes into the perspectives of not only the civilians but also the military.

But I do want to again point out how amazing this book is to be set in the 19th century where people were still using horse and cart. Simply amazing that the book itself exists at all. Read it.

This blog was written on June 25, 2023.

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Monday, July 3, 2023

Fairy Tale Spotlight: The Magician's Nephew [Book Review]

[Only minor spoilers.]

"The Magicians Nephew" is the chronologically first book in "The Chronicles of Narnia" series written by C. S. Lewis. It was published in 1955. These books were written out of order, but in America, we got the books numbered by chronology, and I have been looking forward to reading them in that way for a long time now.

This book deals with the actual creation of Narnia, so you may be surprised to note that, not only does the world not exist at the beginning, but there is a completely different universe in existence called Charn. It kind of blows the mind really. I once wrote a story that had God dealing with multiple versions of reality as well, so I was smiling a lot while I read this,

Charn was also really surreal since nearly everyone in it was dead. For some reason, as the kids wondered through it, I was thinking back to "The Time Machine" where the protagonist of that book was walking through an ancient museum. The two scenes were somewhat similar, I think. Both were very surreal and a bit disturbing.

The actual creation of Narnia is one of the most powerful things I have ever read. You almost feel like you're reading something forbidden. Imagine if you were at the beginning of Creation and just... standing there. You might feel a bit weird for just being there, and the author sought to do that to his characters as well as his readers. Pretty intense stuff.

Despite being written like a children's books, this author does not pull his punches at any time. It hits hard. Everything hits hard. C. S. Lewis seems to have a strong understanding of magic and how it relates to both evil people and God Himself. It's kinda nuts how deep this book goes.

Of course, I recommend the book. It is an intense exciting read, and it pretty much cinched me having to read all the other ones. I freaking loved it, and I should even say it was one of the best books I ever read in my life.

This blog was written on June 10, 2023.

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