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
Tag: Sword and Sorcery
Setting and Sword-and-Sorcery. Plus Savage Journal Entry 31.
Location, location, location. Setting is a vital component of Sword-and-Sorcery fiction. The action needs to occur in some pre-industrial locale, a secondary world, a fictionalized fantasy Earth, another planet, or some similar backdrop. Somewhere, that is, where the sword is a viable weapon, rather than an antiquated prop. The sword is that evocative. A steel,… Continue reading Setting and Sword-and-Sorcery. Plus Savage Journal Entry 31.
S&S 202: Does Sword-and-Planet Fiction Qualify as Sword-and-Sorcery? Resurrected Post.
March 15, 2020 S&S 202: Does Sword-and-Planet Fiction Qualify as Sword-and-Sorcery? Does the Sword-and-Planet (also known as Planetary Romance) genre qualify as Sword-and-Sorcery? Or, more precisely, can it? Yes. Next question. Wait, you want some sort of explanation rather than a blanket agreement or denial. Fine. You might think that swapping out “sorcery” for “planet”… Continue reading S&S 202: Does Sword-and-Planet Fiction Qualify as Sword-and-Sorcery? Resurrected Post.
Intro to Sword and Sorcery: Five Names You Should Know. Resurrected Post.
November 24, 2019 Intro to Swords and Sorcery: Five Names You Should Know Perhaps you are new to this planet, or have been living in a bomb shelter all your life with limited reading material. Maybe you recently stumbled upon a trove of Molly Hatchet album covers at a garage sale, with those paintings by… Continue reading Intro to Sword and Sorcery: Five Names You Should Know. Resurrected Post.
What is Sword and Sorcery? Resurrected Post.
November 17, 2019 What is Swords and Sorcery? Sword & Sorcery is one of those terms that defies precise definition. So, it is, I suppose, another one of those other concepts that can be encapsulated in the phrase “I know it when I see it.” And there is, I think, a certain prurience involved, without… Continue reading What is Sword and Sorcery? Resurrected Post.
How Does Post-Apocalyptic Fiction Tie in to Sword and Sorcery? Plus Savage Journal Entry 4.
The end of modern civilization. What caused it? Nuclear war, plague, zombies, alien invasion? Pick your poison. But the world we know is gone. Survivors must carry on. And therein lies a tale. Or a plethora of tales. Here you’ve got your Post-Apocalyptic fiction. A lone hero with a sword faces down supernatural foes in… Continue reading How Does Post-Apocalyptic Fiction Tie in to Sword and Sorcery? Plus Savage Journal Entry 4.
Brak the Barbarian. Resurrected Post.
July 3, 2016 Brak the Barbarian John Jakes, you magnificent bastard. Brak the Barbarian served up a feast, complete with tankard of ale and haunch of beef, dripping with its own juices. Brak the Barbarian? The blatant Conan ripoff? Indeed. A glorious homage, hitting all the right notes on a Khurdisani zitar. Turgid prose?… Continue reading Brak the Barbarian. Resurrected Post.
“Heroic Fantasy” Earns Its Title.
I finally got my hands on a copy of the anthology Heroic Fantasy. That’s a good cover, isn’t it? There’s a story in that illustration that I’d like to read someday. The introduction was…adequate. After reading so many Sword-and-Sorcery anthologies I’ve discovered the intros tend to cover the same ground. This one adds little or… Continue reading “Heroic Fantasy” Earns Its Title.
Lin Carter, Appendix N Supplemental. Resurrected Post.
October 24, 2021 Lin Carter, Appendix N Supplemental Rereading DMG’s Appendix N, I noted that the Lin Carter entry specified a single series. Now, I’ve read quite a bit of his stuff. I had plenty of fodder for my post on Mr. Carter. But I’d neglected the very work that got him enshrined in Appendix N.… Continue reading Lin Carter, Appendix N Supplemental. Resurrected Post.