S&S Roundup #51

The Latest in Contemporary Sword & Sorcery

Happy early Thanksgiving to everyone! For those not in the US, hope next week can still be a time of reflection, gratitude, and thanksgiving with family and friends. Or, if you are alone during the upcoming holidays, try cryptid hunting!

Now on with the New and Interesting!

+ Something interesting: My AI created song via ‘Songer’ based on a few S&S inputs and picking the metal genre. “Rise of Grok the Barbarian.” Weird times we live in.

+ Something different: Gaelic Weapons. Lots to read about!

+ Reminder: Our genre has a Contemporary Sword and Sorcery Wiki!

+ New Stuff from Baen: Larry Correia - Graveyard of Demons.

+ Audio version of "The Necromancer and the Forgotten Hero" now on Spotify from D.M. Ritzlin. The story appears in print in Ritzlin’s Dark Dreams of Nilztiria. (April ‘24)

+ Brand New! Swords & Sorceries: Tales of Heroic Fantasy Volume 9 edited by David A. Riley. Features nine new S&S adventures and artwork by Jim Pitts.

+ Somewhat New: City of Magic (3 book series) by Susan Ann Walker. The latest, The Sorcerer and the Necromancer, was recently released. (Teen/Young Adult fantasy)

A few more ‘newish’ genre and genre-adjacent series, anthos, books…

• Godchosen: An Epic Fantasy Boxed Set (5 books) by TS Snow.

• Skinwalker (3 book series) by Andrew P. Weston.

• Mad Shadows (3 book series) by Joe Bonadonna.

• Sword & Scandal Anthology edited by J. Manfred Weichsel.

• Dragons and Heroines: A Dragon Soul Press Anthology.

• To Walk on Worlds by Matthew John.

Free Stories to Read

+ At Heroic Fantasy Quarterly, Issue Q62 features: “Asu and the Demon Wolf” by Daniel Gedge; “Suffer the Witch” by Rev. Joe Kelly; and “Bells Beyond the Shore: A Jack o’ Wraths Tale” by Phil Emery.

+ At Swords & Sorcery Magazine, Issue 153 features: “Beyond the Slit of Eternity” by K. T. Booker; “A Hoard of Infinite Meanings” by Abby Roberts; “A Fallen Flare” by Jamey Toner; and “Eliza Sky and the Iron Smelter’s Devil” by Neil Willcox.

+ Baubles From Bones: Issue 2 (Fall 2024)

Some Cool Kickstarters

+ Almost Funded: Zorann: The Star Warrior -- Sword and Sorcery -- Remastered! A Conan-style barbarian warrior on a prehistoric alien world battles monstrous beasts and evil magic astride his telepathic pterodactyl from Drew D. Lenhart/SnowyWorks.

+ 5 Days to Go! The Fall of Ingway: A Fantasy Audio Drama and Deluxe Script by Justin Rose. “High Fantasy Graphic Audio Drama with Illustrated Special Edition Hardcover. An adventure full of myth and magic telling a tale of gods.”

+ Rogue Mancer Book 1: LitRPG Fantasy Progression Series. Uploaded to an afterlife simulator on his death, the unnamed must climb his way out of the blood pits, gain rank, and ascend the Spire! From Two Taverns.

+ The Crucible Within - An Epic Fantasy Novel. Demigods, Angels, Cherubim, Magic Metals, and the eternal battle between Light and Darkness. From Lúcio José Patrocínio Filho.

+ Surreal Fantasy by Antoine Carrion - “Three lushly painted graphic novels of medieval intrigue, high fantasy, and post-apocalyptic magic.” Neurobellum, Inc.

+ Conqueror's Blood: The Ultimate Collector's Edition - The definitive, illustrated Collector's Edition for the second novel of the hit, dark epic fantasy series the Gunmetal Gods Saga.

+ At Fund My Comic: A Saga of Sunsets - “A gritty fantasy Viking adventure filled with orcs, flying longships, magic & family.” From A.C. Pritchard, with art by Luke Stone.

+ Let’s Go! Three New Sword & Sorcery Collections! Brand new projects by David A. Riley, Tim Hanlon, and Andrew Darlington featuring tales of dark fantasy and heroic adventure. From Tule Fog Press, edited by yours truly. Over halfway funded!

Roundups, Podcasts, & Vlogs

• Sensor Sweep from Castalia House (Nov 18)

• Just the Axe, Ma’am from Kevin Beckett (#15, Oct 31)

• Rediscovered Realms latest: Fantastic Fantasy Cartoons (Nov 17)

Podcasts…

• Monsters, Madness and Magic Podcast - EP#285: Sign of the Sigil Strider - An Interview with Vidarr the Silent (Nov 17(

• Strange Shadows - SS3 017 The Second Interment: We pay tribute to the late Scott Connors. (Nov 10)

• New Listing! Paperback Warrior Podcast (Ep 109, Nov 10)

• Baen Free Radio Hour - Latest episode is Nov 15.

• The Cromcast - Season 21 Episode 2: CROMTOBER! Brotherhood of the Wolf and Black Death (Nov 9)

• Rogues in the House - Love, Revenge, Metal: Panos Cosmatos’ ‘Mandy” (Oct 30)

• Dungeons & Damsels - “Soldier, Arrow, Horse” (Part 3, Oct 25)

YouTube Shows…

• Rogue Blade Presents “24 in 42” - latest episode with Gustavo Bondoni.

• Michael K. Vaughan’s latest: 500 Book Challenge.

• Skallagrim - Did this Fight Scene from Blade (1998) Age Well?

  

Conan, Pulp, and More

+ Savage Sword of Conan #01 (Titan) reviewed at Paperback Warrior.

+ The Savage Swords of Jim Steranko from Deuce Richardson at DMR Blog.

+ Latest from Dark Worlds: Edmond Hamilton’s The Lake of Life.

+ The Paperback Barbarians: The Lancer Anthologies at Castalia House.

+ L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter – Back on the Shelves by Gary Romeo.

+ Review of John Norman’s Nomads of Gor (1969) from Vintage Pop Fiction.

For Writers

• Swords & Sorcery Magazine is open to subs.

• Savage Realms Monthly submission guidelines here. (send first 3 pages)

• BFS Horizons writers’ guidelines are here.

• Schlock! is open to submissions.

• Peasant Magazine - submission guidelines are here.

• Iron Age Media open to contributions.

• Raconteur Press - Open Calls for 2025.

• Raven Tale Publishing is open for ‘Creature Feature’ stories.

• FB page: Open Submission Calls for variety of genres.

That’s about it for this roundup. Next Tuesday, watch for the next Swords & Heroes eZine story right here - same bat time, same bat channel. Thanks for reading!

Upcoming ToC…

• Story #14 - Nov 26 - “Shadow in the Eye” by Erik Waag

• Story #15 - Dec 10 - “Last Man Standing” by C. L. Werner

• CHRISTMAS BREAK

• Story #16 - Jan 7 - “Necroman” by Adam Parker

• Story #17 - Jan 21 - “Oblivion’s Key” by Gustavo Bondoni

• Story #18 - Feb 4 - “The Carrion Knight” by Thomas Grayfson

• Story #19 - Feb 18 - “The Sorcerer Weaves Magic in His Sleep” by David Carter

Until next time, keep swinging.