Sorcerer & Sword

[Zak Arntson]

Ron Wrote:

Almuric, crapulent??

I look at it as Howard's answer to the Barsoom books by Edgar Rice Burroughs.

...

I can just see Howard thrilling to John Carter's adventures ... and then saying, "Hey, these are wonderful ideas, but the people are kind of bloodless. Here, let me show you."

That's the thing.  There was too much attention payed to gender roles and not enough moving plot.  I felt like it was Howards' little personal fantasy or something.

Granted, it ain't a GREAT book.

And maybe that's why I was disappointed.  It's the first Howards book I read.  I was looking for way more.



Paul Wrote

What'd you get by David C. Smith? I've got a trilogy that includes Master of Evil. I enjoyed the first volume in that trilogy quite a bit. I think I read a little ways into the second volume, but never finished reading the wole trilogy.

I've got Oron and The Sorcerer's Shadow.  I found a piece of the Master of Evil at the store, but my wallet and the fact that it wasn't the first forbade me from buying.

I'm trying to read these things chronologically.  I just got The Book of Fritz Leiber, articles & stories picked by Fritz.

[Blake Hutchins]

There was a little gem by C.F. Gardner called Kothar, Barbarian Swordsman. Liked that one a lot. I think Ron quotes from it in Sword. Otherwise, my personal faves are Lieber's Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser stuff. For the more visually oriented among us, Mignola illustrated a few of the early stories in a graphic novel. Both Lieber and Gardner feature marvelous, deft use of language in addition to telling grand stories.

GRATUITOUS WARNING: I encountered John Norman's Gor series when I was a sprout. This stuff looks like a sword and sorcery series and it's written in a moderately engaging E.R. Burroughs Barsoomy style, but after the first couple of (not too bad) books, Norman's adolescent sexual domination agenda grew toxic-toxic-toxic for his storytelling.

[Clay]

For those of you eprived in the used bookstore scene, send me lists of works you're looking for via private e-mail.  The vacation home is in a little town with two pretty decent used bookstores (God help you if you want new books--you have to drive over an hour to the nearest new bookstore).

I'll see if the stores have anything when I'm there next week and write back with what I find and the address for mail order.  I'd send you the URL for the stores, but I haven't convinced them to hire me yet.