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

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

Good haul Jack!

Fletcher responded in Facebook on this. He gave a link to an excerpt from Darrell Schweitzer's book of essays called "Windows of the imagination"

Conan the Deliverer was the title

https://books.google.com/books?id=6Uf...

Our member and Black Gate contributor Fletcher read and reviewed
The Mask of the Sorcerer:

https://www.blackgate.com/2016/10/18/...


An excerpt from Fletcher's review...with an interesting tidbit about the stories origins....

"The story is presented as the book Sekenre writes in order to be able to remember his family, his youth, and what he did between the past and now. His voice is rich and expressive as he reflects back on his long-gone childhood. The sorrow he expresses never feels unearned. As successfully as he builds the fantasy of the world, Schweitzer builds the inner-life of his protagonist, paragraph by paragraph, creating someone with whom the reader comes to really care for.

The book is subtitled, “An Epic Fantasy.” This is not true. What it is, is the exploration of a boy’s growth into power and maturity, written with real emotional depth. If that sounds too saccharine or simple for you, just remember, it’s got crazy monsters, terrible sorcerers, and a giant crocodile god of death in it as well, and is as creepy as all get-out.
I cannot say enough times: read this book!
Schweitzer wrote several short stories about Sekenre. They were published together as Sekenre: The Book of the Sorcerer (2004). It’s not available as an e-book.

NOTE: The genesis of The Mask of the Sorcerer was in Schweitzer’s failed Conan novel. As he set it in Stygia, Robert E. Howard’s Egypt analogue, Schweitzer did a load of research on the Egyptian religion and afterlife. When the book was rejected, he salvaged the research and used it as the basis for Sekenre’s world."

I loved the Mask of the Sorcerer but had no idea of the REH/Conan genesis from Stygia research/proposed novel.

Hey Michael... there are a number of Gramlich fans here ;)

Richard, glad to have you here. You are in like company of course. Those here will only encourage you to collect both hardcopy and electronic Sword n Sorcery. You can make confessions/victory speeches in the Book Haul folder.

This group has introduced/exhumed lots of different authors for me too. A few years ago it was Charles Saunders .... last month Keith Taylor. Lots of gems out there.

A.J. wrote: "Virtual FantasyCon 2016

Hi everyone,

As an experiment I decided to join the Virtual FantasyCon 2016 this year, which is taking place through Facebook, blogs and other websites; starting today: Su..."


AJ, this seems very interesting. Please report back on how the format worked. I'm sure there may be some initial issues, but it will likely evolve into something useful.

Peter wrote: "To be honest it's our fellow group member Fletcher Vredenburgh's 'fault'.
Through his Short Story Roundups I discoverd BCS. He also often posts about some other online magazines I'd like to read mo..."

Hey Peter, I copied your comment-link to Fletcher's Facebook wall to thank him! Thank you too for sharing your reviews on BCS

George wrote: "I'm George and I was first introduced to Sword & Sorcery back in my early teens with the Marvel "Conan The Barbarian" comics. After reading some of them, I bought all of the Ace Conan paperbacks an..."

Welcome George!

Its pretty funny. Will be interesting if they can develop something worthy of a second season.

Zorn! The defender of Zephyria, conqueror of the tribes of Agon, decapitator of the dark herdsmen of Grith... and father to the hybrid animated-human Alangulon (aka Alan)!

Not only is Dark Ventures bigger than I thought it was, but a Gonji origin novel is coming too!
Ted Rypel posted a nice update on the forthcoming DARK VENTURES as part of a discussion in the "Egypt" theme. I copy/repost part of it here:

"I'll go on to mention two other things that may be of interest to you, if you find Gonji compelling. First, I just finished proofing Wildside's printed text for the NEW Gonji book, DARK VENTURES, which should be released in a matter of weeks now. It comprises two new novellas, my essay on the series' creation/production history, and a generous excerpt from the coming Gonji origin novel, BORN OF FLAME AND STEEL. You can follow news of both books at the Gonji Fictional Character FB page, or my own (as "Ted Rypel").

Plus, veteran poster, cover and storyboard artist Woody Welch---a genuine monster specialist---just floored me with a beautiful interpretation of the monstrous Cave Worm that Gonji and his militia deal with in the catacomb battle at the end of the second Deathwind book. It's a doozy! I'll be posting it on both of those FB pages. And Woody promises more soon."

T.C. wrote: "T.C. wrote: "S.E. wrote: "Richard wrote: "While I really enjoyed Mask of the Sorcerer, I was not a fan of Sekenre: The Book of the Sorcerer. It seemed that they were just stories that Sekenre just ..."

You rock Ted. I'm going to copy/repost your news in the Gonji thread. See you over there!

Richard wrote: "While I really enjoyed Mask of the Sorcerer, I was not a fan of Sekenre: The Book of the Sorcerer. It seemed that they were just stories that Sekenre just happened to pop up in. Plus, I had never h..."

Interesting. I suppose I will still read Sekenre sometime, but you may have pushed me over to finish the original Gonji trilogy first...I need to wrap that up by reading #3 Gonji: Deathwind of Vedun: The Deathwind Triology, Book Three.

Just reviewed Servant of the Jackal God: The Tales of Kamose, Archpriest of Anubis. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Really enjoyed this one; Yet again this group has unearthed some awesome works that I missed (in this case from the 1990s).

Taylor is still writing and has an horror-viking novelette in Skelos. Hope he gets back to Kamose.

Am torn between reading more Gonji or taking up Sekenre: The Book of the Sorcerer....

Peter, I am thinking you deserve a dedicated BCS folder!

Doug Draa has offered Review Copies of Weirdbook 32. If interested find him on facebook or let me know via Private Mesage with an email and I can send it to him,
Weirdbook #32
https://www.facebook.com/Weirdbook-Ma...

http://weirdbook-magazine.com/cover-r...

BRIAN PULIDO’S NEW GRAPHIC NOVEL: LADY DEATH: OBLIVION KISS!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...?


LADY DEATH: HER STORY

Lady Death is a supernatural, sword-wielding anti-hero who battles evil in Hell (and wherever she pleases). Once she was Hope, a teenaged girl who was deceived by demons in an effort to save her mother’s soul in Hell. She renounces her mortality for eternal life in Hell. To ensure her survival, she turns to the darkness within herself and begins a transformation into Lady Death.

WHAT IS THE NEW STORY, LADY DEATH: OBLIVION KISS #1?

To save her beloved steed Vassago from eternal torment, Lady Death is drawn the wasteland City Siduri where lust isn’t a sin, it is a way of life. Instead she encounters the demon sorceress DEMONIKA and is put under an ironclad spell and made to be a plaything to be auctioned off to the highest demon bidder. Is all hope lost?

Sword and Soul MVmedia (driven by Milton Davis.... brings us a kickstarter: An African Inspired Fantasy Role Playing Game for all ages!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...

"Ki Khanga is a new Sword and Soul (African-inspired epic and heroic fantasy) roleplaying game that uses regular playing cards to resolve conflicts and to achieve feats in a fun and dynamic way that keeps the action and drama moving.

Ki Khanga: The Sword and Soul RPG contains all the tools and guidance players need to don the roles of sword, spear and bow-wielding warriors; powerful Babalawo and Nana priests, who control the forces of nature; nangas, who cast powerful magic through their nkisi statues; and countless other occupations, all creatable through our free form character creation system.

Taking many inspirations from oral history and literature, Ki Khanga gives players a unique experience, immersing them in a world of African folklore and culture. Add in some Sword and Sorcery excursions into the forests, desert, plains, rivers, seas and sprawling metropolises, along with ancient temples and powerful gods and demigods and you have Ki Khanga – classic tabletop roleplaying, with a fresh configuration of friends, fiends, foes and formidable dangers."

Weirdbook Submissions:
http://weirdbook-magazine.com/submiss...

"opening up submissions from the 1st of October 2016 until the 31st of October 2016.
6,000 words is the maximum story length to be accepted.
No cover letters or bios.
No Mythos (please!).
Simultaneous submissions are allowed as long as you let me know."

Vote!
https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...