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" 

  

Books For Beer - Frank

Frank has been a supportive neighbor, reading the whole Dyscrasia Fiction series (even prior the Book-For-Beverage Program (i.e., buy a book, and SE will buy you a drink...coffee...tea...beer...).  He was feeling under the weather so hitting a pub was out, but accepted the Noel Christmas stout.  Thanks, Frank!

Black Gate reviews Helen's Daimones

Fletcher Vredenburgh from Black Gate reviews Helen's Daimones (Link to review) .

 Feeling honored. Some quotes from review:

"Helen is one of the stranger heroes to feature in swords & sorcery. Is she delusional, mad, gifted? I was never quite sure — she is only a little girl — but I was never able to take my eyes off her. With a cast as strange as this novel has, Helen remains the focus throughout. Even when she’s off stage, the question of what she is doing always seems to rise to the fore."

"Too much of what’s called grimdark is little more than sex and gore splashed over a standard epic fantasy story. True horror — and at its heart, Helen’s Daimones is a horror story — unsettles, disorients, and makes you feel like the world will fall out from under your feet at any moment. Lindberg’s novel does all those things."

"There are strange territories in the wilds of swords & sorcery that have been visited successfully by only a handful of writers. They are places where, aside from some actual swords and sorcery, few of the common trappings of the genre are found. Magic may be phatasmagorical, the world — both physically and culturally — has no echoes of our own, and the hero is more likely to be a golem, a resurrected nobleman, or a little girl than an axe-swinging warrior.

Some of C.L. Moore’s Jirel stories and most of Clark Ashton Smith’s oeuvre mapped portions of these realms. In Throne of Bones, Brian McNaughton brought back a detailed study of one nation. Michael Shea and Darrell Schweitzer mapped whole continents. They’re dangerous places, permeated by darkness and decay, and the scent of death is rarely absent from the thick, curdled air.

S.E. Lindberg’s short novel, Helen’s Daimones (2017), is one such tale of this diseased stretch of the world of swords & sorcery. I can’t say this book quite attains the same heights as Shea’s Nifft the Lean or Schweitzer’s The Mask of the Sorcerer, but much of the time it comes tantalizingly close."

Fletcher Vredenburgh from Black Gate reviews Helen's Daimones (Link to review) .

2017 Holiday Card

 Behind the Scenes (BTS)

Sweetie the Cat poses

We had a few ideas that never came together this year, so we turned to the 2016 archives for this year. Yes, we actually have several cards developed over the years we keep as backup (recall the past ~19yrs or so of cards are on Seth's desk and online).  Heidi (Wife, Art Director, Boss, etc.) took the lead with the photography (as one can tell from her Instagram Page and Photography website, she leans towards capturing portraiture). The original intent last year was to have both animals featured like a sequel to the 2009 card (sans Stinky the white cat).  

The Behind The Scenes footage documents a fraction of the challenging photo-session (2min compilation produced by Erin). Even though Seth donned an "Attempting to Care" T-shirt...and Heidi had "Loads of Hope"... the desired picture of both animals together was never achieved. Shorty is shown below with the classic Bokeh effect. With a keen eye, viewers should see the split seconds used for Sweetie (card image) and Shorty (shown below). After entertaining the idea of printing both Cat and Dog cards, we decided just to make hardcopy prints of Sweetie. Erin politely covered up the audible curses with the "Sleigh Ride" song. It is fitting, since both portraits of the animals seem "calm and peaceful" even though the photoshoot was not.

Shorty the Pug, runner up model

2017 has been fun, with Seth releasing another weird fiction novel: Helen's Daimones, Erin applying for college (either for secondary education or for eMedia/script writing), and Connor growing to 6'2" (yes, Seth has a complex about that). Connor should be driving next year, eh gad!

Here's wishing everyone a safe and action-packed 2018!

2009 Holiday Card

Jan-Feb Anthology Group Read

Sword & Sorcery Goodreads Group 

Jan-Feb Annual Anthology Read

Poll

Jan-Feb 2018: Our annual Anthology groupread is approaching! Which one do you plan to read (or recommend for others)? Magazines can count too. Some examples are pre-populated, but please write-in some more!

RBE new or old Return of the Sword Rage of the Behemoth or Challenge! Discovery
Wagner's Echoes of ValorEchoes of Valor IIEchoes of Valor III The Best of Heroic Fantasy Quarterly: Volume 1, 2009-2011 Skelos I or Skelos II Swords and Sorcery

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The Bone Sword- review by SE

The Bone Sword by Walter Rhein
S.E. rating: 4 of 5 stars

I'm a big Walter Rhein fan, having read and reviewed his autobiographical Reckless Traveler (highly recommended story of his South American travels), and his fiction Reader of Acheron (also highly recommended, this one being more of dystopian, urban fantasy focused on a culture in which reading is prohibited). Actually, the sequel to The Reader of Acheron is slated for a 2018 release and I was anxious to read more Rhein. So, I grabbed The Bone Sword to tie me over.

The Bone Sword is classic fantasy with a coming of age story of a brother and sister (Noah and Jasmine). Their savior is the outcast warrior: Malik. This tale is simpler with less philosophical undertones than the Reader or Reckless Traveler. The "bad guys" are undeniably evil (Father Ivory in particular, though one may argue he was 50%crazy). The "good guys" are the young children with brewing, magical potential, and their fellow oppressed villagers. The only "gray" character is Malik, but despite his ability to murder and fight, he is closely aligned with the good guys and brings hope to the battle of Miscony.

The first chapter I feared was going to be cliche or overly simplistic, but Rhein quickly introduced meaningful backstory and context. A few chapters in, and I became genuinely attached to the main party. Rhein sprinkles in several very memorable scenes to ramp up the drama. A slight over reliance on rapid healing dampens several stunning sequences that had taken my breath away.

The Bone Sword is a step above a lot of fantasy. It is only #1 of a promised cycle, which is great news. For now, I eagerly await "Acheron #2/The Slaves of Erafor #2" which should emerged soon.

View all my reviews

Sponsoring Grim Tidings 105

Dyscrasia plagues the Grim Tidings Podcast #105! 

Thankfully there is a podcast for every subject, even dark fantasy. Rob Matheny and Philip Overby have run the Grim Tidings Podcast since May 2015. They also moderate a fun Facebook group to complement the discussions. Want to learn about contemporary authors writing dark fantasy? Listen to these guys. 

So it is natural to sponsor an episode with the recent release of Helen's Daimones! Sponsors get 30sec-1min each, during the intro; Rob reads about Helen's Daimones at minute 1:23 à 2:17.

Grim Tidings Podcast #105 Interview with R.J. Barker

#105: The British Invasion comes to an epic conclusion as we’re joined by R.J. Barker! During our expletive laden (not really) and completely serious (also not really) interview, we talk all about R.J.’s epic fantasy debut from Orbit Books titled AGE OF ASSASSINS! We discuss the appeal of assassins, what inspired R.J. to give the lead character a disability, musical influences in writing, antlers, taxidermy, badgers, and much, much … much more. We’ve also included a super cool reading from AGE OF ASSASSINS at the conclusion of the podcast as well! Find R.J. Barker online at rjbarkerblog.wordpress.com, or on Twitter @dedbutdrmng!

Buy AGE OF ASSASSINS on Amazon!

Thanks to this weeks' sponsors:

Different, Not Damaged: The Short Story Collection by Andy Peloquin

The Book Geeks Uncomprimised Podcast

Helen's Daimones by S.E. Lindberg

Past episodes you'll want to check out:

Interview with Anna Smith Spark

Interview with Ed McDonald

Interview with Anna Stephens

~~~

Support GTP on Patreon

Download on iTunes, Stitcher, or Podbean

Online at TheGrimTidingsPodcast.com

On Facebook Facebook.com/TheGrimTidingsPodcast

On Twitter @GrimdarkFiction

Rob Matheny on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram

Philip Overby online at PhilipOverby.com, or on Twitter 

Music by Michael R. Fletcher