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Dennis Wise @denniswise.bsky.social · 11h

So here's an interesting question. Is Tom Shippey's THE ROAD TO MIDDLE-EARTH the most read and/or cited work of literary criticism in the 20th century? I kinda wanna say it is. You could argue that certain books of theory (for instance, Jameson's THE POLITICAL UNCONSCIOUS)...

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Dennis Wise @denniswise.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

I can't claim credit for this one, but there's now a new diagnosis for university professors who blame themselves for not properly teaching their students to avoid AI: "Slopholm Syndrome."

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Dennis Wise @denniswise.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

So, uh ...... from a Conan the Barbarian story: "His wild blood had been stirred to its uttermost by all that had passed. He ... crushed her lips with his. She made no resistance; the Devi was drowned in the elemental woman. She closed her eyes and drank in his fierce, hot,...

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Dennis Wise @denniswise.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

I'm pretty familiar with Norman Spinrad's non-fiction articles on SFF publishing, but I'd never read one of his novels. So I took a gander at THE VOID CAPTAIN'S TALE. Right off the bat, I was on the fence. His narrator is this highly loquacious, highly self-conscious ...

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Dennis Wise @denniswise.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Anyone ever read Susanna Morris's biography of Octavia Butler, POSTIVE OBESSION (2025)? I got it after seeing that it received a Hugo nomination. I don't want to call it "bad" .... but it's frustrating. For one thing, the biographer doesn't seem to know anything about SF...

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Dennis Wise @denniswise.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Just read Sean's essay on this book, and it's pretty phenomenal. It's rare for an trained academic critic to be able to give a nuanced, sympathetic reading to major genre fantasy texts, but he really hits this one out of the park.

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Dennis Wise @denniswise.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Here it is -- the first new major post about fantasy on my Substack. Come for the mysterious Adam Corby ... and stay for exactly how two of the greatest fantasy editors of the 1980s, Lester del Rey and David Hartwell, treated this one (now obscure) series. stratofanatic.substack.com/p/the-myster...

stratofanatic.substack.com

The Mysterious Case of Adam Corby

Or, Two Great 1980s Fantasy Editors at Work

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Dennis Wise @denniswise.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

Started the 6th chapter of my Del Rey book, which is just called "Enemies." Is the title melodramatic and non-academic? Maaaaaaybe. But so far, it's making things way more fun to write. Plus, the del Reys also kinda did have a lot of enemies.

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Dennis Wise @denniswise.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Anyone ever hear of a fantasy author from the 1980s named Adam Corby? I stumbled onto him after some archival research uncovered that his initial manuscript was rejected by Lester del Rey (Del Rey Books) before David Hartwell (Timescape Books) eventually accepted & published it.

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Dennis Wise @denniswise.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

Just mentioned to someone yesterday about how many GREAT STORIES are involved in the creation of Del Rey Books .... and so, here's a small one I just wrote for chapter 4: "Watching [Ron Busch] ransack their beloved company must have pained Ian and Betty greatly. For eight more

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Dennis Wise @denniswise.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

Every time I e-read David G. Hartwell's “The Making of the American Fantasy Genre”, I feel an insane compulsion to nominate it for the Worst Essay on Fantasy Ever Written award. It just ticks me off every time I read it.

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Dennis Wise @denniswise.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

Dumb personal accomplishment: after eighteen months and about 100 playing hours, I've now officially completed Baldur's Gate 3. Damn it's a long game .... but I literally did it for *research* purposes!

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Dennis Wise @denniswise.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

Very, very saddened to heart about the death of Jason Arday. But not surprised. Many of the more thoughtful online commentators seemed to recognize that his serial fabulation was a function of severe mental health issues. The real scandal of the whole situation was never just...

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Dennis Wise @denniswise.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

In my endless trek to track down editorial correspondence from Judy-Lynn and Lester del Rey, I've naturally scrawled through dozens of special collections across the country. And I've had some pretty decent luck, too. But you know what's REALLY wild?

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Dennis Wise @denniswise.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

Well, I've followed all the other cool kids ("baaaa!") and have now created a substack. I'm starting off with adding several hard-hitting posts on SFF from my blog ... this one's a classic, so if you haven't seen it yet, have at it! DEFENDING DEL REY BOOKS: open.substack.com/pub/stratofa...

open.substack.com

Defending Del Rey Books

The Misunderstood Hero

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Dennis Wise @denniswise.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

In my book chapter on the launch of Del Rey Books, I came up with the following chapter title, and let us just say I'm quite impressed with myself: "In the Year of our Dark Lord, 1977." It's actually pretty crazy ALL the rantasy-related things that came out in 1977. Star Wars ...

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Dennis Wise @denniswise.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

Although I'd sooner gouge-out my eyes, Oedipus-like, before going to a conference on Lacanian psychoanalytic theory, their acronym LACK is genuinely hilarious and deserves kudos.

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Dennis Wise @denniswise.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

Le sigh. So, yeah, here's a direct quote from like half of all science fiction writers during the 1980s: "Don't get me wrong, I've got nothing against fantasy . Some of my best friends are fantasy novels. My college roommate was a fantasy novel. So I'm not biased at all. Nevertheless ...."

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Dennis Wise @denniswise.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

just finished Nolan's THE ODYSSEY, and I loved it unabashedly. Maybe the single best adaptation of a classical/medieval story I've ever seen. The level of detail and writing were superb.

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Paul Deane @rhunedhel.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

And of course, to cap it all off I'm selling paperbacks of @denniswise.bsky.social's "Speculative Poetry and the Modern Alliterative Revival: A Critical Anthology" Literally more original alliterative poems by more poets than any books since Gutenberg invented the printing press. #NYCPoetryFestival

Dennis Wilson Wise, Speculative Poetry and the Modern Alliterative Revival: A Critical Anthology

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Dennis Wise @denniswise.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

Well, I've hit a milestone in my research on Del Rey Books .... after spending the last six weeks organizing my copious notes, I've now printed them to help with outlining -- all 133,000 words. For those fatally curious on my working methods, here y'go. stratofanatic.blogspot.com/2026/07/upda...

stratofanatic.blogspot.com

UPDATE on my book on Del Rey Books

Well, I don't know how you write your books, but when I write books apparently, I seem to go more than a little overboard. So, as many of yo...

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Dennis Wise @denniswise.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

Sometimes I feel that if literary critics could just stop believing, even for just a second, that a literary artwork's form has ANYTHING to do with its politics, then we can save our entire discipline from quite a bit of nonsense.

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Dennis Wise @denniswise.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

@Paul Deane is showcasing the MODERN ALLITERATIVE REVIVAL at #NYCPoFest this weekend. Poets of the world, unite!

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Dennis Wise @denniswise.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

Dear Sociologists, Currently reading one of your books published by Princeton UP, and just as a bit of friendly advice .... your chosen system of citation is useless and, actually, totally sucks eggs.

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Dennis Wise @denniswise.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

I've been looking at the reviews for Del Rey fantasy titles from 1977 (i.e., when they launched their imprint) .... and man-oh-man, the reviews for *The Sword of Shannara* are BRUTAL. The only positive review I found is where Frank Herbert praises SHANNARA. And that's in ...

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Dennis Wise @denniswise.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

I'm rereading Algis Budrys's BENCHMARKS series, a collection of his book review for F&SF, and I'm once again impressed with what a gold mine it is for literary historians. It's not only brilliant for anyone interested in reception history, but reading an old pro just ...

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Dennis Wise @denniswise.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

Everyone raves about Gene Wolfe's THE BOOK OF THE NEW SUN, but I suspect there's a conspiracy afoot. I'm halfway through the third book, and I've never seen ANY author -- except maybe Steven Erikson -- so determined to avoid telling you what the hell exactly is going on.

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Thaliarchus @thaliarchus.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

Today, 11 June, is* the anniversary of the fall of Troy. You can read more about this in the rigorously historical documentary Cosmic Warlord Kin-Bright. * according to Eratosthenes; date provided as-is and without endorsement.

thaliarchus.itch.io

Cosmic Warlord Kin-Bright by Thaliarchus

Giant robot yuri space opera. In verse.

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Dennis Wise @denniswise.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

Unpopular opinion: literary historians of fantasy NEED to come to terms with Piers Anthony. As much as anyone, he defined the genre for an entire generation of readers. But most fantasy historians can do little more than repeat lazy generalizations about him, mainly something...

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Dennis Wise @denniswise.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

Huh. So, I get a message from a publisher asking me to review a book proposal and sample chapters. The message looks perfectly normal, and is offering appropriate compensation .... but the contacting editor has a non-U.S. email address (India), and when I google them, I find...

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Dennis Wise @denniswise.bsky.social · 17/05/2026

"Are you an SFF author from the 1970s and 1980s? Did you ever receive a letter from Judy-Lynn del Rey where she was mean to you? You might be entitled to compensation!" Whoa, nelly. Just reading through some of JLDR's rejection letters for submissions that she considered sub-par. ...

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Interstellar Flight Press @interstellarflight.bsky.social · 15/05/2026

At Interstellar Flight Mag, Paul Douglas Deane introduces to the epics of alliterative verse and the speculative. "However archaic alliterative verse may seem, it has found a home in speculative fiction, where it has been put to many uses." magazine.interstella...

Beowulf map background text reads: An Introduction to Alliterative Verse for Readers and Writers of Speculative Fiction...However archaic alliterative verse may seem, it has found a home in speculative fiction, where it has been put to many uses.

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Dennis Wise @denniswise.bsky.social · 15/05/2026

If anyone's looking for a very smart article on how speculative poets could be using alliterative poetry in their work (and we all should, right?), then this will be of interest. @sfwa.bsky.social @sffreview.bsky.social @sfpoetry.bsky.social magazine.interstellarflightpress.com/an-introduct...

magazine.interstellarflightpress.com

An Introduction to Alliterative Verse for Readers and Writers of Speculative Fiction

Epic Poetry from Beowulf to Today

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Dennis Wise @denniswise.bsky.social · 07/05/2026

What we really need is a good literary critic who's capable of explaining why David Eddings's THE BELGARIAD is such a *good* fantasy series. Currently, I'm reading yet another history of fantasy literature whose basic take on Eddings is, "Well, readers are idiots who ...

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sean guynes @guynes.bsky.social · 28/04/2026

Check out this thread to learn a bit about @leverpress.bsky.social, what we do, and why you probably want your next book to be published with me. I am *always* happy to receive pitches and proposals, to chat about your ideas via Zoom or email, and to walk through the book publishing process.

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Dennis Wise @denniswise.bsky.social · 27/04/2026

My long -- but immensely fun and hilarious (if I do say so myself) -- article on alliterative poet Pat Masson. One of the best personal stories of the modern revival, and for anyone still wondering what this "modern revival" we keep blathering on about IS, well, here's your chance!

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Dennis Wise @denniswise.bsky.social · 24/04/2026

And in the "Fun with Numbers" edition of today's post, I've calculated the numbers of weeks every major fantasy publisher spent on a New York Times or Publisher's Weekly bestseller list for the years 1981-1985. These numbers, I think, speak for themselves ....

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Dennis Wise @denniswise.bsky.social · 11/04/2026

There's no such thing as the perfect tagline for a nov-- "Psychic warrior Britt St. Vincent is sucked into a hellish whirlpool of man-hating seductresses and man-eating sharks." (Recycled Souls, Signet, 1976).

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Dennis Wise @denniswise.bsky.social · 07/04/2026

I'm seconding this! Pat Masson is one of the best poets of the modern alliterative revival, and her "Lay of St. Boniface" is just stellar. One of my absolute favorite reads among all modern long alliterative poems.

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Ted Underwood @tedunderwood.com · 04/04/2026

Yes for three reasons — it’s recurring — it never gets anywhere — it’s largely caused by shock at seeing a line graph of something people have never seen graphed before

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Dennis Wise @denniswise.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

Fun data nuggets: In 1972, seven woman writers published a total of seven SFF novels. (8.8% of the total). By 1991? That number had risen to 83 woman writers and 101 novels (33.0%).

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Dennis Wise @denniswise.bsky.social · 29/03/2026

I just spent the last eight hours non-step reading (and finishing) Gregory Benford's novel TIMESCAPE .... and while I may still be a bit too dazzled to make any permanent judgements, it might just be the best science fiction I've ever read. Up there with THE DISPOSSESSED, at least.

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Dennis Wise @denniswise.bsky.social · 24/03/2026

I'm re-upping this article, "Prestige Fiction is Dead," a review of Evan Brier's NOVEL COMPETITION, b/c after two weeks it's still listed as the most popular for its category by @lareviewofbooks.bsky.social . It's a good read, so come see what all the fuss is about! (Link in first comment).

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Dennis Wise @denniswise.bsky.social · 22/03/2026

Well, that's a good endorsement, if I do say so myself! @lareviewofbooks.bsky.social

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Dennis Wise @denniswise.bsky.social · 20/03/2026

My first session was aNeil Gaiman roundtable -- standing room only, impressive for 8:30 am! -- and was the most engaging roundtables I've had to pleasure to see, much less participate in. Panelists had a wide range of opinions on everything from pedagogy to academia. Very productive! #ICFA47

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Dennis Wise @denniswise.bsky.social · 20/03/2026

Ooo, I just got my first conference horror (funny!) story. After my presentation on how gender changed in Spec Fict., a guy came up to me. "I hate to do this to you," he said, "but somebody in a conference from many years ago already did your topic!" Er, WHAT? ... (1/2) #ICFA47

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Dennis Wise @denniswise.bsky.social · 17/03/2026

Checking the weather and crossing my fingers that there's no blizzards delaying our plane tomorrow! #ICFA47

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Dennis Wise @denniswise.bsky.social · 12/03/2026

My latest piece, "Prestige Fiction is Dead," from @lareviewofbooks.bsky.social, reviewing Evan Brier's excellent book, NOVEL COMPETITION. This one ends with some reflections on SFF publishing, so worth it whether you're into literary fiction, fantasy, or SF.

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Dennis Wise @denniswise.bsky.social · 19/02/2026

I'm sure some SFF scholars have heard that "women don't sell" in science fiction, at least in the "olden" days. But was that true? Well, I think I've found some pretty conclusive evidence that that old trope is pretty much a myth .... mostly. The following chart shows, at the top, the total ...

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