Warrior Witch of Hel in Sword & Sorcery: "An earthier sort of fantasy"

Jan 21, 2014 Derek rated it liked it

Shelves: sword-and-sorcery

Imagine, if you will, a 1980's sword and sorcery flick. Not the actual item, of course, that sordid thing of dubious acting, wobbly sets, budget-limited effects, underdressed starlets, and a suspiciously modern skyline lurking in the distance. I mean the platonic ideal(*), the movie in your mind's eye, filtered by nostalgia or copious alcohol or a posse of like-minded friends watching late at night.

This book is of that movie. A damn earnest movie of grand gestures and heroics and no subtlety wha Imagine, if you will, a 1980's sword and sorcery flick. Not the actual item, of course, that sordid thing of dubious acting, wobbly sets, budget-limited effects, underdressed starlets, and a suspiciously modern skyline lurking in the distance. I mean the platonic ideal(*), the movie in your mind's eye, filtered by nostalgia or copious alcohol or a posse of like-minded friends watching late at night.

This book is of that movie. A damn earnest movie of grand gestures and heroics and no subtlety whatsoever, yet a strangely intimate one, where the slave rebellion is past and failed and no armies march the field and no cities or settlements exist. This is a trek through wilderness to the Evil Overlord Lair.

It's a book whose Evil Overlord is perhaps a case study for the Evil Overlord List itself: he not only keeps his enemies alive, but brings them into the one room containing the object that could cause his defeat; he explains his plans to his enemies; he abuses his henchmen and everyone else around him; he sends various magical traps and attacks against the heroes instead of using his dull-but-reliable Evil Legion. He is in fact so completely over-the-top evil and unreasonable that it's impossible to fault him or the author for Overlord List transgressions, except to note in passing that what Nidlug the evil king had done was spectacularly stupid and unnecessary and will surely catch up with him. Because he's an evil sorcerer-king and will lose, in accordance with the logic and language of legend and heroism.

But beyond this I kept seeing things that made me wonder. The heroines' frequent nakedness is always part of the violence they endure (a disturbing amount, disturbingly done) and is never made into a prurient display to the reader, however much Nidlug might salivate at it. The appearances of the heroines themselves--and all the women here are heroines in one form or another--are never described in detail, the lascivious creeping way that Lin Carter or Andrew Offutt might do. These women are not objects for the reader to ogle.

A romantic subplot never develops, and in fact the men of the story aside from Nidlug are largely ineffectual or secondary presences, and none of the women define themselves by their relationship to them.

Even Hel the Death Goddess is something of an underdog, or a victim, if her story is to be believed.

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(*) It is entirely possible that the platonic ideal of an 80's sword and sorcery flick is precisely dubious acting, wobbly sets, etc. I leave such deep thinking to those more wise in such things. ...more

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Aug 06, 2011 S.E. Lindberg rated it really liked it

Shelves: sword-and-sorcery, reviewed-by-se

An entertaining gateway to Hell, and toward darker fiction

This review covers the trilogy, printed in 1986 but released in an eBook omnibus in 2013 called Bloodsong! — Hel X 3 by C. Dean Andersson

History and Style: The three books combined in Bloodsong! — Hel X 3 were written within ~1.5 yrs (1985-86). C. Dean Andersson (aka Asa Drake) was motivated to make a fun horror series on quick timing. The result was easily digestible horror / fantasy, all rooted in Viking lore. The trilogy includes: 1) ...more

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Jan 18, 2014 S.E. Lindberg rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed-by-se

An entertaining gateway to Hell, and toward darker fiction

This review covers the trilogy, printed in 1986 but released in an eBook omnibus in 2013 called Bloodsong! — Hel X 3 by C. Dean Andersson

History and Style: The three books combined in Bloodsong! — Hel X 3 were written within ~1.5 yrs (1985-86). C. Dean Andersson (aka Asa Drake) was motivated to make a fun horror series on quick timing. The result was easily digestible horror / fantasy, all rooted in Viking lore. The trilogy includes: 1) ...more

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May 01, 2024 Quentin Wallace rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I was pretty impressed with this one. It's pretty much straight forward Sword and Sorcery, but it is well paced and a fun read. A little dark at times, but usually the best S&S is a little dark. This is the first of a trilogy, but it is a self contained story.

I'm looking forward to the rest of the series! ...more

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Dec 19, 2021 Dan Nelson rated it really liked it

Good old sword and sorcery. Has a lot of torture by the villian which added to the tension but not in a bondage porn kind of way. Could have done with less though. Well-paced.

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