Five Vintage Works of American Comedic Fantasy

Thrill at Archaic-Americans' forays into funny fantasy!

https://www.tor.com/2023/04/12/five-vintage-works-of-american-comedic-fantasy/
--
My reviews can be found at http://jamesdavisnicoll.com/
My tor pieces at https://www.tor.com/author/james-davis-nicoll/
My Dreamwidth at https://james-davis-nicoll.dreamwidth.org/
My patreon is at https://www.patreon.com/jamesdnicoll

On 4/12/2023 11:14 AM, James Nicoll wrote:
> Five Vintage Works of American Comedic Fantasy
>
> Thrill at Archaic-Americans' forays into funny fantasy!
>
> https://www.tor.com/2023/04/12/five-vintage-works-of-american-comedic-fantasy/

Zero for five here. I ain't got nothing to add today.

Lynn

Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> writes:
>On 4/12/2023 11:14 AM, James Nicoll wrote:
>> Five Vintage Works of American Comedic Fantasy
>>
>> Thrill at Archaic-Americans' forays into funny fantasy!
>>
>> https://www.tor.com/2023/04/12/five-vintage-works-of-american-comedic-fantasy/
>
>Zero for five here. I ain't got nothing to add today.

The Compleat Enchanter is an enjoyable read. If I recall correctly,
that's the one where the protag takes a .45 semi-automatic back to
the time of the Norse gods and its use spawned the legend of Thor's
hammer returning to his hand.

In article <hPDZL.1152305$t5W7.1144444@fx13.iad>,
Scott Lurndal <slp53@pacbell.net> wrote:
>Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> writes:
>>On 4/12/2023 11:14 AM, James Nicoll wrote:
>>> Five Vintage Works of American Comedic Fantasy
>>>
>>> Thrill at Archaic-Americans' forays into funny fantasy!
>>>
>>>
>https://www.tor.com/2023/04/12/five-vintage-works-of-american-comedic-fantasy/
>>
>>Zero for five here. I ain't got nothing to add today.
>
>The Compleat Enchanter is an enjoyable read. If I recall correctly,
>that's the one where the protag takes a .45 semi-automatic back to
>the time of the Norse gods and its use spawned the legend of Thor's
>hammer returning to his hand.

I know that story but not the author or title. In Enchanter, devices
like matches and guns don't work in fantasy realms.
--
My reviews can be found at http://jamesdavisnicoll.com/
My tor pieces at https://www.tor.com/author/james-davis-nicoll/
My Dreamwidth at https://james-davis-nicoll.dreamwidth.org/
My patreon is at https://www.patreon.com/jamesdnicoll

On Wednesday, April 12, 2023 at 12:15:00 PM UTC-4, James Nicoll wrote:
> Five Vintage Works of American Comedic Fantasy
>
> Thrill at Archaic-Americans' forays into funny fantasy!
>
> https://www.tor.com/2023/04/12/five-vintage-works-of-american-comedic-fantasy/
>

I've read and enjoyed the middle 3. Before I clicked on your link,
I could only think of the Harold Shea stuff plus the parody
Bored of the Rings. Later, a few more came to me, like most
of A Lee Martinez' stand-alone novels, and The Princess Bride.

Tony

jdnicoll@panix.com (James Nicoll) writes:
>In article <hPDZL.1152305$t5W7.1144444@fx13.iad>,
>Scott Lurndal <slp53@pacbell.net> wrote:
>>Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> writes:
>>>On 4/12/2023 11:14 AM, James Nicoll wrote:
>>>> Five Vintage Works of American Comedic Fantasy
>>>>
>>>> Thrill at Archaic-Americans' forays into funny fantasy!
>>>>
>>>>
>>https://www.tor.com/2023/04/12/five-vintage-works-of-american-comedic-fantasy/
>>>
>>>Zero for five here. I ain't got nothing to add today.
>>
>>The Compleat Enchanter is an enjoyable read. If I recall correctly,
>>that's the one where the protag takes a .45 semi-automatic back to
>>the time of the Norse gods and its use spawned the legend of Thor's
>>hammer returning to his hand.
>
>I know that story but not the author or title. In Enchanter, devices
>like matches and guns don't work in fantasy realms.

Perhaps it was _Day of the Giants_ by Lester Del Rey? although IIRC in that one
the protag goes to Asgard and arms the gods with nukes when Fimbulwinter arrived.

In <hPDZL.1152305$t5W7.1144444@fx13.iad> scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal) writes:

>The Compleat Enchanter is an enjoyable read.

It definitely is.

>If I recall correctly, that's the one where the protag takes a .45
>semi-automatic back to the time of the Norse gods and its use spawned the
>legend of Thor's hammer returning to his hand.

No, that's /Frost and Thunder/ by Randall Garrett:

https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?46221

....which I read in the Timescape anthology /The Best of Randall Garrett/:

https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?35865

The story ends as follows (rot13'd to avoid spoilers):

V pna frr ubj gung vyyhfvba pbhyq pbzr nobhg. V ubyq gur unzzre va zl
unaq naq gurer vf n guhaqreobyg naq gur sbr snyyf qrnq -- uvf urnq
fznfurq va. Naq gura gur unzzre vf onpx va zl unaq. Fher.

Gubfr sbyx unq nyernql fubegrarq zl anzr sebz "Grlqbe" gb "Grl'be"; jul
abg bar flyynoyr shegure?

Zl jrncba unf n anzr abj, nf Fgra fhttrfgrq. V ybbxrq hc n zna jub
xabjf Abefr eharf, naq V unq nabgure zna ratenir gubfr eharf ba zl
cvfgby, ba gur evtug, whfg nobir gur gevttre.

Gur ratenivat fnlf: Zwbyave.

Lnu.

Gur bevtvany.

- Steven
--
___________________________________________________________________________
Steven Winikoff |
Montreal, QC, Canada | "Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum
smw@smwonline.ca | viditur. (Whatever is said in Latin
http://smwonline.ca | sounds profound.)"
| - fortune(6)

smw <smw@mort.smwonline.ca> writes:
>In <hPDZL.1152305$t5W7.1144444@fx13.iad> scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal) writes:
>
>>The Compleat Enchanter is an enjoyable read.
>
>It definitely is.
>
>
>>If I recall correctly, that's the one where the protag takes a .45
>>semi-automatic back to the time of the Norse gods and its use spawned the
>>legend of Thor's hammer returning to his hand.
>
>No, that's /Frost and Thunder/ by Randall Garrett:
>
> https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?46221
>
>...which I read in the Timescape anthology /The Best of Randall Garrett/:
>
> https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?35865

Ah, thank you!

And yes, I do have /The Best Of/ in a box.

$ testa garr
artist title format location
Garrett, Randall Murder and Magic soft A014
Garrett, Randall The Best Of soft A014
Keillor, Garrison Leaving Home Hard BOX A004
Mattingly, Garrett The Armada Soft BOX A001
Mattingly, Garrett The Armada Hard A023

On 4/12/23 15:04, smw wrote:
> In <hPDZL.1152305$t5W7.1144444@fx13.iad> scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal) writes:
[stuff deleted]
>
> The story ends as follows (rot13'd to avoid spoilers):
>
[stuff deleted

>
> Gur bevtvany.
>
> - Steven
I am SO annoyed. Not at you for doing the ROT-13, at Mozilla for
removing it from Thunderbird!!

--
Dave Scruggs
Captain, Boulder Creek Fire (Retired)
Sr. Software Engineer (Retired, mostly)

On 4/12/2023 5:09 PM, BCFD36 wrote:
> On 4/12/23 15:04, smw wrote:
>> In <hPDZL.1152305$t5W7.1144444@fx13.iad> scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott
>> Lurndal) writes:
> [stuff deleted]
>>
>> The story ends as follows (rot13'd to avoid spoilers):
>>
> [stuff deleted
>
>>
>>     Gur bevtvany.
>>
>>       - Steven
> I am SO annoyed. Not at you for doing the ROT-13, at Mozilla for
> removing it from Thunderbird!!
>
https://rot13.com/

--
I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky
dirty old man.

On 4/12/23 17:18, Dimensional Traveler wrote:
> On 4/12/2023 5:09 PM, BCFD36 wrote:
>> On 4/12/23 15:04, smw wrote:
>>> In <hPDZL.1152305$t5W7.1144444@fx13.iad> scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott
>>> Lurndal) writes:
>> [stuff deleted]
>>>
>>> The story ends as follows (rot13'd to avoid spoilers):
>>>
>> [stuff deleted
>>
>>>
>>>     Gur bevtvany.
>>>
>>>       - Steven
>> I am SO annoyed. Not at you for doing the ROT-13, at Mozilla for
>> removing it from Thunderbird!!
>>
> https://rot13.com/
>
Thanks!!
--
Dave Scruggs
Captain, Boulder Creek Fire (Retired)
Sr. Software Engineer (Retired, mostly)

On 4/12/2023 1:55 PM, Lynn McGuire wrote:
> On 4/12/2023 11:14 AM, James Nicoll wrote:
>> Five Vintage Works of American Comedic Fantasy
>>
>> Thrill at Archaic-Americans' forays into funny fantasy!
>>
>>
>> https://www.tor.com/2023/04/12/five-vintage-works-of-american-comedic-fantasy/
>
> Zero for five here.  I ain't got nothing to add today.
>
> Lynn

The Stainless Steel Rat books are science fiction, not fantasy, so those
would not qualify.

Lynn

On Wednesday, April 12, 2023 at 11:15:00 AM UTC-5, James Nicoll wrote:
> Five Vintage Works of American Comedic Fantasy
>
> Thrill at Archaic-Americans' forays into funny fantasy!
>
> https://www.tor.com/2023/04/12/five-vintage-works-of-american-comedic-fantasy/
> --
> My reviews can be found at http://jamesdavisnicoll.com/
> My tor pieces at https://www.tor.com/author/james-davis-nicoll/
> My Dreamwidth at https://james-davis-nicoll.dreamwidth.org/
> My patreon is at https://www.patreon.com/jamesdnicoll

_Space Chantey_, _The Reefs of Earth_, Annals of Klepsis_, _Past Master_
by R. A. Lafferty. _The Unholy City_, _The Circus of Dr. Lao_ by Charles
G. Finney. _Jurgen_, _The Silver Stallion_, _Figures of Earth_, _Something
About Eve_ by James Branch Cabell. _Alice in Wonderland_ and _Through
the Looking-Glass_ by Lewis Carroll. _The Lathe of Heaven_ by Ursula K.
Le Guin. "Von Goom's Gambit" by Victor Contoski. _Mindswap_ and
_Dimension of Miracles_ by Robert Sheckley.

On 4/12/2023 6:10 PM, BCFD36 wrote:
> On 4/12/23 17:18, Dimensional Traveler wrote:
>> On 4/12/2023 5:09 PM, BCFD36 wrote:
>>> On 4/12/23 15:04, smw wrote:
>>>> In <hPDZL.1152305$t5W7.1144444@fx13.iad> scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott
>>>> Lurndal) writes:
>>> [stuff deleted]
>>>>
>>>> The story ends as follows (rot13'd to avoid spoilers):
>>>>
>>> [stuff deleted
>>>
>>>>
>>>>     Gur bevtvany.
>>>>
>>>>       - Steven
>>> I am SO annoyed. Not at you for doing the ROT-13, at Mozilla for
>>> removing it from Thunderbird!!
>>>
>> https://rot13.com/
>>
> Thanks!!

You're welcome.

--
I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky
dirty old man.

In article <u16urs$1005$2@dont-email.me>,
Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:

> On 4/12/2023 11:14 AM, James Nicoll wrote:
> > Five Vintage Works of American Comedic Fantasy
> >
> > Thrill at Archaic-Americans' forays into funny fantasy!
> >
> > https://www.tor.com/2023/04/12/five-vintage-works-of-american-comedic-fant
> > asy/
>
> Zero for five here. I ain't got nothing to add today.
>

I have read 3; btw, you really should find and read _Silverlock_, if
only to read the Battle of the Alamo as a Norse epic (note that all the
defenders died at the Alamo).

--
"We have advanced to new and surprising levels of bafflement."
Imperial Auditor Miles Vorkosigan describes progress in _Komarr_.
—-----------------------------------------------------
Robert Woodward robertaw@drizzle.com

On 4/12/2023 3:08 PM, Tony Nance wrote:
> On Wednesday, April 12, 2023 at 12:15:00 PM UTC-4, James Nicoll wrote:
>> Five Vintage Works of American Comedic Fantasy
>>
>> Thrill at Archaic-Americans' forays into funny fantasy!
>>
>> https://www.tor.com/2023/04/12/five-vintage-works-of-american-comedic-fantasy/
>>
>
> I've read and enjoyed the middle 3. Before I clicked on your link,
> I could only think of the Harold Shea stuff plus the parody
> Bored of the Rings. Later, a few more came to me, like most
> of A Lee Martinez' stand-alone novels, and The Princess Bride.
>
> Tony

Yes, "The Princess Bride" was what I was thinking of and could not get
the name out.

Thanks,
Lynn

On 4/12/2023 1:55 PM, Lynn McGuire wrote:
> On 4/12/2023 11:14 AM, James Nicoll wrote:
>> Five Vintage Works of American Comedic Fantasy
>>
>> Thrill at Archaic-Americans' forays into funny fantasy!
>>
>>
>> https://www.tor.com/2023/04/12/five-vintage-works-of-american-comedic-fantasy/
>
> Zero for five here.  I ain't got nothing to add today.
>
> Lynn

Can we extend this to the UK ? How about "The Once and Future King" by
T. H. White ?

Lynn

On 13/04/23 13:19, Butch Malahide wrote:
> On Wednesday, April 12, 2023 at 11:15:00 AM UTC-5, James Nicoll wrote:
>> Five Vintage Works of American Comedic Fantasy
>>
>> Thrill at Archaic-Americans' forays into funny fantasy!
>>
>> https://www.tor.com/2023/04/12/five-vintage-works-of-american-comedic-fantasy/
>> --
>> My reviews can be found at http://jamesdavisnicoll.com/
>> My tor pieces at https://www.tor.com/author/james-davis-nicoll/
>> My Dreamwidth at https://james-davis-nicoll.dreamwidth.org/
>> My patreon is at https://www.patreon.com/jamesdnicoll
>
> _Space Chantey_, _The Reefs of Earth_, Annals of Klepsis_, _Past Master_
> by R. A. Lafferty. _The Unholy City_, _The Circus of Dr. Lao_ by Charles
> G. Finney. _Jurgen_, _The Silver Stallion_, _Figures of Earth_, _Something
> About Eve_ by James Branch Cabell. _Alice in Wonderland_ and _Through
> the Looking-Glass_ by Lewis Carroll. _The Lathe of Heaven_ by Ursula K.
> Le Guin. "Von Goom's Gambit" by Victor Contoski. _Mindswap_ and
> _Dimension of Miracles_ by Robert Sheckley.

It is along time since I read Sheckley but wasn't most of his writing
comedic? My favourite of his would be A Ticket to Tranai.

Lynn McGuire wrote:
> > On 4/12/2023 11:14 AM, James Nicoll wrote:
> >> Five Vintage Works of American Comedic Fantasy
> >>
> >> Thrill at Archaic-Americans' forays into funny fantasy!
> >>
> >>
> >> https://www.tor.com/2023/04/12/five-vintage-works-of-american-comedic-fantasy/
> >
> Can we extend this to the UK ? How about "The Once and Future King" by
> T. H. White ?

Those sceptered isles have an embarrassment of riches, stretching from (if one stretches a point) "A Midsummer Night's Dream" to Sir Saint Terry Prachett.

Let's see...
Looking to our foundational documents, the fantasies about Rip Van W. and Ichabod C., I read them as a kid, but don't remember them being a giggle-fest. Possibly one of those cases where the fantastical happenings are supposed to be silly enough to be funny.

E.A. Poe is said to have no humor. I recommend "The Devil in the Belfry" if anyone asks for proof, with "The Angel of the Odd" as a followup blow. "Never Bet the Devil Your Head" -- is this what they call "sardonic"?

James Thurber, "The Unicorn in the Garden"

In thinking through 1930s-type writers, I recall a strange sidestream, _How to Tell Your Friends from the Apes_ by Will Cuppy a mix of scientific facts about our primate cousins with personal jabs against them such as Groucho Marx might make. Oh, wait, that's a sidestream to science fiction, not fantasy. Richard Armour is more history and literature, but that is better for humorous fantasy as literature sometimes encounters it, and history shades into myth, these would be fragments from many of his books. Ogden Nash wrote a poem, "The Adventures of Isabel," which include her encounters with a talking bear and a witch.

The Myth Adventures series began before the 1980s.

--
-Jack

Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> writes:
>On 4/12/2023 1:55 PM, Lynn McGuire wrote:
>> On 4/12/2023 11:14 AM, James Nicoll wrote:
>>> Five Vintage Works of American Comedic Fantasy
>>>
>>> Thrill at Archaic-Americans' forays into funny fantasy!
>>>
>>>
>>> https://www.tor.com/2023/04/12/five-vintage-works-of-american-comedic-fantasy/
>>
>> Zero for five here.  I ain't got nothing to add today.
>>
>> Lynn
>
>Can we extend this to the UK ? How about "The Once and Future King" by
>T. H. White ?

Personally, I destested that one, since my introduction to arthurian
legend was _The Crystal Cave_, which is hardly comedic.

On Thursday, April 13, 2023 at 10:22:49 AM UTC-4, Scott Lurndal wrote:
> Lynn McGuire <lynnmc...@gmail.com> writes:
> >On 4/12/2023 1:55 PM, Lynn McGuire wrote:
> >> On 4/12/2023 11:14 AM, James Nicoll wrote:
> >>> Five Vintage Works of American Comedic Fantasy
> >>>
> >>> Thrill at Archaic-Americans' forays into funny fantasy!
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> https://www.tor.com/2023/04/12/five-vintage-works-of-american-comedic-fantasy/
> >>
> >> Zero for five here. I ain't got nothing to add today.
> >>
> >> Lynn
> >
> >Can we extend this to the UK ? How about "The Once and Future King" by
> >T. H. White ?
> Personally, I destested that one, since my introduction to arthurian
> legend was _The Crystal Cave_, which is hardly comedic.

Aside from The Sword in the Stone, I don't recall most of it being comedic.
Even TSitS had lots of non-humor stretches - the geese, the ants, the encounter
with the pike, etc.

pt

On Thursday, 13 April 2023 at 14:16:03 UTC+1, Jack Bohn wrote:
> Looking to our foundational documents, the fantasies about Rip Van W. and Ichabod C., I read them as a kid, but don't remember them being a giggle-fest. Possibly one of those cases where the fantastical happenings are supposed to be silly enough to be funny.

Maybe a young reader doesn't see Ichabod Crane as ridiculous,
or creepy. Or wonder why a spectral horserider threatens Crane
with a very ordinary pumpkin. "Rip van Winkle" can be judged
as you say, a tale that is entertaining by its strangeness, along
with Rip being an anti-hero, and falling to the temptation to
drink alcohol, which has given us funny stories since Noah
invented the stuff. Unless you'd like to imagine that God and
Adam were drinking one night, and Adam woke up next to a
woman he didn't remember meeting... Obviously that isn't
the same story as Rip van Winkle, but it's another oldie.

In article <u1725e$k8d$1@reader2.panix.com>,
James Nicoll <jdnicoll@panix.com> wrote:
>In article <hPDZL.1152305$t5W7.1144444@fx13.iad>,
>Scott Lurndal <slp53@pacbell.net> wrote:
>>Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> writes:
>>>On 4/12/2023 11:14 AM, James Nicoll wrote:
>>>> Five Vintage Works of American Comedic Fantasy
>>>>
>>>> Thrill at Archaic-Americans' forays into funny fantasy!
>>>>
>>>>
>>https://www.tor.com/2023/04/12/five-vintage-works-of-american-comedic-fantasy/
>>>
>>>Zero for five here. I ain't got nothing to add today.
>>
>>The Compleat Enchanter is an enjoyable read. If I recall correctly,
>>that's the one where the protag takes a .45 semi-automatic back to
>>the time of the Norse gods and its use spawned the legend of Thor's
>>hammer returning to his hand.
>
>I know that story but not the author or title. In Enchanter, devices
>like matches and guns don't work in fantasy realms.

(Hal Heydt)
I'm blanking on the author's name as well. It was one of the
ex-spooks that hung around with Randall Garrett at his
house--"Hightower"--in San Francisco. Sven, maybe?

Anyway, in the end, he returns to the present and has the gun
engraved with the name "Mjollnir".

On Thu, 13 Apr 2023 10:54:26 -0700 (PDT), Robert Carnegie
<rja.carnegie@excite.com> wrote:

>On Thursday, 13 April 2023 at 14:16:03 UTC+1, Jack Bohn wrote:
>> Looking to our foundational documents, the fantasies about Rip Van W. and Ichabod C., I read them as a kid, but don't remember them being a giggle-fest. Possibly one of those cases where the fantastical happenings are supposed to be silly enough to be funny.
>
>Maybe a young reader doesn't see Ichabod Crane as ridiculous,
>or creepy. Or wonder why a spectral horserider threatens Crane
>with a very ordinary pumpkin. "Rip van Winkle" can be judged
>as you say, a tale that is entertaining by its strangeness, along
>with Rip being an anti-hero, and falling to the temptation to
>drink alcohol, which has given us funny stories since Noah
>invented the stuff. Unless you'd like to imagine that God and
>Adam were drinking one night, and Adam woke up next to a
>woman he didn't remember meeting... Obviously that isn't
>the same story as Rip van Winkle, but it's another oldie.

I'm not sure I've ever read the story. The Disney animated version
plays him as ridiculous, and that might have made it the main
interpretation of his character.

Ridiculous but still ends up eating well!

The amazing contraptions in /Sleepy Hollow/, in a way, carry on this
tradition. Sort of.
--
"In this connexion, unquestionably the most significant
development was the disintegration, under Christian
influence, of classical conceptions of the family and
of family right."

On Wednesday, April 12, 2023 at 12:15:00 PM UTC-4, James Nicoll wrote:
> Five Vintage Works of American Comedic Fantasy
>
> Thrill at Archaic-Americans' forays into funny fantasy!
>
> https://www.tor.com/2023/04/12/five-vintage-works-of-american-comedic-fantasy/
> --

We USAmericans don't do humour. We have humor instead. I imagine that's
why we import so many funny Canadians. :)

I am a big Thorn Smith fan. Besides the Topper books, I enjoyed
_Night Life of the Gods_ quite a bit.

--
Kevin R