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Swords from the Sea
Vikings, pirates, heroes, rogues, and explorers . . . all have heard the siren call of the sea, and master storyteller Harold Lamb chronicled some of their most daring exploits. This single volume contains all of Lamb’s historical seafaring stories, drawn from rare and fragile pulp magazines. Never before collected, these short stories and novels are a treasure trove of adventure. Best known for his stirring tales of Cossacks and crusaders, Lamb was no stranger to swashbuckling, and his sea stories deliver it in buckets.
Sail with John Paul Jones as he fights to save the crippled Russian fleet from the Turks, one eye always alert for the knives of his czarist rivals. Venture across the desert with a lone American on a desperate venture against the Barbary corsairs. Seek the Northeast Passage, beset by ice, storms, and traitors from within, at the side of explorer Ralph Thorne. Ride the whale road with the Vikings, plying their swords from Iceland to Byzantium. Introduced by best-selling author S. M. Stirling, this volume concludes with a rare behind-the-scenes look at Harold Lamb’s writing secrets, penned by the editor who made him famous.
Sail with John Paul Jones as he fights to save the crippled Russian fleet from the Turks, one eye always alert for the knives of his czarist rivals. Venture across the desert with a lone American on a desperate venture against the Barbary corsairs. Seek the Northeast Passage, beset by ice, storms, and traitors from within, at the side of explorer Ralph Thorne. Ride the whale road with the Vikings, plying their swords from Iceland to Byzantium. Introduced by best-selling author S. M. Stirling, this volume concludes with a rare behind-the-scenes look at Harold Lamb’s writing secrets, penned by the editor who made him famous.
568 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2010
About the author
Harold Lamb
124 books167 followersHarold Albert Lamb was an American historian, screenwriter, short story writer, and novelist.
Born in Alpine, New Jersey, he attended Columbia University, where his interest in the peoples and history of Asia began. Lamb built a career with his writing from an early age. He got his start in the pulp magazines, quickly moving to the prestigious Adventure magazine, his primary fiction outlet for nineteen years. In 1927 he wrote a biography of Genghis Khan, and following on its success turned more and more to the writing of non-fiction, penning numerous biographies and popular history books until his death in 1962. The success of Lamb's two volume history of the Crusades led to his discovery by Cecil B. DeMille, who employed Lamb as a technical advisor on a related movie, The Crusades, and used him as a screenwriter on many other DeMille movies thereafter. Lamb spoke French, Latin, Persian, and Arabic, and, by his own account, a smattering of Manchu-Tartar.
From Wikipedia
Born in Alpine, New Jersey, he attended Columbia University, where his interest in the peoples and history of Asia began. Lamb built a career with his writing from an early age. He got his start in the pulp magazines, quickly moving to the prestigious Adventure magazine, his primary fiction outlet for nineteen years. In 1927 he wrote a biography of Genghis Khan, and following on its success turned more and more to the writing of non-fiction, penning numerous biographies and popular history books until his death in 1962. The success of Lamb's two volume history of the Crusades led to his discovery by Cecil B. DeMille, who employed Lamb as a technical advisor on a related movie, The Crusades, and used him as a screenwriter on many other DeMille movies thereafter. Lamb spoke French, Latin, Persian, and Arabic, and, by his own account, a smattering of Manchu-Tartar.
From Wikipedia
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 6, 2021
Harold Lamb at his most formulaic is still pretty good.
As series editor Howard Andrew Jones warns in his introduction, many of these tales, written after the pulp-era for magazines like Colliers and Saturday Evening Post, seem to have been created to a specific formula; they must be a romance, there must be a happy ending, etc. Most of them, read alone in a magazine probably were good fun; read one after the other, the formula is painfully obvious and really pales compared to the amazing tales of Khlit the Cossack.
There are some gems, particularly among the viking tales such as Berserk ( a story of Leif Ericson) or "The Golden Empress" (a tale of Harald Hardrada's famed escape from Byzantium) or the Bear's Head. Of the novellas contained therein, I can really only say I liked The Drub-Devil March, a Barbary Coast story, which I believe was the last piece Lamb wrote for Adventure magazine. The others are clever in their topics -- a pair about John Paul Jones during his adventures in the Crimea, another about a search for the Northeast passage -- just don't quite work for various reasons, mostly oddly flat characters.
Go back to my first comments -- Lamb on a meh day is still pretty good. If you are a fan, read this collection. If you are just reading about Lamb's worlds now, or just looking for a collection of adventure tales, you can put this aside.
As series editor Howard Andrew Jones warns in his introduction, many of these tales, written after the pulp-era for magazines like Colliers and Saturday Evening Post, seem to have been created to a specific formula; they must be a romance, there must be a happy ending, etc. Most of them, read alone in a magazine probably were good fun; read one after the other, the formula is painfully obvious and really pales compared to the amazing tales of Khlit the Cossack.
There are some gems, particularly among the viking tales such as Berserk ( a story of Leif Ericson) or "The Golden Empress" (a tale of Harald Hardrada's famed escape from Byzantium) or the Bear's Head. Of the novellas contained therein, I can really only say I liked The Drub-Devil March, a Barbary Coast story, which I believe was the last piece Lamb wrote for Adventure magazine. The others are clever in their topics -- a pair about John Paul Jones during his adventures in the Crimea, another about a search for the Northeast passage -- just don't quite work for various reasons, mostly oddly flat characters.
Go back to my first comments -- Lamb on a meh day is still pretty good. If you are a fan, read this collection. If you are just reading about Lamb's worlds now, or just looking for a collection of adventure tales, you can put this aside.
March 11, 2021
If you like adventure, you must read Harold Lamb! A thorough historian who also wrote nonfiction (The Crusades, Genghis Kahn), his writing is thrilling and almost perfect. An added plus, for me at least, are some delightful trips to the dictionary for added illumination of historical events. Much of his work consists of short stories, all marvelous. Please enjoy!
January 18, 2018
Another great collection of Harold Lamb's nearly forgotten fiction. This collection does focus mostly on his sea-stories, as the titles implies. It gives it a different flavor that his more well-known Cossack stories (Though there are actually a few Cossacks featured). The longer pulp-adventure stories are the best, whereas the shorter stories her wrote for the more 'respectable' slick-magazines come off as a little formulaic and forgettable. Not bad by any means, but they don't stand out. The best in this collection are 'Forward' and 'Sword of Honor' (Both featuring American hero John Paul Jones in his final naval service with the Russian Empire), and 'The Drub Devil's March,' about the little-known American capture of Derna during the Barbary Wars. All told this collection may not quite stand up to his Cossack and Crusader stories, but it was an interested read all the same.
April 30, 2026
★★★★★
Harold Lamb writes with a sharpness that can only be equated to the emotional standard that equate to reading as a child. Where time means little as you feel as if you have 'all of it' to spend and spend it you do with what has become your favorite 'hobby,' but in your youth, such things go beyond such lowly standards. Not quite religious experience, but most def one I contribute to the highlight of my life; so if that interest those of you whom enjoyed a rawr of a time with Sword and Sorcery - hit the throttle and give this and all other Harold Lamb reads!
Harold Lamb writes with a sharpness that can only be equated to the emotional standard that equate to reading as a child. Where time means little as you feel as if you have 'all of it' to spend and spend it you do with what has become your favorite 'hobby,' but in your youth, such things go beyond such lowly standards. Not quite religious experience, but most def one I contribute to the highlight of my life; so if that interest those of you whom enjoyed a rawr of a time with Sword and Sorcery - hit the throttle and give this and all other Harold Lamb reads!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews