S&S Roundup #28

The Latest in Contemporary Sword & Sorcery

Another week has come and gone, so let’s get to some sword and sorcery and adjacent genres before it’s too late! Send me your links, updates, new projects, etc., any time.

First, Some Interesting Articles…

+ Eye-popping list: Ten Things the Ancients Did Better than Us (Ancient-Origins.net). One thing we do better than the ancients? Argue online! So there.

+ Why is this news? Vikings Were in America Before Columbus, Study Claims (at Greek Reporter). I don’t know about you, but we learned in grade school that Leif Erikson beat Columbus by about 500 years. Still, worth a read.

Next, Some Podcasts & Roundups

• Links of Steel from DMR Books (Aug 27)

• Sensor Sweep from Castalia House (Aug 28)

• The Cromcast - (Aug 25) - NEW - Ep 14: People of the Black Circle

• Rogues in the House - (Aug 23) - A sit down with Steven Erikson, C.L.Werner and Jason Waltz to discuss RBE's latest project, Neither Beg Nor Yield.

• Dungeons & Damsels - (Aug 15) - “Laallafee’s City Adventure" (Part 3 of 5)

• Baen Free Radio Hour (3 NEW Episodes) - Howard Andrew Jones on Lord of a Shattered Land (Parts 1 & 2) and HAJ’s Elevator Pitch.

• The Worldshapers (Aug 28) - Ep 142: M.J. Kuhn

• Discovered Wordsmiths (Aug 29) - Ep 169 – Robert Wolf

• Check out the archives of Dark Worlds Podcast. Newest show (Aug 21) features “Neither Beg Nor Yield” from Rogue Blades Entertainment.

• NEW podcast to our current lineup - “Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff” - Latest episode is #562 (Aug 25) where they “chat with author Howard Andrew Jones about the state of sword and sorcery and his new novel, Lord of a Shattered Land.”

Speaking of… I might have posted these links before, but there are numerous reviews popping up about HAJ’s latest. Here’s Nathan’s take at Castalia House; and Brian Murphy’s review at The Silver Key; and Paul Semel’s interview and commentary here. If you haven’t bought Lord of the Shattered Land, check it out from Baen Books.

New S&S and Adjacent Projects

+ Cover Reveal: Vran the Chaos-Warped by D.M. Ritzlin. Dave writes: “The release of my first sword-and-sorcery novel, Vran the Chaos-Warped, is still about a month away, but today I’m proud to reveal the cover art” here at DMR Books. Tres cool.

+ NEW from Literary Rebel: Savage Realms Monthly: August 2023: “A collection of dark fantasy sword and sorcery short adventure stories.” This is Issue #21! Excellent!

+ Author Shephard W. McIlveen writes: “Just a few more days until my ebook BOGO sale on Barnes & Noble’s virtual bookstore concludes…including my most recent piece Shattered Glass, a Sword & Sorcery novella.”

+ New release: Deathbringer by Blake Carpenter (Feb 2023, Amazon). This is Book 1 in the Spellsword Saga. Currently on sale for only 99 cents - and 273 pages, so good length!

+ Childe Rolande by Samantha Lee (from Parallel Universe Publications) paperback is on sale for a ridiculously low price in the USA. Check it out here.

+ Check out Legacy of Rukara (a 3 book series) by James Downe, the middle volume features some exciting stories about the Sisters of Jade.

Blog Posts, Reviews, and More

+ At RedWizard52's YouTube Channel - “An interview with the publisher of Neither Beg Nor Yield…” Jason M Waltz and authors Scott Oden, John R. Fultz. Moderated by Jason Ray Carney.

+ Morgan at Castalia House takes a look at Chris Webber's The Gods of Battle (2011), “an examination of the Thracians at war 1500 B.C. to AD 150.”

+ Richard Barrett offers a commentary on King Arthur’s Three-Fold Path of Masculinity at Pulp Fiction Renaissance.

+ Not S&S but I came across this freebie e-book from Blue Boar Press - SciFanSat E-Zine Issue 1: Begin. Looks like you have to provide your address, though. Hmm.

+ Reviewers Wanted! If you are into posting reviews on Goodreads, Amazon, and other locations, the publishers for Gustavo Bondoni’s sword & sorcery novels would like to give you a free book to read and review! Contact me or Gustavo for info.

Conan & Friends

+ From ScreenRant: New Conan The Barbarian Short Stories Coming From Titan Books - “Titan Books reveals a new monthly short story series about Conan the Barbarian, starting with Conan: Lord of the Mount in September.”

+ Ed McBride reviews: The First Kothar the Barbarian (mega pack) -3 Sword and Sorcery Novels by Gardner Fox.

+ From Greg O'Driscoll: Get Brak to where you once belong! A look at The Mark of the Demons by John Jakes.

+ Okay, this is wild. Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment (!) will premier a new Ukrainian Fantasy Series called “Cossacks” - coming to Crackle on September 1. “Cossacks is a 12-episode sword and sorcery / fantasy series following the irreverent exploits of Ivan, a young Ukrainian peasant raised by a Polish aristocrat who grows into a likable adventure-seeking rogue.” I’m down for this!

Additional Note: According to IMDb, this has already aired (in Ukraine?) in 2020.

Cool Crowdsourcing Campaigns

+ New from Brent Turner: Vigilantes' Creed - Two Novels & A Mini-Comic. "A lovecraftian tale about a gargoyle and his team of vigilantes fighting terror in Detroit." (via IndieGoGo)

+ It’s LIVE! Neither Beg Nor Yield: A Sword & Sorcery Attitude Anthology from Jason M Waltz. “We’ve brought the swashbuckling, reached for the sky, and returned the sword. Now we give you the true definition of S&S.” 15 days to go!

+ Also check out: Heroic Fantasy Quarterly Best-Of Volume 4 Anthology. “Like an ancient dragon waking atop its hoard, HFQ is back! We're getting best-of volume 4.”

+ ANVIL: Iron Age Magazine Issue #2 via Fund My Comic. Only 2 days left!

+ Fire & Ice: The Miniatures Board Game - “The Groundbreaking Fantasy Adventure of Fire & Ice Can Be Yours To Play In This Collectors Edition Board Game!” 13 days left!

+ Coming Soon from J.Q. Graziano, host of Rediscovered Realms on Substack...On Kickstarter: The Lost Dungeon: Heroic Old School Epic Fantasy Gamebook. “Accept your quest, Level-up, Seek the treasure that will save your town & Forge your epic destiny!”

Sub Windows for Writers

+ Heroic Fantasy Quarterly is open for submissions - last day is tomorrow, Aug 31!

+ Whetstone is calling for subs for Issue #8. Deadline is Sunday, Sept. 17th, 2023. BTW, did you know you can access all the back issues of Whetstone for free? Here’s Issue 7.

+ Upbeat Tales is looking for fantasy, sci-fi, horror (all stories should a have an upbeat or comedic element) - submission window open now through Aug 31, 2023.

+ Pyre Magazine is looking for horror, weird, etc. now until Sept 18.

+ New Listing: Crimson Quill Quarterly: A Quarterly Publication of Fantasy Short Stories (open for subs through Oct 31).

+ Numerous anthos to be published by Dragon Soul Press are here. (varied deadlines)

+ Upcoming Anthology: Here There Be Dragons - sub window Oct 1, 2023 to Jan 1, 2024.

+ Opening Nov, 2023: Sub window for Die By the Sword Volume II from DMR Books.

Finally, a little self-promo…

Dropping on Labor Day, Sept 4 - initially only available from me (that is, Tule Fog Press, not on Amazon until October) as an e-book. S&S themed - about 150 pages! It'll eventually go for $5.99, but it will only be $4 via a direct download on my website. Link next week!

Cover by Gilead Artist, stories by James Troxell, Joseph L. Kellogg, George Jacobs, James McCuiston, Rob McDermott, Dustin Reade, Matthew X. Gomez, James Downe, William Paul Remington, Jasiah Witkofsky, Michael T. Burke, Gustavo Bondoni, B. Harlan Crawford, and a special review and commentary by Anthony Perconti.

Until next time!