The Chronicles of Amber doesn’t meet the strictest definition of a sword-and-sorcery tale. But anyone hesitating to try the series because of a pedantic view of the genre’s borders is missing out, because the original five books narrated by Corwin (starting with Nine Princes of Amber and ending with The Courts of Chaos) are some of the finest heroic fantasy fiction ever put to paper.
Read MoreThe New Year’s Guest Bloggerama continues, as Chris L Adams celebrates the 128th anniversary of Clark Ashton Smith’s birth by showing off his collection of CAS books.
Read More“I, Maal Dweb, the ruler of six worlds and all their moons, shall go forth alone, unheralded, and without other equipment than that which any fledgling sorcerer might possess. In this way, perhaps I shall recover the lost charm of incertitude, the foregone enchantment of peril.”
Read MoreStruggle defined Jack London’s life and fiction. To London, such struggle was not only natural, but a necessary component of personal fulfillment. And more – he believed that confronting challenges instilled in the individual a sense of purpose which could rescue him from modern aimlessness.
Read MoreJohn Myers Myers’ picaresque novel, Silverlock, has remained a cult classic for seven decades, beloved by the likes of Poul Anderson, Larry Niven, Andrzej Sapkowski and Ken Lizzi.
Read MoreThis week: Robert E. Howard, H.P. Lovecraft, Merritt, Moorcock, Weird Tales, Kurosawa, and more.
Read MoreWeird monsters and the Dark Ages are a perfect fit. Grendel and his mother could have stepped out of the pages of any story published in Weird Tales, and no-one would notice a shoggoth if you hid it between a giant and a troll.
Read MoreIf you grew up in the 1980s it was impossible to avoid Boris Vallejo’s influence. Love him or hate him, he is inextricably intertwined with all things sword-and-sorcery, sword-and-planet, and fantasy art in general.
Read MoreWhat an immersive and surprising experience reading Victor Hugo’s Notre-Dame de Paris proved to be! Countless references to alchemy, hermeticism, magic, witchcraft and sorcery — no dragons perhaps, but layer upon layer of dungeons. But perhaps most striking of all are Hugo’s detailed and fascinating descriptions of the late medieval Parisian underworld.
Read MoreCabell -- at one point a household name -- has sadly fallen into obscurity. It is a shame that such a master -- once banned in Boston, a sign of quality if there ever was one -- should no longer be widely read.
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