Sword & Sorcery: "An earthier sort of fantasy" discussion

Oh well, still looking forward to digging in to this one. Kinda special to me, as it has my very first published short story between it's covers!

Very cool! Congrats!

Dan wrote: "Very cool! Congrats!"

I'll second that! :)

Indeed! Congratulations!

Congrats! Need to track this down. Where can we get a copy?

Thanks everyone! For now, the best bet is to order directly from Lulu. Eventually, they will be available from Amazon and other retailers.

Congratulations and well done. You'll always remember your first.

Just finished Tad Williams The Dragonbone Chair, and loved it! A review for those interested:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Gonna start up The Last Wish later today... one day early, crucify me!

Still reading The Magicians, which I'm enjoying, but took a brief detour today to read an excerpt of the fantasy novel Spice & Wolf, Vol. 1 on which the manga book of the same name is based. It's not bad, though the translation (from the Japanese) suffers a little in places. Will review the manga version in due course.

Jack wrote: "I'm reading Right Hand of Doom, a collection of all of the Solomon Kane stories that Robert E. Howard finished before his death. I plan to compliment the book with reading [book:Solom..."

Added both of those books to my TBR shelf!

Just polished off Rathen: The Legend of Ghrakus Castle which was a quick read resonating a YA/RPG feel. Review = https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Now need to get to Firestorm for the RPG-tie in group read.

Started up a slew of books this weekend.

I'm reading Tales of Nevèrÿon for the commute to and from work on the bus. Reading Blue and Gold whilst at home (I don't bring my limited edition books out). And lastly I started reading The Ring of the Nibelung. It's been a long time since I'd tackled any graphic novels and I am loving this! Already a big fan of the Wagner opera itself, the comic compliments it perfectly, the art style and prose have a distinctly musical element to them, and while reading I often hear Wagner's music in my head.

Currently reading:
Death Angel's Shadow
Ghost Story
Un Lun Dun
Wytches, Vol. 1

Having trouble getting through Un Lun Dun. I started it, but stalled about 100 pages in and it's not keeping my interest. Surprising, as I generally like China Mieville.

Ghost Story is a reread, so it's not getting as much attention as it probably should, I only pick that up when I'm between other books.

Death Angel's Shadow is a fast read, and I'm loving it.

Wytches I just started, but what I've read so far I've liked.

Dan wrote: "Started up a slew of books this weekend.

I'm reading Tales of Nevèrÿon for the commute to and from work on the bus. Reading Blue and Gold whilst at home (I don't bring ..."

Love Russell's art so very, very much. Have you seen his Elric adaptations?

Someday I need to try the Neveryon books again. I kind of bounced off of them many years ago, but I was probably too young at the time.

After finishing the first three books in the Merkabah Rider series by Edward M. Erdelac, I'm now catching up on the latest issues of Beneath Ceaseless Skies.

I can recommend everyone who either likes the Solomon Kane stories or the weird west to read the Merkabah Rider books: the epynomous rider is obviously inspired by Solomon Kane: a fish out of water character hunting down demons.
In this case it's an orthodox jew in the weird west, finding out that behind the demons from his mystic knowledge there lurks an even greater evil. Erdelac mixes the weird west with Lovecraftian horror and jewish mysticism to great effect. It might not be sword & sworcery, but I reckon people in this group might like it.

Now I'm reading past issues of Beneath Ceaseless Skies. Their tagline is literary adventure fantasy. Each issue contains two short stories, freely available on their website and as download.
Depending on the issue the stories go from a bit too literary for my tastes, to great adventure yarns. Not every story is a hit, but I've discovered some great writers this way.

From the last few issues I've read especially nr 185, 187 & 189 contain stories interesting for s&s fans.

Oh, and of course Moogh and the Great Trench Kraken, a humorous sword & scorcery tale from issue Beneath Ceaseless Skies #181.

started memories of ice

Joseph wrote: "Dan wrote: "Started up a slew of books this weekend.

I'm reading Tales of Nevèrÿon for the commute to and from work on the bus. Reading Blue and Gold whilst at home (I ..."

Tales of Neveryon is a dense andf mature read so far. The beginning starts out more in the style of Peake than Howard, but it seems to be building to a more S&S style now.

As for Craig P. Russell:
Jack; I really recommend The Ring of the Nibelung, I am loving it.

Joseph; I do have Strombringer from him as well, actually got it signed at a Comicon a couple years ago (not by him though, one of the other artists I believe). Still have to read it though. I'll probably pick it up after The Ring... then maybe start up the Fables series.

One Kane: Death Angel's Shadow is fantastic, a great compilation of shorter works, but then I've enjoyed every Kane story I've read.

Oh, and as for myself, I started The Worldwound Gambit by Robin D. Laws for the RPG tie-in group read -- it's one of the early Pathfinder novels.

Dan wrote: "I'll probably pick it up after The Ring... then maybe start up the Fables series."

Fables is fantastic, but be prepared to go in for the long haul, as it's 22 volumes long, and every one is worth it. There are also a bunch of spin off titles as well. Don't skip Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall, it's great. But you can skip Jack of Fables, it starts pretty good, but bombs towards the end, and you don't miss very much of the big picture by not reading it.

I'd actually started them up years ago, maybe a year or two after they were initially released. Read the first two or three graphic novels, enjoyed them, then sort of forgot about them. Luckily my girlfriend loves the series and has all the volumes, and spin-offs too (at least so far as I know).

Just finished Waters of Darkness; a great S&S/pirate adventure.

Now I am starting Prisoner of the Horned Helmet, book 1 of the Deathdealer series by James Silke and Frank Frazetta. This should satisfy my craving for old-school barbarian S&S...

Finished Death Angel's Shadow and Wytches, Vol. 1, started Liar's Island for the RPG tie-in group read.

Just finished Blue and Gold last night and banged up a review this morning:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
It was a fun stand alone read. A good intro to his style, I think.

I'm thinking of picking up another book to read at home. Still reading Tales of Neveryon on the bus, and it's proving to be very different than I had anticipated and quite rewarding.

Has anyone read Messenger’s Legacy by Peter V. Brett? If so, is it a stand alone, or better read as part of the series? I haven't read anything by him yet, but I own it and thought it might be a good place to start as an introduction to his style.

Finished off Tales of Nevèrÿon last night and the review is up today:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Onto Brak the Barbarian.

I have to say that I've been intrigued by Delany's Neveryon stories, but couldn't find any way to legitimately label then as sword-&-sorcery - intelligent, yes, but curiously bloodless (s&s pun most definitely intended...).

Phil wrote: "I have to say that I've been intrigued by Delany's Neveryon stories, but couldn't find any way to legitimately label then as sword-&-sorcery - intelligent, yes, but curiously bloodless (s&s pun mos..."

I agree with that, mostly. We do get some bloodletting by the end, and it the story doesn't pull any punches so far as dark or grotesque subjects are concerned. It's more the setting and structure that feels like Sword & Sorcery than the actual execution.

It's actually an interesting piece of world building as well, which I guess it shares more with high fantasy in that regard, but really this isn't an epic adventure, nor does it feature most of the tropes of that style of fantasy; no elves, dwarves or trolls (some dragons though), and no chosen one.

It's a series of short stories, somewhat connected, about "uncivilized" and barbaric people.

Just started Queen of the Martian Catacombs by Leigh Brackett. It's the first of the Eric John Stark stories. Good sword & planet adventure, looking forward to the other couple stories, then on to the novels.

1/5 of the way through "Eye of the World", and looking forward to the last 600+ pages; then, on to Wheel of Time 2.

RJ does describe things in minute detail, so it is easy to see that this may cause problems in the future. OTOH, this does make his writing vivid.

Also reading "Heroes in the Wind: From Kull to Conan; the Best of Robert E. Howard"

The Wheel of Time is the series after which I stopped blindly reading every big fat fantasy series. Just before part 5 or 6 came out, I went back and re-read the first books in one big go. Never again!

Game of Thrones got me back into fantasy series, but ever since WoT I'm very picky with the ones I do pick up. I'd rather have stand alone novels, short stories, or series that actually end after 3 or 4 books instead of endlessly plodding on.

Edit: Of course, that being said, I started reading The Spider's War by Daniel Abraham, the 5th part in 'The Dagger & The Coin' series.

Abraham is an author whose works I've been interested in exploring as well.

It's not sword & sorcery, as I would define it, but he's a great writer.

I discovered him with The Long Price Quartet, which was one of the most refreshing fantasy series I've read in a while. A unique magic system in a original Asian-inspired setting without being derivative. Not s&s, but as the series progresses it does get closer to epic fantasy.
'The Dagger & The Coin' series is more traditional epic fantasy, although one of the main characters is a banker. Narrated through multiple points of view, like Game of Thrones. I don't care much for the 13 (!) different races of human, they don't add much, but the characters are rounded and fleshed out, and the stakes are high.

He also co-writes the Expanse science fiction series under the name James S.A. Corey together with Ty Franck. Great stuff if you like modern space opera.

He's someone else I need to check out -- I love the Expanse books, and my Kindle edition of Leviathan Wakes had one of Abraham's fantasy novels (first in a series) bundled in with it.

Peter wrote: "It's not sword & sorcery, as I would define it, but he's a great writer.

I discovered him with The Long Price Quartet, which was one of the most refreshing fantasy series I've read in a while. A u..."

Cool! Thanks for the tip! I'm not bound to Sword & Sorcery specifically, though I big proponent of the genre. I like high fantasy almost as much, and anything breaking new ground in a genre I love is good to me!

Just read and devoured the sword & sorcery, pulp short tale Mage Maze Demon, and am enjoying the graphic novels of Silent Hill Omnibus (since Silent Hills was cancelled, I need a fix).

S.E. wrote: "Just read and devoured the sword & sorcery, pulp short tale Mage Maze Demon, and am enjoying the graphic novels of Silent Hill Omnibus (since Silent Hills was cancell..."

Someday I need to play some of the Silent Hill games. I actually played most of the way through the original PS1 game (bought it for my PS3) but gave up when I found myself in an untenable situation -- low health, low ammo, nasty creatures on my tail, and at least an hour or two since my last save.

The first movie was actually pretty decent also.

Joseph wrote: "S.E. wrote: "Just read and devoured the sword & sorcery, pulp short tale Mage Maze Demon, and am enjoying the graphic novels of Silent Hill Omnibus (since Silent Hill..."

Loved the terror within Midwich Elementary in SH1; then the voyeuristic Pyramid Head-Manikin scene in SH2--->was hooked ever since on the series. I often switch/replay the game in easy mode so I don't have to deal with the clunky combat...and so I can absorb the ambiance & explore more without the fear of dying. Agree about the first movie. That was well done and true to weird mythos of the series.

Am disappointed about Konami's issues. Silent Hills for PS4 promised to be awesome (involvement with Guillermo del Toro and Norman Reedus-walking dead actor). Then it got abruptly cancelled. Poop. Silent Hill Omnibus and Silent Hill Omnibus, Volume 2 will have to satiate my need to roam thru a ghost town.

And I finished Death's Heretic and am moving to something non-RPG-related: El Borak and Other Desert Adventures by Robert E. Howard -- one of Howard's characters with whom I have minimal acquaintance. I'm sure there'll be six-guns. Sorcery? Well, we'll see ...

Just started up The Last Unicorn and Stone of Farewell. Was hoping to start Robert E. Howard's The Hour of the Dragon, but it seems my Ace paperback with it is missing. I find this mildly disconcerting. Though I may have the hardcover copy of the Karl Edward Wagner edited edition somewhere, I just don't like dragging my hardcovers around with me to work.

I finished of Brak the Barbarian and The Magician's Nephew over the weekend, and just posted the reviews today. I enjoyed both quite a bit.

Brak: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Narnia: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

^Nice can't wait to start that one!

I have the same problems whether I read physical or e-books LOL. I used to wonder why I was so spastic in my reading habits but nowadays I just go with the flow. Better trying to read 10 books at once than be in a rut where I am not reading at all, like I am right now.

I'm finally getting around to reading this worn out paperback of Brak the Barbarian by John Jakes. It's been sitting on my shelf for a couple years now.

I've been in a nostalgic reading mood lately. For some reason I've been wanting to read a lot of the classic S&S or just some of the books I remember seeing on the Rx store spinner racks or in the little books stores tucked in the corner of the shopping malls -back when the malls were a quarter the size they are now.

hey all, looking for some reading suggestions. Y'all are so very well-read, there is no one better in my opinion to answer this need: an adult friend of mine who does not read much watched Iron Clad and asked me all about the Knights Templar and is very interested in reading about them. So anyone have recommendations of titles that would be good reads? my buddy pretty much has only read WWII nonfiction and sports mags. thanks all!

Currently, I'm reading Love, Live and Death by Cat Nicolaou. Great collection of short stories. Love stories with an unexpected twist. O

Jason, side bar... Ever hear of the Blind Dead b-horror films regarding the Knights Templar? I watched a few. Dated for sure (1970s I think) but unique.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tombs...

Jack wrote: "Jason M wrote: "hey all, looking for some reading suggestions. Y'all are so very well-read, there is no one better in my opinion to answer this need: an adult friend of mine who does not read much ..."

Cool (and I know, smart phone app typing doesn't always succeed!), thanks and I'll respond to your message.

S.E. wrote: "Jason, side bar... Ever hear of the Blind Dead by-horror films regarding the Knights Templar? I watched a few. Dated for sure (1970s I think) but unique.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tombs......"

lol, no, hadn't heard of that, I'll have to take a look. Thanks, S.E.!

as for what I'm reading right now, I am thrilled to be reading a long anticipated title, Ian C. Esslemont's Dancer's Lament. I cannot adequately express just how much I was looking forward to this work and how much it is living up to, even surpassing, my hopes. I really, really enjoy (in case anyone didn't know ;) ) the Malazan Book of the Fallen, and one of my very favorite characters is who this trilogy is about. After reading everything Malazan and several talks with the author(s), this is pretty much a dream come true. I realize I sound like a gushing fanboy, and I am, but I am really very joyful about this.

On another note, my artist extraordinaire friend Didier Normand https://www.instagram.com/normand.art/ has delivered the final rendition of my character Direk, Lord of Vengeance, furthering my joy :) https://www.facebook.com/direklordofv...

Jason M wrote: "as for what I'm reading right now, I am thrilled to be reading a long anticipated title, Ian C. Esslemont's Dancer's Lament. I cannot adequately express just how much I was looking ..."

I've never read any of the Malazan books. Their number and length per volume intimidated me a bit. I need to look into those.

Tell us more about Direk. What stories does he appear in?