Swords of Talera [Talera Cycle Book 1]

Talera Cycle #1

by Charles Allen Gramlich

Swords of Blood and Glory! A grand adventure in the tradition of Edgar Rice Burroughs and Robert E. Howard, here is the first volume of the Talera Cycle! Abruptly transported from Earth to Talera, Ruenn Maclang must slash his way through a world of alien warriors and deadly beasts, where every move can result in death. To stay alive and find his missing brother, Ruenn must quickly learn the discipline of sword and spear, and experience the bitter stench of battle. And he must uncover the many hidden secrets of Talera, a weird and wonderful world very different from our own.

Genres: Fantasy, Sword and Planet, Sword and Sorcery, Adventure, Science Fiction

Nook

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

I grew up on a farm in Arkansas, and I fully intend to retire right back to that same farm. But not yet. I came to Louisiana in 1986 to teach Biological Psychology at Xavier University in New Orleans. I've been there ever since, although I now live in a semi-rural area outside Abita Springs, Louisiana.

My primary writing interests are in Fantasy and Horror, which are the genres where my books and most of my short stories fit. I also write nonfiction, however, and poetry.

Reviews

[Jamie · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are quite a few similarities between Swords of Talera and Edgar Rice Burroughs' Barsoom series, in both style and content. And like Burroughs, the pace seemed to frequently lag despite more than a few action and battle scenes. However, the richly imagined setting is quite interesting and unique, populated by a broad array of exotic aliens and set on a planet, Talera, with intriguing origins. Talera is believed to have been artificially constructed by ancient aliens and lies at the nexus of a system of sphere gates / inter-dimensional portals, making it a perfect setting for inter-species conflict. Unfortunately, little time is spent exploring Talera's mysterious origins, and the story mostly takes the shape of a standard sword & planet tale with many of the typical tropes. That's not a bad thing, but there was the potential to bring some new, really interesting angles to bear that were largely missed.

[Richard Godwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charles Gramlich has written a richly layered, compelling novel in Swords Of Talera. He is himself a highly erudite man who is extremely versatile in his range as a writer. This is exemplified in this excellent novel.
It explores the myth structures we inhabit as well as the tribalism inherent in social structures. And it does so through a highly readable story.
Ruenn Maclang is transported from Earth to Talera. There he encounters a range of alien monsters. He has to fight his way back and in doing so discovers the secrets of Talera.
The narrative voice contains a deep humanitarianism that balances the martial action. It is full of rich lyrical descriptive passages that alternate with dramatic action.
Behind it is the psychologically revealing mytho-poetry. Charles Gramlich is himself a psychologist and he brings his insights to bear on his characters while letting them live and breathe.
I was reminded of HG Wells by the narrative tone and style of the storytelling. Gramlich manages to make you care about the protagonist. There is also an old style warrior code, a sense of medieval honour implicit in it.
I will definitely be reading the sequel, Wings Over Talera.

[Jim Kuenzli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good sword and planet book as it should be written. The proper tropes are present with plenty of new delights on this world created by a mysterious advanced race. The plot moves along swiftly. Any fan of sword and planet or planetary romance in the style of Burroughs should enjoy this. I look forward to reading book 2.

[Charles]

The first book in my Talera cycle. I wrote this one when I was 24, but it was polished many times before it was published initially as a four part serial in a magazine. It was revised again before its first book publication.

[S.E. Lindberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Swords of Talera: Book One of the Talera Cycle is fun “Sword & Planet” adventure. Get svelte, escape to Talera.

I first discovered Charles Allen Gramlich via his poetic Sword & Sorcery books (highly recommended): Bitter Steel: Tales and Poems of Epic Fantasy and Harvest of War. Being biased toward weird adventure on “earth,” I was inspired to branch out slightly because of the Goodreads Sword & Sorcery Group's groupread for May-June 2014, the theme being “Sword & Planet.” Being a fan of Gramlich, this was a prime time to try out his Talera Cycle. If you ask the author why he should read it, he’ll reveal his humorous side (taken from his Facebook page):

"Dr. Charles Gramlich, professor of psychology at a prominent New Orleans University, has made the extraordinary claim that reading the three books of the Talera fantasy series, Swords of Talera, Wings Over Talera, and Witch of Talera, will actually help you lose weight and maintain a svelte figure. Gramlich says that, “those who read the slender volumes of the Talera series, which are quick and exciting stories, develop a speedier metabolism, allowing them to burn calories more quickly. This effect lingers for weeks after the books are finished,” he adds, “and can easily be prolonged further by consuming another book by the same author.” When asked whether that author, Charles ‘Allen’ Gramlich, was any relation, Dr. Gramlich abruptly yelled “Fire” and left the room."

Even though Swords of Talera: Book One of the Talera Cycle is not explicitly comedic, it does present pulp adventure with a dose of old-school “cheese” sprinkled atop weird milieu and tons of melee. It is a homeage the Sword & Planet subgenre initiated by Edgar Rice Burroughs in the early 1900’s with John Carter, and has all the tropes fans of the subgenre would demand: a man from the early 1900’s gets transported from earth to a strange planet; he can occasionally revisit earth; he manages to quickly converse with many aliens, lead armies, and free a maiden in distress.

Gramlich’s “Carter” is a 1914 sea merchant captain named Ruenn Maclang, whose arrogance and decisive leadership will remind readers of Indiana Jones. He gets transported to Talera mysteriously along with his crew, though he gets separated and strives to find his fellow earthlings. He is met by many humanoid aliens embroiled in slave-trade and war. Maclang becomes infatuated with a maiden in distress, and shallow-romantic interactions with her are intermittent. A sidebar on the technological history behind the mysterious Planet/Land Talera was distinctly cheezy sci-fi, but was not explored in depth in this first installment. There are continuous combat scenes, adequately fulfilling the “Sword” requirement for “Swords & Planet.” What I enjoyed most about this adventure was Gramlich’s poetic side, that creeps into every chapter. Check out these Excerpts:

Beautiful Battles

"…Heril leaped forward, swinging an axe over his head. The beast commander caught the stroke on his shield but the blow drove him to his knees. He surged up, hurling Heril back, and lashed out with his own axe. I watched Heril leap away and then saw no more of them as the beach exploded into motion.

War cries tore the sky. Steel whistled through air and rang on steel, or thunked into soft flesh. Men screamed with the impact and went down hard. Blood clotted the sand and stained the bright swords with ugliness.

Numbers were on our side and our first charge carried the Klar back. They recovered and held. Bodies piled up. Men stumbled over the dead and few who went down were given the chance to rise again. Axes and swords lifted and fell, came away drawing screams or soft sighs of death. Our enemies were cold and disciplined, but so too were Jedik’s men, and the slaves were hot with anger. It was that passion which finally broke the Klar line. But we paid for it in blood."

Weird Ambience

“A bass throbbing rose and fell with each pulse of emerald light, and over the vibration lay the screams of my men, crawling up the scale until their voices teetered on the edge of soundlessness. Then the screams were gone and the cold, verdant fire went with them.”

“The thing’s body was human-like but it was not a man. Its flesh gleamed an iridescent green and gold; scales covered it like armor. A broad, thick tail stretched away into the gray fog behind it. The creature’s face was an abomination, calling up visions of fallen angels burning centuries in hell. The eyes shone flat and stone blue, without whites. Two slits gashed the face where the nose should have been and the mouth below glistened wide and red, lined with yellowed fangs. Large vanes, like the wings of bats, extended from either side of the beast’s head, fluttering with each harsh breath it drew.”

“The lorn wind blew about the volcanic peak, playing dirges in the empty lava funnels. Both beauty and pain lived in that wind, and the drifting ghosts of ancient memories.”

Testimonial: I lost 3 pounds in just one week reading Swords of Talera! To stay with my weight maintenance program, I’ll continue with Wings Over Talera:Book Two of the Talera Cycle, and Witch of Talera.

[Derek · Rating 3 out of 5]

The specific influence at play here is Dray Prescot. Ruann Maclang is a man out of Earth's past, a sailor, thrown to a strange and unlikely world whose artificial nature hints of a power behind the scenes.

Given that starting point, Gramlich has gone in interesting directions. Talera itself appears to the artificial construct of powerful and mysterious entities, who have populated it with a variety of species stolen from across time and space, all for reasons unknown, but which forms a petri dish of conflict along cultural and species lines.

Curiously, it is Jask the Klar, a slaver captain of a warlike race, who comes off as the interesting character. While appearing to work 'within the system' of his brutal society, his position reveals unexpected complexity as he foments a slave revolt in order to assist in overthrowing a cadre of foreign priests that dominate his people, as part of a conspiracy that has been in motion for some time. It was intriguing to see these events from Maclang's perspective, who was out of the action for much of it and had little to do with the organizational aspects. Sword-and-planet tends to center on the single unstoppable hero figure, and I really liked seeing this role be divided between Maclang, this Jask, and most especially Maclang's love interest, usually a very passive role.

[Cora Pop · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story has all the elements of early, beloved swashbuckling stories. A mysterious stranger who delivers a manuscript and then disappears just as mysteriously. The seas, exotic lands, shipwrecks, a hero with a huge heart and a very interesting name, a damsel in distress who proves more than once that she can stand for herself, sword fights, camaraderie, magic…

The imagery is vivid. The world described is rich in sensory details. There were moments, especially in the wondrous city of Emira during the feast, when I was pleasantly reminded of the stories from the Arabian Nights. The language is elegant and efficient.

All these, make “The Swords of Talera” a very compelling read. Every time I put it down, I just had to pick it up again.

My only tiny disappointment is that there is no hint at all about the fate of Ruenn’s brother, not even at the end.

On to the “Wings Over Talera”!

[Bernard DeLeo · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I heard Charles Gramlich's Swords of Talera, and its sequels would remind me of Robert E Howard and Edgar Rice Burroughs, I couldn't resist. Swords of Talera blends fast paced action with exotic locales and peoples very reminiscent of Howard and Burroughs. I was immediately caught up in Ruenn Maclang's plight on the world of Talera, where Maclang wins the loyalty and respect of warriors he reluctantly commands to defeat the slaving race of Klar warriors. Throw in sword wielding Princess Rannon, and Priests dabbling in magic, to round out a captivating adventure.

[Tony Petry · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This book is amazing. I highly recommend this book to anyone. Mr. Gramlich wrote like a true storyteller. This is jammed pack with action, why this isn't a blockbuster movie is beyond me. Charles Gramlich shows the caliber of writer he truly is, he's without a doubt in the same league as Edgar Rice Burroughs and Robert E. Howard. I'd put Gramlich's character Ruenn Maclang against Conan, Kull, Hercules, and John Carter any day of the week and believe that Ruenn Maclang would come out the victor every time.

[Randy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this sort of Sword and Planet adventure, having grown up reading Edgar Rice Burroughs, as well as a number of other such writers.
The adventures of Ruenn Maclang falls right into that genre.

[Travis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great fun read! A Sword and Planet adventure in the mold of ERB's Barsoom stories. If you like John Carter you will like this. I have already ordered the next two books in the series from Amazon.

[Steve Malley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Talera is swashbuckling high adventure. Swordplay, alien races, beautiful maidens, this book has it all!

Ruenn is a two-fisted hero capable of going toe to toe with any of the heroes of Pellucidar, Mars, Cimerra, Atlantis or the jungles of Tarzan's Africa. Rannon is noble, beautiful and tough as nails herself. One almost expects her to step out of a Frazetta canvas.

This is a tale well told. The characters are vivid, true to life, and stay with the reader long after the final page is turned. I can't wait to read the rest!

[Charles]

This is the ebook version of Swords of Talera. I know it is available on Barnes & Noble but I'm not sure where else you could find it. It's not on Amazon because it's not Kindleized.

[Exanimis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun read that reminded me of the Edgar Rice Burroughs stories I enjoyed for so long. Swords of Talera is a great example of sword and planet.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Swords of Talera is pure S&P recounting the adventures of Ruenn Maclang on Talera, a world teaming with multiple species, and lit by a sun that changes color with the seasons. Charles Allen Gramlich excels in sensory world building and nonstop action in the tradition of Burroughs and Howard. For me, Ruenn Maclang seems most reminiscent of Kenneth Bulmer's Dray Prescot, a sailor from Earth fighting against reptilian slavers and the Thye Vessoth priests who control them to free his love Rannon. I liked Swords of Talera better than the early Scorpio books which seemed to improve as the series went on. Highly recommended.

[David Critchfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was pleasantly surprised by this one. I’d been putting off reading it, but there was no reason to. It’s a “planetary romance” à la Edgar Rice Burroughs, and it follows a typical plot: Earthman is mysteriously transported to an alien world and falls in love with an incomparably-beautiful indigenous princess. It’s not as fast-paced as a Burroughs yarn, as the author spends time on characterization and evocative language in his settings, but the story-telling is superb. I would have enjoyed a new fantasy illustration for the cover instead of the generic-looking picture of a sword; that, and a few interior illustrations, including a map, would have enhanced this rather basic edition by Wildside Press. I have ordered the second book of the trilogy; it arrives tomorrow!

[Lookout · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good pulpy story

Very good action scenes. Very expensive world building with diverse race.Wish it has a character list because many characters with similar sounding names. I have enjoyed Charles work

[Joel Jenkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sword and planet fiction in the style of ERB, but definitely its own distinct setting.

[Brian Lowe · Rating 5 out of 5]

A satisfying adventure

Reminiscent of Carter and Burroughs, with a rich and diverse cast of characters both human and alien. I will be reading the next book.