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

A Gathering of Ravens by Scott Oden. I'm really digging it!

More Hugo reading: Finished Down Among the Sticks and Bones and now it's finally time to go back to N.K. Jemisin's Broken Earth trilogy with The Obelisk Gate.

Vega: Orc Slayer by James M. Patrick

The Last Guardian of Everness by John C. Wright

Mists of Everness by John C. Wright

I look forward to hearing what you think, Jack! I enjoyed the book.

Beyond Redemption by Michael R. Fletcher

Time for Niall of the Far Travels Collected by Gardner F. Fox -- I know I read at least a few of the stories back when they were originally appearing in Dragon Magazine.

I picked up A Mirror Against All Mishap by one of our own, Jack Massa.

Richard wrote: "I picked up A Mirror Against All Mishap by one of our own, Jack Massa."

Just picked up the first in that series. Looks like fun.

Al wrote: "Richard wrote: "I picked up A Mirror Against All Mishap by one of our own, Jack Massa."

Just picked up the first in that series. Looks like fun."

Hope you enjoy it

Dragon's Ring by Dave Freer

Just finished Beyond Redemption by Michael R. Fletcher

It was terrific.

Dog and Dragon by Dave Freer

Just finished A Mirror Against All Mishap. A great sequel!

Thinking about starting Art of War: Anthology for Charity or Pass on the Cup of Dreams.

Richard wrote: "Just finished A Mirror Against All Mishap. A great sequel!

Thinking about starting Art of War: Anthology for Charity or Pass on the Cup of Dreams."

Art of War is great. Really enjoyed it.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/171899...#

Not currently reading, but certainly must read soon...

S.wagenaar wrote: "https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/171899...#

Not currently reading, but certainly must read soon..."

That does look tempting ...

Because it's this month's Sword & Laser pick, I just started Night's Master by Tanith Lee, which will inevitably lead to a reread of all five Flat Earth books.

The Wonder Engine by T. Kingfisher

by Claire Legrand

Really liked the first book in the series, nice mix of grounded realism with an epic scope. The Crown of the Conqueror

W E wrote: "Really liked the first book in the series, nice mix of grounded realism with an epic scope. The Crown of the Conqueror"

That's another one of those that's been sitting on my shelf (and on my Kindle) for, um, rather a long time. Glad to hear good things about it.

Currently reading The Best of Heroic Fantasy Quarterly: Volume 1, 2009-2011, a few stories in, good stuff so far!

Really classic S&S.

Recursion by Marion G. Harmon

Joseph wrote: "W E wrote: "Really liked the first book in the series, nice mix of grounded realism with an epic scope. The Crown of the Conqueror"

That's another one of those that's been sitting ..."

They do tend to back up, don't they?

W E wrote: "They do tend to back up, don't they? "

I pretty much abandoned any pretense of ever being caught up many years ago.

For me: Black River, Art of War: Anthology for Charity, and a re-read of Warrior of Llarn.

Now reading The Well of Mimir, by Matt Larkin. Nothing like a bit of Saga to start the day...

Currently reading The Jewel Of Seven Stars by Bram Stoker.

Sullivan's books are a pleasure to read.

Frost Fever by Jonathan Moeller

I Was a Teenage Weredeer by C.T. Phipps

Al wrote: "I Was a Teenage Weredeer by C.T. Phipps"
Me too.

Martin wrote: "Al wrote: "I Was a Teenage Weredeer by C.T. Phipps"
Me too."

I'm about 30 pages in. Pretty good so far. I like Charles' stuff.

Rebel Fist by Jonathan Moeller

Tom by Dave Freer

On kindle I'm reading Pass on the Cup of Dreams, which is the sequel to The Mace of Souls.

Just finished The Grey Bastards by Jonathan French.

Great stuff.

Just finished the third Falcon book by Mark Ramsay. I think I’ll try something different with The Keep by F Paul Wilson.

Richard wrote: "On kindle I'm reading Pass on the Cup of Dreams, which is the sequel to The Mace of Souls."

Mace of Souls is one of those books that's been sitting on my shelf for oh, 25 years and I don't think I ever read it. Was happy to learn recently (from Black Gate) that he's written further novels set in that world, and someday I'll get around to them.

For myself, I just started Night's Sorceries, the fifth & last of Tanith Lee's Flat Earth books.

S.wagenaar wrote: "Just finished the third Falcon book by Mark Ramsay. I think I’ll try something different with The Keep by F Paul Wilson."

I've had those Falcon books on my shelf for a while and keep thinking I should really get to them, given how much I liked his Conan books. How are they?

Joseph wrote: "Richard wrote: "On kindle I'm reading Pass on the Cup of Dreams, which is the sequel to The Mace of Souls."

Mace of Souls is one of those books that's been sitting o..."

The jargon is can be difficult until you get a handle on it, but the story is great. My favorite so far by Bruce Fergusson is Shadow of His Wings

Howard wrote: "S.wagenaar wrote: "Just finished the third Falcon book by Mark Ramsay. I think I’ll try something different with The Keep by F Paul Wilson."

I've had those Falcon books on my shelf for a while and..."

Hey Howard, the books are really good. Roberts, as you probably already know, is an accomplished swordsman and a historical expert on all things steel, sharp and bloody! That hands-on expertise shows in his writing, in my opinion. These particular books were written quickly for the men's adventure market, so there is a little bit of saucy sex mixed in with the many action sequences. But I like them because they were written in a time when lean, fast adventure books could still be written in under 200 pages, without excess padding to meet a page count. I have one more to read in the series, and I'm saving for later in the Fall; I wish Roberts was still writing stuff like this!

Tomb Howl by Jonathan Moeller

Mary, I notice you've been reading several Moeller titles. I enjoy his short stories, how do his novels/series hold up?

This series holds up very well.

I had a few days on airplanes for a work trip, so I finished Night's Sorceries, read both of Joseph Brassey's Drifting Lands books (Skyfarer and Dragon Road, both of which were a lot of fun) and started some actual old-school sword & sorcery, the new DMR collection of Clifford Ball's fiction, The Thief of Forthe and Other Stories. (Which, to be clear, only has three actual sword & sorcery stories, and I'd read at least one, if not two, in some of Lin Carter's anthologies; but it's nice to have everything collected and available on my Kindle.)

The Vacant Throne by Joshua Palmatier

Not currently reading it but has anybody seen that there is a new J.R.R. Tolkien book coming out in August of 2018? The Fall of Gondolin. I just noticed it for pre-order on Amazon.

Yup. I've seen it. Got it listed on my 'future-publish-date' shelf.