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

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

I can only think of China Mieville's "Bas Lag" series, perhaps Tim Powers' The Anubis Gates and the D&D role playing game setting Eberron. Any more S&S - steampunk crossovers?

Martin wrote: "I was having a bit of discussion about the personal belives of Robert Howard and how they are present in his stories, and did some additional research into that subject. (To sum it up: No, he was n..."

Martin, regarding Howard's life experiences and how they appear/influence his fiction. There is a good depiction in the biographical movie "The Whole Wide World" (if you haven't checked that already).

Unfortunately it was a "preview" of the full thing that is supposed to appear as a complete graphic novel sometime in the near future. The artwork was adequately (Simon) Bizley-an yet you either want to read the full story or aren't interested at all like Richard. Generally, I'm finding Grant Morisson's editorial run more of a let down than a errrr.... resurrection of Heavy Metal.
From recent releases, concerning biblical sword-and-sorcery, I'd strongly recommend The Goddamned, Vol. 1: Before the Flood.

S.E. wrote: "Big news. New magazine coming our way! Howard Andrew Jones editing Takes From the Magician's Skull

http://www.howardandrewjones.com/tale...

..."

Great news! Love the "Appendix N" approach. In my mind, it's a nice mix of old school sword & sorcery (Weird Tales era), Cthulhu mythos, Ballantine Adult Fantasy and a wee bit of pulpy science fiction. Can't wait!

Joseph wrote: "As far as Zelazny goes, I also recommend some of his shorter/standalone works -- Jack of Shadows and Dilvish, the Damned in particular."

I enjoyed "Jack of Shadows" and have both Changing land books to read. From a quick look at my S&S shelf, it seems there're a couple of Viriconium books, a few KE Wagners, a LOT of Moorcock, many anthologies, a few Howards, the fourth Imaro book, books by the new generation (last decade or so) of S&S authors (chief among them two beautiful, signed copies of SE's Dyscrasia fiction, obscure or little known books from the seventies or eighties, and books 2 & 3 from the Witcher saga...

Also trying to read as many titles I can grab a copy of from Gygax's Appendix N and the updated D&D 5e list, Appendix E (Appendixes N & E shelf), most of them Sword-and-Sorcery.

I'm trying to cover the classics. I've put on hold Leiber's Lankhmar for way too long. These past few weeks, I've been listening LeGuin's Earthsea and probably "Nine princes in Amber" (Book 1/Chronicles of Amber/ Roger Zelazny) is next, also in audiobook.

Jack wrote: "I wanted to let the group know about a new compendium about the history of S&S films - Cinema and Sorcery: The Comprehensive Guide to Fantasy Film.

The book is already out in Kindle format ($9.9..."

Just placed an order for a hardcopy. This interview with the authors persuaded me with the quote:

Basically I wanted to take an item or a creature or a character from each one of the films and generically stat it so that you could actually lift something right out of the film and put it into your game. So if you’re playing D&D you could grab the magic carpet, for example, from the original Thief of Bagdad. So there’s information on its size, how it works, where it originally comes from.

So, is the book as good as expected?

I'm half-way watching this one, for a few days now. It looks promising. Also, loved the Deathdealer *ahem* cameo... :D

Just finished Joe Abercrombie's anthology Sharp Ends. It's great if you like Abercrombie's style but my favorite stories were those concerning the major protagonists of the "First Law" trilogy. The Leiberesque "Shev & Javre" tales were enjoyable, too...

Greg wrote: "Periklis wrote: "I've been reading a few noteworthy Sword & Sorcery related titles lately.

* Black Road, Vol. 1: The Holy North, which brought to mind RE Howards historical fiction..."

You might also like Northlanders, Vol. 1: Sven the Returned and Aquila.

I've been reading a few noteworthy Sword & Sorcery related titles lately.

* Black Road, Vol. 1: The Holy North, which brought to mind RE Howards historical fiction,with a little bit more of Conan's savagery in it...

*Britannia. Ony two monthly issues, of this five-issue mini series, have been released. Its historical S&S plus Cthulhu Mythos (similar to the Simon Magus stories). The writing is really good and the artwork visceral, from the artist of Wolfskin, Juan José Ryp.

Currently reading, Night's Dominion #1, a superherotake on S&S on a setting that promises to be Lankhmar-ish. Only two issues released thus far...

Just finished watching episode 2. Nice blend of cartoony S&S (say, He-man) and sitcom humour.

I added a novella-length book to the poll. I'm thinking of either The Emperor's Railroad and its follow-up The Ghoul King, The Traitor (or any other Michael Cisco, S&S flavored, novella) or something from tor.com's list of releases.

Nice! Haven't bought anything S&S related mostly due to international shipping fees lately.
One of the last good bargains was the "Nifft the Lean" series, for around... $10 each(?!?)

I'd go for Red Country as a stand alone entry. Otherwise, The Blade Itself is a good way to get hooked on Abercrombie's world-building and characters.
The First Law trilogy sets the mood and all the books after, offer the same thrills yet different settings and/or characters. Most of them make small appearances in the stand alone books.
He reminds me a bit of Quentin Tarantino's movie-verse. Best Served Cold actually reads like a sword-and-sorcery take on Kill Bill...

Just ordered my copy of the First Law anthology, Sharp Ends. A couple of stories I've read so far (published elsewhere) were as powerful as Abercrombie's early entries in the series.

Great news! Been waiting for this kind of film-book for a long time...

The series debuts in September. Here's an interview with concept and pages art.

"Umber: an ancient, sprawling city where the rich live like kings and the poor are lucky to get their scraps. At its center, the tower of Uhlume rises, guarding untold riches. Though heavily guarded, with the right plan... the right people... the treasure is free for the taking. Enter our five players: the Bard, the Acolyte, the Asp, the Magus... and a barmaid? But this barmaid knows the city better than anyone. This barmaid hides a dark secret. And this barmaid needs to make a lot of money... fast. From the mind of Ted Naifeh (Courtney Crumrin, Batman 66) comes a new dark fantasy epic for fans of Rat Queens and Skullkickers." link