Annual Anthology Group Read - Jan Feb 2022

 

Join the Sword & Sorcery Group on Goodreads

Jan-Feb 2022 is our annual 2month groupread of Anthologies (and Magazines). All are fair game. Online. Print. Old. New.

Banner Cover Art Credits
Sanjulian - Tales from the Magician's Skull #5
Jim Pitts - Sword and Sorceries #3
Mark Wheatley - Blood on the Blade

Below is a sampling of anthologies being targeted. Feel welcome to add any anthology you plan to read to the "poll" which serves to advertise what is being read or discussed (rather than a "winner").

https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/2...


  
Whetstone (Free, online) magazine

  
Swords and Sorceries by Parallel Universe

   
DMR books

  
Rogues Blades Entertainment/Foundation

  
HFQ online or collection


Sword and Planet due out Dec 21

TFMS Blog Roundup (mid-Nov thru mid-dec)

The Tales From the Magician's Skull Blog continues to crank out content.

Link: https://goodman-games.com/tftms/
Here are the posts from late Nov thru mid-Dec, with blurbs:

Dec 10 Preserving the Flame: A Review of Phantasmagoria Special Edition Series #5: Karl Edward Wagner by Brian Murphy
https://goodman-games.com/tftms/2021/...
What makes Karl Edward Wagner’s best writing so powerful? I believe he was chasing a dark muse, dangerous and unpredictable, vital and vivid. The one we see on the page of “Into the Pines,” a story which alone makes the new Phantasmagoria Special Edition Series#5: Karl Edward Wagner, worth its price tag: Out into the pines Renee led him. The pines whose incessant whisper told of black knowledge and secret loneliness.

Dec 07: Adventures in Fiction: Leigh Brackett by Michael Curtis
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Our Appendix N Archeology and Adventures in Fiction series are meant to take a look at the writers and creators behind the genre(s) that helped to forge not only our favorite hobby but our lives. We invite you to explore the entirety of the series on our Adventures In Fiction home page.

Dec 07: Classic Covers: Leigh Brackett by Bill Ward
https://goodman-games.com/tftms/2021/...
The sad truth is that Appendix N is overwhelmingly a boys’ club. Much of the blame can be assigned to the fact that science-fiction and fantasy writers prior to 1960s were by and large white men. It was a tough club for a woman to break into, resulting in many female authors with an interest in writing science-fiction and fantasy working under either pen names (such as Andre Norton) or their initials (like C.L. Moore). A few managed to find success and publication without obscuring their femininity, proving that gender is meaningless when it comes to writing rollicking good sci-fi and fantasy. Leigh Brackett was one of these women who earned her place in the club without needing to hide her identity.

Dec 03: A Chicago Archaeologist in King Thiudahad’s Court: A Look at L. Sprague de Camp’s Lest Darkness Fall by Bill Ward
https://goodman-games.com/tftms/2021/...
In a flash, unassuming archaeologist Martin Padway finds himself displaced in time, slipping from the Rome of Mussolini’s Italy in 1938 into the Rome of the sixth century, AD 535 to be exact. With nothing but the contents of his pockets, a lifetime of learning, and off-the-charts levels of audacity, he sets about not only securing a life for himself, but staving off the collapse of the entire classical world. Fortunately for Western Civilization Martin Padway – who will no doubt be revered in some alternate historical timeline as Martinus Paduei – has an almost John Carter-like suite of superpowers at his disposal. Padway is no fighter, however, and his power has nothing to do with gravity (though he does happen to spill the beans on Einstein’s General Relativity a millennium and a half early…), but rather consists of an encyclopedic knowledge of Procopius’ Gothic Wars, enough Classical Latin and Modern Italian to pidgin his way through the language of the day, and a pretty sharp memory of High School chemistry. It’s a good thing, too, because all of Italy is about to be plunged into a destructive, decades-long war that will achieve nothing in the long-term beyond a further degradation of civilization itself, and Martin must scramble to prevent, even reverse, the coming fiasco . . . Lest Darkness Fall.

Nov-30 Short Sorcery: Poul Anderson’s “Witch of the Demon Seas” by Bill Ward
https://goodman-games.com/tftms/2021/...
Corun of Conahur, once prince of a conquered people, now pirate and rebel, has been captured and brought to Tauros, the seat of imperial sea power for the Thalassocracy of Archaea. Imprisoned, facing certain doom, he is offered a chance to preserve his life in the service of new masters, the sinister sorcerer Shorzon and his beautiful and terrible daughter, the witch Cryseis. As one of the few adventurers ever to return alive from the forbidden realm of the Sea of Demons, one who actually conversed with the mysterious inhuman Xanthi and lived to tell the tale, Corun is uniquely valuable to the sorcerer’s unrevealed plans. Thus begins Poul Anderson’s novella “Witch of the Demon Seas,” a straight-ahead blood and thunder quest over phosphorescent seas in a barbarian-crewed galley into ruined alien lands with the fate of an entire planet at stake.

Nov 27: Adventures in Fiction: L. Sprague de Camp by Jeff Goad
https://goodman-games.com/tftms/2021/...
Our Appendix N Archeology and Adventures in Fiction series are meant to take a look at the writers and creators behind the genre(s) that helped to forge not only our favorite hobby but our lives. We invite you to explore the entirety of the series on our Adventures In Fiction home page......Did you know that L. Sprague de Camp coined the terms “extraterrestrial” and “E.T.”? It’s true! While the noun existed before de Camp, he was the first to use it to describe alien life in a 1939 article for Astounding Science Fiction. This is one of many examples of how De Camp’s impact on the genres of science fiction and fantasy far exceed his level of contemporary fame.

Nov 26: A Look at James Enge’s Blood of Ambrose by Fletcher Vredenburgh
https://goodman-games.com/tftms/2021/...

I abandoned reading fantasy for six or seven years. I had become bored with epics and found myself uninterested in the new, supposedly transgressive, books. But around 2010 I decided to actively seek out and write about sword & sorcery on my blog Stuff I Like. At some point in my search I encountered James Enge’s old website, where he was offering a free download of the Morlock story “Traveller’s Rest.” Assuring readers I wouldn’t give any plot away I wrote, “And the escapade I’m not going to write about is exciting, creepy and covered with the right amount of nuttiness.” Soon after, I read “The Red Worm’s Way” in Rogue Blades’ monstrously good collection, Return of the Sword (a book any true S&S aficionado should own). My short review of that story reads: “Morlock Ambrosius and corpse-eating monsters. Enough said.” Those two stories led me right to Enge’s first full-length novel, Blood of Ambrose.

Happy Holidays Card 2021

Wishing you Peace and Joy this Holiday Season!

 After a two-year hiatus, the Lindberg Holiday Card is back, thanks to the craftiness of Heidi.  Some of her animals are roaming on Instagram. The final card is a compilation of several others (puzzle hunters can look for the owl). Her weapons of choice are hand-drawn sketching, digital sketching on iPad/Procreate, and Adobe Illustrator. We're having some printed, but nowhere near the quantities that we used to have made.

Big Hare Creative

Previous cards are still featured on the Lindberg Crafts website. This one echoes themes from the 2010 and 2018 reindeer/peryton & the 2017 moon/forest silhouette.

Erin is wrapping up her Anthropology/Media-Communication studies at Miami University, and Connor just headed to the University of Cincinnati to study Environmental Engineering. With them growing up, our headquarters became an empty nest. Over 2020 and 2021 we lost two Holiday Card models to old age; Shorty the Pug & Sweetie the Cat are missed (the 2017 Holiday Card photoshoot was all about them, and the 2009 card had them highlighted).

We are going to try to stay petless for a time...then eventually double-down and get a grumble (that's the proper term for >3 pugs). Time will tell. Beyond work, Seth has gotten immersed in all sorts of writing hobbies, publishing short stories, interning for magazines, and joining the planning committee for a large Writer's Symposium; his antics are chronicled on selindberg.com.

For now, the Lindbergs wish everyone a peaceful, joyful, Holiday Season. 

Goofy Lindbergs Spreading Hope

TFMS Blog. Nov-2021 Roundup

 Several TFMS posts have rolled out over the last half of Nov., championed by Bill Ward.

Link: Tales from the Magician's Skull Blog

Save Up To 40% With The HAUL-idays!
Link: https://goodman-games.com/blog/2021/1...

Goodman Games Haul-iday Sale! Virtually everything on the Goodman Games website is discounted now through Monday, November 29, 2021. By using the two coupon codes below, you can save anywhere from 20-40% on items ordered through our website. Most Goodman Games items are 40% off, and most third-party products are 20% off. Coupon codes are not valid on pre-order items, gift cards, or the First-Time Fan Kit. Free shipping on domestic orders over $100.00.
At checkout enter the following two coupon codes (they can be combined, but do not stack):
HAUL2021GOOD and HAUL20213PP.

A Look at James Enge’s Blood of Ambrose by Fletcher Vredenburgh
Link: https://goodman-games.com/tftms/2021/...

"I abandoned reading fantasy for six or seven years. I had become bored with epics and found myself uninterested in the new, supposedly transgressive, books. But around 2010 I decided to actively seek out and write about sword & sorcery on my blog Stuff I Like. At some point in my search I encountered James Enge’s old website, where he was offering a free download of the Morlock story “Traveller’s Rest.” Assuring readers I wouldn’t give any plot away I wrote, “And the escapade I’m not going to write about is exciting, creepy and covered with the right amount of nuttiness.” Soon after, I read “The Red Worm’s Way” in Rogue Blades’ monstrously good collection, Return of the Sword (a book any true S&S aficionado should own). My short review of that story reads: “Morlock Ambrosius and corpse-eating monsters. Enough said.” Those two stories led me right to Enge’s first full-length novel, Blood of Ambrose."

Classic Covers: Poul Anderson
Link: https://goodman-games.com/tftms/2021/...

"With scores of novels spanning the popular genres of science fiction and fantasy, with hundreds of magazine and anthology appearances, and with a career spanning the most creative era of visual marketing in publishing of the 20th century, Poul Anderson’s bibliography has the quintessential ‘Classic Covers’ ingredients. Here is but a small sample of the art that brought Anderson’s stories to life."

Northwest of Earth: A Look at C.L. Moore’s Iconic Space Adventurer
Link: https://goodman-games.com/tftms/2021/...

Popular media is resplendent with celebrations of the romantic outlaw. From Robin of Locksley to the six gun strapping figures of the American Frontier, or the hardboiled gumshoes of detective fiction, the anonymous masked vigilantes of the pulps, even the globe-trotting adventurers of the Victorian era, and continuing right up to the spice-smuggling space jockeys of science fiction, those that dwell outside society’s rules and expectations make for vicariously interesting protagonists. One such character, C.L. Moore’s cool and ruthless Northwest Smith, falls squarely along the timeline that saw America’s heroes trade in their horses for rocketships and their revolvers for rayguns, all while retaining that tenaciously independent and hyper-competent attitude that is the hallmark of the Outsider Hero.

Annual Anthology Poll (for Jan-Feb 2022 Groupread)

Sword & Sorcery Group on Goodreads 

Like the past eight years, we'll dedicate 2months to reading/sharing/reviewing anthologies & magazines.

Join in and identify the ones you plan to give attention toward.  The poll is just being used to share selections (not enforce any one to read).

Poll

Jan-Feb 2022: Annual 2month groupread of Anthologies (and Magazines). All are fair game. Online. Print. Old. New. WRITE IN the one you plan to read/share/review, or select from the ones here.

DMR books
Rogues Blades Entertainment/Foundation
Swords and Sorceries by Parallel Universe
Whetstone (Free, online) magazine

comments and details · show results · invite friends

More Tales from the Magician's Skull has funded!

More Tales From The Magician's Skull

The Kickstarter campaign ritual ended successfully, with 640 backers that unlocked an 8th story in the 2022 Special Issue! Expected years more of S&S printed on high-quality paper, fully illustrated, with statistics for RPG for each story, and engaging covers.... expect greatness!

The Skull Expresses His Gratitude (which doesn't happen often)

Immortal Muse - Review, Stephen Leigh Interview, and Prelude to a Deleted Chapter Reveal

IMMORTAL MUSE BY STEPHEN LEIGH: REVIEW, INTERVIEW, AND PRELUDE TO A SECRET CHAPTER - New Black Gate article posted, and the deleted chapter is posted too: A DELETED EXCERPT FROM IMMORTAL MUSE, REVEALED AND ANNOTATED BY STEPHEN LEIGH

Left, Paperback cover (artist unknown); Right cover art by Tim O'Brien.

Stephen Leigh is a Cincinnati-based, award-winning writer of science fiction and fantasy, with thirty novels and nearly sixty short stories published. He has also published fantasy under the pseudonym S.L. Farrell. He has been a frequent contributor to the Hugo-nominated shared-world series Wild Cards, edited by George R.R. Martin. Stephen taught creative writing for twenty years at Northern Kentucky University, and has recently retired (but not from writing). His most recent novels have been Amid The Crowd Of Stars, the SunPath duology of A Fading Sun and A Rising Moon, The Crow of Connemara, and Immortal Muse. His latest novel, Bound To A Single Sun, will be published by DAW Books next year. Stephen is married to Denise Parsley Leigh; they are the parents of a daughter and a son; he is a musician and vocalist too, active in several Cincinnati bands.

In 2014, Stephen Leigh published his Immortal Muse novel (check out the 2014 Black Gate release), an alternative-history, fantasy fictionalizing alchemy's role in artistic muses. Wow! Of course, Leigh had to be interviewed as part of the "Beauty in Weird Fiction" interview series. Indeed he was interviewed in 2016 before the interview series merged into Black Gate. If you are interested in the aesthetics of horror and weird fantasy, check out the thoughts of our recent guests like Darrell Schweitzer, Sebastian Jones, Charles Gramlich, Anna Smith Spark, Carol Berg, & Jason Ray Carney (full list of interviews at the end of this post).

This post wraps up (1) a review of Immortal Muse, (2) the interview with the author on Leigh's muses, and (3) teases readers within an announcement. Okay, we'll cover that last one first. There is a missing/deleted chapter from Immortal Muse that Stephen Leigh will be posting on Black Gate soon, over 11K words with annotations on (a) why it was left out of the final book and (b) how facts were woven into this fantastical alternative-history. It serves as both a stand-alone short story and an engaging behind-the-scenes look at writing. The article with the missing chapter is posted here.

Let this review and interview stoke your creative fires (link)

BTW, interviewing is rewarding in itself, but receiving kind feedback from the interviewees and readers really hits home. 

“Seth, I honestly think that's one of the best interviews anyone's ever done with me: great questions that forced me to answer in depth. If anyone wants a glimpse into "how I write", your interview would be an excellent choice! Thanks for reminding me of it, and for giving everyone the link!” - Stephen Leigh