Classic Interview: Jessica Amanda Salmonson
“I have high expectations of heroic fantasy. I don’t believe it has to be the endless barrage of hastily written imitations whose themes, characters, plots, Read More
Category: Sword & Sorcery
Brak the Barbarian: A History
The Barbarian Age was not a remote time after the fall of Rome but the years 1968 to 1981 or so. Beginning with the Lancer Read More
A Cowboy, A Space Captain, a Private Detective and a Barbarian Walk Into a Bar…
That could be the beginnings of a really lame joke, but it’s something more. All four of these characters, these separate genre icons, share something Read More
Sword & Sorcery versus Sword & Planet
A swordsman, his arms bearing red wounds, limps across a battlefield covered in bodies. His helmet is gone; his shield is broken. The flag of Read More
Pulp Writing: Opening With a Punch
I miss the Pulps. Not for the garish covers featuring aliens molesting sweet-young space maidens. Not for the variety that gave us the brash adventure Read More
Classic Interview with Darrell Schweitzer (2003)
“This is my path. I will not turn from it.” — Mysteries of the Faceless King DARRELL SCHWEITZER is an important figure in fantasy fiction Read More
Lin Carter’s Imaginary Worlds
One of the last books published by the Ballantine Fantasy Series (BFS) was Imaginary Worlds (1973) by Lin Carter. I recently picked up a copy Read More
Ramsey Campbell’s Sword & Sorcery Hero – Ryre
Writers often experiment early in their careers, trying different styles, genres or publishing opportunities. Until success pulls them in a certain direction the scribbler is Read More
Sword & Sorcery Anthologies: 1986-2008
If you missed the first one…. Barbarians (1986) edited by Robert Adams, Martin H. Greenberg & Charles G. Waugh1. ” Scylla’s Daughter” by Fritz Leiber2. Read More
Sword & Sorcery Anthologies 1963-1985
The Sword & Sorcery boom of the late 1960s was driven by the publication of The Lord of the Rings by Donald A. Wollheim at Read More