Periklis’s Comments (group member since Sep 30, 2012)

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

The title and -wonderful- cover art were recently unveiled on the official RBE Facebook:

Charles wrote: "Very nice!"

If you like the art, may I also suggest Wolfskin, Vol. 1 and Wolfskin, Vol. 2?
They're smartly written, Kurosawa pastiches ("Yojimbo" and "Seven Samurai"), with lots of gore...
Volume 1 - Preview
Preview from Vol. 2

Rogues looks like a humorous take on Sword & Sorcery and a certain "Heroic Duo", in particular:

"Here comes Bram and the Weasel!
Two unlikely heroes… Ok, they aren’t heroes or at least they don’t role that way. Real Heroes don’t steal, don’t pay whores, and never lay with the girls that they save her lifes… But they have cloaks!

Rogues is a sword and sorcery comic book series about the adventures of a couple of reputed thieves, Bram and the Weasel, in the fictional city of Gerada. Their tracks will show the readers a world full of fights, wizards, nice girls and lots of fun.

Rogues, is part of the very beginning career of his creators, El Torres (The Veil, Suicide Forest, Drums, Nancy in Hell…) and Juan José Ryp (Black Summer, No Hero, Wolverine, Clone, Nancy in Hell…). Rogues is a story strongly influenced by the master works of sword and sorcery, specially Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, and Conan.

Pick up your money bags, and hide your pretty daughters cause this characters long time forgotten are back."

Read a Preview of issue #1, to be released this April.

Official Website / Facebook

Paul wrote: "I thought this was one of the better Morlock short stories. I really enjoyed it.

What is it you didn't like about the longer ones, Periklis? I was thinking about checking them out next."

It's not what I didn't like about the novels, but what I liked best about the shorter Morlock tales. Blood of Ambrose felt more like reading three separate novelettes than a novel and This Crooked Way felt like a collection with short linking chapters that felt a little redundant.
Phil's "spaghetti western" comparison is spot-on, describing almost any Morlock short story. The gun/sword-slinger enters a "situation" which resonates with his past, confronts the antagonist who is (often) morally ambiguous and exits with (most of the times) visible scars.
I would recommend each and every Morlock book, I just enjoy this short format best.

S.wagenaar wrote: "Periklis wrote: "S.wagenaar wrote: "I am currently reading Tark and the Golden Tide, by Colum MacConnell. A little obscure, but fun stuff, published back in 1977 during the S&S rush started by the ..."

I looks gritty enough to be of interest. Will have to check it out. Thanks for suggesting this!

Gerald wrote: "I am an author and long time fan of sword and sorcery and heroic fantasy"

Welcome Gerald, thanks for joining us!

Janet wrote: "Also, Periklis, thanks for the wonderful job you've been doing organizing and presenting the sacred Band of Stepsons books and stories. Jut today I saw the "Beyond" sub-series grouping. This make..."

You're most welcome. Looking forward to the Perseid Press releases of the "Beyond" series, with thanks to the "Muse of Hell" (Sarah Hulcy)!

S.wagenaar wrote: "I am currently reading Tark and the Golden Tide, by Colum MacConnell. A little obscure, but fun stuff, published back in 1977 during the S&S rush started by the Lancer Conan paperbacks in the 60's...."

Wasn't aware of Tark and the Golden Tide. Nice find!
I found the History Channel episode of Vikings on YouTube. I hope this is what you were looking for...

S.wagenaar wrote: "Hi folks, I'm Stan, and I can't can't get enough old school S&S. I am mostly a reader, but I have written one short story so far, and started about 100 in my head! I look forward to all the great i..."

Welcome Stan, thank you for joining us.
There are two Group Reads planned for the next two months (March/ April), so feel free to vote on the Poll and participate on the Focused Topic dedicated to Ramsey Campbell's "Ryre".

Phil wrote: "Hi Periklis -
Yes, I doubt if Leiber had any idea of what he was starting with that name for the form. I wondered if that letter, which I believe appeared in Amra in 1961 has ever been reprinte..."

Thank you for your feedback!
Never thought about the ampersand/"&" versus the prosaic "and", before. I wonder if the ampersand is used for distinguishing tales, "good" from "bad" (or "ours" from "theirs"), much like SF vs Sci-fi or Trekker vs Trekkie.
I hope a full scan of Leiber's letter surfaces. There was an interesting blogpost by Michael Swanwick, where he mentions an aphorism by R.A. Lafferty along with Leiber's first definition of S&S on the fanzine, "Ancalagon" :

"Science Fiction is a collection of guerrilla bands each challenging the rights of the others to belong to the centrality. The band most challenged by the others is 'high fantasy', sometimes called 'Sword and Sorcery'. There is a lot of stylized sneering at 'S and S'."

BTW this must be the de Camp anthology you mentioned:

I read this a few days ago, while I was doing some news coverage for a local gaming site: "a new game in the series called ‘War for Nosgoth’".

Fingers-crossed, it'll happen...

Steve wrote: "I miss the hell outta Flashing Swords, though. Those were the days."

I was happy to discover that the first 5 issues of Flashing Swords have been archived on-line. There is this listing of issues #9-#11, but litle information after that...

Joe wrote: "LOL!!!! They'll hear me in Siberia! (Dave Smith and I have a few fans out there -- so I'll have to yell loud enough!) Just sitting and waiting on word."

Great news. Looking forward to it!

Carl wrote: "Hi all,
I am a new to this group and Goodreads in general. While a fan of S&S since, I suppose, a combination of the '82 Schwarzenegger Conan film (I admit it!) and the now-famous (?)list of classi..."

Welcome Carl and thank you for joining us. Films, Comics and RPG's were also an early introduction to the genre for me too.
There are two Group reads scheduled for the next two months (March/ April 2013). The first one is focused on Ramsey Campbell's "Ryre" stories, collected in Far Away & Never. The second one is still on vote (Poll ends on February 25th). Also, in the group's Bookshelf you will find many titles from which to choose from, regardless.
I hope that joining and participating in the group will rekindle your passion for writing.

Many of these Megapacks are available on Amazon/Kindle.
Today I spotted The Adventure Megapack (for $0.99) containing stories by Robert E. Howard, Harold Lamb and William Hope Hodgson among many others. Looks like a good sampler of the earliest days of the genre...

Paul wrote: "I actually picked up RETURN OF THE SWORD a while back, and was very pleasantly surprised by it. It reminds me of the old stuff. Always a good thing!

Which of the others should I try next?"

I'm finishing Return of the Sword and it's really good. Try, either Rage of the Behemoth or Demons: A Clash of Steel Anthology.
Alos, have a look at the anthologies shelf of the group.

As reported by Bleeding Cool, the French publisher Glenat, will be releasing a new adaptation of Elric which will be then published in English:

" Elric: The Ruby Throne” VOL. 1 – 64 Pages – 9 x 12 in May 2013
Written by Julien Blondel, art by Didier Poli & Robin Recht

“Epic, gothic, immoderate, enthralling, this new 100% French adaptation, sumptuously put into images by Didier Poli & Robin Recht, has received the enthusiastic approval of Michael Moorcock himself and has been already sold to Anglo-Saxon countries even before its publication in the Hexagon! (aka France)”

Phil wrote: "Hello everyone – I'm Phil Emery, and have been reading sword-&-sorcery since encountering it in a supermarket bargain paperback bin about 1969. ("Spell of Seven", "Warlocks & Warriors", and "A..."

Welcome and thank you for joining us.
I also discovered your experimental approach on S&S, through Return of the Sword. We are discussing this among others, in the JAN/FEB group read, themed "Anthologies", here.
I'd be thrilled if you wanted to share your studies and findings regarding the history of the genre. You could create a new post in this folder.
Also, as our Bookshelf is reaching 500 books, any suggestions on how to better categorisation would be most welcome, in the Bookshelf thread.

As William Meikle posted:

"The Toughest Mile is free today on kindle

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B4ZPLYA

A barbarian wins the right to a final challenge; if he can finish a ten mile run while being pursued by ten deadly warriors, he will have his freedom.

But does he really want it?

A Sword and Sorcery short story."

Jason wrote: "Ryre received yesterday, for anyone still waiting or keeping score."

Great, seems the Focused Topic Group Read is going well so far.