Steve Dilks and his Carnelian Press imprint are known for publishing the two fanzines The Hyborian Gazette and Twilight Echoes - Tales of Swords and Dark Magic. After self-publishing for many years Dilks decided to try something new and publish through Amazon. This is how I became aware of his character Gunthar. Dilks draws quite a bit of inspiration from a past legend of the genre, Lin Carter. Dilks even uses Carter's unique middle name as a god's name in his stories:

"By Vrooman's brazen balls!"

Those first few novellas were riddled with typos. This is bound to happen, especially when you self publish. When Dilks set out to reprint his Gunthar stories into one book he revised his previous work. Gunthar, Warrior of the Lost World combines his first three Gunthar stories and adds a new previously unreleased novella.

The setting is a post-apocalyptic world filled with lost technology, mutants, and magic. A world where you must survive by the strength of your arm and sharpness of your wit.

The first story is “The Priestess of the Fire-Gods.” This story was previously titled “The Purple Priestess of Asshtar.” I think the new name suits it much better. Another difference is that much of the original artwork by Steve Lines is also missing in this omnibus. It paired very well with the story. The priestess Seruya has enlisted Gunthar to steal an idol. Of course the idol holds a secret, the secret to the Spears of the Gods. The beautiful Seruya envisions a new world and she wants to repopulate that world with none other than Gunthar. What is a barbarian from the steppes to do?

“The City of the Black Flame” comes next. It was previously printed as “Gunthar and the Jaguar Queen.” Gunthar and his companions trek into a vast jungle. The Black Flame is the secret to the Jaguar Queen's longevity. Everyone seeking the Black Flame have their own interests in mind. The new title and certain elements within the story reminded me of The Black Flame by Stanley Weinbaum. Mr. Dilks has assured me that any similarity is coincidental and unintended.

Third is “The Devil From Beyond.” Trouble finds Gunthar in a big way. Gunthar must stop a coup and an incidental demon invasion.

“Lord of the Black Throne” is the final tale. This story has never been published before. It's a game changer. It has more. Bigger odds. A vast conquering army with a leader hell bent on immortality. Actually it reminds me a lot of the David Gemmel that I've read.

There you go, four S&S stories together in one volume for the first time with a fantastic cover by Regis Moulun. Such a nice addition to my sword and sorcery collection. It's available as print to order and e-book from Amazon.

I look forward to reading more from Dilks in the future.

In fact, be sure to check out his new Bohun story, “The Horror From the Stars.” It can be found in the new collection, Swords & Sorceries: Tales of Heroic Fantasy Volume 1. Out now on Amazon from Parallel Universe Publications.