Joseph’s Comments (group member since Oct 24, 2012)

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

And as for myself, I finished up Matthias Thulmann: Witch Hunter, which was enjoyable, and started Range of Ghosts by Elizabeth Bear, which isn't really S&S, but includes both swords and sorcery and takes place in a fascinating central Asia-based setting.

I own all the hardcopies but I'd gladly rebuy eBooks. Likewise Haffner Press. (Well, I don't actually own all the Haffner editions.)

Aaron wrote: "I looked at the Planet Stories that are out and they have alot of great stuff there. I ended up getting Elak of Atlantis by Henry Kuttner and The Ship of Ishtar by A Merritt as well as Black Gods ..."

Excellent choices all!

Paizo's Planet Stories (they published reprints of Black God's Kiss and Northwest of Earth, to say nothing of Elak of Atlantis, The Sword of Rhiannon and many others) is one of those imprints that I wish could've just kept going and going and going.

Honestly, I think their first mistake was not having Hammer make a Solomon Kane movie starring Christopher Lee back in the 1960s/1970s.

Yeah, I think I would've liked it more if I could've distanced myself from the source material. The costumes & sets &c. were quite good and the story was serviceable, except for the "origin" aspect, but it just wasn't Kane enough for me.

As with the Conan movie, I thought the star (Purefoy in this case; Jason Momoa for Conan) could've done really well had he been given better material to work with.

I'm also starting to think that Purefoy would've made a better John Carter than Taylor Kitsch. (Purefoy was in the John Carter movie, but as Kantos Kan, I believe.)

Could we please have a moratorium on origin stories in movies? Especially origin stories that are fundamentally at odds with everything we know about the character from the original source material? I would've been perfectly content if the movie had just introduced him as a bad-ass in a big black hat and left it at that. Maybe with a bit of dialogue or (if you must) a couple of brief flashback snippets.

Ummmm ... Well, the sets and the costumes were nice. And James Purefoy could probably play a good Solomon Kane if they ever make a movie about the Howard character, not just about some random dude of the same name ...

Just came back from Uncle Hugo's Science Fiction Bookstore with Kyrik Fights the Demon World & Kyrik and the Wizard's Sword (both by Gardner F. Fox) and Pathless Trail by Arthur O. Friel (which is probably more associational, but it was part of Centaur's Time-Lost series along with books by Howard and Mundy, amongst others).

So what have you picked up recently that's cool?

Speaking of covers:

Periklis wrote: "Looks really good! I've loved side-scrollers ever since playing the original "Golden Axe" in the arcades. Hope it is available on PS3 in Europe soon...
I've beeen trying to finish Skyrim - Dawnguard and finally focusing on the S&S/ steampunk, Dishonoured... "

Dishonored was excellent! I picked up the DLC but haven't played it yet -- need to finish Amalur first. I wish there was Dishonored fiction; so far, the closest I've been able to come is Thief's Covenant by Ari Marmell, although it's more Renaissance than steampunk.

I do have a bunch of Prescot books sitting on the shelf also ... I tried Gor once, but even the first book just didn't grab me.

Hmmm ... As I'm thinking about it now, I'm also wondering if some of Tanith Lee's early novels might be classified as S&P -- I'm thinking specifically of The Birthgrave (which ends with (view spoiler)[our heroine actually psychically summoning a spacecraft down from orbit (hide spoiler)] or The Storm Lord.

And also maybe some C.J. Cherryh -- the Morgaine books most obviously, but also some of her early SF like Brothers of Earth and Hunter of Worlds (Human Rebellion, #2).

For my money, Sword & Planet was never done better than Barsoom, especially The Gods of Mars, The Chessmen of Mars and A Fighting Man of Mars. (I linked to the editions I first read them in.)

Although I say that with the Haffner Press Leigh Brackett collections sitting unread on my shelf ...

Michael wrote: "I tried to watch the Conan show. I really tried. I figured it couldn't be THAT bad, and I was a little desperate. I don't think I even got through the first episode. It's just terrible...."

I blame Arnold for planting the notion that Conan had to be played by a 'roided-up Austrian. Although Ralf Moeller went on to do other, better things.

Now I want to go read some of Howard's Crusader stories. And interesting about the sequel -- if it's just another couple hours of dirty, hairy guys bashing each other with weapons in a historically authentic manner, I'll be content.

Anyone seen Ironclad? King John's siege of Rochester Castle after the Magna Carta was signed. James Purefoy is a Templar defending the castle and Paul Giamatti is King John. I can't speak to its historical accuracy, but it had some appropriately nasty & brutal fight scenes.

Finished The Company Man, which was really quite good, and am back into the S&S fold with Matthias Thulmann: Witch Hunter by C.L. Werner. Have always had a soft spot for Games Workshop's Warhammer and Warhammer 40K settings.

I finished A Discourse in Steel, which I most highly recommend, and am about half way through The Company Man, which is most certainly not S&S but which I also most highly recommend.

When I first read it, I really, really liked (and this was the cover of the edition I first read), but The Eyes of the Overworld was the book that really made me a Vance fan for life.

Fletcher wrote: "I'm almost done with it. Lots of fun."

Yep, lots of fun indeed. It's nice to see somebody working in more of the Smith/Dunsany vein.

And, having finished The Revelations of Zang, I decided it was time for A Discourse in Steel.