S.E.’s Comments (group member since Nov 01, 2012)

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

Short Sorcery:C.L. Moore’s "Shambleau"
by Bill Ward

LINK: https://goodman-games.com/tftms/2021/...



Blurb from Bill Ward:

“And this conflict and knowledge, this mingling of rapture and revulsion all took place in the flashing of a moment while the scarlet worms coiled and crawled upon him, sending deep, obscene tremors of that infinite pleasure into every atom . . . And he could not stir in that slimy, ecstatic embrace—and a weakness was flooding that grew deeper after each succeeding wave of intense delight, and the traitor in his soul strengthened and drowned out the revulsion—and something within him ceased to struggle as he sank wholly into a blazing darkness that was oblivion to all else but that devouring rapture . . .”

A young bank employee decides to use her free time to practice her typing skills – after so many tedious iterations of ‘a quick brown fox’ her mind wanders and she begins to play on the page, quickly describing a scene partially inspired by a poem, establishing a premise for the story that would be her first, and most renowned. The story was “Shambleau,” which debuted in Weird Tales in 1933 and won the young bank employee, writing under the semi-anonymous initialization of her full name of Catherine Lucille Moore, an instant and devoted following. Her subsequent work, both solo and in the powerhouse paring with her future husband Henry Kuttner, would guarantee her inclusion in the ranks of the Grand Masters of genre fiction.

The Cosmic Horror of Sword & Sorcery
by Bill Ward




LINK: https://goodman-games.com/tftms/2021/...

Blurb from Bill Ward:

The bones of sword & sorcery lie close to the skin, and one sure blade-stroke is enough to lay them bare for all to see. There is plot-driven pulp action there, at the core, but supporting that is a foundation of swashbuckling historical adventure, and expectations of encounters of the picaresque and the exotic kind. To be sure we can also see the unsentimentality of the hardboiled, the individualism of the American experience, and a surprising dose of literary realism for a genre concerned with fantastic monsters, haunted crypts, and vampiric blades. It is of course from these supernatural elements that the horror of sword & sorcery emerges – indeed it’s where the ‘sorcery’ part of the name derives, and it is at least as important an ingredient in these tales as self-reliant protagonists, mysterious lost cities, and lands both far and strange.

Carpe Baculum: A Night in the Lonesome October (1993) by Roger Zelazny, illustrated by Gahan Wilson
post by Fletcher Vredenburgh



LINK: https://goodman-games.com/tftms/2021/...

Blurb from Fletcher Vredenburgh:

I did not buy this book based on the cover. I did, however, buy it based on the illustration for the first chapter. I like Roger Zelazny well enough, but Gahan Wilson illustrations can get me to buy almost anything.

Still, when I first bought A Night in the Lonesome October (taken from a line in “Ulalume” by Poe), a comic horror novel that brings together more classic monsters and villains than all the Universal monsters movies put together, I did not expect it to become one of my favorite books. Written by Roger Zelazny and illustrated by Gahan Wilson, if you’ve missed it, just go buy it. Nothing I could write is sufficient to convey the utter dark delight that is the book.

Unearthing David Drake’s “The Barrow Troll” by Brian Murphy



LINK: https://goodman-games.com/tftms/2021/...

Blurb from Brian Murphy:

Twelve years ago I wrote a piece on David Drake’s The Barrow Troll for the late, lamented The Cimmerian website. My own interest re-piqued in this tale after mentioning it among ten recommended sword-and-sorcery tales for the haunting season, I have taken the opportunity to unearth that piece, and update and revise with the latest news on it and its author.

“You Northerners believe in trolls, so my brother tells me,” said the priest.

“Aye, long before the gold I’d heard of the Parma troll,” the berserker agreed. “Ox broad and stronger than ten men, shaggy as a denned bear.”

–David Drake, “The Barrow Troll”

David Drake’s “The Barrow Troll” was originally published in December 1975 in Whispers magazine, a former periodical specializing in dark fantasy and horror. Beginning in 1977 editor Stuart David Schiff released the first of six best-of anthologies in a series also entitled Whispers. “The Barrow Troll” appeared in the first of these, which is where I first discovered this wonderful fusion of horror and sword-and-sorcery.

Must see SPINE of NIGHT movie

Available now on several platforms, including Amazon Prime Video.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detai...


Ultra-violent, epic fantasy set in a land of magic follows heroes from different eras and cultures battling against a malevolent force.

Directors and writers: Writers: Philip Gelatt.....Morgan Galen King
Stars: Joe Manganiello, Betty Gabriel, Patton Oswalt, Lucy Lawless, and Richard E. Grant

Video trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJRiR...

Oliver, sweet. Great interview. Milton's journey into writing and publishing deserves the spotlight. You are on a roll with guests and content.

Oliver, I noticed that lately the html-url is buggy. Try just pasting the URL in its entirety (it looks ugly, but usually works)

A little earlier than advertised .... Steve Dilks' collection, Black Dust and other stories has been released today! Seven stories. Some new, others culled from the pages of WeirdBook, Startling Stories and various heroic fantasy anthologies. Available in paperback with a kindle edition coming tomorrow (oct 25th)

Black Dust and other stories https://www.amazon.com/dp/B087CRQY61/...

S.E. wrote: "
REH-Character Pastiche: Conan one's like Conan the Rebel, [book:Conan: Sword ..."

Ok, despite the banner....any REH pastiche is fair game (i.e., Solomon Kane)

hear hear!

Oooh, listen in as Howard Andrew Jones and Joseph Goodman celebrate S&S on this special DAY OF MIGHT (Oct 23rd).

Toast Sword and Sorcery! Celebrate the Day of Might.

https://youtu.be/JciYWJxK3oU

Not sure how to celebrate?

Check out one S&S worshipper, Liam, as he explains. Grab a candle, bang a gong, then open a book!

https://youtu.be/UU1Y8q6vf9E

Happy "Day of Might" to all.

Oct 23rd is a celebration of S&S, so the Skull commands. Check out his video transmission:
https://youtu.be/sVU2thKYUVk

The below blurb is taken from Bill Ward on Goodman Games blog :
https://goodman-games.com/tftms/2021/...

"Sharpen your blades and hone your daggers — the Day of Might is finally here!

Fans of sword-and-sorcery, heed the Skull’s decree! After sorting through the myriad strange folkways and seemingly-pointless holidays celebrated in the mortal realms, the Skull has reinstated his own day of celebration — the Day of Might. Henceforth, the anniversary of the day in which the Skull first revealed himself to the modern world, October 23rd, will forever be known as the Day of Might — and mighty indeed will be that day, so sayeth the Skull.

No esoteric formulae, fake beards, or roasted bird torsos are required for this day of days, only a proper reverence for sword-and-sorcery fiction! So join with the Skull and his many adherents over the lands to celebrate the genre of mighty thews, flashing swords, and sinister supernatural forces. Bang a gong, light a candle, crack open some two-fisted adventure and reflect on all the many ways in which sword-and-sorcery is the genre that can easily beat up all the other genres, take their lunch money, and spend the proceeds on horns of mead and sacks of uncut wine.

Hey, that sounds like the start of a new tradition!"

Nov-Dec Groupread Folders
Click the links to join!

Cover Art Credits [Stephen E. Fabian (Far AWay & Never), Ken Kelly (Conan and the Emerald Lotus) and Lauren St. Onge (When the Goddess Wakes)].


Campbell's Ryre in Far Away & Never


Conan Pastiche


Howard Andrew Jones' Ring Sworn Trilogy

When the Goddess WakesFor the Killing of KingsUpon the Flight of the Queen by Howard Andrew Jones

REH-Character Pastiche: Conan one's like Conan the Rebel, Conan: Sword of Skelos Conan and the Emerald Lotus....OR.... any of Offutt's Cormac Mac Art....Ramsey Campbell's Solomon Kane, etc.

2021 Nov Dec - Ryre:Ramsey Campbell's Ryre character....
released recently with an eighth tale in Far Away and Never.

Here is the key content:


Submissions for Swords & Sorceries Volume 3 will open on the 1st August and close on the 31st October 2021

(Please do not send anything before the 1st August)

Payment is £25 per story regardless of length, plus a contributor's copy. The book will be published as a paperback and ebook. If a hardcover version is published we will pay an additional £25. Contributors can also buy extra copies of the book through us at cost price.

Please send your submissions as attachments (doc or docx) to:


paralleluniversepublications@gmx.co.uk


You can send in more than one submission, but we will not accept more than one story per writer.

Although we prefer original stories we are prepared to consider reprints. Just inform us where and when it was previously published.

You can send in simultaneous submissions, but please let us know at once if your story is accepted elsewhere.

There is no limit on the size of submissions.

All rejections and acceptances will be sent out by email at the end of the first week in November. Please don't enquire about your submission before then.

Your story should be sent as an attachment, headed:

"Submission - Swords & Sorceries 3"

Link works fine for me from a variety of computers.

The first issue of SAVAGE REALMS MONTHLY is now being offered as a free download by Literary Rebel, LLC.
https://mailchi.mp/be050eace19e/srm-f...