Archive - July 7, 2015

A Writer Writes • Fear and Loathing on the Inca Trail by Folwell Dunbar (Ecuador 1989-92) After all these years I still have flashbacks. When I see a child blindly strike a piñata or when I smell a rotten egg, the memory, lodged deep in my scarred bowels explodes to the surface. Like Marlon Brando in the heart of darkness, I recall, “The horror, the horror.” “¡Levántate Leonardito! ¡Vamos!” the campesino or farmer yelled from the base of the hill. “Get up little Leonardo! Let’s go!” Like grilled cheese, I was pressed between a lumpy straw mattress and a stack of cheap coarse blankets. I didn’t want to levántate; I was warm and reasonably content. I pretended not to hear. Moments later though, the campesino pounded on my front door causing chards of adobe to cascade down on my head. “Deme un ratito,” I pleaded. “Give me a second. I’ll . . .

My novel Hobgoblin (written in 1981) is being republished in November by Dover Publications. This is how is appears now on Amazon.com for pre-order. Ancient magic and contemporary horror combine in this tale of a lonely boy’s increasing immersion into a sword-and-sorcery fantasy game. Within the isolation of a medieval Irish manor house rebuilt on the banks of the Hudson, Scott Gardiner drifts deeper into the myth-laden world of Hobgoblin as the line between nightmare and reality erodes. This novel was first published in 1981 at the height of Dungeons & Dragons’ popularity & soon after the intense media coverage of the Egbert steam tunnel incident (urban myths wherein roleplaying gamers enacting live action role-playing games perish, often in the utility tunnels below their university campuses). Here are two reviews of the first edition from GoodRead. The book, by the way, received a 3.33 of 5 Stars from 39 reviews. . . .