Sword & Sorcery: "An earthier sort of fantasy" discussion
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What are you currently reading?
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Joseph wrote: "Is this your first time? (With Starship Troopers, that is.)"Yeah. Been on my TBR forever.
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Joseph wrote: "Started The Dreaming Tree an omnibus of a couple of early 80s fantasy novels by C.J. Cherryh that I haven't read in ... decades."A great duology. I don't know if it was this way for you the first time around but because of the pronunciation of the names and the pace it required a little patience for me but fully rewarding overall.
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She really nails the atmosphere.
I'm now about half way through The Dreamstone (the first book in the collection) and I'm honestly starting to wonder whether I ever read it all the way through, or if I kept bouncing off of the first couple of chapters.
Joseph wrote: "Michael Fierce (Gandalf the Red) wrote: "A great duology. I don't know if it was this way for you the first time around but because of the pronunciation of the names and the pace it required a litt..."I reread them...oh I dunno, I guess it was about 8 yrs ago and only remembered a few sequences at most but enjoyed it even more the second time. The atmosphere, the world, the ties to myths were all very real and fitting. A lot of layers and maybe too much to remember because the story is coming at you from different angles. I've been meaning to read more by her and had one I was most interested in just haven't gotten to it yet and can't place the title at the moment. Happy reading!
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Of her SF, favorites include Downbelow Station, Alliance Space: Merchanter's Luck and Forty Thousand in Gehenna (Company Wars #2) and The Pride of Chanur.
Joseph wrote: "Thanks! She's one of my favorite authors -- in this group I'd particularly recommend the Morgaine books (The Complete Morgaine, unsurprisingly, has all four of them), which are sort..."I have some of the books you listed. The first of the Morgaine series sounds like a good place to begin reading more by her and (not much for omnibuses in general) will track it down when I'm able to. Thnx for the info Joseph!
(Re: The Dreaming Tree) The edition I had contained a useful pronunciation guide. It was interesting to see the origins of many modern names in there. Have to agree, the atmosphere in these novels is just so enchanting.Speaking of atmosphere, I've just finished re-reading Tanith Lee's Night's Master. What a classic! Her mix of Arabian Nights-style interwoven narratives, exotic and magical Oriental-ish setting and her use of language are really incredible.
I got my wife to read this, and her reaction was 'Scheherazade, what wert thou smoking?!' I'll take that as five stars.
Dariel wrote: "(Re: The Dreaming Tree) The edition I had contained a useful pronunciation guide. It was interesting to see the origins of many modern names in there. Have to agree, the atmosphere in these novels ..."I think my editions might have the pronunciation guide because I still know how to pronounce a few names correctly. Must have that Tanith Lee book on my tbr's but if not definitely going to. Been interested in Arabian Nights Fantasy ever since watching Sinbad as a kid but a renewed interest after The Desert of Souls by Howard Andrew Jones and short stories by Saladin Ahmed last year.
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Michael Fierce (Gandalf the Red) wrote: Been interested in Arabian Nights Fantasy ever since watching Sinbad as a kid but a renewed interest after The Desert of Souls by Howard Andrew Jones and short stories by Saladin Ahmed last year.."
One of my favorite Tanith Lee stories, Foolish, Wicked, Clever and Kind, is in Susan Shwartz' anthology Arabesques.
Dariel wrote: "One of my favorite Tanith Lee stories, Foolish, Wicked, Clever and Kind, is in Susan Shwartz' anthology Arabesques. "
I added Arabesques about a year ago and is another one very high on my list. The whole book sounds amazing. Thanks for the rec, Dariel, making a private note on it RE the Tanith Lee story. Very cool, and glad you liked it! -- this is why I love reading what y'all got to say here in the S&S group!
Michael Fierce (Gandalf the Red) wrote: I added Arabesques about a year ago and is another one very hi..."
Always glad to share my worship of Tanith Lee! :-) And yup, this S&S group is a lot of fun and a good way to reconnect with the genre. I wouldn't have discovered Schuyler Hernstrom without you guys!
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"I really liked The Dragon of Jin-Sayeng, and ended up buying about five other books she's written that share the same setting.
Joseph wrote: "Al wrote: "Reading Listening to
"I really li..."
I read the first two, which were great, so finishing the trilogy was a no-brainer. I have a bunch of her other books that are currently buried in my TBR.
Am about to finish re-reading Kingdoms of the Night by Allan Cole and Chris Bunch. Almost sword and sorcery, it has the tone I want in sword and sorcery, but is pretty high-magic for S&S. That said, I love the way magic is depicted in this novel, it's often dark, involves risk and bargains, and overall feels quite mythic.
Sister Light, Sister Dark by Jane YolenSaw this recommended as late-80's S&S worthy of the genre. Only a little ways in but so far I'm impressed, and it certainly hits some of the qualities of the genre (Ex. outsider hero...). It also has a cool structure of telling you THE MYTH of an event, then THE LEGEND, then THE STORY. In other parts there's THE SONG followed by THE STORY. Cool stuff!
Don Moore and Alex Raymond's Flash Gordon: The Tyrant of Mongo: The Complete Flash Gordon Library 1937-41. These are beautifully produced volumes, reproducing Raymond's original artwork to its multicoloured glory. The scripts might be mediocre but the line-work is gorgeous. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
Sitting by the pool in 79 F and enjoying an advance copy of DMR’s Terra Incognita. Yesterday, I read a story by the dude name Seth. It was an enjoyable read.
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Really Fantastic Stuff! Thank you, Jason! Keep em comin'
Good evening, friends. So I just started reading Gavin Chappell's Sinbad and the Great Old Ones https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6... and found myself greatly enjoying it. It definitely brings me back to the RH Sinbad movies, specifically the Golden Voyage of Sinbad. I can't get the image of Tom Baker out of my head. I keep seeing him as the main antagonist. its such a fun and fast-paced read.
Kirk wrote: "Good evening, friends. So I just started reading Gavin Chappell's Sinbad and the Great Old Ones https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6... and found myself greatly e..."Nice! I just added that to my tbr's, along with some other Sinbad-related books, a week or two ago.
Kirk wrote: "Good evening, friends. So I just started reading Gavin Chappell's Sinbad and the Great Old Ones https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6... and found myself greatly e..."Ooh, that premise sold to me immediately! I love the RH Sinbads, and I'm currently doing some Sinbad-inspired stories myself, but with a duo.
Khalid is handsome, dashing, matchless with a sword, and none too smart. Wali is an old, grumpy, amoral philosopher and would-be sorcerer, but has been cursed with the form of a monkey. Quick teaser from the first story:
Hamid opened his mouth to protest again, but got no words out, for an arrow had sprouted from his broad temples.
“Khalid! Down, you fool! I mean, my master!” I warned.
But Khalid did not drop to the deck as I wished, instead standing tall and twirling his sword before him like a waterwheel or dragonflies dancing over a pond. And the volley of arrows sent at him, the pirate bowmen recognizing the richly dressed young man as our captain, were all cut or sent spinning away to the crew’s cheers. There are times when I wish my old head grew long, luxurious locks instead of the short fur that covers it now, so I can tear it out by the roots whenever Khalid does something like this.
Sounds great, Dariel! Count me in!
Thanks! By the way I just bought Sinbad and the Great Old Ones, and am enjoying it. It's a rollicking roller coaster, and feels, since I see the ass-kicking slave girl Kamborani as Caroline Munro, like Golden Voyage's Margiana done right. I wished Munro's character had been given more to do in that movie.
I do have a few niggles about Sinbad and the Great Old Ones though - not enough to spoil it for me, but they do leave me a bit itchy.
One, it makes the world feel too easily traversed -- Sinbad rides from the Rub al Khali to Baghdad, 885 miles, then Baghdad to Samarkand, 1,700 miles, and seems to do so in very little time. I feel there should have been some signifiers of how long it took to get from A to B.
Second, while I love that the author brought in the Cholas and the Tamil myth of the lost continent Kumari Kandam, he has Chola characters speaking Hindustani instead of Tamil, the language of the region the Cholas came from.
@KirkThanks for the heads up about the Sinbad book! I was able to get books one and three for kindle for a couple of bucks and book two is only $3 and change in paperback!
Sword & Sorcery: "An earthier sort of fantasy"
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FYI Starship Troopers is great so far.