S&S Roundup #57

The Latest in Contemporary Sword & Sorcery

Tad late this week - on vacation! Hope most of you in the Northern Hemisphere are easing out of winter and into spring. Graduation season is just around the corner! ;-)

Some New Books & Projects

Sand & Steel: An Anthology of Sword and Sorcery by T. H. Brandt. “Five harrowing stories of blood, thunder, and old-fashioned heroic fantasy!”

Swords and Maidens: Eleven Tales of Chivalry and Valor (Mistcreek Publishing, 2023) “From magic battlefields where horses fear to tread, to…a planet infested with eldritch abominations, and lands ruled by fear, heroes will fight for what is worth fighting for.”

Thune’s Vision by Schuyler Hernstrom (2022) “In these eight short fictions, Hernstrom feeds on an autochthon rage, speaks directly but not simply in tones strong enough to convey sibilant victory or the clamor of disaster.”

SwordPlay – Thirteen Tales of Sword & Sorcery (2023) “Mixing classic with unconventional approaches, SwordPlay collects…a group of tales like you've never experienced, while retaining a familiar feel all fans of the genre will recognize.”

Man of Swords: Legends of the Wandered Lands Hardcover by Robert Victor Mills (Dec 2022) “Atop a sacred mountain a young man discovers himself doomed with the cruelest of curses… So begin his adventures through realms of dark peril…”

Red Sonja: Consumed by Gail Simone. “The warrior Red Sonja, the famous fiery She-Devil of Hyrkania, has never concerned herself with the consequences of her actions.”

Conan: Cult of the Obsidian Moon by James Lovegrove (Titan Books).

We Laugh At Death by John R. Fultz (part of the Scaleborn series).

Chronicles of Hanuvar (3 Book Series) by Howard Andrew Jones.

The Brutal Sword Saga (9 book series) by James Alderdice (David J. West). “He has no name. His past is a mystery. His future is etched in blood…”

Some S&S Reviews, Views, & News

+ New Website for Dark Worlds Quarterly - they’ve moved! Check out the pulp culture of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror at gwthomas.org.

+ Milestone: Swords & Sorcery Magazine celebrates 13 years of stories. And check out the essay, “Sonja, Sex, and the Armor Bra” by Bryn Hammond who discusses Gail Simone’s Red Sonja novel Red Sonja: Consumed.

+ Review at Rough Edges by James Reasoner: The Hanuvar Chronicles, Book 2: The City of Marble and Blood by Howard Andrew Jones.

+ At the Silver Key, Brian Murphy offers 5 reasons why paper books are better than digital.

+ Morgan posts his Sensor Sweep: Comics Code, Michael Moorcock, Drow, Heavy Metal.

+ At Black Gate, S. E. Lindberg discusses the new Jirel of Joiry project from New Edge Sword & Sorcery Magazine.

+ Jason Ray Carney reviews Steve Dilks' Bohun: The Complete Savage Adventures and Heroic Tenacity.

+ Booktalk at Age of Dusk blog reviews The Chronicles of Caylen-Tor Vol. I, II & III by Byron A. Roberts, published by DMR Books.

Conan and the Pulps

+ How Conan Conquered the Comics Code at Conan Chronology. Also, check out the correct chronological order for the Heroic Legends e-book series.

+ The Complete Archie the Barbarian from G. W. Thomas at Dark Worlds Quarterly.

+ The Lost Book of Averoigne: An Unfulfilled Promise – Lin Carter and Clark Ashton Smith - a commentary by Steve Replogle at Sprague de Camp Fan.

+ Review at Vintage Pop Fictions of Too Many Worlds by Gerald Vance (from Amazing Stories, December 1952).

+ Review of a Solomon Kane book - The Hound of God by Jonathan Mayberry - at Paperback Warrior.

+ Following in the Steps of Robert E. Howard: The Eye of Sounnu by Schuyler Hernstrom (published by DMR Books), comments from Jeffrey Talanian at Black Gate.

+ News update from Robert E. Howard Days blog.

Free S&S Stories to Read Online

• “Wolves of the Wasteland” by Mario Carić at Rogues in the House Presents.

• “The Deliverance of Benrimmon” by Stephen Coney at Heroic Fantasy Quarterly.

• “The Fountain of Hatteos” by Gregory Mele at Heroic Fantasy Quarterly.

• Read Witch House - Amateur Magazine of Cosmic Horror (4 issues so far!)

• “Shadows of a Forgotten Empire” by D. K. Latta at Swords & Sorcery Magazine.

• “The Hollowed Man” by David J. Lynch at Swords & Sorcery Magazine.

• “Gargolyles” by Ryan M. Patrick at Swords & Sorcery Magazine.

• “Sharper than Steel, Colder than Death” by Robert Rhodes at Swords & Sorcery Magazine.

• The latest issue of Baubles from Bone (#3, Winter 2024) is up and features 7 short stories and 4 poems.

• Two stories from 2022 remain online at Old Moon Quarterly - “Stella Splendens” by Graham Thomas Wilcox and “The Bloody Staircase” by Gabriella Officer-Narvasa.

• The Naming Ritual - A Fantasy Novelette by Adam Nathan Wieland.

• Swords & Heroes Story #19 - “The Sorcerer Weaves Magic in His Sleep” by David Carter.

• Swords & Heroes Story #18 - “The Carrion Knight” by Thomas Grayfson.

Videos, Podcasts, and Crowdfunding

• Monsters, Madness and Magic Podcast - EP#310: Night of the Cobra - An Interview with Christian Larson. EP#309: Master of the Metal Legions - An Interview with Bob Byrne. EP#308: Hoard of the Grey Lord - An Interview with Michael Greylord. Et cetera.

• Paperback Warrior Podcast - Episode 114: Black Detectives in vintage fiction.

• Strange Shadows - SS3 021 ‘The Supernumerary Corpse’ - “We delve into [Clark Ashton] Smith’s tale of jealousy and poison.”

• Baen Free Radio Hour - BFRH 2025 02 14: Dave Butler interviews Stephen R. Lawhead on Aurelia, the next book (a prequel) in his celebrated Arthurian fantasy series, the Pendragon Cycle.

• New: Rogues in the House - “Sword and Planet, Finally” (Feb 12).

• The Cromcast - S21 E4: The Last of the Mohicans & The Revenant (Dec 21, 2024)

• Dungeons & Damsels - “Soldier, Arrow, Horse” (Part 4 of 4, Nov 29. 2024)

And on YouTube…

• Amazon is Hiding Sword and Sorcery! - A video review from Erik Waag.

• Rogue Blade Presents “24 in 42” - latest episode with Ian Cameron Esslemont.

• Blasters & Blades Podcast - Episode 524: The Pogue One Anthology by Raconteur Press.

• Michael K. Vaughan’s latest - Becky Cloonan’s Conan (Epic Comic Book Wednesday) - from Dark Horse 2012.

• Skallagrim’s recent videos include: Could a Viking Defeat a Knight?

Some Crowdfunding Projects

• Complete Mongoose and Meerkat: “Collecting the complete adventures of Mongoose and Meerkat in a single prestige volume.” From Cirsova (4 days left)

• SwordRealm Graphic Novel Saga Issue #1 (Launching Soon)

• Reign of Dragons: Illustrated Hardcover Anthology (Launching Soon)

• Realm Travelers - A Fantasy/Adventure Anthology (Launching Soon)

• Reaver Sword & Sorcery Role-Playing Game from Joseph Salvador (Launching Soon)

• New Edge Sword & Sorcery 2025 on Backerkit from Brackenbury Books - “Sword & Sorcery magazine featuring short fiction, non-fiction, and gorgeous art.”

• RPG: The Crypt of Valerius - “An Adventure Module designed for use with Shadowdark RPG for Character Levels 1-3.” From Bryan O'Doherty.

• 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. (ends April 29)

Markets For Writers

• Heroic Fantasy Quarterly is currently OPEN for submissions thru March 15th.

• These markets seem to be always open: Swords & Sorcery Magazine // Savage Realms Monthly // BFS Horizons // Schlock! // Swords & Heroes // Peasant Magazine // Iron Age Media // Do you know of any others?

• Raconteur Press - Open Calls for 2025 Anthologies.

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

• FB page: Open Submission Calls for variety of genres. (Must join the group.)

• Robert’s Recurring Nightmares (see guidelines here) Deadline: March 31, 2025.

• General List of Sci-Fi And Fantasy Magazines and Journals for Short Stories.

• Also, check out this growing database of speculative fiction periodicals.

That’s about it for this issue! Feel free to comment with updates, new links, and interesting genre-adjacent projects. Until next time, keep swinging!

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Do you enjoy these newsletter roundups and S&S biweekly stories? Consider supporting this project by checking out the sword and sorcery catalog from Tule Fog Press! Here’s one of our latest releases - The Eternal Assassin Chronicles (associate link) by Andrew Darlington, a ‘two volumes in one’ (250 pages, 6x9 paperback) collection of S&S and science-fantasy stories.

Thanks for reading!