Sword & Sorcery: "An earthier sort of fantasy" discussion
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Beneath Ceaseless Skies #73
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Jan-Feb 2017 (a) Anthologies
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Thanks for the links for the anthologies! There were several titles I was completely unaware of.
Mod
Yep, author G.W. Thomas's website rocks. Great database of Sword & Sorcery anthologies.
I just finished Fata Morgana, a classis S&S anthology, with stories translated in Dutch. A review will be up soon, some great stuff.And of course I'll read some BCS issues!
Mod
Peter, I thought of you while making the banner. Glad you are ready to share some of your many BCS reviews.
Looking forward to your Fata Morgana review too.
I just looked up all the Beneath Ceaseless Skies issues I tagged 'sword & sorcery' to make some recommendations.Issues 1 & 2 contain a two-part Gaunt & Bone story. A classic S&S duo:
www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.com/issue...
www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.com/issue...
Rich Larson has some nice heist stories with his Crane and Gilchrist stories (and one other tale):
http://www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.co...
http://www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.co...
http://www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.co...
Raphael Ordoñez writes somewhere in the area between classic pulp, weird fiction, s&s and new weird. Read all his stories if you can (he is published in 6 issues so far):
http://www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.co...
Some other issues with at least one S&S tale:
http://www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.co...
http://www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.co...
http://www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.co...
http://www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.co...
http://www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.co...
http://www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.co...
Of course other issues might contains stuff of peoples fancy, but these are at least the ones related to this group.
Mod
http://www.castaliahouse.com/skelos-m...
Seems similar to Fletcher's Blackgate article: https://www.blackgate.com/2016/10/04/...
It is on 3 Sword & Sorcery magazines
Weirdbook 31
Skelos
Cirsova: Heroic Fantasy and Science Fiction Magazine
I did not know about Cirsova...any one read that?
Just added a review to Beneath Ceaseless Skies Issue #209, a bit early for the jan/feb challenge...Especially the 4rd story, by Michael Anthony Ashley is a great one. Taking place in a Arabian nights inspired setting, with characters more than human. I won't spoil too much, just read it!
I finished some more issues, now to find time to write up some more reviews.
Mod
All, note that S&S is alive and well in Italy:
EROICA Anthology - Italian Sword and Sorcery
English via Facebook: Heroic: the first volume of the necklace truefantasy for Watson editions of Ivan Alemanno curated by Alessandro Iascy and Francesco La Manno.
The Volume (more than 300 pages) will contain stories and essays to theme sword & sorcery and will be available for purchase from the first January 2017 from the site of the Watson editions and soon also on the main stores online for the price of 12 €.
Soon available in digital edition for those who prefer the ebook.
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Eroica: Il primo volume della collana TrueFantasy per Watson Edizioni di Ivan Alemanno a cura di Alessandro Iascy e Francesco La Manno.
Il volume (oltre 300 pagine) conterrà racconti e saggi a tema Sword & Sorcery e sarà disponibile per l’acquisto dal primo Gennaio 2017 dal sito della Watson Edizioni e presto anche sui principali stores online al prezzo di 12€.
Presto disponibile anche in edizione digitale per chi preferisce l’ebook.
New year's eve with a bang!
My "head of santo" on heroic!"
Here's the cover of heroic: the first volume of the necklace truefantasy for Watson editions by the undersigned and Alessandro Iascy Francesco La Manno.
The Volume (more than 300 pages) will contain stories and essays. Below the content:
Short stories
- the tower glauca of Adriano Monti Buzzetti
- head of saint of mala spina
- Edga, the witch of donated altomare
- the scorpion on the blade of Mauro Longo
- the book of Max Hunchback
- chess of the king of Andrea Gualchierotti and Lorenzo camerini
- Floxar the polite of livio gambarini
- quick of Mark Lawrence (translated by annarita guarnieri)
- Moor & stone - the amphora of arcùn of Francesco Brandoli
Wise men
- Solomon Kane, a hero in the balance of Michele Tetro
- the saga of fafhrd and the gray mouser of fritz leiber
Di Stefano Sacchini
- why sword & sorcery and not heroic, epic or high fantasy?
John luisi
- Women & sorcery of mariateresa botta
- the contribution of Clark Ashton Smith to sword & sorcery of
Francesco La Manno
Just added a review for Beneath Ceaseless Skies Issue #210. Still have to add reviews for a few issues.Currently reading All These Shiny Worlds: The 2016 ImmerseOrDie Anthology. Immerse or Die is a blog where Jefferson Smith starts reading an indie book during his 40 minute workout. If he's still immersed after these 40 minutes, it's a keeper.
He started bringing out story bundles of the best books he found, and to promote it, he asked the writers of these books to give him his best short stories to create a (free!) anthology to promote the bundle. (See http://creativityhacker.ca/immerse-or... for a download)
So far it's a nice mix of sf & fantasy. Not much S&S so far, but I'd say the story by Christopher Ruz would be well reserved by most people here.
Mod
Peter, I am curious. Have you followed any authors you discovered in BCS into their other publications/other books?
I did look up some issues of writers I already knew, like Cat Rambo, Chris Willrich and Saladin Ahmed.I do take note of authors who've written multiple stories I like. I still have quite a long to-read list, but I always keep my eye open for works of them.
For example, the books of Raphael Ordoñez are high on my to-read list after reading his (highly recommened) short stories in BCS. I didn't get around to tracking them down yet.
I liked all the stories of Rich Larson in BCS, but as I look at this works, it seems most of his other work is in other genres.
Adam Callaway wrote some great pulp stuff, comparable to Raphael Ordoñez in how it switches between new weird and classic weird fiction. But he seems to have vanished from the internet, and the novel he wrote seems to have vanished along with it..
Other authors on my to watch list based on their fiction in BCS include: Jason S. Ridler, Tamara Vardomskaya, Nick Scorza, Alec Austin and Rose Lemberg.
Mod
I just added reviews to:Beneath Ceaseless Skies Issue #211
Beneath Ceaseless Skies Issue #212Beneath Ceaseless Skies Issue #213
I finished All These Shiny Worlds: The 2016 ImmerseOrDie Anthology. A nice anthology, bit too mixed for my tastes. Will add a review later. It is a free book, and there is at least one serviceable Solomon Kane pastiche in it. (The lead character is a puritan from Salem, called Gideon Cain...)
Mod
I might try a different one, but first I need to read some 2016-published novellas for my Hugo voting.
Mod
In Grimdark Magazine issue #10 we've got a pretty serious dose of grimdark awesomesauce for you:
- THE LADY OF CROWS by Anthony Ryan: Get back into the Raven's Shadow world with a 20,000 word novella. A quest for bloody vengeance forces Derla, a skilled veteran of the Varinshold underworld, into the service of arch schemer King Janus. Charged with protecting the renowned drunkard and cardsharp Sentes Mustor, Derla finds herself drawn into a high stakes game with the notorious criminal overlord known as One Eye.
- WORLDS WITHOUT END: KEYS TO RICH, BELIEVABLE WORLDBUILDING by Jesse Bullington (Alex Marshall): A tutorial by the author who brought you A Crown for Cold Silver and The Sad Tale of the Brothers Grossbart.
- THE FUTURE OF GRIMDARK by Matthew Cropley: Matt explores where this magnificent genre is heading.
- Interviews with John Gwynne and Deborah A Wolf by our man in the trenches Tom Smith.
- Reviews of Michael R. Fletcher's THE MIRROR'S TRUTH Brian Lee Durfee's THE FORGETTING MOON.
Jump on Amazon to purchase in Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/Grimdark-Magaz...
Or check out our subscriptions through Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=177000
ePub and PDF files available from our webstore: https://grimdarkmagazine.com/products...
Mod
Here's my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Mod
I have copy of Mad Song, but have't dived in yet. Looking forward to your review.
Mod
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
S.E. wrote: "Interesting blog post shared in Facebooks Heroic Fantasy group:http://www.castaliahouse.com/skelos-m...
Seems similar to Fletcher's Blackgate article: https://www.blackgate..."
S.E. wrote: "Interesting blog post shared in Facebooks Heroic Fantasy group:
http://www.castaliahouse.com/skelos-m...
Seems similar to Fletcher's Blackgate article: https://www.blackgate..."
I have issue #4 of Cirsova. My story "Where There Is No Sanctuary" is in it. I have been so busy with writing that I haven't been abe to read as much as I would like to.
You might want to check out Swords of Steel as well if you haven't seen it yet. It is a paperback anthology series following in the footsteps of Andrew Offutt's Swords Against Darkness. I have written tales for each volume so far.
http://dmrbooks.storenvy.com/products...
https://www.facebook.com/DMRBooks/
Mod
Howie, on another post you alerted that the G W Thomas anthology database links are broken! It is true, recently after the posting in Dec it seems he switched to a blog (https://garywthomas.blogspot.ca/)
I messaged him on facebook about the status of his prior site. Hopefully he can retrieve/migrate those pages.
Howie, it seems you are a musician too!
To help plug Swords of Steel, here are links:
From the DMR facebook page: "Swords of Steel" is a paperback anthology series of fantasy adventure and horror stories written by heavy metal musicians. Volumes I and II available now!"
Swords Of Steel
Swords of Steel II
Well,I am new here and still trying to figure all of this out. I was talking with a couple of guys (Jack and Joseph I think) about discussing Swordsmen in the Sky. Is anyone reading this?
Mod
Sadly, I'm not reading it at the moment -- I'm pretty sure I read it, but it was some years ago. Having said that, don't let that stop you! Even for the more focused group reads, most (all?) of us just kind of pick something that strikes our fancy, then throw out comments which often lead to some great discussion (and may convince other folks to pick up the same book).
Thanks, Joseph! I will just wait until the next group read for something else I guess. Reading is slow right now for me anyway.
Howie wrote: "Thanks, Joseph! I will just wait until the next group read for something else I guess. Reading is slow right now for me anyway."Hi Howie -
As a matter of fact I've just begun SitSky, partly because I'm interested in the differences and similarities between standard s&s and the more Burroughs-ish science fantasy. And partly because this book is a piece of history, being the first collection of this stuff, I believe. Very much enjoying the Anderson story at the moment, but I'm a slow reader myself...
Phil wrote: "Howie wrote: "Thanks, Joseph! I will just wait until the next group read for something else I guess. Reading is slow right now for me anyway."Hi Howie -
As a matter of fact I've just begun SitSky..."
Phil and Jack, if you guys are up for it we can discuss the book. I have already read it, but I can look back over it again. It is a great little anthology. Jack, I will read your review in a bit. The Poul Anderson story isn't a sword and planet story the way that I understand the genre because there was no interplanetary travel. No spaceships. Also, there was sword fighting but no ray guns that I remember. Edgar Rice Burroughs made the template for the genre and if a writer gravitates too far away from those elements that Burroughs established the genre is no longer sword and planet. Thoughts?
Howie wrote: "The Poul Anderson story isn't a sword and planet story the way that I understand the genre because there was no interplanetary travel. No spaceships.."That would make it more space opera than planetary romance. . . after all the classic sword & planet, John Carter, has no ships either.
Mary wrote: "Howie wrote: "The Poul Anderson story isn't a sword and planet story the way that I understand the genre because there was no interplanetary travel. No spaceships.."That would make it more space ..."
Mary, there are no ray guns or science fiction elements either aside from a brief and vague allusion to them existing in a post apocalyptic time. The weapons are all swords and axes from what I remember. There definitely no ray guns or anything to suggest advanced technology. This reminded me more of Anderson's sword-and-sorcery stories more than anything else. It still is a great read. I just don't understand why it was placed with these other interplanetary adventure stories titled SWORDSMEN IN THE SKY.
And the John Carter stories did have airships. JC wasn't transported to Mars in one, but they are there once he is on Mars.
Mod
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmlSN...
And this is sword & sorcery:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_5F1...
Post-apocalyptic:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhAob...
And portal fantasy:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JjhQ...
Joseph wrote: "Well, the boundaries are always fuzzy. But I'd say this is sword & planet:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmlSN...
And this is sword & sorcery:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_5F1...
P..."
I'd forgotten all about the Pirates of Dark Water...used to love that show!
Howie wrote: "Phil wrote: "Howie wrote: "Thanks, Joseph! I will just wait until the next group read for something else I guess. Reading is slow right now for me anyway."Hi Howie -
As a matter of fact I've just..."
I've finished the Anderson story now (both a slow reader and not someone with much internet access, so please bear with me), and I'd agree it's not 'sword and planet'. But there are science fantasy elements, if you read them as such: the setting is in the 'Dying Earth' territory, and there use of the word 'alien' is usefully ambiguous here - plus that musical doomsday pipe that provides an effective 'god-from-the-storytelling-machine' ending. The fact that little of the above needs to be interpreted as science-based made this tale pretty intriguing.
Phil wrote: "Howie wrote: "Phil wrote: "Howie wrote: "Thanks, Joseph! I will just wait until the next group read for something else I guess. Reading is slow right now for me anyway."Hi Howie -
As a matter of ..."
Phil,yeah, it is just subtle and vague. When I think of sword and planet I think of airships, ray guns, and swords going wide-ass-open! Edgar Rice Burroughs established those elements and the subgenre in A PRINCESS OF MARS.
It's one story, but each chapter written by a different author in a round-robin fashion, much like the old Weird Tales story "The Challenge from Beyond " from back in the day. Still qualifies in my book...
Richard wrote: "Would Ghor, Kin Slayer: The Saga Of Genseric's Fifth Born Son be considered an anthology?"I would say that it is not. An anthology is a collection of unrelated stories that are only loosely tied together by a common theme such as Andrew Offutt's SWORDS OF DARKNESS series. Ghor, Kin Slayer is a collabration on a novel or novella (I don't remember the length). I recently contributed to a s & s round-robin with Matthew Knight and Byron Roberts. It was a lot of fun. Matt started the project because he wanted to do something like Ghor, Kin Slayer, but with only a few writers involved.
Mod
I agree that, formally, Ghor is not an anthology... but for the sake of this group read it is fine! Ghor is such an interesting work it may be worth its own dedicated groupread some time.
Joe Abercrombie has Sharp Ends out now. Not sure if this fits the criteria either. Another one I really enjoyed was Swords & Dark Magic: The New Sword and Sorcery, it contains several great newer authors. My absolute favorite from this collection is A Rich Full Week by K.J. Parker. Followed closely by Goats of Glory by Steven Erikson.
S.E. wrote: "Howie wrote: "Richard wrote: "Would Ghor, Kin Slayer: The Saga Of Genseric's Fifth Born Son be considered an anthology?" I would say that it is not. An anthology is a collection of un..."I am all for a groupread of Ghor. It has been years since I read it. I remember Richard L. Tierney teling me about contributing to the story, and how it ended up being about as convoluted as the Bible. For me,Ghor was a fun read.
I'll be reading Thunder on the Battlefield: Sword, the first in a recent two-part anthology. (The second part is Thunder on the Battlefield: Sorcery).
Phil, I will be most interested to read your thoughts on these two books. I submitted to these and was declined, but what disappointed me most was seeing that the editor had stories in both.
I'll definitely follow up! I'm not sure I've ever seen an editor include his own stories in an anthology before, that does seem a bit odd.
Phil wrote: "I'll definitely follow up! I'm not sure I've ever seen an editor include his own stories in an anthology before, that does seem a bit odd."Andrew Offutt included a posthumous collaboration with himself and REH in the first volume of Swords Against Darkness. It is obvious the story was more Offutt than Howard.
I collaborated on a novella with two other writers for a forthcoming anthology from Nocturnicorn Books titled Dreams of Fire and Steel. The editor, Juan J. Gutierrez has a story in the book. I think he has edited a handful of small press anthologies that also contain his stories. I am under the impression that it is not an uncommon practice.
Mod
I call it the Lin Carter effect.
Phil wrote: "I'll definitely follow up! I'm not sure I've ever seen an editor include his own stories in an anthology before, that does seem a bit odd."Really? It happens a lot.
Sword & Sorcery: "An earthier sort of fantasy"
Books mentioned in this topic
The 2nd Avon Fantasy Reader (other topics)The Avon Fantasy Reader (other topics)
Thunder on the Battlefield: Sorcery (other topics)
Thunder on the Battlefield: Sword (other topics)
Ghor, Kin Slayer: The Saga of Genseric's Fifth Born Son (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Joe Abercrombie (other topics)Garth Nix (other topics)
Jonathan Strahan (other topics)
Raphael Ordoñez (other topics)
Cat Rambo (other topics)
More...
Looking for one? There are many. Check out these links...great listings by GW Thomas:
NOTE: these awesome database links appear defunct in Jan 2017, and we are checking with GW Thomas about status
(a) Anthologies and contents of each - 1963-1985
(b) Anthologies and contents of each - 1986-2008
Browse our group's "Anthology" bookshelf
Feel welcome to add books to the list!
Browse last year's Jan-Feb discussion
Web Anthologies Count too!:
Beneath Ceaseless Skies
Heroic Fantasy Quarterly
Me? I'll be digging into Skelos by Mark Finn. It's a new magazine I backed via kickstarter: