SOLVED. Linked Fantasy Stories: Ancient Magicians, Man Escapes Via Cliff ...

[Ashley]

Read this recently, it was (I think) set in a Long, Long, Long ago time, the stories were all vaguely linked and it was quite sword & sorcery in an intentional homage, I gather, to earlier fiction. There was one particularly famous wizard, I think, and various other protogés of his might feature in a story. The sequence I remember best is a hero was sentenced to death by climbing the unclimbable cliff, essentially, and all gathered to watch him try. And he does it. (I think I remember an ironic failure to survive entirely, but don't hold me to it.)

I believe this is a recent-ish book (say, past 20 years or so!) by an author generally Not Known for long long ago sword and sorcery. Any ideas?

[Ashley]

Solved it myself (guess just putting it out there triggered the old synapses!):

House of Cthulhu by Brian Lumley, phew. Now for the second in the series!