The Sword & Sorcery Anthology [Paperback]

Robert E. Howard (Author), C. L. Moore (Author), Fritz Leiber (Author), Poul Anderson (Author), Michael Moorcock (Author), Joanna Russ (Author), Charles R. Saunders (Author), Karl Edward Wagner (Author), Ramsey Campbell (Author), David G. Hartwell (Editor), Jacob Weisman (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2012

Terrifying barbarians, cunning mages, and daring heroes run rampant through these exceptional examples of the exciting sword and sorcery genre. In “Tower of the Elephant,” Conan takes up jewel thievery but proves to be far better with his sword. “The Flame Bringers” finds antihero Elric infiltrating a band of bloodthirsty mercenaries and outwitting a powerful sorcerer. “Become a Warrior” is the unexpected tale of a child who loses all she holds dear, only to gain unforeseen power and unlikely revenge. Further entries come from early legends such as Jack Vance and Catherine Louise Moore, the next wave of talents including Fritz Leiber and Michael Moorcock, and modern trendsetters like George R.R. Martin, Karl Edward Wagner, and David Drake. This essential, fast-paced anthology is a chronological gathering of influential, inventive, and entertaining fantasy—sure to appeal to action-oriented fans.

Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Tachyon Publications (June 1, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9781616960698
• ISBN-13: 978-1616960698
• ASIN: 1616960698
• Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 1.4 x 9.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #488,254 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Hartwell and Weisman have selected some of the best short-form work in the genre. . . . This is an unbeatable selection from classic to modern, and each story brings its A game." —Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW (May 21, 2012)

"Awesome collection, very highly recommended." —www.NerdsInBabeLand.com

"The 19 stories in this volume span a time period from 1933 to 2012 and provide a strong introduction to this fantasy subgenre." —Library Journal (July 2012)

"Superbly presented . . . re-ignited this reader's interest at least in the genre." —www.SFSite.com

"A big, meaty collection of genre highlights that runs the gamut from old-school classics to new interpretations, it serves as an excellent introduction and primer in one." —www.GreenManReview.com

About the Author

David G. Hartwell is a senior editor at Tor/Forge Books and the publisher of the New York Review of Science Fiction. He is the author of Age of Wonders, the editor of the anthologies The Dark Descent and The World Treasury of Science Fiction, and the coeditor of two anthologies of the best Canadian science fiction, Northern Stars and Northern Suns. He lives in Pleasantville, New York. Jacob Weisman is the founder, editor, and publisher at Tachyon Publications. His writing has appeared in the Cooper Point Journal, the Nation, Realms of Fantasy, the Seattle Weekly, and in the college textbook, Sport in Contemporary Society. He is the series editor for anthologies including The Secret History of Fantasy, The Urban Fantasy Anthology, and Crucified Dreams: Tales of Urban Horror. He lives in San Francisco.

Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Tachyon Publications (June 1, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9781616960698
• ISBN-13: 978-1616960698
• ASIN: 1616960698
• Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 1.4 x 9.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #488,254 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A pretty good sword & sorcery primer May 24, 2012

By John Middleton

Format:Paperback

Although the table of contents is shown in the "Look Inside" extract above, its reproduced here:

"Introduction: Storytellers: A Guided Ramble into Sword and Sorcery Fiction" by David Drake
"The Tower of the Elephant" by Robert E. Howard
"Black God's Kiss" by C. L. Moore
"The Unholy Grail" by Fritz Leiber
"The Tale of Hauk" by Poul Anderson
"The Caravan of Forgotten Dreams" by Michael Moorcock
"The Adventuress" by Joanna Russ
"Gimmile's Song" by Charles R. Saunders
"Undertow" by Karl Edward Wagner
"The Stages of the God" by Ramsey Campbell (writing as Montgomery Comfort)
"The Barrow Troll" by David Drake
"Soldier of an Empire Unacquainted with Defeat" by Glen Cook
"Epistle from Lebanoi" by Michael Shea *
"Become a Warrior" by Jane Yolen
"The Red Guild" by Rachel Pollack
"Six from Atlantis" by Gene Wolfe
"The Sea Troll's Daughter" by Caitlín R. Kiernan
"The Coral Heart" by Jeffrey Ford
"Path of the Dragon" by George R. R. Martin
"The Year of the Three Monarchs" by Michael Swanwick *

The starred stories are new in this anthology: unlike 2010's Swords and Dark Magic, this is largely a reprint anthology, with much of it being (effectively) extracts from books (Howard, Leiber, Moorcock, C. L. Moore, GRRM) and some of it published elsewhere comparatively recently (the Glen Cook and Kiernan stuff). It turns out I had read a lot of this before, and some of it recently. On the other hand, I did enjoy re-reading Leiber and Moorcock, so I'm not complaining. Really, its an all-star cast of 75 years of sword and sorcery: I can honestly say I enjoyed every story.

I wont give a mini-review of 19 stories: it would be faster to just read the book.... Wagner's "Undertow" really surprised me, for all I could see the ending coming: it was really powerful, with that bitter edge so often found in S&S.

I'd call this an excellent primer for someone starting out in sword & sorcery "low fantasy": there are true classics here, and the stories are fun. Not a lot of deep philosophy, or "cosmic horror", just good, not-so-clean fun. For those interested, there is some representation by women and minorities: all I care about is that they can write a good story. You could argue that Saunders' "Gimmile's Song" is one of the best in the book, and it is certainly not your standard quasi-European setting and hero (African, and heroine, respectively).

The only quibble I have with the book is the lack of an introductory page on each contributor: this is kind of standard in anthologies, and while you can use Wikipedia, you should not have to. Yes, that's gravy the book is missing, not meat and potatoes, but it is a lack. But even with no gravy, it's a good meal. Read more ›

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars entertaining collection June 16, 2012

By Harriet Klausner #1 HALL OF FAME

Format:Paperback

This entertaining twenty story collection contains entries starting in the 1930s from every decade since except the 1950s; including two tales never published before ("The Year of Three Monarchs" by Michael Swanwick and "Epistle from Lebanoi" by Michael Shea). . The entries represent a who's who of fantasy though some of the contributions are at best loosely sword and sorcery (David Drake's 1970s "The Barrow Troll" feels more like horror fantasy, but still is a super pre military sci fi work by the author). This engaging anthology is a terrific way to meet some of the best fantasists for those unfamiliar with their works and for returning vets a chance to enjoy fun short stories. In the introduction David Drake makes the case that Robert E. Howard's Conan success created S&S as a genre and deserves the opening act with "Tower of the Elephant". The other 1930s contribution comes from the great C.L. Moore (see "Black God's Kiss). Other famous authors included are Glen Cook's 1980 Dread Empire tale (see "Soldier of an Empire Unacquainted with Defeat"), Fritz Leiber's 1962 "The Unholy Grail" starring Fafhad and Grey Mouser, Michael Moorcock's Elric (and Stormbringer) in "The Caravan of Forgotten Dreams, and the current top gun George R.R. Martin with his 2000 "Path of the Dagon". Readers will appreciate this strong compilation.

Harriet Klausner

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars A mixed bag September 22, 2012

By Joel Sanet

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Like most anthologies this one is a mixed bag, some good stories, some not so good. Of the 19 in this book, about half were positive reading experiences and half were unmemorable or even poorly written. Two were outstanding (Gimmile's Songs and Soldier of an Empire Unacquainted with Defeat) and two were nearly unreadable (Black God's Kiss and The Stages of the God). If I could I would give this anthology 3.5 stars.

Gimmile's Songs by Charles R. Saunders relates an encounter between a female black warrior with a supernatural being in Nyumbani, Saunders' alternate history version of Africa. I liked it well enough that I'm tempted to try his novel Imaro. Glen Cook's Soldier is the longest story in the book (68 pages). It's the first Cook story that I've read and I must say that I was impressed. It's very well-written and also has an unusual amount of character development and human drama for a S&S story. More novels to buy!

Black God's Kiss is a classic of the field. C.L. Moore's Jirel of Joiry broke the mold of the pulps by being a female warrior. Unfortunately it shows it's age. Purple prose may have been in vogue in the '30's but it just comes across as silly today. Most of the 30 pages is a description of a rather boring journey through the Underworld in search of revenge. I almost didn't finish it. Ramsay Campbell's Stages was published in a fanzine early in the author's career (1974) and it shows.

I bought this anthology because it has a novella about Daenerys Targaryen in it. I was hoping it was a side story in George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series but, alas, it was only a section of one of the novels (the 3rd, I think) so Path of the Dragon was a disappointment.

What do I say about Joanna Russ's The Adventuress?... I really enjoyed the writing but the plot was trivial. A princess runs away from home, sails across the sea, kills a few bad guys, and lands on an island filled with hunks. Really.

IMO the following stories are all worth reading:

R.E. Howard's Tower of the Elephant is the oldest story in the book (Weird Tales, March 1933). One of the better Conan stories. The Cimmerian sets out to steal some jewels and winds up saving an alien from beyond time and space from an evil sorcerer. Oh, and of course he fights a giant spider along the way. Corny, maybe, but fun.

In Poul Anderson's The Tale of Hauk a Viking village is ravaged by an undead warrior.

The Barrow Troll by David Drake is another Viking tale. Ulf enlists an unwilling priest to help get the troll's treasure. But do trolls really exist?

In Jane Yolen's Become a Warrior a princess seeks revenge on the murderers of her family.

In Six from Atlantis a survivor of the city's destruction encounters a bunch of babes and a giant ape-god who isn't pleased with our hero. Sounds like a B-movie, doesn't it, but with Gene Wolfe writing, it works.

The Sea Troll's Daughter is my 3rd favorite story. A hard-drinking swordswoman saves a village from the ravages of a sea troll, but the daughter may be even worse than the father. This is the first story I've read by Caitlin R. Kiernan, another name to watch out for.

And now for a couple of disappointments:

The Unholy Grail by Fritz Leiber is a Fafhrd and Gray Mouser story without Fafhrd. Could they have picked a more boring title from that series?

In Moorcock's The Caravan of Forgotten Dreams, Elric and Moonglum save Elric's paradise with the fair Zarozinia from an invasion of bad guys. I enjoyed the Elric series when I read it thirty years ago, but this one just didn't click with me. Read more ›

7 of 13 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars A disappointing treatment of the subject May 29, 2012

By Steven S. Long

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I'm a big fan of Hartwell's THE ASCENT OF WONDER, which in my opinion is just about perfect when it comes to presenting/analyzing a fiction subgenre (in that case, Hard SF) in anthology form. Besides being a comprehensive collection of Hard SF stories, it includes introductory essays explaining what Hard SF is, what its characteristics are, and so forth. Additionally, each story includes an introductory note explaining the author, the story, and why the story deserves to be in the anthology.

THE SWORD AND SORCERY ANTHOLOGY, unfortunately, falls far, far short of this stellar treatment. First, there's no introductory essay(s) explaining what the editors believe Swords And Sorcery is, what its characteristics are, or what makes one story S&S and another not. Nor are there any notes introducing the individual stories. The result is a total lack of context, and this seems to infect the editors. Many of the stories chosen aren't Swords And Sorcery stories at all, in my opinion -- they're High Fantasy, Low Fantasy, or something else. As a whole the collection feels slapdash and not well thought out.

Even the stories that are undeniably S&S are often poorly chosen. For example, "The Unholy Grail" is an awful choice for a Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser story, in my opinion. They should have chosen one that showcases both heroes in their prime, and hopefully the city of Lankhmar as well, such as "The Cloud Of Hate" or "The Two Best Thieves In Lankhmar."

Furthermore, a lot of S&S authors are left out entirely. There's nothing in the anthology by Clark Ashton Smith, Gardner Fox, Lin Carter, Richard Tierney, and many others I think ought to have had a story in it....

Thus, in the end, what could have and should have been a comprehensive and scholarly review of the Swords And Sorcery subgenre of Fantasy is a half-hearted effort based on no solid definition of what S&S is. I was hoping for a book that would form a basis for discussing and even teaching about the subgenre going forward, but what I got was something I don't even consider a crucial purchase for subgenre fans. Read more ›