Customer Reviews

Lords of Swords

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Lords of Swords, edited by Daniel E. Blackston and published by Pitch-Black Publishing, is a welcome breath of fresh air in the field of fantasy. It takes the reader back to the days of Howard, Wagner, Leiber and other masters of heroic, fast paced adventure. Vivid worlds, strong characters, thought-provoking story-lines, swords, sorcery--it has it all.

The first in a proposed series of anthologies, it features thirteen exciting tales from straight forward adventure to complicated plotlines. There's something for everyone, especially the hardcore fan who has seen this exciting genre drift off the radar over the past years.

What follows is a quick synopsis of each story. I have spared any personal critiques. Like all anthologies, not all stories suit all tastes. I'll let the reader decide what interests them. Bottom line: 'Lords of Swords' is highly recommended.

The lead story is from John C. Hocking, author of 'Conan and the Emerald Lotus'. Titled 'Vali's Wound', it's a compelling tale of a Viking who faces a god in the name of friendship.

'Something Dwells 'Neath Hannah Town' by D. K. Latta starts with a mystery and ends with the hero Kainar facing a much stronger, and seemingly invincible opponent.

'The King's General' by David L. Felts presents a tale of a man who must face his past and make the toughest choice of his life, with grave consequences.

'Line of Blood' by Howard Andrew Jones, author of the highly rated 'Dabir and Asim' stories, introduces you to Raas and Jekka. Their adventure in a mist covered world involves a dying king and his successors.

'Champion' by Barbara E. Tarbox begins as a simple trip by Sir Argin to the blacksmith to have a horseshoe replaced. As the plot slowly unfolds, the events culminate in a heroic battle.

'That of the Pit' by E.E. Knight, author of the 'Vampire Earth' stories, introduces a new character known as the Blue Pilgrim. Shrouded in mystery and extremely deadly, the Blue Pilgrim journeys to save a friend.

'Dragon's Eye' by Beth Shope features a finely crafted plot that weaves and twists before merging into a grandly satisfying conclusion.

'Viro and the Iron Circlet' by Jonah Lissner is a straight forward, no holds barred tale of adventure starring a fearless barbarian.

'The Slaying of Winter' by Vera Nazarian tells the story of a relentlessly single-minded woman on a quest to kill a god.

'Iron Hands' by Ray Kane is an engrossing tale of revenge as soldier turned farmer Jerimo suffers extraordinary pain and loss.

'The Oath of the Gods' by Nancy Virginia Varian weaves an epic tale about the dwarf Garroc and his dealings with Hel and Woden.

'Blood Drop' by Joseph A. McCullough V features Stevan the Targeteer in a tale of pirates fighting for a giant red gem in the mysterious Hispanic Isles.

'The Woman in Scarlet' by Tanith Lee is about a man 'married' to his sentient sword, which develops an interest in someone else.

Lords of Swords provides all the trappings of heroic fantasy with its 13 tales of valor, honor, and glory. Avoiding the tendencies of many modern fantasy writers to make their stories either highly convoluted or to add modern socio-political sensibilities to fantasy settings, this collection presents fantasy stories in the classic vein. Heroes are heroes. Villains are villains. And honor is about keeping your oath and holding fast to tradition, not being politically correct.

The opening tale, John C. Hocking's "Vali's Wound", sets the stage for the rest of the collection. A young Viking confronts one of the Valkyries to defend a fellow warrior. His own weapon having been destroyed in a previous battle, he attempts to stand against the Chooser of the Slain with a borrowed weapon. Intrigued by his bravery, she makes him an offer that would spare the life of his friend.

The second story, D.K. Latta's "Something Dwells 'Neath Hannah Town", is a gorgeously dark and exciting tale. When Kainar, Guardsmaster of Hannah Town, begins investigating a series of grisly murders, he uncovers a strange underground hideaway full of terrifying creatures. But are these creatures truly monsters, or are they only seeking to protect their own? Latta does a wonderful job creating a sense of place for the reader, carefully crafting each sentence to build the tension and move along the story.

My favorite story in the collection was Vera Nazarian's "The Slaying of Winter". Nazarian's tale of vengeance, honor, and forgiveness centers on Iliss, a young woman who seeks revenge against the Northsmen who killed her brother and slaughtered her people by killing the very god they worshipped. She finds an unlikely, and unwelcome, ally among the Northsmen, and together they seek out the god Trei. But gods are only found when they want to be, and the ending is poignant and profound.

This collection also features an interesting little tale by Vampire Earth series author E.E. Knight. "That of the Pit" introduces us to Knight's new fantasy hero, The Blue Pilgrim., and a strange but entertaining story of commerce, intrigue, and adventure. Fans of the genre will find stories from popular favorites such as Tanith Lee to fresh new voices like Beth Scope (definately a new writer to watch).

The editor has done a wonderful job with the story selection. Each story both compliments the others in the collection and yet stands out on its own as an exciting journey for the reader. This is a must-have collection for fans of fantasy fiction.

Lords of Swords is a fantastic collection of heroic fantasy stories by a great mix of up-and-coming and established authors. The stories within contain plenty of sword-clashing action, awesome characters, and wonderous settings.

The sheer variety is astounding. In these thirteen stories, the reader is taken from Viking Norway to a world covered in seas of rainbow mist, from the pirate towns of the Hispanic isles to the colorful--and deadly--empire of the Moon King, with characters ranging from the Blue Pilgrim, a deadly warrior in both body and spirit, and a barbarian sheriff with a sentient axe to a dragon-painter living under the streets of an Eastern metropolis and a farmer cursed with a pair of iron talons in place of hands.

A handful of stories didn't work for me--too many for me to give the book five stars--but, overall, Lords of Swords is highly recommended for all fans of great, imganitive fantasy.

This is a collection that runs the full spectrum of sword and sorcery. There are stories about warriors with magic axes, a woman seeking to kill a god, and a man cursed with iron hands. Or particular note are Tanith Lee's story about a man married to his sword is outstanding and Beth Shope's story about a girl who plans to escape on the back of a dragon that she is painting.

If you like Conan and his ilk, you'll love this anthology.

This anthology is self-described as `heroic fantasy', which amounts to epic fantasy that's too short to be epic. It's very much in the tradition of pulp fiction --- the difference being that most of these stories are well written, largely going for a cool, hard effect.

My main reaction is probably as much a comment on my getting older as it is on this book, but the problem I had with this collection is that the authors understood the concept of the anthology so narrowly that they do not give themselves much room to maneuver. Anything is possible in fantasy worlds, yet all of these stories are about solving problems through application of violence. They follow a straightforward path: introduce the world and the main character's goal, have the main character encounter living beings who are an obstacle to that goal, have a physical confrontation in which the main character moves the other said living beings into the 'dead' category, and then, the end. No matter how much low-level inventiveness there is (e.g., a sentient battle axe made out of wood), this can only go so far in shorter forms of fiction because it gets repetitive. For a similar reason, mysteries also work better in the longer form: back-to-back whodunits start to look alike. (In epics, so much else can go on that the basic structure recedes.)

A related issue is that the stories want to have it both ways, to be taken seriously yet be cavalier about the emotional consequences of what is described. A Robert Howard knock-off epitomizes this unfortunate and ponderous strain: "Viro frowned, wiping his gory sword upon his bloody hip-pelt. He had escaped the dusky guards: lanky and lithe, but not primed to the reckless winds of battle. He had slain them in four red strokes. But his brow did not cease its furrow." (It's hard to imagine this being written by anyone who has ever watched someone die. Just look at how well Howard reacted to the death of his own mother.)

These things might not turn off everyone. I think I would have gotten a kick out of this book if I read it as a teenager. Stylistically, these stories are certainly better than a lot of fantasy I did read back then. And I don't want to see this genre die off but to grow and embrace its potential. (In that vein, I hope readers cut the publisher slack on the artwork and its printing, which is still on the pulpy side: I can appreciate wanting to support the fantasy arts community.) What I'd like to see is something like the Dangerous Vision anthologies of the 1960s that pushed science fiction to expand and mature.

That said, there are some good individual stories. The first one to push the boundaries is Vera Nazarian's "The Slaying of Winter". It's a rare revenge story with an ending that feels right. Easily the best story is Tanith Lee's "The Woman in Scarlet", a peculiar and moving story about betrayal. (I've never been able to put my finger on what makes Lee's stories so haunting.) And of the campy "let's kill things" stories, Joseph A. McCullough's V.'s Pirates-of-the-Caribbeanesque "Blood Drop" is light and rollicky enough that you can just sit back and get into the fun of it without wondering about the author and his life experiences.

With authors like John Hocking and Tanith Lee, you know this is going to be a great anthology. Whether you like hack'n'slash or tales that are a bit more cerebral, Lords of Swords delivers exciting high fantasy and sword and sorcery works. I've read fantasy anthologies by big publishing houses, and Lords of Swords stacks up well against those, and in most cases surpasses the competition. Daniel Blackston has put together an excellent collection that should be in every fantasy enthusiast's private library.

If you have been hungering for some good old-fashioned swashbuckling reading, here is the ticket. In fact, if you have not taken a look at Lords of Swords, your heroic fantasy diet is lacking some essential vitamins.
LoS has a nice mix of well-known and less famous authors, and a pleasing mix of blood and thunder, interesting world building, and plenty of buckled swash.

This anthology is full of great stories by great writers. Sword and Sorcery fans will love it. It's fast paced and action packed. From the first story to the last this is one great read.