H. Rider Haggard -- 95 Years Gone

The passing of H. Rider Haggard marked the end of a heroic era. He was the foremost titan amongst a titanic generation of mainly British authors--many of whom became Forefathers of Sword and Sorcery--who rose to prominence in the late 1800s. Haggard's torch was in good hands, having already been passed to the likes of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Talbot Mundy, A. Merritt...and to a young Texan Haggard fan named Robert E. Howard.

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Forefathers of Sword and Sorcery: Gustave Flaubert

Gustave Flaubert died on this date in 1880. While most famous for his novel, Madame Bovary, and dubbed "The Father of French Literary Realism", Gustave nonetheless had a strong influence on the early formation of sword-and-sorcery through his novels, Salammbo and The Temptation of Saint Anthony.

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A Savage Strength: A Tribute to the Muscular Art of Frank Frazetta

With tributes, remembrances, and recaps of the life and art of Frank Frazetta lying spread across the internet like blue mantles beneath the stars, I found myself struggling to come up with anything fresh or meaningful to say about the Greatest Fantasy Illustrator of All Time that hasn’t already been said. But as we approach the 10th anniversary of his death (May 10, 2010), I asked myself, What is it about Frazetta’s style that keeps me coming back to his images?

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