Jirel Of Joiry [Paperback]

C. L. Moore (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 1982

The fierce, proud, and relentless commander of warriors, standing tall above her enemies and simmering with rage, Jirel bids farewell to the world of treacherous men and walks through a forbidden door into Hell itself in pursuit of freedom, justice, and revenge. Reissue.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

C. L. Moore created Jirel, ruler of Joiry, in reaction to the beefy total-testosterone blood-and-thunder tales of '30s pulp magazines, but Jirel is no anti-Conan. She's a good Catholic girl, stubbornly purposeful, relentless in pursuit of enemies or vengeance, hard-boiled and a little stupid, and cannot be distracted by mere physical attractiveness. Indeed, in Jirel's world, beauty = decadence = corruption. Were these stories written today, inevitably Jirel would have a lot of hot sex, but as they were first published in Weird Tales between 1934-1939, sexual attraction is mostly only vividly implied. No loss. Jirel's journeys through unnatural landscapes and her battles with supernatural opponents are still wonderful to read, and though newcomers Red Sonja and Xena are more famous now, Jirel rules as the archetypal, indomitable redheaded swordswoman in chain mail and greaves, swinging her "great two-edged sword."

Product Details

• Paperback: 212 pages
• Publisher: Ace (November 1, 1982)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0441385702
• ISBN-13: 978-0441385706
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,244,572 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The first lady of swords against sorcery..., August 19, 2005

By 

the_smoking_quill (South Carolina) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Jirel Of Joiry (Paperback)

"Guillaume's white teeth clicked on a startled oath. He stared. Joiry's lady glared back at him from between her captors, wild red hair tousled, wild lion-yellow eyes ablaze.

'God curse you!" snarled the lady of Joiry between clenched teeth. 'God blast your black heart!'"

In such fashion did Jirel of Joiry, the first female protagonist in the genre now defined as sword-and-sorcery, explode from the pulp pages of Weird Tales in October of 1934. The story, "Black God's Kiss," is the first and finest of the five collected in this book. (The five are essentially the sum of Jirel's legend. A sixth, "Quest of the Starstone," was written to combine Jirel with Ms. Moore's other famous lead, space outlaw Northwest Smith, and is not included here.)

"Black God's Kiss" establishes the tone and theme of Jirel's legend, as well as the basic plot for each tale: she ventures to a strange and/or dark otherworld and, through her spiritual and emotional willpower, manages to survive, gaining not treasure but self-knowledge. A curious and noteworthy detail: though an expert swordsman, Jirel does not fight a single duel throughout the tales. Rather, she herself is the sword wielded against sorcery. ("The face above her mail might not have been fair in a woman's head-dress, but in the steel setting of her armor it had a biting, sword-edge beauty as keen as the flash of blades.")

Ms. Moore's writing is, on the whole, transparent and clean. It does suffer from some of the tendencies common among other writers of the time (longer descriptions than necessary; multiple adverbs; an unhealthy fondness for abstract words--gulfs, vastness, fathomless, etc.). More detail about Jirel as a character--precious little is mentioned of her parentage, childhood, and the nature of her fiefdom--would have been welcome, too. (Then again, the heroine can be said to spring newly forged into the stories' setting--she simply is what she is.) Many of the otherwordly descriptions are vivid and haunting, even by modern fantasy standards. Her willingness not to spoon-feed the reader the precise nature of the powers Jirel encounters (e.g. the light-devil in "Kiss" and the witch in "The Dark Land") is also appreciated.

Although "Kiss" is likely the only one of the five that would be published by a professional magazine today, this is an easily read and worthwhile collection for the serious fantasy fan--and "Kiss" is a must-read. Three fascinating stars.

6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Lovers of Heroic Fantasy will enjoy this book!, September 16, 1998

By 

Dale Rippke "zeteticist" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jirel Of Joiry (Paperback)

Jirel of Joiry is a haunting, powerful fantasy that takes place back in Dark Age France sometime after the fall of Rome. Jirel, with her red hair and two-handed longsword, is the literary ancestor of such present day swordwomen as Red Sonja. The stories are vibrant and bold, depicting their settings very realisticly. In alot of ways, the stories are every bit as good as Howard's Conan stories. My only reservation is that the stories have a very 30's pulp feel to them (probably because that was when they were written). All in all an excellent read.

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Before Xena, April 10, 2004

By 

Allison "Librarian" (TN, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jirel Of Joiry (Paperback)

This book is good if you like medieval type fantasy without all the mushy romance or weird and wacky creatures. It may be lacking a bit in minor characters, but the adventures are so vivid that they make up for it. The book casts a dark shadow on the fantasy genre, wholly unlike it's more light hearted successors, but shines through if you're into that sort of thing.