Barbarians II in Sword & Sorcery: "An earthier sort of fantasy"

Feb 11, 2016 Derek rated it really liked it

Shelves: sword-and-sorcery, anthology-or-collection

I hate how, like its predecessor, it was given a very specific title and a lackluster introduction on the subject (all the more lazy because Adams repeats the previous book's introduction, verbatim but for the specifics of content). Between the two anthologies there is enough for a single volume that uses the title properly and has interesting themes on barbarism and its perceptions.

Instead, we have a bunch of good or exemplary content with no real thread woven among them. Even, given Saberhagen I hate how, like its predecessor, it was given a very specific title and a lackluster introduction on the subject (all the more lazy because Adams repeats the previous book's introduction, verbatim but for the specifics of content). Between the two anthologies there is enough for a single volume that uses the title properly and has interesting themes on barbarism and its perceptions.

Instead, we have a bunch of good or exemplary content with no real thread woven among them. Even, given Saberhagen's Berzerker contribution, the appellation of "Heroic Fantasy" is a bit thin. So, ignore the title, and Adams.

I had read "Toads of Grimmerdale" recently as part of some Flashing Swords! collection, and again I am struck by how Norton makes the setting work for her: the aftermath of war, the dispirited wanderers, the social upset, and especially the protagonist's predicament. Then, of course, Norton had to involve the Magic Space Toads.

I had also read Raul Garcia Capella, aka Ray Capella, in Warlocks and Warriors. I think this story, "The Blacksmith", works less well. He's styling it up--parts are written in second person--and there are times when you can't tell which character is talking, and times when background is presented clumsily.

Diana L. Paxson wrote a bunch of Shanna of Sharteyn, none of it collected in one place. This is powerful and splendid, and takes a tack that many authors would not consider: Shanna faces the loss of her fertility as a result of her involvement.

I thought that Karl Edward Wagner's contribution in the first book was something. No. No no no. This. "Misericorde" is an absolute delight. The background of the frontier kingdom of Chrosanthe--an infected little carbuncle of isolation and trade and civil war and obstreperous mountain fortresses and squabbly bandit lords and a runaway bandit's keep of maniacal bloodthirsty psychopaths--is a marvel of compact detail that informs every level of the story. AND he wraps it around a twisted cruller of a plot that reveals in exact, excruciating detail the level of Kane's badassdom, economically told and with a final, ironic, knifelike twist. I loved every single second of it.

A hint as to its immense awesomeness: Kane is imprisoned by one of the sibling psychopaths in an astrologically-calibrated pentacle, to become a bonded servant. (view spoiler)

Charles Fontenay's "Fredeya" is, oddly, set in some unspecified postapocalyptic Earth, after the "Change" that destroyed technological civilization and altered the planet. It's a fascinating setting of quasi-medieval technology and strongman / bandit lords and semi-familiar names and cultures and piracy and the like. Unfortunately the story itself hinges on the mushy relationship between a freebooter and the girl he was hired to kidnap, and takes too long in getting to the obvious reveal and conclusion. Shockingly, it appears to be a one-off story with nothing else in this setting.

I had to reread certain parts of Anderson's "A Logical Conclusion" because I was struck by the skill he uses in merging an in medias res beginning with a framing story to skip over the entire boring early part of an adventure and the even more boring early part of the framing story, and right to the good stuff, filling in details as necessary. It also, as a final thought, poses an interesting notion about how a 'barbarian' would perceive the modern world. Would he really reject its convenient technology, safety, plenty, and civility?

"The Winged Helmet" is a vast improvement over the prequel featured in the first volume, and while I don't particularly like the Berzerker series or the weird way it evolved--the humans fight a Time War to protect the integrity of their history--this story shows savagery in ironic reversal. The paleolithic hero of the previous story is recruited to pose as an prince and inserted into history. He, a savage with modern education, behaves honorably with regard to his perceived duty and the spirit of the individual he has replaced. Meanwhile the shallow-spirited Moderns have a different idea of his purpose and his personal value.

Campbell's "Ryre" stories are all collected in one place somewhere and I need to find that collection. "The Changer of Names" has an interesting central idea: What happens if your name and the story of your deeds is part of your strength, and if someone else takes and uses your name? Ryre is forced to intervene as he finds others in possession of his name and in possession of the names of various compatriots. ...more

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