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

Reading a horror, The Dark Game by Jonathan Janz. Can't recommend it so far though.

I'm into Chanur's Legacy, which will be the end of my current C.J. Cherryh reread. After that, it'll probably be Empire of Sand by Tasha Suri.

Ivory Vikings: The Mystery of the Most Famous Chessmen in the World and the Woman Who Made Them by Nancy Marie Brown

Finally getting back into fantasy with Empire of Sand by Tasha Suri.

King Of Zunga

Book 12 and counting! I want to finish the series out this year.

John Fultz' SEVEN KINGS.
SEVEN PRINCES was a good read; this one is a mess. And damn, but John has it in for every woman, from betrayal by everyone (husband, brother, bro-in-law) to betraying everyone else (father, people, self) to horribly dying and committing horrible deeds. There is no 'good' female character - they're dead or turned evil. And stupidity runs large throughout.

Jason M wrote: "John Fultz' SEVEN KINGS.
SEVEN PRINCES was a good read; this one is a mess. And damn, but John has it in for every woman, from betrayal by everyone (husband, brother, bro-in-law) to betraying every..."
And I just ordered the second and third books in this series. I realized that I never finished Seven Princes, so I decided a start it over and read the entire trilogy. I have read mostly positive reviews for books two and three, so I'm surprised you didn't care for Seven Kings.

S.wagenaar wrote: "And I just ordered the second and third books in this series...I'm surprised you didn't care for Seven Kings..."
Haven't finished just yet, but after finally hitting the good stuff at 333 pages in and being fairly confident in my ideas of what remains, I'm not in any hurry to find book 3. Though I did check out the reviews and it seems book 3 is the best of the trilogy. This is obviously a hold-things-together bridge between 1 and 3 that could have been hundreds of pages shorter.

Just finished A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World by C.A. Fletcher. Loved it.

Well, I'm eager to hear your feedback, Jack---and thank you kindly for sticking with the Gonji "odyssey"!

I very consciously designed DARK VENTURES to be the gateway book into the re-issued series (five books originally published by Zebra Books in the 1980s), as well as a "primer" on where the entire series has been, where it's headed as I am able to continue it, and how the whole ambitious Gonji-world began in the first place. So it contains two heroic-fantasy novellas, a generous teaser of the coming origin novel, and plenty of non-fiction background discussion intended to ground the new reader. (I knew there would be marketing issues with trying to attract new readers with even a successful vintage series, which it was---all explained, in hopefully engaging depth, in the "GONJI Odyssey" essay---since it had been marketed curiously in its earlier editions.)

Keep me posted! Domo arigato!

No sorcery (I think) but plenty of swords (well, sabers for the most part) in Swords of the Steppes: The Complete Cossack Adventures, Volume Four by Harold Lamb.

Bring the Jubilee

I found a forgotten box of Tor Conan novels that I bought at a yard sale a few years ago. On a lark, I read one

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

Clint, nice experience. EVIL review ;) What else was in that box?

The downside of a Clonan book is that you can't put CONAN! on the cover. Which is not an aesthetic reason but a marketing one.

Then, the only time I ripped off something from Conan it was not even from a story -- it was something from a discussion of the world-building by someone else -- and I'd be mildly surprised if someone could pick out the story and very surprised if anyone could tell where -- so talk is cheap. 0:)

Ghost of a Chance by Dan Willis

The Golden Steed

Prince Ombra

Fade by Daniel Humphreys

Richard wrote: "
Prince Ombra"

I have an ancient (1980s) secondhand copy of this book - I must get around to reading it at some point! Hmm, and adding its edition to the GR database too...

[EDIT:] Actually, the edition of the book I have is already in the GR database. For some reason, I thought it had a different cover.

I 'm about to finish "The Fall of Hyperion"... My mind is blown off!

Greg wrote: "Richard wrote: "
Prince Ombra"

I have an ancient (1980s) secondhand copy of this book - I must get around to reading it at some point! Hmm, and addin..."

I'm 100 pages in and hooked. I've read that newer editions are abridged. The older 80's editions are not.

Richard wrote: "I'm 100 pages in and hooked. I've read that newer editions are abridged. The older 80's editions are not. "

Ohh this is good to know! :)

Read the next Conan The Barbarian (2019-) #6.

This one repeated a formula to deliver a forgettable tale. Have hopes this series will eventually deliver on the Crimson Witch conflict.

Ghosts of Gotham by Craig Schaefer

I am on an island in south east Alaska until sometime in July. I randomly grabbed some paperbacks to take with me. Currently, I’m reading another “Tornan” by John Maddox Roberts. Conan and the Amazon. So far, notcas engaging as Conan and the Manhunters, but not terri-bad either.

Birds in the Ancient World: Winged Words by Jeremy Mynott

Just started The Shadow of the Torturer by Gene Wolfe

Caravan to Xanadu

Cloak of Dragons by Jonathan Moeller

Just finished The Dragon's Path by Daniel Abraham and am about to start the second in the series, The King's Blood.

The Lion of Islam

Historical fiction similar to Harold Lamb.

Began reading Once Upon a Time in the Weird West yesterday.

Yiddish Folktales by Beatrice Silverman Weinreich

Circe

Reading The Written by Ben Galley

Al wrote: "Reading The Written by Ben Galley"

That looks really good, Al. Let us know what you think about it.

I sure will. Ben Galley's a terrific writer.

Richard wrote: "Al wrote: "Reading The Written by Ben Galley"

That looks really good, Al. Let us know what you think about it."

Just finished

The Chronicles of Caylen-Tor
It was awesome.

Now:
The Road to Infinity

Richard wrote: "Al wrote: "Reading The Written by Ben Galley"

That looks really good, Al. Let us know what you think about it."

I really enjoyed it, gave it five stars as a fun S&S story. I'l have a full review out in a while as it's part of a blog tour.

About to start The Girl Who Could Move Sh*t with Her Mind by Jackson Ford.

Title alone makes it worth reading.

Man, you folks read fast! I’m a bit of a ponderous reader, but if the situation permits, I can rip through a hundred pages in a sitting, no problem. Right now most of my reading is just before bed, usually an hour or so if social media/internet doesn’t rear it’s ugly, distracting head!

@S.wagenaar

I'm a pretty slow reader too, but I've had a lot of down time in the warehouse this past week. I've been reading between filling orders. And The Chronicles of Caylen-Tor is so good, I had a hard time putting it down.

@Al

I look forward to your review.

Richard wrote: "The Saracen Blade"

I read this book about 50 years ago. I can't remember it very well but I remember I liked it!

@Michael

I enjoyed it too! Pierto is a lucky devil, but he is star-crossed with the ladies. Not an action packed book by any means. A slow burn all the way to the end.

Still blazing through Daniel Abraham's Dagger and the Coin books; now onto The Spider's War, the last in the series.

Aru Shah and the End of Time by Roshani Chokshi

The Knight and Knave of Swords, Fritz Leiber. Book 7 of Fafhrd and Gray Mouser.

Chinese Fairy Tales and Fantasies by Moss Roberts