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Renegade Swords #3
Renegade Swords III
Like an adventuring swordsman plundering ancient tombs, DMR Books makes another foray into the realm of time-lost tales and returns laden with treasures! Renegade Swords III, like the previous volumes in the series, collects rare tales of sword-and-sorcery and heroic fantasy that have unfairly gone neglected or unnoticed. Of the six stories and novellas herein, not one has ever been reprinted before, so you’re bound to discover something new to you!
Stories included:
“A Ship of Monstrous Fortune” by Adrian Cole
“Handar the Red” by James Cawthorn
“Magic’s Price” by Lars Walker
“Quest of the Veil” by Gene Deweese
“The Fire-Born” by W. Paul Ganley
“The Black Tower” by Brian McNaughton and Robert E. Briney
Stories included:
“A Ship of Monstrous Fortune” by Adrian Cole
“Handar the Red” by James Cawthorn
“Magic’s Price” by Lars Walker
“Quest of the Veil” by Gene Deweese
“The Fire-Born” by W. Paul Ganley
“The Black Tower” by Brian McNaughton and Robert E. Briney
- GenresFantasySword and Sorcery
194 pages, Paperback
First published February 25, 2022
25 people are currently reading
52 people want to read
About the author
D.M. Ritzlin
38 books54 followersD.M. Ritzlin founded DMR Books in 2015 with the aim of revitalizing sword-and-sorcery literature. DMR’s publications include reprints of classic material by authors such as Robert E. Howard and Clark Ashton Smith, as well as brand-new collections and anthologies by some of the finest fantasy writers active today.
A collection of his own stories, Necromancy in Nilztiria, was released in October 2020.
Nilztiria is a world of adventure and strangeness, peopled by lusty heroes and callous villains. The thirteen sword-and-sorcery stories presented in Necromancy in Nilztiria place the emphasis on sorcery and mix in a touch of gallows humor.
For more information on all of his projects, visit dmrbooks.com.
A collection of his own stories, Necromancy in Nilztiria, was released in October 2020.
Nilztiria is a world of adventure and strangeness, peopled by lusty heroes and callous villains. The thirteen sword-and-sorcery stories presented in Necromancy in Nilztiria place the emphasis on sorcery and mix in a touch of gallows humor.
For more information on all of his projects, visit dmrbooks.com.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
March 2, 2022
The last DMR release was the reprinting of Far Away and Never by Ramsey Campbell back in October. That was several months ago, but never fear Dave Ritzlin hasn't been resting on his laurels! The third installment of the Renegade Swords features seven authors and six stories. Every single story was new to me, making this such a fantastic read. If nothing else buy it for the Brian LeBlanc cover. It kicks ass.
The stories are:
A Ship of Monstrous Fortune by Adrian Cole
Adrian Cole is a living legend with a career spanning decades and his entry here does not disappoint. Two warriors are instructed by their master to join the Barbaranza Brothers crew. The crew are recruited with tales of great riches to be collected on this voyage, though no one seems to remember anyone returning from any of the Brothers previous voyages.
Handar the Red by James Cawthorn
It kicks off with blood flying and edged weapons swinging. A pretty standard traditional story involving a treasure map, ruins, a jewel, a monster, and the aftermath. It's a shame this is the only Handar story Cawthorn published. One of my favorites.
Magic's Price by Lars Walker
A Nordic tale of a broken betrothal, a curse, and a bereft husband seeking redress. Another favorite.
Quest of the Veil by Gene Deweese
The first of the Shanadu stories. A young blacksmith dreams of great deeds and adventures. Donning armor he sets out to recover the fabled Veil.
The Fire-born by W. Paul Ganley
Hands down my favorite of the bunch. It has a sword and planet feel about it. Hank Weston finds himself in a strange world in which he is mistaken for someone who is believed to be dead. Acquiring the Veil from a dying man in the wilderness, Hank is a hunted man. Whoever he really is, Hank kills with little or no regard. I would welcome more about Hank Weston, but this seems to be it.
The Black Tower by Brian McNaughton and Robert E. Briney
A young man, the last survivor of his village brings an end to an empire. A great adventure.
So, in closing, not a single dud in the bunch. Although I had my favorites, every story was a great read. Especially factoring in that I've never read any of them before. DMR is leading the way with new and reprinted sword and sorcery titles!
The stories are:
A Ship of Monstrous Fortune by Adrian Cole
Adrian Cole is a living legend with a career spanning decades and his entry here does not disappoint. Two warriors are instructed by their master to join the Barbaranza Brothers crew. The crew are recruited with tales of great riches to be collected on this voyage, though no one seems to remember anyone returning from any of the Brothers previous voyages.
Handar the Red by James Cawthorn
It kicks off with blood flying and edged weapons swinging. A pretty standard traditional story involving a treasure map, ruins, a jewel, a monster, and the aftermath. It's a shame this is the only Handar story Cawthorn published. One of my favorites.
Magic's Price by Lars Walker
A Nordic tale of a broken betrothal, a curse, and a bereft husband seeking redress. Another favorite.
Quest of the Veil by Gene Deweese
The first of the Shanadu stories. A young blacksmith dreams of great deeds and adventures. Donning armor he sets out to recover the fabled Veil.
The Fire-born by W. Paul Ganley
Hands down my favorite of the bunch. It has a sword and planet feel about it. Hank Weston finds himself in a strange world in which he is mistaken for someone who is believed to be dead. Acquiring the Veil from a dying man in the wilderness, Hank is a hunted man. Whoever he really is, Hank kills with little or no regard. I would welcome more about Hank Weston, but this seems to be it.
The Black Tower by Brian McNaughton and Robert E. Briney
A young man, the last survivor of his village brings an end to an empire. A great adventure.
So, in closing, not a single dud in the bunch. Although I had my favorites, every story was a great read. Especially factoring in that I've never read any of them before. DMR is leading the way with new and reprinted sword and sorcery titles!
March 1, 2022
DMR Books "Renegade Swords" series has been a brilliant effort to bring together some of the forgotten treasures of heroic fantasy -- including underappreciated stories by legendary authors like Michael Moorcock and Robert E. Howard and tales by less well-known or forgotten writers.
Renegade III is a bit different. The best-known name is the prolific Adrian Cole, whose Ship of Monstrous Fortune is a fun little horror-fantasy tale that is a take on a recurring theme in Cole's work -- haunted/mysterious islands. Not his best work, but fun.
Handar the Red is the lone fiction offering of its author, whose principal work in the field is as an illustrator, particularly for the works of Michael Moorcock. It's a great little tale, though the ending is a bit flat and amateurish. It shows potential that was never realized, since, as I noted, the author did not continue to write.
Magic's Price by Lars Walker is the most recent tale, and its author, like Adrian Cole, is very much still writing. This is a viking fantasy of shift-shapers and witches, and it has a feel of a larger world in which it occurs. I'd say this fairly short tale is the sleeper hit of the volume.
From here, the remaining stories, a short story, novelette and novella, are all part of the first shared world collection -- Shanadu. Created in the 1950s, the nadir of heroic fantasy, the authors were all between 18 - 21, and all went on to have varying degrees of success as writers or editors. You can see the early signs of talent in this collection, as well as the failings of very young writers -- the prose can get overwrought, the plots resolve to abruptly. In essence, the sequence follows a mysterious magical veil across several centuries as the city of Shanadu rises from a young city to the capital of a tyrannical empire. It's a great idea that probably needed an extra story or two to flush out the timeline.
Quest for the Veil is what it says and a send-up of the "young nobody hears the call to adventure". In this case our young blacksmith's quest does not turn out as he planned. The story is fine, if not terribly original, but it does have a nice twist at its end.
"Fire-Born" involves a man from our modern world crossing space and time to Shanadu -- where he may have been someone else, thrust into our world; or perhaps it is mistaken identity? There are elements of Dunsany and Lovecraft's "Dreamlands" here, but it just doesn't work. The modern man conceit never really fits, our hero is too quick to fit in to his new environs and produce whatever skill is necessary to the task and there isn't really any tension. A good idea wasted that would be much-better handled by the likes of Poul Anderson and Andre Norton.
The last half of the collection goes to the third Shanadu story, "The Black Tower". Co-written by Brian McNaughton, whose final story collection "The Throne of Bones" is one of the most compelling dark-fantasies I have ever read, a lot of the dark humor, flesh-crawling creeps and clever writing of those later tales are already present here, decades earlier. The over-arching story neatly brings the cycle to an end, and the longer story gives us more time to invest in the characters.
Overall, while this third volume is not on par with its predecessors, it is a worthy entry, both for the tales therein, and the unique place of Shanadu in the history of the genre.
Renegade III is a bit different. The best-known name is the prolific Adrian Cole, whose Ship of Monstrous Fortune is a fun little horror-fantasy tale that is a take on a recurring theme in Cole's work -- haunted/mysterious islands. Not his best work, but fun.
Handar the Red is the lone fiction offering of its author, whose principal work in the field is as an illustrator, particularly for the works of Michael Moorcock. It's a great little tale, though the ending is a bit flat and amateurish. It shows potential that was never realized, since, as I noted, the author did not continue to write.
Magic's Price by Lars Walker is the most recent tale, and its author, like Adrian Cole, is very much still writing. This is a viking fantasy of shift-shapers and witches, and it has a feel of a larger world in which it occurs. I'd say this fairly short tale is the sleeper hit of the volume.
From here, the remaining stories, a short story, novelette and novella, are all part of the first shared world collection -- Shanadu. Created in the 1950s, the nadir of heroic fantasy, the authors were all between 18 - 21, and all went on to have varying degrees of success as writers or editors. You can see the early signs of talent in this collection, as well as the failings of very young writers -- the prose can get overwrought, the plots resolve to abruptly. In essence, the sequence follows a mysterious magical veil across several centuries as the city of Shanadu rises from a young city to the capital of a tyrannical empire. It's a great idea that probably needed an extra story or two to flush out the timeline.
Quest for the Veil is what it says and a send-up of the "young nobody hears the call to adventure". In this case our young blacksmith's quest does not turn out as he planned. The story is fine, if not terribly original, but it does have a nice twist at its end.
"Fire-Born" involves a man from our modern world crossing space and time to Shanadu -- where he may have been someone else, thrust into our world; or perhaps it is mistaken identity? There are elements of Dunsany and Lovecraft's "Dreamlands" here, but it just doesn't work. The modern man conceit never really fits, our hero is too quick to fit in to his new environs and produce whatever skill is necessary to the task and there isn't really any tension. A good idea wasted that would be much-better handled by the likes of Poul Anderson and Andre Norton.
The last half of the collection goes to the third Shanadu story, "The Black Tower". Co-written by Brian McNaughton, whose final story collection "The Throne of Bones" is one of the most compelling dark-fantasies I have ever read, a lot of the dark humor, flesh-crawling creeps and clever writing of those later tales are already present here, decades earlier. The over-arching story neatly brings the cycle to an end, and the longer story gives us more time to invest in the characters.
Overall, while this third volume is not on par with its predecessors, it is a worthy entry, both for the tales therein, and the unique place of Shanadu in the history of the genre.
September 4, 2023
This anthology contains five stories and one novella.
Adrian Cole's "A Ship of Monstrous Fortune" is very gothic and enjoyable.
James Cawthorn's "Handar the Red" is formulaic fun.
Lars Walker's "Magic's Price" is the most layered and powerful story of this collection.
Remaining two stories and one novella, all extracted from the 'Shanadu' are good, unidirectional, two-dimensional stuff.
Overall, a readable volume significantly improved upon by Walker's tale.
Adrian Cole's "A Ship of Monstrous Fortune" is very gothic and enjoyable.
James Cawthorn's "Handar the Red" is formulaic fun.
Lars Walker's "Magic's Price" is the most layered and powerful story of this collection.
Remaining two stories and one novella, all extracted from the 'Shanadu' are good, unidirectional, two-dimensional stuff.
Overall, a readable volume significantly improved upon by Walker's tale.
March 29, 2022
Renegade Swords III is a strong collection of rare sword and sorcery. While the third books lacks an entry by a more well known author like Howard or Moorecock, it has some of the best stories in the series in Magic's Price and the Shanadu trilogy.
April 17, 2022
Recently, I listened to a podcast by Rogues in the House. They had three guests for the episode: Scott Oden, Howard Andrew Jones and Brian Murphy. For anyone familiar with the modern state of Sword and Sorcery fandom, those are some weighted names.
The topic was "What do we need for a modern sword and sorcery renaissance?" The hosts and their guests bounced the ball off the wall a good bit. Two ideas came to light:
1. We need something that introduces the classics of the genre to a new audience and
2. We need a breakout star on the level of Brando Sando that brings sword and sorcery into the spotlight and makes it popular for mass consumption.
DMR Books is running marathons and pumping some serious iron to make both of those ideas come true. The Renegade Swords anthologies fall squarely in the first idea discussed in the podcast.
Disclaimer: I am a Believer when it comes to DMR Books. I attempt to read every title the publisher puts out. It feels like D.M. Ritzlin is constantly thinking, "what does Clint want to read next?" and he hits it out of the park each time.
That being said, nostalgia has a limited audience. Renegade Swords limits that audience even a bit more. There are some big names in these anthologies; however, the mission of Renegade Swords is to bring back out-of-print rarities and/or lightly re-printed rarities. These are not stories that many folks have had the pleasure of reading. For a guy like me that lives, eats and breaths Sword and Sorcery (and its off-shoot branches, and closely related cousins), this is a rare treat. For a newbie, the reader that thinks they might like sword and sorcery, this is not the best entry point. That reader would be better served reading the tried-true classics of Robert E. Howard, Fritz Leiber, and C.L. Moore just to name a few.
But for readers like myself? This. Is. Metal.
As to this collection, it has a great story by the modern legend Adrian Cole that absolutely rocks. There is a short story by James Cawthorn that is pure Sword and Sorcery pulse pounding goodness. Lars Walker writes a Nordic tale of a bereft husband that deserves mention as my favorite tale in the book. Most interesting to me, on a historical note, are the three stories by Gene Deweese, W. Paul Ganley and Brian McNaughton that comprise the shared universe Shanadu stories. Shanadu is an early example of a shared universe that predates other shared universes such as Thieves World. As a nostalgic sword and sorcery junky-monkey, I live for this stuff.
I cannot close without mentioning the absolute Metal cover by Brian LeBlanc. All three covers for this anthology series are off the charts, but this one is second only to my love of volume one's cover. This also brings up a third point:
3. Covers. Publishers moved away, a long time ago, from breath taking covers that fire the imagination. Sword and Sorcery books of the 60's and 70's had such covers and I would love to browse a book store again and see such works of art. To paraphrase a quote I read on a social media page: "I have several bad books with great covers, but few great books with bad covers".
The topic was "What do we need for a modern sword and sorcery renaissance?" The hosts and their guests bounced the ball off the wall a good bit. Two ideas came to light:
1. We need something that introduces the classics of the genre to a new audience and
2. We need a breakout star on the level of Brando Sando that brings sword and sorcery into the spotlight and makes it popular for mass consumption.
DMR Books is running marathons and pumping some serious iron to make both of those ideas come true. The Renegade Swords anthologies fall squarely in the first idea discussed in the podcast.
Disclaimer: I am a Believer when it comes to DMR Books. I attempt to read every title the publisher puts out. It feels like D.M. Ritzlin is constantly thinking, "what does Clint want to read next?" and he hits it out of the park each time.
That being said, nostalgia has a limited audience. Renegade Swords limits that audience even a bit more. There are some big names in these anthologies; however, the mission of Renegade Swords is to bring back out-of-print rarities and/or lightly re-printed rarities. These are not stories that many folks have had the pleasure of reading. For a guy like me that lives, eats and breaths Sword and Sorcery (and its off-shoot branches, and closely related cousins), this is a rare treat. For a newbie, the reader that thinks they might like sword and sorcery, this is not the best entry point. That reader would be better served reading the tried-true classics of Robert E. Howard, Fritz Leiber, and C.L. Moore just to name a few.
But for readers like myself? This. Is. Metal.
As to this collection, it has a great story by the modern legend Adrian Cole that absolutely rocks. There is a short story by James Cawthorn that is pure Sword and Sorcery pulse pounding goodness. Lars Walker writes a Nordic tale of a bereft husband that deserves mention as my favorite tale in the book. Most interesting to me, on a historical note, are the three stories by Gene Deweese, W. Paul Ganley and Brian McNaughton that comprise the shared universe Shanadu stories. Shanadu is an early example of a shared universe that predates other shared universes such as Thieves World. As a nostalgic sword and sorcery junky-monkey, I live for this stuff.
I cannot close without mentioning the absolute Metal cover by Brian LeBlanc. All three covers for this anthology series are off the charts, but this one is second only to my love of volume one's cover. This also brings up a third point:
3. Covers. Publishers moved away, a long time ago, from breath taking covers that fire the imagination. Sword and Sorcery books of the 60's and 70's had such covers and I would love to browse a book store again and see such works of art. To paraphrase a quote I read on a social media page: "I have several bad books with great covers, but few great books with bad covers".
June 3, 2022
Every story in this book was a nice read. A couple of home runs in there. I really liked the Shanadu stories. I’m glad DMR found these because I have never heard of these before.
April 14, 2022
The third installment of DMR’s Renegade Sword series delivers. The stellar cover from Brian Leblanc sets the mood right away.
This series seeks to elevate lesser known works of S&S from yesteryear or illuminate forgotten works by more well known genre authors.
The book opens up with ‘A Ship of Monstrous Fortune’ by Adrian Cole. Cole has been a prolific writer since the 70s. I’ve seen lots of stories of his in various anthologies, but this has got be my favorite. It’s piratical S&S which is my favorite flavor, and the concept of a ship peopled by a crew of warriors reborn to battle forever, like Valhalla, but more a curse than an afterlife is awesome. I think it’s generally the best written story I’ve read by Cole too. His work can have an uneven tempo to it, and sometimes have parts that feel they should have been fleshed out more, but I think this story is phenomenal and head and shoulders above anything else I’ve read by him, which is usually pretty good to begin with anyway.
Next up is “Handar the Red” By James Cawthorn. He was a notable Moorcock artist but took to writing this story for Tarzan Adventures. I really liked this story. Is the writing a bit amateurish, sure, is it a bit derivative, sure. But it’s just a fun adventure yarn. It reminds me a bit of Lin Carter (though a decade before he emerged onto the scene). It’s flimsy but has a wild enthusiasm for the genre that’s delightful. Also has some cool art. I hope DMR puts more art in his books. Though I’m sure it’s not inexpensive.
“Magic’s Price’ by Lars Walker is up next. It’s from the 80s version of Weird Tales. It’s a Viking Sword and Sorcery story. A bit dark for my tastes, but not bad.
Then the last 3 stories, one of which is a Novella, are from a small scale publication in 53 called Shanadu.
The first two stories ‘Quest of the Veil’ by DeWee and ‘Fire-Born’ by Ganely are interesting. They’re more creative than good, but they’re enjoyable stories with some shared universe and elements. They’re definitely curios.
Finally there is ‘The Black Tower’ a Novella by McNaughton & Briney. This is about half of the book. I loved this. Again, maybe more creative than good, but it’s a hell of a heroic fantasy story. There’s some shared universe elements from the first two stories, but this has a lot more swashbuckle to it. Plenty of piracy. It’s just got everything a genre fan would want, and it’s very creative. Sure, at times the writing drifts into the amateurish but a lot of it is spectacular. There might be a bit too much Burroughs style “and then he was knocked out and conveniently X happens” but the ending is not ERB at all. To me, this story seems to capture what Renegade Swords was all about. Finding a forgotten work and bringing it to light, maybe it’s no quite perfect, but its definitely a lost treasure.
Overall, I enjoyed this and am looking for what DMR digs up for Renegade Swords IV.
Also, I’d love to see a Shanadu Next…if DMR has the rights to this shared universe, it be cool to see some authors from his stable write stories in it for a new anthology.
This series seeks to elevate lesser known works of S&S from yesteryear or illuminate forgotten works by more well known genre authors.
The book opens up with ‘A Ship of Monstrous Fortune’ by Adrian Cole. Cole has been a prolific writer since the 70s. I’ve seen lots of stories of his in various anthologies, but this has got be my favorite. It’s piratical S&S which is my favorite flavor, and the concept of a ship peopled by a crew of warriors reborn to battle forever, like Valhalla, but more a curse than an afterlife is awesome. I think it’s generally the best written story I’ve read by Cole too. His work can have an uneven tempo to it, and sometimes have parts that feel they should have been fleshed out more, but I think this story is phenomenal and head and shoulders above anything else I’ve read by him, which is usually pretty good to begin with anyway.
Next up is “Handar the Red” By James Cawthorn. He was a notable Moorcock artist but took to writing this story for Tarzan Adventures. I really liked this story. Is the writing a bit amateurish, sure, is it a bit derivative, sure. But it’s just a fun adventure yarn. It reminds me a bit of Lin Carter (though a decade before he emerged onto the scene). It’s flimsy but has a wild enthusiasm for the genre that’s delightful. Also has some cool art. I hope DMR puts more art in his books. Though I’m sure it’s not inexpensive.
“Magic’s Price’ by Lars Walker is up next. It’s from the 80s version of Weird Tales. It’s a Viking Sword and Sorcery story. A bit dark for my tastes, but not bad.
Then the last 3 stories, one of which is a Novella, are from a small scale publication in 53 called Shanadu.
The first two stories ‘Quest of the Veil’ by DeWee and ‘Fire-Born’ by Ganely are interesting. They’re more creative than good, but they’re enjoyable stories with some shared universe and elements. They’re definitely curios.
Finally there is ‘The Black Tower’ a Novella by McNaughton & Briney. This is about half of the book. I loved this. Again, maybe more creative than good, but it’s a hell of a heroic fantasy story. There’s some shared universe elements from the first two stories, but this has a lot more swashbuckle to it. Plenty of piracy. It’s just got everything a genre fan would want, and it’s very creative. Sure, at times the writing drifts into the amateurish but a lot of it is spectacular. There might be a bit too much Burroughs style “and then he was knocked out and conveniently X happens” but the ending is not ERB at all. To me, this story seems to capture what Renegade Swords was all about. Finding a forgotten work and bringing it to light, maybe it’s no quite perfect, but its definitely a lost treasure.
Overall, I enjoyed this and am looking for what DMR digs up for Renegade Swords IV.
Also, I’d love to see a Shanadu Next…if DMR has the rights to this shared universe, it be cool to see some authors from his stable write stories in it for a new anthology.
November 6, 2024
Renegade Swords I
Renegade Swords II
Renegade Swords III
A Ship of Monstrous Fortune by Adrian Cole
The Sleekfin Treasure Ship of the Barbaranza Brothers, Argangulis and Uttarsung, kings of the sea, amass
Handar the Red by James Cawthorn
Red-haired Northman Handar depends on his broadsword against flesh and blood and stays leery of
Magic's Price by Lars Walker
Times have changed for berserker Jorulf Ospaksson, though he keeps his
Quest of the Veil by Gene DeWeese
Sold into an armorer's apprenticeship by his father, Evarin of Shanadu
The Fire-Born by W. Paul Ganley
Hank Weston awakens in a new world, a new man, or an older era and a man of the past. Stumbling upon
The Black Tower by Brian McNaughton & Robert E. Briney
Benda has not fared well over the years, with Shanadu
Renegade Swords II
Renegade Swords III
A Ship of Monstrous Fortune by Adrian Cole
The Sleekfin Treasure Ship of the Barbaranza Brothers, Argangulis and Uttarsung, kings of the sea, amass
Handar the Red by James Cawthorn
Red-haired Northman Handar depends on his broadsword against flesh and blood and stays leery of
Magic's Price by Lars Walker
Times have changed for berserker Jorulf Ospaksson, though he keeps his
Quest of the Veil by Gene DeWeese
Sold into an armorer's apprenticeship by his father, Evarin of Shanadu
The Fire-Born by W. Paul Ganley
Hank Weston awakens in a new world, a new man, or an older era and a man of the past. Stumbling upon
The Black Tower by Brian McNaughton & Robert E. Briney
Benda has not fared well over the years, with Shanadu
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews