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

I've been hearing that in recent years there has been some activities regarding new releases of Sword & Sorcery stories.

Being very interested in writing Sword & Sorcery that feels fresh, I am highly curious about what others have been doing recently.

I'm aware and have read Swords & Dark Magic (2010), The Sword & Sorcery Anthology (2012), and Sword and Mythos (2014). (Though I wasn't impressed by any of them myself.)

Any other important released from the last couple of years?

Yes! Many are in the Poll for the anthology group read

Martin wrote: "Being very interested in writing Sword & Sorcery that feels fresh, I am highly curious about what others have been doing recently."



I am really glad you asked that. Not having ever published or submitted, (and i am certainly not as well read in the genre as everyone else) i may not have felt the opportunity to elaborate on what I'm attempting.. It is my feeling that S&S today is too far adrift in the sea of fantasy. It needs to be in the fresh waters of riparian zone. Stripped down, like the bikers of the 70's did with their fat hogs.. A lean, mean, fightin' machine. Limit the fantasy elements, present them in the proper context. Familiar. In Italian, `Familia, same Latin derivative, (closer to home, so to speak). And why limit your reader to one hero to root for? They stumble. They fall. Some rise, some never do. I'm trying to write something that lies between Hemingway's, `The Old Man and the Sea, and McMurtry's `Lonesome Dove, with a little bit of Carter's, `the Outlaw Josey Wales thrown in for good measure.

No king, no promised prince, no political intrigue. And who needs Halflings, when you've got Gnomes. That was not a question. Orcs were Tolkein's idea. And they are about as fresh as flattened horse turds. Through it all there is a voice. It says, "some things are worth dying for."

That's what i'm workin' on, i reckon.

The Book of Swords and The Book of Magic, both edited by Gardner Dozois. Both won the Locus Award and were shortlisted for the World Fantasy Award as best anthology.

I was in them both.

C.A. wrote: "And why limit your reader to one hero to root for? They stumble. They fall. Some rise, some never do. I'm trying to write something that lies between Hemingway's, `The Old Man and the Sea, and McMurtry's `Lonesome Dove, with a little bit of Carter's, `the Outlaw Josey Wales thrown in for good measure."

Sounds rather delightful, look forward to what you come out with.