The Drums of Chaos in Sword & Sorcery: "An earthier sort of fantasy"

Feb 17, 2022 J.W. Wright rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy-science-fiction, horror, historical-adventure, owned

The adept magus Simon of Gitta is on a quest for revenge in the Holy Land against the Roman officials responsible for killing his family. He will not rest until the blood of his parents’ murderers have been spilled. Meanwhile, his former master, Dositheus, unearths something dark and fearsome while digging among the ancient ruins of what is believed to be cursed Carcossa, and a strange Jewish mystic known as Yeshua Bar Josef is setting the Jewish populace on its head, while those among the Sanhe The adept magus Simon of Gitta is on a quest for revenge in the Holy Land against the Roman officials responsible for killing his family. He will not rest until the blood of his parents’ murderers have been spilled. Meanwhile, his former master, Dositheus, unearths something dark and fearsome while digging among the ancient ruins of what is believed to be cursed Carcossa, and a strange Jewish mystic known as Yeshua Bar Josef is setting the Jewish populace on its head, while those among the Sanhedrin are setting in motion their own sinister machinations……

First of all, as I write this review, it is with a heavy heart that I bid the sword and sorcery author Richard L. Tierney a fond farewell from this plane of existence as he just recently died as I finished reading this last book in his Simon of Gitta Cycle. He will be very much missed in the world of fantasy/sword and sorcery, science fiction, and horror writing. I dedicate this review to his memory.
In this last Simon of Gitta adventure, we find Simon in the Holy Land seeking revenge on the Roman Empire for the brutal murder of his family, while something sinister is stirring in the Holy Land that is of unearthly, interdimensional, and intergalactic origin. In this novel, we see the return of Taggart, the time traveler and reputed “wizard” from Tierney’s first novella, “The Winds of Zarr,” and see him cross paths and ally with Simon. We also see the appearance of none other than Yeshua or Jesus Christ himself, which, without spoiling this novel by revealing too much, some readers of a more Judeo-Christian persuasion might find quite blasphemous.
Also, we see the return of Simon’s former master Dositheus, as well as the student mage Menander, as well as the powerful dwarfish mage Daramos. The majority of the Sanhedrin, especially Annas and Caiaphas, are just as cunning and evil as they are depicted in the Bible and other works based on it, if not more so as they are dabbling with primal gods of darkness in secret. The whole of the story is indeed intriguing and engrossing, but its downside is that it drags quite a bit, at least in my opinion, which is a bit frustrating as sword and sorcery is known for being a bit more fast-paced. It takes a while for certain events to be set in motion.
All in all, though, there is quite a lot of action, espionage, and battle scenes, as well as intense, scary, and otherworldly imagery. Brilliant swashbuckling abounds and the magic is impressive once it appears. Once again, it is brilliantly connected to Robert E, Howard’s Conan Mythos and Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos, as well as the stories of Clark Ashton Smith. Simon is once again an unforgettable character that the reader can’t help but keep interest in. The villains are quite scary, monstrous, and darksome as well. It’s a good ending overall to the Simon of Gitta Cycle and I hope that someday the other Simon of Gitta novel known as “The Path of the Dragon” that Tierney was working on with Glenn Rahman before he died sees the light of day.
I give “The Drums of Chaos” by Richard L. Tierney a 4.5 out of 5. ...more

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