Showing posts with label Goodreads. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Goodreads. Show all posts

Saturday, August 25, 2018

Sept-Oct 2018 Groupreads: KANE and BLACK COMPANY

The Sword and Sorcery Group on Goodreads invites you to discuss and read (and listen) this Sept-Oct on these two topics:


1) Cook's BLACK COMPANY Groupread Discussion Glen Cook's Black Company.... with a keen eye toward Port of Shadows, the new episode due out Sept-11th 2019. All Black Company books are fair game.

2) KANE Group Discussion . It is always a good time to read Kane, but now we can do so with this group, and a fine podcast already in progress on The Dark Crusade Podcast

It is always a goo time to read Kane, but now we can do so with this group, and a fine podcast already in progress: This Summer/Fall 2019, Jordan Douglas Smith and F. N. York chat about a different story on the Dark Crusade Podcast. The Dark Crusade is a podcast dedicated to the fiction, life, and influences of writer, editor, and publisher Karl Edward Wagner.The goal is to read through the works of Wagner, learn more about him, and reignite interest in his work.

 They already started with:

Masthead Banner: Credits

Glen Cook's Black Company: Port of Shadows, Cover art by - Raymond Swanland 2018

Karl Edward Wagner's Gods in Darkness: The Complete Novels of Kane
2002 by Ken Kelly

Port of Shadows (The Chronicles of the Black Company, #1.5) by Glen Cook Gods in Darkness The Complete Novels of Kane by Karl Edward Wagner 

Sunday, June 24, 2018

Jul-Aug Groupreads: New vs. "N"


July-Aug 2018 Group Reads...
 it's the New vs. the Old!



1) Discussion Link: New S&S

2) Discussion Link: Appendix N



BANNER credits:

Representing the New in the banners is the cover art to Michael J. Sullivan's The Crown Conspiracy, French edition La Conspiration de la Couronne by artist Mousiour Simonetti (2012)

And representing the Old we have Gary Gygax's legendary 
Dungeon Masters Guide with cover art by David C. Sutherland III (1979) and containing the Appendix N.

La Conspiration de la Couronne (Les révélations de Riyria, #1) by Michael J. Sullivan Dungeon Masters Guide (Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st Edition) by Gary Gygax 

Sunday, May 27, 2018

Tales from the Magician's Skull - Review by SE


Tales from the Magician's Skull #1
by Howard Andrew Jones
S.E. rating: 5 of 5 stars

"Behold! I have fashioned a magazine like those from fabled days of yore. It overflows with thrilling adventures. There are swords, and there is sorcery. There are dark deeds and daring rescues. There are lands where heroes fear to tread." - The Magician's Skull speaks in Kickstarter

Should you trust a talking skull? Well, no sane person would, but I attest this Skull does not lie. Tales from the Magician's Skull #1 spawned from a successful 2017 Kickstarter Campaign in which Howard Andrew Jones (Sword & Sorcery guru, author, and RPGer) teamed up with Joseph Goodman of Goodman Games, publisher of Dungeon Crawl Classics. The resulting magazine reflects this partnership, marrying great stories with suggested RPG game items. As a backer and enthusiast of fantasy fiction, I couldn’t be more pleased.

QUALITY: The quality is great (the artwork, editing, illustrations, paper-feel etc.); this magazine is just fun to hold.

APPENDIX: The Appendix! What a great design idea! To drive home the RPG elements of the stories, these guys created items and rules related to each story for the Dungeon Crawl Classic RPG. This is really cool. read the stories...then go play them.

ILLUSTRATIONS: Ooh, the illustrations are nice and varied. For Enge’s story, Russ Nicholson drew a full page, very reminiscent of his drawings for the Fighting Fantasy gamebooks. Many full page, detailed illustrations decorate the interior (by artists: Jennell Jaquays, Doug Kovacs, William McAusland, Brad McDevitt, Ian Miller, Russ Nicholson, Stefan Poag, and Chuck Whelon).

STORIES
1) "What Lies in Ice" A Gaunt and Bone story by Chris Willrich - For me this was 3-stars, but I think YA-adult and lit-RPG (literary RPG) readers will enjoy it more. For a short story, this has a huge party of protagonists (>6), heavy doses of comic relief, and an overabundance of fast-paced story telling that shoots for ADHD action scenes rather than elements-that-build-on-each other. It reminds me of a Marvel Avengers movie. It has too much in it to allow an old fogie like myself enough to grasp on to, but it does have a lot of neat things going on (as disjointed as they are). My favorite concept/creature: Hands of the Sea (which is the first item in the Appendix!).

Sharing my thoughts on Goodreads prompted the Sword & Sorcery crowd assured me that followers of Gaunt and Bone will enjoy this since it ties together other G&B yarns.

2) James Enge's "The Guild of Silent Men : A Story of Morlock Ambrosius". 5-star! Although less action than the previous story, this fantasy-murder mystery delivers more than enough swords-n-sorcery while fleshing out Thain Morlock's background and motivations. A fun read that also serves to make me want to learn more. Perhaps I should go get Blood of Ambrose right now.

3) Bill Ward's "Beneath the Bay of Black Waters” A Tale of Shan Spirit Slayer and the Banner General Bao" - 4-stars. I'm a big Bill Ward fan (i.e., his anthologies like
Mightier than the Sword and Last of His Kind). This Asian/Orient adventure is led by an entertaining duo tracking a drug trade (of Black Pearls, being mysterious narcotics) from the Fish-Gutter gang. Death escapes the protagonists more than it should, but the story is great.

4) Aeryn Rudel's “Beyond the Block” - 5 stars. A first-person perspective was perfect for this undead horror. Another duo stars, this time its Lucinda and her brother Matthais (the narrator). Matthais is a blacksmith who seeks to defend Lucinda from Lord Magister Vyard (a sorcerer who wants something of Lucinda’s magical potential).

5) Howard Andrew Jones’s “Crypt of Stars, From the Chronicles of Hanuvar Cabera" has one primary hero: Hanuvar of the Volani. It's him against the invading Dervani who are out to raid his ancestral cemeteries. I am a big HAJ fan, having followed his blogs and Black Gate articles and enjoyed his fiction (i.e., The Bones of the Old Ones). He never disappoints. 5-stars.

6) C.L. Werner's "There Was an Old Fat Spider” offers a biased protagonist, Karl, who may be an anti-hero. A knight and civil protector Rudolf Goettinger tracks Karl down in this Germanic/Gothic tale that reminded me of Werner's Warhammer tales. Lots of gray areas here. Good grimness. 4-stars.

7) John C. Hocking’s “The Crystal Sickle’s Harvest. From the World of the Archivist." Another police-like duo lead this mystery: Thratos (mentor Hand of the King sorcerer) and Benhus (young mentee, warrior sorcerer). Thieves are breaking into royal crypts, but not necessarily to steal. Why? Some neat Magical Weapons are presented, i.e., the Nobleman's Comfort (magical wand, and its in the Appendix). Best of all, this story has a talking skull! But is it THE skull? 5-stars.

VOLUME #2 promises more of the great quality, and it is nearing publication (June 15th 2018). I suggest you join the Legion of the Skull, whether you like to read, play RPGs, or both.


View all SE reviews

Saturday, February 24, 2018

Mar-Apr Groupreads


All are welcome to join the

 Sword & Sorcery Group on Goodreads


Our March-April 2018 Groupread Topics are:

A) Ursula K. Le GuinLink to Ursula K. Le Guin groupread
Honor her passing by reading and discussing anything by her, like A Wizard of Earthsea or The Left Hand of Darkness

B) Thieves: Link to groupread on "thieves": Books like: The Thief Who Pulled on Trouble's BraidsThe Legend of Eli MonpressBroken BladeThe Hammer and the Blade

Banner Credits:
2018 Charles Vess illustrations for forthcoming Earthsea omnibus
1979 Walter Velez's Cover for Thieves World
2015 Arman Akopian Cover for Blackguards: Tales of Assassins, Mercenaries, and Rogues

earthsea-wrap
Thieves World by Robert Lynn Asprin Blackguards Tales of Assassins, Mercenaries, and Rogues by J.M. Martin 

Sunday, December 17, 2017

Annual Anthology Groupread read to go Jan-Feb 2018


Since Sword & Sorcery was largely born through the short-story format, collections are an appropriate way to learn the genre and discover authors. The Sword & Sorcery group is proud to host another two month event this Jan-Feb 2018: 

Join us, Jan 2018 (click here to go to Goodreads) 

Previous Annual Anthology Groupread links
2017 Discussion / 2016 Discussion / 2015 discussion / 2014 discussion /2013 discussion

Don’t know where to start? Ask the group for a recommendation, or check out the sampling of Anthologies, old and new, as shown in this group’s bookshelf. You are challenged (invited?) to track any one down and share your journey with the group. Feel welcome to add to the bookshelf if you know how, or ask for help to expand the list.

Poll will be left open" recall, that list is not a competition to select a choice for all...it is a means to publicize the book you suggest OR the book you plan to read
Click to see poll

Web Anthologies Count too!:
Beneath Ceaseless Skies
Heroic Fantasy Quarterly

Me? I'll be digging into Challenge! Discovery 


Banner Credits: L-->R
Swords Against Darkness -cover art by 2013 Rodrigo Ramos "Cold Whisper"
Skelos I cover art by Gustave Doré; "The Gnarled Monster" 
Challenge! Discovery cover art by V Shane "Deep Forest" 

Saturday, October 21, 2017

Sword and Sorcery Group on GR: Nov-Dec Topics



Sword and Sorcery Group on Goodreads

Nov-Dec Group read topics/themes are ANY author or cover artists with the below names. Bonus street cred goes to folks who pick books that have both cover artists and author sharing names.

(a) Any William: Like classics by William Hope Hodgson or William Morris?
Any WILLIAM folder link

(b) Any Michael: Anything by Michael Moorcock, or cover art by Michael Whelan. Any other Michael's are fair game too
Any MICHAEL Folder link

Banner Credits L-->R
WILLIAM side: represented by William Blake (1757-1827), poet, artist, printmaker. 
Mortal Sin
The Great Red Dragon and the Beast from the Sea 
(center) Ancient of Days

MICHAEL
Michael Moorcock - cover by Michael Whelan for Stormbringer
Michael Moorcock - cover by Michael Whelan for The Sailor on the Seas of Fate

Stormbringer (The Elric Saga #6) by Michael Moorcock The Sailor on the Seas of Fate (Elric, #2) by Michael Moorcock

MortalSinGreatRedDragonAncient 

Thursday, August 24, 2017

Sept-Oct Groupreads: Vikings and Sword-n-Planet


All are welcome to join the Sword & Sorcery Group on Goodreads



Our Sept-Oct 2017 Groupreads Are Set:

Link to Viking Age discussion

Link to Sword-n-Planet discussion


Banner Credits:
Fliers of Antares (Dray Prescot, #8), cover art by Jack Gaughan, Dray Prescot Series #8 book by Alan Burt Akers

Transit to Scorpio coverart Josh Kirby 1975, Dray Prescot #1 book by Alan Burt Akers

Melvyn Grant artist, for 1977 Chris Carlsen (Robert HoldstockShadow Of The Wolf

Fliers of Antares (Dray Prescot, #8) (Havilfar Cycle, #3) by Alan Burt Akers Transit to Scorpio by Alan Burt Akers Shadow Of The Wolf (Berserker #1) by Chris Carlsen 

Saturday, June 17, 2017

Obscure Works Groupread - July Aug on Groupreads

The Sword & Sorcery Group on Goodreads.com 

will become "Obscure"!


Time to unearth arcana! Sword & Sorcery, our group reads for July and August are "OBSCURE WORKS." So we all won't be reading the same books, but we all can search for them, read, discuss, and review them! Let's shed a little light on lost gems.


Discussion Folder for Obscure Books Link - click here to join in! 


Remember the poll? Poll Link for obscure bookst... if you need a goal, try one of those. If you voted for one, read it or discuss why you chose it. Our banner is made from two of those items: 

Heather Gladney's Blood Storm (sequel to Teot's War of The Song of Naga Teot series). Cover by John Jude Palencar 1989

The Book of Paradox by Louise Cooper, cover by Frank Frazetta 1973.

Blood Storm (The Song of Naga Teot, #2) by Heather Gladney The Book of Paradox by Louise Cooper 

Friday, April 21, 2017

Moorcock and Leiber - May-June 2017 Groupreads


All are welcome to join us for our May-June Groupreads:

(a) Moorcock - Elric, Corum, pick an eternal champion! Folder Link: 

(b) Leiber - Fafred and the Gray Mouser! - Folder Link

Banner Credits
1974 Michael Moorcock's The Sword and the Stallion Cover art by David McCall Johnston
1974 Michael Moorcock's The Oak and the Ram Cover art by David McCall Johnston
1976 Fritz Leiber's - Zwaarden tegen Magiërs Cover art by Bruce Pennington. (Swords against Wizardry)
1975 Fritz Leiber's Zwaarden in de mist Cover art by Bruce Pennington