Monthly Archives: July 2021

Weekend Events: Mythcon 51: A Virtual Halfling Myth (Still Time To Register!) + Colin Duriez on “Death, Dante, and Dorothy Sayers”

Posted on July 30, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

Mythcon 51: A Virtual Halfling Mythcon (Jul 31-Aug 1, 2021) Out of the disarray and disruption of COVID19, fan gatherings and academic conferences have done a solid job of reinventing themselves. Recent Mythmoot and Tolkien Society conferences have been quite … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged C.S. Lewis, Christina Rossetti, Colin Duriez, Dorothy L. Sayers, H.P. Lovecraft, Mythcon, Mythmoot, Neil Gaiman, the Tolkien Society | 4 Comments

The Thing about Riding Centaurs: A Note on Narnia, Harry Potter, Madeline Miller’s Song of Achilles, and the Black Stallion

Posted on July 27, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

As a child reading in a bed surrounded by acres of horse-less fields, I was completely taken up by the Black Stallion series by Walter Farley. Marooned survivors of a shipwreck, city kid Alec Ramsay befriends an untameable stallion, whom he … Continue reading →

Posted in Thoughtful Essays | Tagged C.S. Lewis, Harry Potter, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Madeline Miller, Narnia, The Black Stallion, The Horse and His Boy, The Magician's Nephew, The Silver Chair, The Song of Achilles, Till We Have Faces, Walter Farley | 41 Comments

Three Myths Retold: Madeline Miller’s Song of Achilles, Margaret Atwood’s Penelopiad, and C.S. Lewis’ Till We Have Faces

Posted on July 20, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

While I love the Odyssey, I always dread returning to The Iliad. I just find all the war and posturing and characters to be ash and dust and thorn for me, just weariness and work and pain. The moments of greatness within … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, Thoughtful Essays | Tagged C.S. Lewis, feminism, Hélène Cixous, Homer, Madeline Miller, Margaret Atwood, N.K. Jemisin, Nalo Hopkinson, Narnia, Nnedi Okorafor, Percy Jackson, Perelandra, The Four Loves, The Iliad, The Laugh of the Medusa, The Odyssey, The Penelopiad, The Song of Achilles, The Weight of Glory, Till We Have Faces | 35 Comments

Neil Gaiman is Still a (Super Creative and Awesome-to-behold Writerly) Jerk, with thoughts on The Graveyard Book (Throwback Thursday)

Posted on July 15, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

At A Pilgrim in Narnia, we have an occasional feature called “Throwback Thursday.” By raiding either my own blog-hoard or someone else’s, I find an article or review from the past and throw it back out into the digital world. … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, Throwback Thursdays | Tagged American Gods, C.S. Lewis, Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett, The Graveyard Book, The Screwtape Letters, The Screwtape Letters: Marvel Comics | 14 Comments

Neil Gaiman’s Introduction to The Screwtape Letters, Marvel Comics Edition

Posted on July 13, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

Last week I published a review essay on a delightful and problematic Marvel adaptation of C.S. Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters. In “Double Irony, Visual Delight, and a Missed Opportunity: The Screwtape Letters Marvel Comic Book,” I praised the adaptation for … Continue reading →