Bibliofile: Das Gesicht im Eis

When you think of foreign language editions of John’s work the first thing that doesn’t come to mind is The Face in the Frost. The adventures of Lewis and Johnny (and Anthony, once) are the usual tales translated for overseas readers, not the escapades of Prospero and Roger Bacon, the two main characters in a story that seemed crammed with wizards because they were wizards. This was rectified with the publication of Das Gesicht im Eis in 2009.

Who’s Who: Simon Legree

In an attempt to persuade Anthony to become a library page, Miss Eells assures him that she is no Simon Legree [The Treasure of Alpheus Winterborn; 18].

Time Capsule: 1962

1962: We all know Bellairs was fond of awkward architecture...this year we’re celebrating fifty years since the completion of one of the craziest cathedrals to ever have been dreamt up.

Fans on the Fence About "The Adventures of Tintin"

The GeekOut blog has an essay on why Tintinologists and fans are on the fence about the recent "The Adventures of Tintin" movie:

Alert: Johnny Dixon & SF Gateway

In what probably will be our last post for 2011, we make note of yet another round of Bellairs e-books. Yes, we mentioned the American editions published by eReads earlier this summer and now we’re pleased to pass word along about the UK counterparts.

Review: Dolphin Cross "A Tantalizing Glimpse of What Might Have Been"

Book review: "The Dolphin Cross"

Time Capsule: 1885

December 21, 1885: The sight of a comet, a brightly-lit fireball, blazing across the darkness of space can be a memorable and awe-inspiring scene. That’s just what happened 126 years ago tonight when such a chunk of rock landed on the Clabbernong Farm in Capharnaum County.

Where's There: Sorin Hall

John Bellairs describes this Notre Dame dormitory as "South Bend's answer to the House of Usher" with one room being “at least 15 feet high, its exact height being a mystery because of the ever-present cloud formations, and...decorated to resemble a cross between a Victorian tenement and a Pompeian attic [the beginning: a little too much about the author; Oct. 3, 1958].

Chapter Thirteen Witch Craft

Hey, friends, it’s your ol’ pal, Broteus. I figured it was time for another check into the Bellairsia question box. 

On to the search results. 

A History Of The Horror Genre

Two things about author Brian Keene that you learn from his website are:

1. he writes novels, comic books, short fiction, and occasional journalism for money, and
2. his 2003 novel, The Rising, is often credited with inspiring pop culture’s current interest in zombies.

Keene gave the keynote speech at the 2011 Anthocon in Portsmouth, New Hampshire (the first Anthocon, held last month - November 11-13) and shared some of his thoughts on the "history of the horror genre":

Some Noble Memories

There's always a blog or two out there that dives into reminiscences of childhood and one’s reading habits from years ago. Here’s some memories from someone named Wolframharted:

Smoking Cthulhu Wedgewood

Hi, friends! It’s your ol’ pal Broty here, the long suffering interviewer from All About Evil. Yeah, I kinda gave up that ghost a while back after some health issues. Ol’ Doc Boothby said the diagnosis was macular degeneration...here’s a copy of the prescription pad if you’re interested.

Lewis, House Headed to Hollywood

Deadline Hollywood reports Longtime Phoenix Pictures co-president Bradley J. Fischer has formed Mythology Entertainment in partnership with screenwriter/producers Laeta Kalogridis and James Vanderbilt. "With backing from private investors, Mythology will develop and package projects internally before taking them to studios and financiers. Mythology starts the venture with...a feature rights deal to late author John Bellairs’s Lewis Barnavelt series of gothic horror novels for kids. Supernatural creator Eric Kripke has been hired to write the script and produce.

Where's There: Our Lady of Lourdes

According to the Question Box moderator, Lourdes water is used to make Sacrosticky and can be used to repair broken statues of saints or rosary beads [Saint Fidgeta and Other Parodies; 40].

BiblioFile: La figura nell'ombra

A few months ago we discussed some of the artwork in the Italian edition of The Letter, the Witch, and the Ring as published by Happy Planet Books. We probably should have highlighted artwork from The Figure in the Shadows prior to Letter seeing how Figure takes place before the events in Letter, the Italian edition of Figure was published first, we discovered that edition’s artwork first...but it just didn’t work out that way. Deal with it. We’ll do it now.