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Swords of Fire 2
G. W. Thomas is back with four new novellas of Swords & Sorcery. "Gladiator King" by David A. Hardy stars Cingetorix from the gladiator's arena to the sacred groves of the King of Nemi. "Through Dungeons Deep" by Jack Mackenzie sees the return of Sirtago and Poet as they become champions and hunt a wizard. But all is not what it seems. Best of all, Poet tells the tale this time. "The Daughter of Lilith" continues Michael Ehart's fantastic Ninshi series. In the days of Mesopotamia, Ninshi is haunted by deeds past and monsters present. "The Work We Have In Hand" is set in the same world as G. W. Thomas' Dragontongue. Follow the wizard Emerrant and his unwilling servant, Aberdin Vol, as they try to figure out where all the wizards and witches in Stormcock have gone.
204 pages, Paperback
Published July 15, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
October 2, 2024
You shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but sometimes as with Swords of Fire 2 the damn cover is so striking that I feel like I'm drawn to it . The reds and oranges of the background hint at some unseen conflagration and the faint skull above the woman lends an air of sinister super-natural menace. Both characters look determined to sell their lives dearly against something we cannot see. In short the cover itself sold the book to me. I couldn't wait to read it.
It has been eleven years since the first Swords of Fire anthology was published. In book two David A. Hardy, Jack MacKenzie, and G.W. Thomas all return with new stories; with Michael Ehart new to the series. So we get four novellas each featuring their own piece of art by M.D. Jackson. The contents include:
Gladiator King by David A. Hardy
Cingetorix is an undefeated gladiator born of a unique heritage. A mysterious woman not only knows about his heritage, but wants to help him make use of it. Fleeing bondage, he could care less about her machinations, but his destiny will not be denied or ignored.
Bloody action from beginning to end.
Through Dungeons Deep by Jack Mackenzie
Champions are drawn to a remote village to slay a malevolent wizard and take his treasure as reward. From the onset something isn't quite right. Venturing into the dark vastness of the mountain interior these champions discover some dark truths about the village, the wizard, and each other.
I liked this one from the very beginning. The story is narrated from first person perspective and our narrator has his reservations about what he sees and what he is told by the villagers. There is a mystery here and it only deepens when the champions enter the wizard's labyrinth.
Daughter of Lilith by Michael Ehart
This was a harder one to get into. This story falls within Ehart's Ninshi series. These books are out of print and I have never read them, so it seems like there is quite a bit of back story that I am missing.
Ninshi spends most of the story running from one faction or another. Caught between a sand demon and a goddess Ninshi will receive help from an unexpected source.
The Work We Have In Hand by G.W. Thomas
Aberdin Vol is a thief and a master of disguise. Emmerant is a corpulent wizard who collects viewing crystals. Neither know each other or have anything in common until the other wizards suddenly disappear from the streets of Stormcock.
Another enjoyable story that left me wanting more adventures from this duo. The enemy was superbly creepy. Who do you trust? Who has been compromised? And I've got to know, is Stormcock a homage to Moorcock? (Stormbringer + Moorcock = Stormcock)
The publisher, Rage Machine Books, is new to me. Primarily publishing works by G.W. Thomas and Jack Mackenzie, covering many genres including science fiction, fantasy, and horror. Rage Machine's agenda is straight forward storytelling for people who love stories. Pulp fiction that entertains without becoming pastiche or a faded copy of days gone by. Be sure to check out their catalog and blog at darkworldsquarterly.gwthomas.org
It has been eleven years since the first Swords of Fire anthology was published. In book two David A. Hardy, Jack MacKenzie, and G.W. Thomas all return with new stories; with Michael Ehart new to the series. So we get four novellas each featuring their own piece of art by M.D. Jackson. The contents include:
Gladiator King by David A. Hardy
Cingetorix is an undefeated gladiator born of a unique heritage. A mysterious woman not only knows about his heritage, but wants to help him make use of it. Fleeing bondage, he could care less about her machinations, but his destiny will not be denied or ignored.
Bloody action from beginning to end.
Through Dungeons Deep by Jack Mackenzie
Champions are drawn to a remote village to slay a malevolent wizard and take his treasure as reward. From the onset something isn't quite right. Venturing into the dark vastness of the mountain interior these champions discover some dark truths about the village, the wizard, and each other.
I liked this one from the very beginning. The story is narrated from first person perspective and our narrator has his reservations about what he sees and what he is told by the villagers. There is a mystery here and it only deepens when the champions enter the wizard's labyrinth.
Daughter of Lilith by Michael Ehart
This was a harder one to get into. This story falls within Ehart's Ninshi series. These books are out of print and I have never read them, so it seems like there is quite a bit of back story that I am missing.
Ninshi spends most of the story running from one faction or another. Caught between a sand demon and a goddess Ninshi will receive help from an unexpected source.
The Work We Have In Hand by G.W. Thomas
Aberdin Vol is a thief and a master of disguise. Emmerant is a corpulent wizard who collects viewing crystals. Neither know each other or have anything in common until the other wizards suddenly disappear from the streets of Stormcock.
Another enjoyable story that left me wanting more adventures from this duo. The enemy was superbly creepy. Who do you trust? Who has been compromised? And I've got to know, is Stormcock a homage to Moorcock? (Stormbringer + Moorcock = Stormcock)
The publisher, Rage Machine Books, is new to me. Primarily publishing works by G.W. Thomas and Jack Mackenzie, covering many genres including science fiction, fantasy, and horror. Rage Machine's agenda is straight forward storytelling for people who love stories. Pulp fiction that entertains without becoming pastiche or a faded copy of days gone by. Be sure to check out their catalog and blog at darkworldsquarterly.gwthomas.org
September 14, 2021
Swords of Fire 2, Edited by G. W. Thomas. 203 pages. Published by Rage Machine Books.
Contains four longish short stories or novellas. These are: Gladiator King, by David A. Hardy, Through Dungeon’s Deep by Jack Mackenzie, The Daughter of Lilith by Michael Ehart, and The Work We Have in Hand by G. W. Thomas. Here are my thoughts.
I’ve known Dave Hardy since my days in REHupa, the Robert E. Howard United Press Association. Back in the day, he and I were the rare members to occasionally print some of our own fiction in the apa. I’ve always enjoyed Dave’s efforts. They have both a traditionalism about themselves as well as the inventive use of fantasy tropes. His story in a REH inspired anthology called Dreams of Fire, entitled, “I am a Martian Galley Slave!” was the best piece in the book, my own offering notwithstanding. In another anthology of fire, Swords of Fire 2, his piece was perfect for opening the anthology. Interesting, mature character with lots of action set in the time of the Roman Empire. Traditional and yet unique. He also had an excellent piece in the original Swords of Fire anthology, as well as a fine tale in the recently released The Lost Empire of Sol.
Jack Mackenzie also had a piece in the original Swords of Fire, and it involved the same two major characters as his tale here—Sirtago and Poet—who occasionally, at least for me, evoke a taste of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. Poet is no carbon copy of Mouser, though, but a fully realized and unique character. I liked Mackenzie’s first story about this pair, but I have to say the tale in Swords of Fire 2 topped the first, and was probably my favorite tale in the collection—albeit by a narrow margin considering the quality of the others.
The third piece was Michael Ehart’s “The Daughter of Lilith.” I really liked the setting here, which is an ancient earth reminiscent of the setting created by Karl Edward Wagner for his Kane stories. Ninshi is an ancient wandering warrior, not exactly undying but who heals very quickly as a side effect of a curse. She is joined by a daughter of Lilith, a stillborn infant, grown to adulthood, who was given life by Adam’s first wife. It’s an interesting pairing and works well as we have considerable action.
G. W. Thomas anchors this anthology, as he did the first. His story features a good-natured sorcerer with a sense of humor and a multi-faceted character who has a gift for disguises as they face a monstrous evil. I really found the latter character, Aberdin Vol, a fascinating one. Lots of depth to him and an unknown history ripe for exploration in further tales. In some ways, this story was the most light-hearted of the four, but it also had a very dark streak, especially toward the end.
Other than the tales themselves, we also have some excellent illustrations to open each story. I much enjoyed the whole package.
Contains four longish short stories or novellas. These are: Gladiator King, by David A. Hardy, Through Dungeon’s Deep by Jack Mackenzie, The Daughter of Lilith by Michael Ehart, and The Work We Have in Hand by G. W. Thomas. Here are my thoughts.
I’ve known Dave Hardy since my days in REHupa, the Robert E. Howard United Press Association. Back in the day, he and I were the rare members to occasionally print some of our own fiction in the apa. I’ve always enjoyed Dave’s efforts. They have both a traditionalism about themselves as well as the inventive use of fantasy tropes. His story in a REH inspired anthology called Dreams of Fire, entitled, “I am a Martian Galley Slave!” was the best piece in the book, my own offering notwithstanding. In another anthology of fire, Swords of Fire 2, his piece was perfect for opening the anthology. Interesting, mature character with lots of action set in the time of the Roman Empire. Traditional and yet unique. He also had an excellent piece in the original Swords of Fire anthology, as well as a fine tale in the recently released The Lost Empire of Sol.
Jack Mackenzie also had a piece in the original Swords of Fire, and it involved the same two major characters as his tale here—Sirtago and Poet—who occasionally, at least for me, evoke a taste of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. Poet is no carbon copy of Mouser, though, but a fully realized and unique character. I liked Mackenzie’s first story about this pair, but I have to say the tale in Swords of Fire 2 topped the first, and was probably my favorite tale in the collection—albeit by a narrow margin considering the quality of the others.
The third piece was Michael Ehart’s “The Daughter of Lilith.” I really liked the setting here, which is an ancient earth reminiscent of the setting created by Karl Edward Wagner for his Kane stories. Ninshi is an ancient wandering warrior, not exactly undying but who heals very quickly as a side effect of a curse. She is joined by a daughter of Lilith, a stillborn infant, grown to adulthood, who was given life by Adam’s first wife. It’s an interesting pairing and works well as we have considerable action.
G. W. Thomas anchors this anthology, as he did the first. His story features a good-natured sorcerer with a sense of humor and a multi-faceted character who has a gift for disguises as they face a monstrous evil. I really found the latter character, Aberdin Vol, a fascinating one. Lots of depth to him and an unknown history ripe for exploration in further tales. In some ways, this story was the most light-hearted of the four, but it also had a very dark streak, especially toward the end.
Other than the tales themselves, we also have some excellent illustrations to open each story. I much enjoyed the whole package.
October 1, 2024
Extremely strong sword and sorcery collection. Each story is top notch. I’m surprised so many of my S & S compatriots haven’t read this volume. Highly recommend!!
September 5, 2021
Made me buy another book!
I've read work by all of these authors before, even published three of them. This was overall a fun anthology to read, though it struggled at times. For me, far and away the most enjoyable read was by Jack Mackenzie, whose tale enticed me to buying his collection including all the Poet's stories. The other contents were shared by great storytellers, but each suffered in some manner, be it coherency, verbosity, complexity, or compellingness, with some missed edits adding to their downsides. Still a fine addition to the short heroic adventure literature.
I've read work by all of these authors before, even published three of them. This was overall a fun anthology to read, though it struggled at times. For me, far and away the most enjoyable read was by Jack Mackenzie, whose tale enticed me to buying his collection including all the Poet's stories. The other contents were shared by great storytellers, but each suffered in some manner, be it coherency, verbosity, complexity, or compellingness, with some missed edits adding to their downsides. Still a fine addition to the short heroic adventure literature.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews