Happy May, everyone! Warmer weather is coming, which is always welcome, and while COVID still lingers in places, it would appear that things are truly mending. It took me a bit to think of it, but I have some historical recommendations for you this time - some somber pieces set in 1600's Puritan New England. I apologize in advance if these are too depressing for you, but I believe they're still worth checking out.


Reading: The Scarlet Letter (1850) by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Often considered one of America's greatest works of fiction, this classic novel is often assigned in high school but may actually be deeply lost on students, as it's a significantly intelligent piece of prose with Gothic overtones and veins of social criticism. The story focuses on three central figures: Hester Prynne, condemned and ostracized by the village for the crime of adultery but resilient and introspective in her suffering; Arthur Dimmsdale, the minister torn inside by his secret guilt but too fearful of the crowd to confess his sins; and Roger Chillingworth, the old misshapen man with a secret history and a vendetta of vengeance. The interweaving of their lives together is a source of tragedy, revelations, and, quite possibly, forgiveness and absolution. What may escape high schoolers could resonate deeper with older audiences, so if you've put this book out of your mind, give it another read - you might be surprised what you find.

Mass Market: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0451531353?tag=randohouseinc16940-20
Trade 1: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0143107666?tag=randohouseinc16940-20
Trade 2: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0679783385?tag=randohouseinc16940-20
Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00X593C26?tag=randohouseinc16940-20



Viewing: The Witch (Robert Eggers, 2015)

This stylish debut film is a dark meditation on Puritan religious devotion and superstition, centered around a family which has been exiled from a village due to religious differences. Life in the harsh land is only increased by the local belief of a witch living in the neighboring woods; the mysterious abduction of the family's infant child is the first of a series of events that sends them spiraling into paranoia, hysteria, and death, as the rumors of witchcraft may be frighteningly true. Besides great cinematography and acting, what sets this movie apart is its significant attention to historical detail, with the script having been written by consulting documents of the time period to capture the cadences of Puritan language. It's definitely disturbing, but the care put into it sets it above what could have been a cheap ahistorical piece of schlock. It's a wonderful opening to what promises to be a magnificent career.

DVD: https://www.amazon.com/Witch-DVD-Digital-Anya-Taylor-Joy/dp/B01D2KFSS8/ref=sr_1_4?crid=2ZLFNEB6BHPG7&keywords=the+witch&qid=1651461128&sprefix=the+witch%2Caps%2C125&sr=8-4
Blu-Ray: https://www.amazon.com/Witch-Blu-ray-Digital-HD/dp/B01D2KEVZO/ref=sr_1_4?crid=2ZLFNEB6BHPG7&keywords=the+witch&qid=1651461128&sprefix=the+witch%2Caps%2C125&sr=8-4
4K: https://www.amazon.com/Witch-Blu-ray-Ralph-Ineson/dp/6317699771/ref=sr_1_4?crid=2ZLFNEB6BHPG7&keywords=the+witch&qid=1651461128&sprefix=the+witch%2Caps%2C125&sr=8-4
Amazon Video: https://www.amazon.com/Witch-Anya-Taylor-Joy/dp/B01BT3SDQO/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2ZLFNEB6BHPG7&keywords=the+witch&qid=1651461128&sprefix=the+witch%2Caps%2C125&sr=8-1



So that's all for May. Again, I apologize if you found this too dark. Either way, I hope to have something much brighter next month. Enjoy the spring!

Just to reiterate, there will be ongoing changes to the site. Hang tight.

We've been getting some errors on the Lost pathway homepage and it's because I believe we've allowed the forum software to go out of date. This means I have to perform a software update and go to the new version of the simple machines forum. Because our themes were designed on previous versions of the software they may not work moving forward. The result of this is that at some point we may see the forum under a default theme until the site can be updated further. This is just a heads up.

Happy April, everyone! Spring is here and Easter is coming. There's still a lot going on in the world, and I don't have an answer for it, but I'm not ready to give up yet. This month, I'm digging into the grim side of mystery with a Gothic novel from one of America's best writers and a noir from one of America's most eccentric directors. I hope you don't find this inappropriate - I'll admit that I don't have much else.

Reading: We Have Always Lived in the Castle (1962) by Shirley Jackson

This was the final novel written by the esteemed author of The Haunting of Hill House before her untimely death from a heart condition, and some consider it her masterpiece. it's told from the perspective of 18-year-old antisocial Mary Katherine Blackwood, affectionately known as "Merricat", who lives with her sister and uncle in a secluded Vermont mansion, hated and feared by the townspeople for the mysterious conditions surrounding the deaths of the rest of her family; their stasis is disturbed by the arrival of a cousin whose motives may be less than altruistic. It's a brief novel, especially compared to Haunting, but it really may be Jackson's most intense work, featuring a complex protagonist with an askew view of the world.

Trade: https://www.amazon.com/Always-Castle-Penguin-Classics-Deluxe/dp/0143039970/ref=sr_1_1?crid=Z94EI34FE7CB&keywords=we+have+always+lived+in+the+castle+shirley+jackson&qid=1648928226&sprefix=we+have+always+lived%2Caps%2C113&sr=8-1
Hardcover: https://www.amazon.com/Always-Lived-Castle-Penguin-Vitae/dp/0143134833/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/We-Have-Always-Lived-Castle-ebook/dp/B004SS1MH0/ref=monarch_sidesheet



Viewing: Touch of Evil (Orsen Welles, 1958)

Here is a movie with an interesting history, as it was initially held in low esteem by critics upon release but was later reappraised as one of Welles's best films in his catalog, as well as one of the finest film noirs of the era. A Mexican prosecutor (Charlton Heston) is implicated in the murder of two people via time bomb along the U.S.-Mexico border; he and his American wife (Janet Leigh) become further embroiled in danger when he begins to piece together that the aged police captain (Welles) has a long history of corruption due to planting evidence to acquire convictions. Originally edited conventionally due to creative differences with the studio that forces Welles off the project, the film was added to the National film Registry in 1993 and has since been given a makeover in 1998, following a memo from Welles outlining his original vision.

DVD: https://www.amazon.com/Touch-Evil-Widescreen-Orson-Welles/dp/6305999872/ref=tmm_dvd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1648928251&sr=8-3
Blu-Ray 1: https://www.amazon.com/Touch-Evil-Blu-ray-Orson-Welles/dp/B07G2D87JH/ref=sr_1_3?crid=3F0R0X4VBDFZ8&keywords=touch+of+evil&qid=1648928251&sprefix=touch+of+evil%2Caps%2C103&sr=8-3
Blu-Ray 2: https://www.amazon.com/Touch-Evil-Special-Orson-Welles/dp/B09NDYBFNY/ref=tmm_blu_title_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1648928251&sr=8-1
4K: https://www.amazon.com/Touch-Evil-4KUHD-Orson-Welles/dp/B09NDZSBXP/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3F0R0X4VBDFZ8&keywords=touch+of+evil&qid=1648928251&sprefix=touch+of+evil%2Caps%2C103&sr=8-1
Amazon Video: https://www.amazon.com/Touch-Evil-Orson-Welles/dp/B0017122AM/ref=tmm_aiv_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1648928251&sr=8-1


That's all for April. Have a Happy Easter, and I'll see you next month!

I clothe you.
I feed you.
I help you sleep.
You're called me.
You feed me.
You find and keep.

Another Lost Pathway Books release is out.

https://www.amazon.com/After-Wish-Dragon-Adventure-Adventures/dp/B09V5PWYKH/

After the Wish Dragon began in rough draft form somewhere around 17 or 18 years ago. It is the first in a series.

Check it out!

(P.S., the next Lost Pathway will actually feature the village down the lost pathway, itself)

It's been so long that I had to look it up, but yes, it's a cat.

So the ball's in your court now.

Over three years have gone by and this riddle has held its pride of place. I was unable to solve it, but I did ask it to others and a netizen of the name MultiverseTraveller has posed the answer: a cat.

March has begun and spring is around the corner, but it's also bleak days with a way going on in Europe and the ramifications slowly creeping over here. It seems weird to make recommendations now, but I don't want to break the flow, having done it for so long now. I apologize for the lateness, but I was debating on what to talk about this month. Well, I have something now - may it keep you as enthralled as it did me.

Reading: The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian (2003) by Robert E. Howard

After years of editorial interference and controversial rewriting, this book represents the first of three collections of the complete stories of sword-and-sorcery pioneer Howard's most famous character, presented as they were originally written. The thirteen tales within contain classics like Conan's debut, "The Phoenix on the Sword", and perennial favorites like "The Tower of the Elephant", "Queen of the Black Coast", "The Scarlet Citadel", and "Black Colossus", as well as miscellanea like original drafts and synopses of stories, notes on names and places, and the seminal essay "The Hyborian Age", which formed the background around which Howard wrote the chronology of his stories. Filled with swashbuckling action and terrifying mythologies, the adventures of Conan are far better that is led to believe from the glut of knockoffs and capitalizing on the brand name, being a mix of hardboiled prose and epic poetry. For those who have never experienced them, I recommend this book as important to understanding the development of the fantasy genre as a whole.

Trade: https://www.amazon.com/Coming-Conan-Cimmerian-Original-Adventures/dp/0345461517/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1646700851&sr=8-1
Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/Coming-Conan-Cimmerian-Barbarian-Book-ebook/dp/B000FBJE24/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1646700851&sr=8-1



Viewing: Conan the Barbarian (John Milius, 1982)

This is the film that first gained Austrian actor/bodybuilder Arnold Schwarzenegger worldwide fame, and though it's not very faithful to Howard's stories, it's important and enjoyable as a fantasy film in its own right, as well as being the initial spark of the "barbarian boom" of films in the 1980's (ultimately a mixed bag). After watching his tribe and family slaughtered by the cult of the sorcerer Thulsa Doom (James Earl Jones), Conan rises from gladitorial slave combat to thievery, and when he and his companions are commissioned by an aged king to save his daughter from the same cult, the barbarian warrior is given the chance to exact his long-awaited vengeance. All in all, it's a competently made film from maverick director/screenwriter Milius and a significant boost in popularity for the classic character.

DVD: https://www.amazon.com/Conan-Barbarian-Arnold-Schwarzenegger/dp/0783241895/ref=tmm_dvd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1646700903&sr=1-7
Blu-Ray: https://www.amazon.com/Conan-Barbarian-Blu-ray-Arnold-Schwarzenegger/dp/B00509KXYO/ref=sr_1_7?crid=Z6JV0I8JHXD9&keywords=conan+the+barbarian&qid=1646700903&s=movies-tv&sprefix=conan+the+barbarian%2Cmovies-tv%2C106&sr=1-7
Amazon Prime: https://www.amazon.com/Conan-Barbarian-Arnold-Schwarzenegger/dp/B009CG248Y/ref=sr_1_3?crid=Z6JV0I8JHXD9&keywords=conan+the+barbarian&qid=1646700875&s=movies-tv&sprefix=conan+the+barbarian%2Cmovies-tv%2C106&sr=1-3


That's all for this month. I sincerely hope we have more to celebrate next time.

Well, winter is well underway now, and as I write this, snowstorms are rolling into Michigan. But it could be worse. Happy February, everyone! I'll admit that I haven't been doing a lot of steady reading because, on one hand, I managed to get my hands on a Nintendo Switch OLED and I'm REALLY enjoying it (though I'm trying to balance myself out and not get obsessed with it). Still, I have something for you this month - I hope you enjoy it.

Reading: The Face in the Frost (1969) by John Bellairs

Regarded by writer-editor Lin Carter as one of the three best fantasy novels written since The Lord of the Rings, this offbeat tale is a mix of horror and comedy from an author best known for his Gothic fantasy-mysteries geared towards young adults. It follows two cantankerous wizards, Prospero and Roger Bacon (not the ones you're thinking of), as they must trace the whereabouts of a mysterious book that may have fallen into the hands of one of Prospero's past rivals and which is being used for macabre ends.  Another point worth making is that Gary Gygax recommended the novel as an inspiration for the creation of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons's magic system.

Trade: https://www.amazon.com/Face-Frost-John-Bellairs/dp/1497642418/ref=sr_1_1?crid=8EUDI00E2A71&keywords=the+face+in+the+frost&qid=1643771547&sprefix=the+face+in%2Caps%2C100&sr=8-1
Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/Face-Frost-John-Bellairs-ebook/dp/B00J84L45E/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1643771547&sr=8-1



Viewing: The Flight of Dragons (Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass, 1982)

Released direct to video in 1982 and loosely based on both a novel by George R. Dickson (The Dragon and the George) and a speculative natural history book by Peter Dickinson (The Flight of Dragons), this animated film from the legendary production company Rankin-Bass is a rumination on the clash of magic and science, in which a young scientist from the 20th century is recruited by an old wizard from the past to lead a party of adventurers to the realm of a dark sorcerer intent on using his powers to influence mankind to use their sciences for mutual destruction; before setting out however, problems arise when a mishap causes the scientist and a dragon to fuse together, after which he must learn how dragons - and the magic world at large - function. Featuring celebrity voices such as the late Jason Ritter, Harry Morgan, and James Earl Jones, it's a bit of warm nostalgia that managed to earn both a DVD release in 2009 as well as a Blu Ray edition in 2018 and is well regarded by many fans.

DVD: https://www.amazon.com/Flight-Dragons-Victor-Buono/dp/B002VA5A0C/ref=sr_1_2?crid=2QXD7C1G6PODV&keywords=the+flight+of+dragons&qid=1643771582&sprefix=the+flight+of+dragons%2Caps%2C98&sr=8-2
Blu Ray: https://www.amazon.com/Flight-Dragons-Blu-ray-John-Ritter/dp/B078J5LL36/ref=tmm_blu_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1643771582&sr=8-2
Amazon Video: https://www.amazon.com/Flight-Dragons-John-Ritter/dp/B00KW26VCW/ref=tmm_aiv_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1643771582&sr=8-2


So that's all I got for now. Until then, stay safe and mind the snow!