The Barbarian and the Playwright
Robert Ardrey wrote for Broadway. Robert E. Howard wrote for the pulps. Both perceived the bloody savage lurking beneath the veneer of civilization.
Read MoreA. Merritt and The Ship of Ishtar
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 MoreHoward Days 2023 (Part One)
I attended Howard Days 2023 with several friends: Ken Lizzi, Brian Murphy, Jimmy Jarman and several others. It was a long road getting there.
Read MoreThe Battle of Clontarf: Two Centuries of Great Art
The Battle of Clontarf was an inspiration to Robert E. Howard. It also inspired numerous excellent works of art, especially during the last half-century.
Read MoreCimmerian Remembrance: "If Nobody but a Pure Celt Wore the Green..."
For the majority of the time that he wrote for Weird Tales, Robert E. Howard was an unabashed fan of the Celts—especially the Gaels of Ireland.
Read More21st Century Sword-and-Sorcery: An Introduction
The 1990s were a pretty horrible time for Sword-and-Sorcery. However, by the early 2000s, there were signs of a new dawn for S&S.
Read MoreMister Bad Thing and the Horror From the Mound
“The Horror From the Mound”, is a favorite weird western of mine written by Robert E. Howard. It’s possible that Cabeza de Vaca’s early accounts of exploring Texas inspired Howard to write his classic yarn.
Read MoreConan, Tannhauser & the State
As free-agents of the hard-boiled school, Conan and Mattias Tannhauser share a deep skepticism of the State. Kingship, the demands and prerogatives of the State, all that is meaningless in comparison to a man’s honor and loyalty to his dearest friends.
Read MoreGiving "The Tale of Satampra Zeiros" Its Due
Clark Ashton Smith was a pioneer of the S&S genre. His “The Tale of Satampra Zeiros” was the first sword-and-sorcery story he ever wrote. It is also, possibly, the most influential tale he told within that genre.
Read MoreSir Arthur Conan Doyle: The White Company
The White Company was Arthur Conan Doyle’s tribute to chivalry and the Middle Ages. He considered it his best novel. Robert E. Howard and George MacDonald Fraser were both fans of it.
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