Several years pass between the end of the second book of John Maddox Roberts’ Stormlands, The Black Shields, and the third book, The Poisoned Lands. Enough years for the sons of the series’ hero, Hael, to have reached a warrior’s age. Hael, in fact, makes no appearance in this volume, apparently busy in the East… Continue reading Poisoned Lands: Stormlands Book Three.
Category: Authors
Andrew Offutt’s “My Lord Barbarian.”
My Lord Barbarian is a slim planetary romance by Andrew Offutt. It begins with an intriguing premise and a reasonable pretext to include spaceships and sci-fi technology in a story of sword-swinging barbarians. (Again I’m reminded why Gary Gygax enshrined Offutt in Appendix N.) The pulp action picks up rather quickly after the introductory chapter… Continue reading Andrew Offutt’s “My Lord Barbarian.”
The Black Shields. And a Vacation.
Maybe it is wider margins. Or maybe it is just sheer readability. For whatever reason, I’m surging through John Maddox Roberts’ Stormlands books at nearly the same pace I used to read as a kid. The first book, The Islander, was engaging and moved right along. The second, The Black Shields, shows no let up.… Continue reading The Black Shields. And a Vacation.
Sherwood. In the Ten Ring.
In the mid-Eighties I added a couple of Parke Godwin novels to my shelf, Firelord and the Last Rainbow. I recall being impressed by the stories and the literary style. So when I happened across a copy of Mr. Godwin’s Sherwood for $.99 I did not hesitate to purchase it. It seemed good value for… Continue reading Sherwood. In the Ten Ring.
John Maddox Roberts’ “The Islander.”
The first volume of John Maddox Roberts’ Stormlands series, The Islander, doesn’t read like a 380 page book. I had to slow down, pace myself, so as not to fly through the pages. This is heroic fiction done right. The setting is post apocalyptic. I don’t know how far in the future the story is… Continue reading John Maddox Roberts’ “The Islander.”
Imaro Ascends to the Pantheon
Charles Saunders’ sword-and-sorcery hero Imaro has been around for years, for most of my lifetime in fact. I’ve been aware of the character, encountering him in various anthologies. But until recently I’ve only scratched the surface of Saunders’ creation. With the purchase of the 2006 Night Shade edition of Imaro, I was finally able to… Continue reading Imaro Ascends to the Pantheon
Triplanetary: Cosmic Space Opera
E.E. “Doc” Smith is noted for his creation of the Lensman series. Some credit these books as the wellspring from which flow such science-fictional organizations as The Green Lantern Corps or even the Jedi: super-powered, galaxy-spanning enforcers of justice. I don’t know. I’ve only read the first book, Triplanetary. Triplanetary apparently sets the table for… Continue reading Triplanetary: Cosmic Space Opera
“The Eagle of the Ninth” Still Flies.
Rosemary Sutcliff had vision. Not only did she have vision, but she could share it with her readers. She could immerse us in detail, not only of the natural world, with the facility of Tolkien, but in period detail such clothing or architecture. And she did so with a seamless facility; nothing feels forced or… Continue reading “The Eagle of the Ninth” Still Flies.
Harold Lamb’s “Alexander of Macedon.”
Without really meaning to I’ve become relatively familiar with the life and doings of Alexander the Great. He — whether as a main character or an essential secondary character — featured in any number of historical novels I picked up as a kid (e.g. Mary Renault’s books) and over the following decades. Most recently I… Continue reading Harold Lamb’s “Alexander of Macedon.”