Clint’s Comments (group member since Jul 26, 2017)

Clint’s comments from the Sword & Sorcery: "An earthier sort of fantasy" group.

@Brian, great! Enjoy

Late entry for this topic:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

@Jason, that is a hard pick. I’m going to wuss out and say “both”; however, “Worms of the Earth” is a favorite of mine.

I’m currently reading Robert E Howard Changed My Life, and I can’t say enough good things about it. I am about a third of the way through it. Recommended highly.

Late in the game, but I hope to start REH Changed My Life today

Outstanding news

Fine essay Mr Murphy, and I present here for reading pleasure and discussion.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/e...

That definition stays close to my own.

@Joseph, good analogy. I can see that

@Joseph, I enjoyed Piranesi very much

I keep picking up, and putting back down Bloody Rose by Nicholas Eames. It’s not a bad book, it’s just not what I am in the mood for right now.

On a plane ride today, I read about 1/2 of Twilight of the Gods by Scott Oden. So far, I’m enjoying it more than the first book.

@Scott, that’s interesting. I knew this book had many delays, but I had no idea it was 9-10 years in the making. I caught the TW vibe, and I do hope those further volumes take root

I have read and enjoyed Carter’s Imaginary Worlds. I will have to see if my library has the other.

@Brian And @David Smith,

Since I have the authors of my two of my favorite non-fiction books held captive:

A Means to Freedom has been called out, what other texts critical to your research do you recommend?

I have read Vick’s Renegades & Rogues. I enjoyed it a great deal. It’s different enough from Finn’s book to make the read worthwhile.

Started Nicholas Eames Bloody Rose after finishing Byron Roberts The Chronicles of Caylen-Tor

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I even found the legacy of how this book finally came into existence a good read. I do hope there are more to come as a few of the stories felt more like prequels to larger tales.

@Seth, nice. It’s a little late in the timeframe for this group read, but I will try to squeeze this one in. I started an essay for this book when I heard about it. Unfinished.

I thought I would post about some of my recent/favorite non-fiction reads from the past 3 years. This will be multiple posts; sorry, I’m doing this from my phone and that is easiest.

2021:
The year is young, but I did read Todd Vick’s Renegades & Rogues. There has been some negative backlash towards this book, mostly from Mark Finn’s fans; which is silly. I love Finn’s Blood & Thunder, but there is always room for another well done book on the same subject in my humble opinion

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...

2020:

the Annotated Guide to Robert E Howard’s Weird Fantasy, by Fred Blosser is a neat exploration of REH’s weird works, minus his S&S. Blosser doesn’t cover the S&S as Robert Weinberg did so prior; however, Weinberg’s book is out of print.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...

I also read this classic in REH studies. The Dark Barbarian That Towers Over All: An REH LitCrit MegaPack. Highly recommended as an entry point into REH studies

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

Wizardry and Wild Romance: A Study of Epic Fantasy by Michael Moorcock

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6...

I read a total of 10 non-fiction books about or at least related to Swords a d Sorcery. Brian Murphy’s Flame and Crimson was the best of the batch.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...

2019 was a slow non-fiction year for me. I only read 3 non-fiction books about S&S, but one of which I recommend without reservations to any REH fan: David C. Smith’s Robert E. Howard a Literary Biography

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4...

I finally posted a few thoughts on Scott Oden’s A Gathering of Ravens

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...