Sword And Sorcery
That’s a Southron demon, the Archivist points out to the bad guy. 3.5 out of 5
Continue reading about The Archivist – A River Through Darkness and Light
High on his throne sat Bran Mak Morn When the sun-god sank and the west was red; He beckoned a girl with his drinking horn, And “Sing me a song of the race,” he said. Her eyes were as dark as the seas of night, Her lips were as red as the setting sun, As, [...]
Continue reading about A Song of the Race – Robert E. Howard
One slept beneath the branches dim, Cloaked in the crawling mist, And Richard Grenville came to him And plucked him by the wrist. No nightwind shook the forest deep Where the shadows of Doom were spread, And Solomon Kane awoke from sleep And looked upon the dead. He spake in wonder, not in fear: “How [...]
Continue reading about The Return of Sir Richard Grenville – Robert E. Howard
It was gloomy land that seemed to hold All winds and clouds and dreams that shun the sun, With bare boughs rattling in the lonesome winds, And the dark woodlands brooding over all, Not even lightened by the rare dim sun Which made squat shadows out of men; they called it Cimmeria, land of Darkness [...]
“In episode 96 of the SF Signal Podcast, Patrick Hester offers up part one in a special three-part podcast on Sword and Sorcery moderated by editor, author and publicist Jaym Gates. This week’s panel: * Jaym Gates (moderator) * John O’Neill * Howard Andrew Jones * Ryan Anderson * Bill Ward * Jason Waltz * [...]
Continue reading about SF Signal Podcast 96 Sword and Sorcery 1 – Jaym Games
Five stories including one curiosity, a round robin work by several authors of note of the period in The Challenge From Beyond. Here the work that the title is drawn from, a great Conan story, is to be found in the middle. Beyond The Black River : The Grisly Horror – Robert E. Howard Beyond [...]
Six stories and one poem in this collection, bookended by the great Conan stories Queen of hte Black Coast and A Witch Shall Be Born. Gardens Of Fear : Queen Of The Black Coast – Robert E. Howard Gardens Of Fear : The Haunter Of The Ring – Robert E. Howard Gardens Of Fear : [...]
Another introduction from Mark Finn and with several poems to finish as well as throughout the rest of the book another top-notch collection, including the brilliant Conan story Red Nails. Black Hounds Of Death : Black Canaan – Robert E. Howard Black Hounds Of Death : Red Nails – Robert E. Howard Black Hounds Of [...]
“Although many of its foundational writers had already sailed into the west, swords and sorcery reached a Weird peak in the 1960s. In 1961 Fritz Leiber coined the term “swords and sorcery” in the journal Ancalagon. The Swordsmen and Sorcerer’s Guild of America (can I get a membership, please?) began the first of its secretive [...]
Pretty much a perfect biography. While Finn is obviously a writer that has a great affection for his subject it doesn’t mean he sugar coats it, either. I have zero interest in early Texas history for example, but that part of the book was good, too, when he was setting the scene for Howard’s life. [...]
Continue reading about Blood and Thunder: The Life and Art of Robert E. Howard – Mark Finn
“What kind of resources did you have when you wrote Conan the Barbarian? Were you given a synopsis? Script? Outline? I got sent a copy of the script and then got to watch a rough-cut of the movie before I started. I also got sent a lot of production stills so I could study them [...]
““You’ve got the wrong house,” he said conversationally. The invigilator’s face mottled with anger. “How do you dare to-“ “No, you’re not listening to me.” Egar kept his voice patient and gentle. “There’s obviously been some mistake back at the Citadel. Pashla Menkarak isn’t keeping you up to date. When he sent you down here, [...]
Continue reading about Penultimate Pre-pub Taste: The Cold Commands – Richard Morgan
“Thongor seems to have been Carter’s first published novel, the beginning of his career. I assume then, that he was probably playing around with it for at least a couple of years before that. The idea of Thongor in Lin Carter’s mind may have gone as far back as 1962 or earlier. Thongor seems to [...]
Continue reading about An Unnatural History Of Thongor’s Lemuria – Den Valdron
“Essentially, then, the Conantics of de Camp and Carter attempt to retain the style of the original stories and the character of Conan, but they try to avoid REH’s mistakes and add a level of sophistication and depth which Conantics followers do not believe Howard had in his stories. But do the de Camp-Carter tales [...]
Morlock and Wyrth just want lunch at the town inn – just discover a lifemaker and his experiments, and they really bug Morlock. As does the six-armed hybrid warrior he uses to take the local children for his work. 3.5 out of 5 <a href=”http://pyrsamples.blogspot.com/2010/12/travellers-rest-by-james-enge.html”>http://pyrsamples.blogspot.com/2010/12/travellers-rest-by-james-enge.html</a>
“A clatter of blades pulled free of scabbards sounded behind Sonjathe sounds of men pressing forward, eager for action. With the supple ease of a swordadept, the red haired Hyrkanian lifted her blade in time to meet the corpse’s advance, skewering it deftly through the chest, then ripping sidewise. Her movement tilted the thing off [...]
“She was lithe and graceful as she moved forward, with all the smooth coordination of a jungle cat. Her hair fell in deep scarlet waves down her back. Dressed as she was in mail armor, she had seemed an affront to many a proud male in the tavern that night; and no matter how much [...]
“”You may use your strength to make the world your home. You may become a wanderer, the equal of any man or woman you meet.” She sensed a sword in her handher father’s sword. Suddenly she felt almost invincible. “But first you must make a vow to me, Sonja. You must never allow yourself to [...]
“Sonja stepped back a half pace, and in the space of a breath her sword rasped free of its scabbard. It was a curt, startling demonstration. Sobut fell back. So swiftly had Sonja reacted, with such spectacular precision, that Sobut had automatically stepped back, startled. He lifted both hands in a mild gesture of conciliation. [...]
“”What do you think?” one of them asked his lord. “A swordswoman for hire.” Omeron stared at the sleeping woman. “Mayhap we can recruit her.” “To fight Du-jum? Can we pay her enough to die by sorcery?” “Perhaps she has met sorcery in her time.” Omeron continued to stare, measuring, judging, appreciating. A beautiful woman [...]
Continue reading about Red Sonja – Against the Prince of Hell 1
“It was no soldier’s voice. Now the gray cloak came off in a bold arc, spraying water droplets, and beneath it was revealed-a woman. She was tall and fair-skinned with a head of long, tousled, flame-red hair-and she was armored. A long-sword swung in the scabbard at her side, a knife at her hip. She [...]
The Road to Acheron 5 out of 5 http://m1_sterling.tripod.com/conan/the_hour_of_the_dragon22.mp3
Drums of Peril 5 out of 5 http://m1_sterling.tripod.com/conan/the_hour_of_the_dragon21.mp3
Out of the Dust Shall Acheron Arise 5 out of 5 http://m1_sterling.tripod.com/conan/the_hour_of_the_dragon20.mp3
In the Hall of the Dead 5 out of 5 http://m1_sterling.tripod.com/conan/the_hour_of_the_dragon19.mp3
I Am the Woman Who Never Died! 5 out of 5 http://m1_sterling.tripod.com/conan/the_hour_of_the_dragon18.mp3
He Has Slain the Sacred Son of Set! 5 out of 5 http://m1_sterling.tripod.com/conan/the_hour_of_the_dragon17.mp3
http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryPiece.asp?Piece=696368&GSub=100985 4 out of 5
Audio serial of the novel. 5 out of 5 http://m1_sterling.tripod.com/conan/the_hour_of_the_dragon16.mp3
Audio serial of the novel. 5 out of 5 http://m1_sterling.tripod.com/conan/hour_of_the_dragon15.mp3
Audio serial. 5 out of 5 http://m1_sterling.tripod.com/conan/hour_of_the_dragon14.mp3
Part of a portfolio for sale on ebay – from ‘Red Nails’ . 4 out of 5
Continue reading about Valeria of the Red Brotherhood – Barry Windsor-Smith
Another chapter in this Conan audio serial. 5 out of 5 http://m1_sterling.tripod.com/conan/hour_of_the_dragon13.mp3
““Tell you,” the young Ishlinak muttered. “Demlarashan, it’s a waste of fucking time. The empire’s never going to rein them in, doesn’t matter how many men they spend. Those guys got nothing better to do down there than string each other up over spelling mistakes in the fucking Revelation. Might as well give it up [...]
Continue reading about Land Fit For Heroes 2 – The Cold Commands
A collection of Howard tales, featuring his sword and sorcery work in the main, but with some horror examples, and, oddly, a Western. Vultures would seem to be out of place, here. Almost the 4.0 average, so you really can’t get much better than that unless you pick them yourself. There’s an introduction by John [...]
Part 12 of an ongoing serialisation. 5 out of 5 http://m1_sterling.tripod.com/conan/hour_of_the_dragon12.mp3
The novel length Conan work. An aging Conan is now in a position of responsibility, being King of Aquilonia. His reign is threatened by a very powerful sorcerer, whom Conan is unable to stop by mundane means, and must take himself off hunting for a mystic artifact. Having done this, there is some wizard smiting [...]
As a sword and sorcery anthology this generally succeeds, and in general the writers understand what that actually means. Except for Gene Wolfe. Having read a lot of stuff by Wolfe, I see no evidence of him ever having the ability to produce a sword and sorcery story. And I still don’t. As a story [...]
No, get that thing. 3.5 out of 5
Continue reading about Swords and Dark Magic – 17 The Fool Jobs
Sorcerers. If you stab them and they don’t die they have an absolute shitload of deathtraps. 4 out of 5
Continue reading about Swords and Dark Magic – 16 Thieves of Daring
Better if you geas don’t think about it, brothers. 3.5 out of 5
Continue reading about Swords and Dark Magic – 14 Two Lions A Witch And The War-robe
Kill dad, no big deal short girls. Want furs? 3 out of 5
Continue reading about Swords and Dark Magic – 15 The Sea-Troll’s Daughter
Not. 2.5 out of 5
Vocabuvore giant exam passing psycho roommate consumption. 4 out of 5
Continue reading about Swords and Dark Magic – 13 In the Stacks
Slymire crystal revelation. 3.5 out of 5
Continue reading about Swords and Dark Magic – 12 Dapple Hew the Tint Master
Godridden good riddance, virgins. 3.5 out of 5
Continue reading about Swords and Dark Magic – 11 The Undefiled
Potion deflowering rebound problem. 3 out of 5
Continue reading about Swords and Dark Magic – 10 Dark Times at the Midnight Market
“A few months back, we were so focused on asking people about The Best Sword & Sorcery Stories, that we overlooked a more basic question: What is it? This week, we turned to the contributors and editors of the recent publication Swords & Dark Magic: The New Sword & Sorcery and asked them: Q: How [...]
Continue reading about MIND MELD: What ‘Sword and Sorcery’ Means to Me – John DeNardo
Sorcerer torture scare stunt revenant rebellion ending. 4 out of 5
Continue reading about Swords and Dark Magic – 09 The Deification Of Dal Bamore
Maladroit music mishaps, evil entity. Naked God preferred. 4 out of 5
Continue reading about Swords and Dark Magic – 07 A Suitable Present For A Sorcerous Puppet
DeadHeadroom for improvement. 3.5 out of 5
Continue reading about Swords and Dark Magic – 06 A Rich Full Week
Tewk me. I’m an illusion Master. 3.5 out of 5
Continue reading about Swords and Dark Magic – 05 A Wizard Of Wiscezan
You killed my bartender, demon. You’re really in the shit now. 4 out of 5
Continue reading about Swords and Dark Magic – 04 The Singing Spear
Chess tyrant chop. 3 out of 5
Continue reading about Swords and Dark Magic – 03 Bloodsport
Taken generation garrison not hairy. 4 out of 5
Continue reading about Swords and Dark Magic – 02 Tides Elba: A Tale Of The Black Company
We kill demons for a living, silly shovel boy. 4 out of 5
Continue reading about Swords and Dark Magic – 01 Goats of Glory
Red Nails – Robert E. HowardDownload Conan – Red Nails Conan is travelling, finds a dead woman, and then encounters Valeria of the Red Brotherhood. After trading some insults, they have the misfortune to stumble across a dragon. Then they have fun in an abandoned city full of crazed warriors, two evil leering royals, and [...]
Red Nails – Robert E. HowardDownload Conan – Red Nails Conan is travelling, finds a dead woman, and then encounters Valeria of the Red Brotherhood. After trading some insults, they have the misfortune to stumble across a dragon. Then they have fun in an abandoned city full of crazed warriors, two evil leering royals, and [...]
Red Nails – Robert E. HowardDownload Conan – Red Nails Conan is travelling, finds a dead woman, and then encounters Valeria of the Red Brotherhood. After trading some insults, they have the misfortune to stumble across a dragon. Then they have fun in an abandoned city full of crazed warriors, two evil leering royals, and [...]
Red Nails – Robert E. HowardDownload Conan – Red Nails Conan is travelling, finds a dead woman, and then encounters Valeria of the Red Brotherhood. After trading some insults, they have the misfortune to stumble across a dragon. Then they have fun in an abandoned city full of crazed warriors, two evil leering royals, and [...]
Red Nails – Robert E. HowardDownload Conan – Red Nails Conan is travelling, finds a dead woman, and then encounters Valeria of the Red Brotherhood. After trading some insults, they have the misfortune to stumble across a dragon. Then they have fun in an abandoned city full of crazed warriors, two evil leering royals, and [...]
A wailing guard, having slain the last of the tigers, jabbed his spear at Ironspell. The warrior dodged its oversized point. He opened his fist to receive the hilt of the spinning Runesblood. As he slew the last two sentinels, leaping to slash their throats, a third giant rushed into the hall brandishing a great [...]
Continue reading about Unique – The Weird of Ironspell 4 The Jewel and the Giant-King
““Lord Ironspell, we hereby appoint you Warlord of the Triple Alliance. Lead our troops against the death horde. For this service, we will grant you anything in our power to give.” Ironspell picked up the golden bowl from which he had been drinking. “Give me more wine,” he said, and they did.” 3 out of [...]
Continue reading about Unique – The Weird of Ironspell 3 Return of the Golden Skull
“They clawed at him with fingers like spikes of iron, slicing his flesh. The fires that took the place of their eyes burned like vitriol. They swarmed upon him, dragging him to the floor, coaxing blood from rents in his skin and muscle. His sword cleaved a dry skull in two, then chopped it from [...]
Continue reading about The Weird of Ironspell 1 Born of Stone – John R. Fultz
““Open your gates, Slaves of Azazar!” bellowed Grobos the gnome in the eastern dialect. He dismounted from his camel and pointed a stubby finger up at the sentinels. “Tell your master that Ironspell has come for him!” The wall guards laughed. “Why don’t you write him a letter, dog?” one of them shouted. The rest [...]
Continue reading about Unique – Weird of Ironspell 2 The Moon God’s Bride
Lukewarm opposition. 2.5 out of 5
Racked tight rebellion. 2 out of 5
“Probably the best-known character you have created is Simon Magus, also known as Simon Of Gitta. What can you tell us about the inspiration behind this escaped gladiator turned sorcerer? I saw that old movie The Silver Chalice when it first came out, and enjoyed Jack Palance’s portrayal of the sorcerer, Simon Magus. In about [...]
Continue reading about Swordandsorcery.org Interview – Richard L. Tierney
Wherein various people give their favorites. 4.5 out of 5 http://www.sfsignal.com/archives/2010/04/mind-meld-the-best-sword-sorcery-stories/index.html
Continue reading about MIND MELD The Best Sword and Sorcery Stories – John DeNardo
A Fistful of Terraks. 1.5 out of 5
Goddess frenzy satiation fever. 3.5 out of 5
“Robert E. Howard wrote a lot of stuff worth reading, but for me his central importance lies in the invention of sword-and-sorcery (as the genre was later named by Fritz Leiber). Not in the Conan stories, though: I go along with those who argue that sword-and-sorcery actually begins with the Solomon Kane stories (some of [...]
Continue reading about Solomon Kane – Sword and Solomon: The Beginning of Sword and Sorcery
“This is a companion piece to the 8,000 word examination of the Conan stories in WEIRD TALES which appears in the second edition of PULP HEROES OF THE THIRTIES (1997). The following Robert E. Howard stories were either submitted to WEIRD TALES and rejected, or were begun but never completed and exist only as unfinished [...]
Continue reading about Conan – The Conan Stories Never Seen In Weird Tales
Another less than 1 possibility. 1 out of 5
The bad one. 1.5 out of 5
Soldier survival. 3.5 out of 5
“The Hyborian Age, that time between the Fall of Atlantis and the rise of the world as we know it, is a vivid setting for the adventures of the Cimmerian who came down from the North to carve out an empire. But behind the Hyborian Age, as behind the worlds of Howard’s other characters, like [...]
Woo-woo Shu. 4 out of 5
“Lin Carter offers this definition as the Mission Statement of S. A. G. A. (The Sword and Sorcerers Guild of America), a loosely formed group of writers who—besides giving each other ridiculous titles like “The Purple Druid of the Glibbering Horde of the Slime Pits of Zugthakya”—promoted S&S widely in the late 1960s and early [...]
Continue reading about Unique – A Brief History of Sword & Sorcery
No slave. 3 out of 5
D’Artagnan’s daughter. 3.5 out of 5
Sarmatian suicide. 3.5 out of 5
“A bibliography of the collected works of Karl Edward Wagner’s Kane” Includes a chunk of detail on background and setting. 5 out of 5 http://kendallcorley.typepad.com/blog/
Shanna summons some from, but hasn’t got the time to stop for snogging afterwards. 3 out of 5
Witchy witchkiller hiring. 4 out of 5 http://www.rachelcaine.com/page53/page63/page63.html
Apparently an Australian edition of a UK book company called Carlton. So a somewhat bizarre thing to do. It says it was printed in Thailand, so maybe that was cheaper than getting them from the pommieland. Also, the copyright page is a lie. Really, media companies that like to complain about how bad things are [...]
The novel length Conan work. An aging Conan is now in a position of responsibility, being King of Aquilonia. His reign is threatened by a very powerful sorcerer, whom Conan is unable to stop by mundane means, and must take himself off hunting for a mystic artifact. Having done this, there is some wizard smiting [...]
The novel length Conan work. An aging Conan is now in a position of responsibility, being King of Aquilonia. His reign is threatened by a very powerful sorcerer, whom Conan is unable to stop by mundane means, and must take himself off hunting for a mystic artifact. Having done this, there is some wizard smiting [...]
The novel length Conan work. An aging Conan is now in a position of responsibility, being King of Aquilonia. His reign is threatened by a very powerful sorcerer, whom Conan is unable to stop by mundane means, and must take himself off hunting for a mystic artifact. Having done this, there is some wizard smiting [...]
The novel length Conan work. An aging Conan is now in a position of responsibility, being King of Aquilonia. His reign is threatened by a very powerful sorcerer, whom Conan is unable to stop by mundane means, and must take himself off hunting for a mystic artifact. Having done this, there is some wizard smiting [...]
The novel length Conan work. An aging Conan is now in a position of responsibility, being King of Aquilonia. His reign is threatened by a very powerful sorcerer, whom Conan is unable to stop by mundane means, and must take himself off hunting for a mystic artifact. Having done this, there is some wizard smiting [...]
The novel length Conan work. An aging Conan is now in a position of responsibility, being King of Aquilonia. His reign is threatened by a very powerful sorcerer, whom Conan is unable to stop by mundane means, and must take himself off hunting for a mystic artifact. Having done this, there is some wizard smiting [...]
The novel length Conan work. An aging Conan is now in a position of responsibility, being King of Aquilonia. His reign is threatened by a very powerful sorcerer, whom Conan is unable to stop by mundane means, and must take himself off hunting for a mystic artifact. Having done this, there is some wizard smiting [...]
The novel length Conan work. An aging Conan is now in a position of responsibility, being King of Aquilonia. His reign is threatened by a very powerful sorcerer, whom Conan is unable to stop by mundane means, and must take himself off hunting for a mystic artifact. Having done this, there is some wizard smiting [...]
The novel length Conan work. An aging Conan is now in a position of responsibility, being King of Aquilonia. His reign is threatened by a very powerful sorcerer, whom Conan is unable to stop by mundane means, and must take himself off hunting for a mystic artifact. Having done this, there is some wizard smiting [...]
The novel length Conan work. An aging Conan is now in a position of responsibility, being King of Aquilonia. His reign is threatened by a very powerful sorcerer, whom Conan is unable to stop by mundane means, and must take himself off hunting for a mystic artifact. Having done this, there is some wizard smiting [...]
Kane comes across Le Loup twice in his life, once after he comes across a dying girl, one of his kills, and once at the temple of the Black God. He leaves him mortality challenged, and watches as his underling, Gulka the gorilla slayer finds a ape who is more than a match for him. [...]
Kane comes across Le Loup twice in his life, once after he comes across a dying girl, one of his kills, and once at the temple of the Black God. He leaves him mortality challenged, and watches as his underling, Gulka the gorilla slayer finds a ape who is more than a match for him. [...]
