A. Merritt's landmark heroic fantasy novel, The Ship of Ishtar, still resonates a solid century after its first publication. Since that time, it has inspired classic tales from the likes of Robert E. Howard, Leigh Brackett and Michael Moorcock.
Read MoreThere are various things about S&S that appealed to me but a big one is the outsider protagonists. Conan is often alone against a dangerous world. That feeling is something I understand. Another thing I like about it is the sense of adventure which is rare in modern society.
Read MoreThe late 1960s and early ‘70s were peak sword-and-sorcery. The Lancer Conan Saga was at its zenith of popularity, eventually selling by some estimates upwards of 10 million copies. And as the ‘60s gave way to the ‘70s a struggling magazine was about to get a signal boost from S&S’s mightiest hero.
Read MoreDonald A. Wollheim debuted—or ‘broke out’—Tanith Lee’s various S&S/heroic fantasy works, Moorcock’s Elric and Dorian Hawkmoon, Saunders’ Imaro and Dossouye and Shea’s Nifft the Lean. In other words, most of the major sword-and-sorcery protagonists of the ‘70s and ‘80s.
Read MoreIn honor of Michael Moorcock’s 82nd birthday in December and 60+ years of Elric, I decided a read from his Eternal Champion oeuvre was in order, and so turned to perhaps my favorite incarnation—Corum Jhaelen Irsei, as featured in The Swords Trilogy (1977, Berkley Medallion).
Read MoreDuring his fifty-year career, Poul Anderson wrote numerous classics—major and minor—that fans of SFF should be thankful for. In my opinion, Poul is quite possibly the greatest science fiction author to ever pound a keyboard. He is also one of the finest fantasy authors to ever spin a yarn.
Read MoreP. Craig Russell is an artist with a nearly half-century career in comics. His renditions of Killraven, Elric, Doctor Strange and Sandman are considered iconic, if not definitive. Russell has collaborated with the likes of Roy Thomas, Neil Gaiman and Michael Moorcock during his illustrious career.
Read MoreToday marked the anniversary of the passing of Donald A. Wollheim. Today also marks—perhaps exactly, perhaps within a few weeks at most—the founding of DAW Books by Wollheim in 1971. Throughout the 1970s and well into the 1980s, DAW Books kept the pulp aesthetic alive, publishing far more sword-and-sorcery and sword-and-planet than its competitors.
Read MoreI’ve often wondered, why hasn’t Michael Moorcock’s sword-and-sorcery fiction ever been adapted to the silver screen? It could have been. Moorcock was approached by the likes of filmmaker Ralph Bakshi for an adaptation of Elric. This would have been circa 1978.
Read MoreSir Walter Scott turned two hundred and fifty yesterday. Descended from bloody Border Reivers, he created the market for historical fiction novels. In the process, Walter inspired everyone from Leonid Tolstoy to George R.R. Martin. Robert E. Howard and Michael Moorcock as well.
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