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

Greg wrote: "Jon wrote: "S&S it is, then! "The Crystal Shard" is the next on my list, provided I still like Salvatore after this book. I thought the first Drizzt book, "Homeland", was very good. I was actually ..."

Ah, I remember reading that that was his first effort. I'll probably read, just to see how it compares with what I've read till now I don't normally have a problem with syndicated stuff, but I generally feel that it's a trade-off: They never fall below a certain level of quality, but there's also some pinnacle they simply do not rise above. I guess there is less of a scope for taking chances? That being said, I'm looking forward to the new Drizzt book that's coming out this autumn.

Jon wrote: "Greg wrote: "Jon wrote: "S&S it is, then! "The Crystal Shard" is the next on my list, provided I still like Salvatore after this book. I thought the first Drizzt book, "Homeland", was very good. I ..."

I'll be interested to see what you think of Shard and how it compares with Salvatore's later books.

Greg wrote: "Jon wrote: "Greg wrote: "Jon wrote: "S&S it is, then! "The Crystal Shard" is the next on my list, provided I still like Salvatore after this book. I thought the first Drizzt book, "Homeland", was v..."

I'll make a point of reading it, then! So far, "Sojourn" is quite entertaining.

Currently reading The Shadow Throne by Django Wexler. Where the first book in the series was a military campaign in a colonial nothern Africa-like setting, the action now moved back 'home' to a French Revolution type situation. Much fun so far, not really S&S though.

While reading The Shadow Throne by Django Wexler it reminded me a lot of the Westmark trilogy by Lloyd Alexander: a dying king, a young princess becoming queen in a country in turmoil, rising tensions between the aristocrazy and commoners. Which lead to re-reading the trilogy.
The books trilogy are some of the more mature books of Lloyd Alexander, mostly known for the Prydain books. Recommended for fans of flintlock fantasy.

Peter wrote: "While reading The Shadow Throne by Django Wexler it reminded me a lot of the Westmark trilogy by Lloyd Alexander: a dying king, a young princess becoming queen in a cou..."

Added the first of the Westmark books to my TBR shelf. Haven't heard of this YA series before (despite its comparative age) but it looks interesting and it seems to be popular.

Finished Wylding Hall, which had plenty of sorcery (albeit of a dark and subtle kind) but no swords, and am starting Ellen Kushner's Swordspoint, which has lots of swords but no actual sorcery. Except maybe in the actual writing, which is plenty magical.

Joseph wrote: "Finished Wylding Hall, which had plenty of sorcery (albeit of a dark and subtle kind) but no swords, and am starting Ellen Kushner's Swordspoint, which h..."

I've only read Hand's story, 'Cleopatra Brimstone' (collected in Best New Horror 13), which was 12 years ago now. Although I wasn't convinced by the fantasy element of the story, I liked her style of writing. I'd like to read more of her work.

Greg wrote: "I've only read Hand's story, 'Cleopatra Brimstone' (collected in Best New Horror 13), which was 12 years ago now. Although I wasn't convinced by the fantasy element of the story, I liked her style of writing. I'd like to read more of her work.

Wylding Hall was one of the best books I've read in a long time; but it was also one of those books that felt like the author had sat down, checked my interests, and aimed the story squarely at me. It's a short novel about a British folk rock group (think Fairport Convention or Pentangle) who, in 1972, went to Wylding Hall, an isolated manor house in the British countryside, to record their second album; then weird things may or may not have started happening.

Joseph wrote: "Greg wrote: "I've only read Hand's story, 'Cleopatra Brimstone' (collected in Best New Horror 13), which was 12 years ago now. Although I wasn't convinced by the fantasy element of the story, I lik..."

That sounds like a pretty good recommendation, Joe! I already added the book to my TBR shelf yesterday. Hopefully, it will check all my boxes too!

Jack wrote: "I bought my first issue of Grimdark Magazine (Issue #4). Great stories, including a Steelhaven short story from Richard Ford. (Now I'm regretting not spending the $ on the package deal for Issues 1..."

I like the issue 3 cover of that magazine! Looks like it would make a good read too.

I just finished Gentlemen of the Road by Michael Chabon. While there aren't any fantastic elements, it's a swashbuckling historical adventure in the tradition of Robert E. Howard and Harold Lamb, starring Fritz Leiber-style rogues. There's a lot here for S&S fans to love.

My review

Yes, I agree. It is as close you can get to S&S without the sorcery.
I highly recommend it.

Phil thanks for sharing. "Jews with Swords" looks interesting for sure.

I am currently reading Calgaich the Swordsman. Not S&S, but good historical adventure set in Roman ages Britain with a sword swinging Celtic hero who cuts down Romans and Picts with equal abandon. Good fun!

Jack wrote: "I'm reading "Clash of Iron" by Angus Watson. It's the second in his Iron Age Trilogy. The first book was lots of swords & sorcery, this one so far (~125 pages in) is more about talking and politics..."
I have the first one on my Kindle, looking forward to giving it a go. Looking for more swords? Give Giles Kristian a go; excellent Viking adventures filled with bloody combat and crusty seafarers with a salty sense of humor!

Just finished Chip Shop Horrors ... not S&S, but an anthology of horror focused on street vendors, french fries, and gluttony. A quick read, like fast food :). Now back to The Birthgrave....

I finished Swordspoint and The Privilege of the Sword (lots of swords; no magic) and The Fall of the Kings, and started Thomas the Rhymer (both of which have relatively few swords but plenty of magic); I'm on a bit of an Ellen Kushner kick ...

S.E. wrote: "Just finished Chip Shop Horrors ... not S&S, but an anthology or horror focused on street vendors, french fries, and gluttony. A quick read, like fast food :). Now back to [book:T..."

Chip Shop Horrors sounds ridiculous and therefore I need to read it.

Joseph wrote: "I finished Swordspoint and The Privilege of the Sword (lots of swords; no magic) and The Fall of the Kings, and started Thomas the Rhymer (both..."

@Joe, I've never read Ellen Kushner, but I've had her on my radar (partly because she has Ohio connections, and I have a strange state-patriotism when it comes to fiction. Her magic based ones appeal to me, and your good-ratings helps too.

@Ashe, I think you'd like Chip Shop.

S.E. wrote: "@Joe, I've never read Ellen Kushner, but I've had her on my radar (partly because she has Ohio connections, and I have a strange state-patriotism when it comes to fiction. Her magic based ones appeal to me, and your good-ratings helps too."

If you're going to read the Riverside books (Swordspoint, Privilege, Fall), I'd definitely recommend reading them in order. They have a pretty wide separation (Privilege takes place, I think, 15 years after Swordspoint, and Fall is another 40+ years after that) but there are a few overlapping characters, and events in the earlier books definitely inform events in the later books.

But they're all very, very good.

Yeah, man, definitely gonna check Chip Shop out at some point. I got a few horror books I need to get through, including two friends' books.

Just got my copy of Barbarian Crowns, a new anthology of Robert E Howard inspired S&S short stories and poetry. It is from Lulu printing, and it's a very nice paperback over sized with high quality paper. It has 222 pages, but the print is fine and the margins very small-very little wasted space. I figure it would run 300+ pages if it were a conventional paperback; well worth the money! Looking forward to reading these tale, some of which have been written by folks I know from Conan.com. Hope to post a review in then next few weeks.

S.wagenaar, Barbarian Crowns sounds interesting. Report back with a review if you will. It may be a good one for next month's group read (new S&S)!

An:d now some swords: I'm just starting Riders of the Steppes: The Complete Cossack Adventures, Volume Three by Harold Lamb.

(And earlier today I revisited my childhood with Alan E. Nourse's Scavengers in Space. (Which, to clarify, was already quite an old book when I chanced upon a copy in my childhood.))

I am chipping away at Seven Princes for the groupread ... but found myself enamored with Walter Rhein's Reckless Traveler... a non-fiction adventure based on Walter's ~9yrs in Peru. He also writes heroic fiction BTW. Anyone who travels abroad may enjoy his biographical chronology. I'm back to Seven Princes now.

Rock on Alamojack! I have Stealer of Flesh in queue, so I'd like to hear your thoughts on it.

Reading two books right now, which I can never do, except that these are anthologies; With Sword and Pistol and Blackguards Blacklist: a companion to Blackguards anthology.

Alternating my reading between Goosebumps Collection 9 (to satisfy my curiosity - I never read a Goosebumps book before) and a book chapter (in The Haskins Society Journal Studies in Medieval History: Volume 1) on a 12th-century burgess/aristocrat of Bristol (obtained through inter-library loan). Strange reading habits, I know.

I've been reading Chris Evans' Iron Elves trilogy -- an early example of flintlock fantasy (first book came out in, what, 2009?) and have just started the third book, Ashes of a Black Frost.

After that, it might be time to reread all of the Tiffany Aching books before reading The Shepherd's Crown, the last Tiffany Aching, and the last Discworld, novel.

After reading some horror and non-fiction, I'm back into S&S.
With a gift card I got for my birthday I bought Imaro & The Desert of Souls. Started in Imaro today!

Had read some manga last weekend (Bleach Volume 02: Goodbye Parakeet, Good Night My Sister) but need to continue with (maybe even finish!) two other books I started during the summer.

Got sucked into anemogram. by Rebecca Gransden, which is not S&S--but it is horror/mystery with ghostly fantasy elements.

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

I'd say Thes Lies of Locke Lamora is a good fit then! Maybe not just swords, but certainly plenty of action. A fantasy Oceans Eleven, I'd say.

Just finished Bauchelain and Korbal Broach, set within Steven Erikson's Malazan Empire. Highly recommended, but has a dark comic tone that may not be to all tastes.

I absolutely love Bauchelain and Korbal Broach! Awesome awesome awesome tales, the best fantasy comedy ever. Social satire, dark, yes, but the best observations on humanity in a running dual conversation between the drunken servant and the erudite necromancer. The novellas are also consistently quick reads, and they give you a very good taste of Erikson's writing. Cannot recommend them enough.

I think this is a good fast-paced story with lot of fight and magic. Interesting story line is worth a trial.
Legend of Fire and Ice: The Comet Appears

Still not S&S in the classic sense, but related -- I'm reading a prose translation of Orlando Furioso.

Just finished reading The End of the Story, first of the Collected Fantasies of Clark Ashton Smith series by Night Shade Books. I've read dozens of scattered Clark Ashton Smith stories over the past couple decades and count him as one of my favorite authors, but going through this definitive series of books is a long-delayed treat for me. (I'll space them out to avoid over-dosing, but this first volume was excellent.)

My spoiler-filled review is here.

CAS is criminally underrated. As much as I love H.P. Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard's work, I still think Clark Ashton Smith is the best of the three.

Phil wrote: "CAS is criminally underrated. As much as I love H.P. Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard's work, I still think Clark Ashton Smith is the best of the three."

Yep, if I had to choose just one, it'd be Smith. The Zothique stories in particular.

I'm also a CAS fan (of longstanding). I wonder if his creation of story-cycles based on milieu rather than a continuing character was something he initiated? (Can't think any other writer of fantasy short fiction who preceded him...

Phil wrote: "I'm also a CAS fan (of longstanding). I wonder if his creation of story-cycles based on milieu rather than a continuing character was something he initiated? (Can't think any other writer of fantas..."

Maybe Dunsany? Although the connections there are much more tenuous.

I can think of Dunsany and his Pegana stories at the very least.

Phil wrote: "I meant the Thongor novels, of which I've read the first and third. I haven't read any of the Thongor short stories, but it looks like Wildside Press has a collection for them.

I don't dislike Tho..."
The first Brak Novel is actually short stories strung together as you observed. The Chapters titled "The Courts of the Conjuror" and "Ghosts of Stone" appeared as individual stories and in slightly different form, in Fantastic Stories back in 1965.

I'm very late to the party, but I've finally started reading 'Prince of Thorns'. Enjoying it so far, but I think the middle part is currently lagging a bit. I wouldn't have read it if not for the recommendations by you guys, so thanks a lot!

Greg wrote: "Jon wrote: "Greg wrote: "Jon wrote: "S&S it is, then! "The Crystal Shard" is the next on my list, provided I still like Salvatore after this book. I thought the first Drizzt book, "Homeland", was v..."

This took some time (life intervened), sorry about that! I've now read 'Shard', and it clearly is a step down from the original trilogy. I did enjoy reading it but it clearly is quite trashy. Much of it reads like somebody's meandering RPG session put into not very fluent prose, and other elements are so shamelessly taken out of Tolkien that it might actually be intended as parody. That being said, it is a fun read, with all of the battle scenes being especially entertaining. I think the comic book adaptions might work better, but I haven't seen them. I did intend to keep on reading the series, but I found the book's ending so generic and uninspiring that I really didn't want to anymore. I might skip the entire trilogy and go to the next one, though. Anybody read any of those?

I still think both 'Homeland' and 'Sojourn' are worth the read.

I picked up Crystal Shard back when it first came out as part of the initial run of Forgotten Realms books (along with Darkwalker on Moonshae) and just wasn't impressed enough to continue. I've thought about trying the Exile/Homeland/Sojourn trilogy, but just haven't ever been able to get into them.

As for myself, I'm currently getting too excited about Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and reading Star Wars: The Rise of the Empire. It has (laser) swords and (space) sorcery, right?

I'm currently reading:

Sea of Dekatos by Tim & Stephen Gibson

&

Paladin by Sally Slater

Both are wonderful fantasy novels.

Jon wrote: "This took some time (life intervened), sorry about that! I've now read 'Shard', and it clearly is a step down from the original trilogy. I did enjoy reading it but it clearly is quite trashy. Much of it reads like somebody's meandering RPG session put into not very fluent prose, and other elements are so shamelessly taken out of Tolkien that it might actually be intended as parody. That being said, it is a fun read, with all of the battle scenes being especially entertaining. I think the comic book adaptions might work better, but I haven't seen them. I did intend to keep on reading the series, but I found the book's ending so generic and uninspiring that I really didn't want to anymore. I might skip the entire trilogy and go to the next one, though. Anybody read any of those?

I still think both 'Homeland' and 'Sojourn' are worth the read. "

Sorry Jon. I didn't realise you posted a couple of weeks ago - sometimes I don't get notifications from GR and I also find Hotmail (Microsoft) sending a lot of stuff to my 'deleted' folder. Although I check this folder regularly I can miss the odd notification that ends up there. No problem about life intervening btw.

I agree that The crystal shard is fun but, yes, rather generic fantasy. I didn't continue with the series either so it seems we reached the same conclusion. Mind you, I haven't read any of the later Drizzt books so maybe the next trilogy would be an improvement as you suggest - and I'll keep an eye out for Homeland and Sojourn.

You might also be right about the comic book adaptations but I haven't seen these either.