Artwork for the first Bard novel by Don Maitz — Artwork for the first *Bard* novel by Don Maitz

With the hectic rush of the holidays upon us, I have been tapped to write a little something about Keith Taylor for his birthday. This has become a tradition here at DMR Books. I find I am a poor substitute for Deuce Richardson, who by all rights is such a big fan of Mr. Taylor's work. I will endeavor to do both men justice.

As far as I'm concerned Keith Taylor is a living legend of sword and sorcery fiction. He boasts a career that spans decades.

I didn't come to this genre as I've read others have. I came to it a couple of decades later than most. While others wax on about Howard, Leiber, Moorcock, I came on board with battered copies of Norton's Witch World and Moore's Jirel of Joiry. You see, when I was coming up in the 90s most of the seminal works of these great authors were out of print and I had to run down old used copies.

My first encounter with Keith Taylor was his work with Andrew J. Offutt for the series about Howard's Cormac Mac Art for Ace books. For years, I never saw anything else published by this author. I became aware of his Bard series only by word of mouth. The same with his Danans trilogy. Until recently much of his work has been out of print.

Luckily for fans new and old, his entire Bard series is available once again. Even hard to find book five, Felimid's Homecoming.

Also available is Servant of the Jackal God, a collection of interconnected stories from Weird Tales magazine. Taylor paints a vivid picture of ancient Egypt. Kamose, our protagonist, is well grounded and equal to any challenge. Although, he is still human and makes mistakes and has a few close calls. Kamose also makes me think of Fletch with his proclivity for disguises.

And if you missed his story “The Man with the Evil Eye” in the DMR collection Death Dealers & Diabolists be sure to check it out. It's available as part of the Kindle Unlimited program.

So let's all doff our hats and raise a glass to Keith Taylor in celebration of his birthday. Happy Birthday Mr. Taylor!