A Look Back: Deuce's Books in 2021

This edition of 'A Look Back' was somewhat delayed this time around, due to my tribute post to Glenn Lord taking precedence. I thought about skipping it, but, since I don't do that many book reviews, I look at this list as a way to give some sort of shout-out to people I support.

The list below is comprised of all the books I remember reading or rereading in 2020. There is certainly the possibility that I've forgotten some worthy books I read earlier in the year. Rest assured that all of the books listed are ones I actually liked—books I didn’t like simply became one with the dust of forgotten ages. If a book is listed, I consider it worth reading. YMMV. As in years before, this list is a mix of vintage and “just published yesterday” books. Notable periodicals, such as Tales from the Magician's Skull, are also listed. However, I have not tried to list various short stories I’ve read singly here n’ there. As always, please try to support small and independent publishers/authors—especially the ones who don’t hate you.

In general, I have tried to embed a link in each book title to the exact edition I read. That may not be so in many cases, however. In some cases, wherein I deem it more helpful, I’ve linked to a review by myself or others. Also, I'm not listing the books in any particular order, alphabetical or otherwise. More like, “Here’s the first bookstack. This is the top book on the bookstack.” Some of you might notice a few reoccurring entries from previous years’ lists. That’s because some books are traditional yearly rereads for me and others just needed to be read yet another time, Crom damn it.

I hope this list sparks some interest in the books mentioned. I also hope DMR Blog readers enjoy the next four weeks of the DMR Guest Bloggerama.

A Dish of Spurs by Robert Low

Swordsmen from the Stars by Poul Anderson

The Book of Robert E. Howard edited by Glenn Lord

Lovecraft: The Great Tales by John D. Haefele

Chief of the Cossacks by Harold Lamb

Golden Witchbreed by Mary Gentle

A Night in the Lonesome October by Roger Zelazny

The Picture of Dorian Grey by Oscar Wilde

Flame and Crimson: A History of Sword-and-Sorcery by Brian Murphy

Robert E. Howard Changed My Life edited by Jason M. Waltz

Corum: The Coming of Chaos by Michael Moorcock

Tales from the Magician’s Skull #6 edited by Howard Andrew Jones

The Eye of Sounnu by Schuyler Hernstrom

Medieval Machine by Jean Gimpel

Dawnward Spire, Lonely Hill: The Letters of H.P. Lovecraft and Clark Ashton Smith edited by David E. Schultz and S.T. Joshi

The Averoigne Legacy edited by Edward Stasheff

A Man Called Intrepid by William Stevenson

Twilight of the Gods by Edmond Hamilton

The Avenger from Atlantis by Edmond Hamilton

The Highly Civilized Man by Dane Kennedy

The Fall of Gondolin by J.R.R. Tolkien

Promised Land by Brian Stableford

Sable by Mike Grell

The Howard Collector edited by Glenn Lord

The Black Lodge by Robert Weinberg

Lord of the Two Lands by Judith Tarr

Prince of Sparta by Jerry Pournelle and S.M. Stirling

The Story of Atlantis and the Lost Lemuria by W. Scott Elliot

Criminal Masterminds by Rick Lai

Cross Plains Universe edited by Scott A. Cupp and Joe R. Lansdale

The Stone by Nigel Tranter

Beyond Midnight edited by Kirby McCauley and T.E.D. Klein

The Fu-Manchu Omnibus: Volume 1 by Sax Rohmer

The Lost Empire of Sol edited by Jason M. Waltz and Fletcher A Vredenburgh

Captain Sir Richard Francis Burton by Edward Rice

Balefires by David Drake

Litany of the Long Sun by Gene Wolfe

The Black Stranger and Other American Tales by Robert E. Howard

Dwellers in the Mirage by A. Merritt

White Mare, Red Stallion by Diana L. Paxson

Epiphany of the Long Sun by Gene Wolfe

Drink by Andrew Barr

From Black Land to Fifth Sun by Brian Fagan

Memnon by Scott Oden

Fighting Men by Henry Treece and Ewart Oakeshott

Hawk of May by Gillian Bradshaw

Sword in Sheath by Andre Norton

The Border Wardens by John Myers Myers