First Foray

What I mean to do here, and why

I’ve been writing about what I read for a long time — 20 years as a short fiction columnist for Locus Magazine, a fair amount of science fiction book reviewing for other small magazines/websites (Black Gate most prominently), and plenty of more informal discussions and posts. For the past ten years I’ve had a blog, Strange at Ecbatan, at which I post something about almost everything I read — which these days is a mix of my first love (science fiction), popular fiction of the early 20th century, and the classics (especially the Victorians but pretty much any “classic” qualifies.)

I’ve recently spent a lot of time reading about literature (and other things, but mostly literature) on Substack, and I’m delighted with the atmosphere and intelligence I find here, with the mix of deep engagement with classic literature and sheer enjoyment of anything fun, and with the sense of community that seems to be emerging. And thus I’ve decided to do some of my writing on a Substack, that I am calling Strange at Ecbatan. (I’ll leave the source of the title as an exercise for the reader — many will know it right away, I’m sure.) I hope for two things — one is simply to more fully become part of what seems to me a vibrant community, and the other, more egotistically I suppose, it to reach a wider audience. There is a subscription button below, but right now I’m not ready to ask for anything — for the near future everything I post will be free.

I’ll make a sort of sample soon — I’ll post a couple of things I’ve written, for the blog or for Black Gate, of which I am fairly proud.