I’m a big fan of the writing of Mr. Talbot Mundy, and today I bought a (digital) collection of tons of his writing at Amazon for $1.99. I’m super amped about this, and thought I’d blog it in hopes of turning people onto this amazing writer.
From the Wikipedia article on Mundy…
Born in London, at age 16 he ran away from home and began an odyssey in India, Africa, and other parts of the Near and Far East. By age 29, he had begun using the name Talbot Mundy, and a year later arrived in the United States, starting his writing career in 1911.
His first published work was the short story “Pig-Sticking in India”, which describes a popular, though now outlawed, sport practiced by British forces. Mundy went on to become a regular contributor to the pulp magazines, especially Adventure and Argosy .[1]
Many of his novels, including his first novel Rung Ho!, and his most famous work King of the Khyber Rifles, are set in India under British Occupation in which the loyal British officers encounter ancient Indian mysticism. The novels portray the citizens of Imperial India as enigmatic, romantic and powerful. His British characters have many encounters with the mysterious Thugee Cults. The long buildup to the introduction of his Indian Princess Yasmini and the scenes among the outlaws in the Khinjan Caves clearly influenced fantasy writers Robert E. Howard and Leigh Brackett. Other science-fiction and fantasy writers who cited Mundy as an influence included Robert A. Heinlein, E. Hoffmann Price, Fritz Leiber[2], Andre Norton [3], H. Warner Munn, Marion Zimmer Bradley and Daniel Easterman. [4] James Hilton‘s novel Lost Horizon was partly inspired by Mundy’s work. [5]
I can really see the similarity between Mundy’s writing style and Robert E. Howard’s (of Conan fame). Which leads me to point out that Robert E. Howard was a good friend of H.P. Lovecraft, and I really believe those of you who are Lovecraft fans would adore the work of Mundy. (If you don’t already that is.)
[Side note: This post was composed froma mobile device. So my writing style is going to be a bit foggy. Sorry about that.]
