Bohun- Warrior of Damzullah

by Steve Dilks

Egypt was still a dream in the eye of Ra, the sun-god, when Bohun of Damzullah battled his way across a forgotten empire that ruled half the world.
His feats and deeds have been handed down to us under many different guises. We remember him dimly, as through the haze of a primordial dawn, but remember him we do- for his tale is the saga of mankind itself. In our most frenzied of dreams we find ourselves again at his side; reeling against the impact of steel on steel, feeling the hot embrace of women in far off exotic lands. Herein we find tales of honour, strength and courage. We feel the bitter sting of defeat among the burning sands and know the heady passion of victory among the cities of strange and terrible gods...
This is the saga of Bohun!

Genres: Sword and Sorcery

26 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 23, 2018

About the author

Steve Dilks (1971- ) is an English writer. He has written SF, fantasy and horror for Pulp Hero Press, Wildside Press, Literary Rebel LLC, Rogue Blades Entertainment, Hippocampus Press, and Parallel Universe Publications.

Reviews

[Derek · Rating 3 out of 5]

The idea invites comparisons to Imaro based solely on the color of Bohun's skin and his origin story, but it never has the ambition or depth of that work. And, really, I doubt that he is much different from Conan. Less burdened by Robert E Howard's infatuation with the nobility of "barbarian" man, perhaps, and the better for it.

It is, on the whole, perfectly serviceable and entertaining, containing nothing not seen elsewhere, but occasionally with an interesting twist that kept me interested just as I thought I had it all figured out. Plus the final battle has a delicious ending.

The topic of Bohun's race in regards to the rest of the characters is rather danced around. He is to them a "savage specimen", but is also the object of a woman's attention, glimpsing him with the female gaze. This is not something that would have flown in Howard's time. It's never clear if the story was going to recast racial issues into the setting, or if it was intended to be entirely colorblind.

Dilks' writing occasionally bothered me in a completely Grammar Jerk way, with sentences that misplace the object of some prepositional phrase, or a similar error:

A little way off a third brigand was striking at a man with a leather cosh that cowered on the ground.

The cosh is cowering on the ground?

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bohun is terribly short. Bohun is essentially a black Clonan. Bohun is an entertaining pastiche, not necessarily presenting anything new, but a decent way to spend an afternoon at work. (Don't tell my boss, lol) Maybe Gunthar will turn up to help Bohun reclaim his wife from slavery. Meh.