Swordsmen in the Sky in Sword & Sorcery: "An earthier sort of fantasy"

Jul 17, 2008 Charles rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

Swordsmen in the Sky: My favorite fantasy collection of all time. This is the collection that, more than anything, made me want to write Sword & Planet stories. Contains: Swordsman Of Lost Terra by Poul Anderson, People of the Crater by Andre Norton, The Moon That Vanished by Leigh Brackett, A Vision of Venus by Otis Adelbert Kline, and Kaldar, World of Antares, by Edmond Hamilton

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Mar 19, 2016 Richard rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, anthologies, sword-and-planet

After such a long time searching locally I have finally found my own copy of this book. I actually found it on eBay for a very reasonable price and the seller was local! Local like in the same small town. Ecstatic!

As a long time fan of Frazetta, I have to say that the cover Rocks! Although the title is mostly a misnomer, I enjoyed every story. Swordsman of Lost Terra by Poul Anderson is probably my favorite with it's post apocalyptic setting. People of the Crater by Andre Norton is a lost world ...more

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Aug 04, 2025 NOLA Bert rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: sword-and-sorcery, fantasy, sword-and-planet

Swordsmen in the Sky is a fantastic science fantasy anthology with stories by Poul Anderson, Andre Norton, Leigh Brackett, Otis Adelbert Kline, and Edmond Hamilton. All of these authors were first reads for me, despite owning books by Anderson, Norton, and Brackett. I read Brackett’s novelette in this anthology a few years back to celebrate her birthday, but I reread it again when I decided to read the entire anthology. My inspiration for this read was a recent Swords & Wizardry campaign that I Swordsmen in the Sky is a fantastic science fantasy anthology with stories by Poul Anderson, Andre Norton, Leigh Brackett, Otis Adelbert Kline, and Edmond Hamilton. All of these authors were first reads for me, despite owning books by Anderson, Norton, and Brackett. I read Brackett’s novelette in this anthology a few years back to celebrate her birthday, but I reread it again when I decided to read the entire anthology. My inspiration for this read was a recent Swords & Wizardry campaign that I started playing based in a homebrew world that emphasizes the science fantasy of advanced technology that gets lost every millenia as the world goes through cycles of destruction and rebirth.

All of the stories feature maidens being rescued and all of the stories have a strong emphasis on romance. There is lots of fighting, too, although not always swordplay. There are some guns, a rod of disintegration, and magical/technological bagpipes.

“Swordsman of Lost Terra” by Poul Anderson is a tale written akin to Celtic/Gael mythology. But the story takes place on a tidally locked planet where there is a permanent side in light and a permanent side in darkness, with some areas in perpetual twilight. The world is a far future post-apocalypse where the advanced technology of the past is mostly lost. But other than those elements, the story is very much sword & sorcery.

“People of the Crater” by Andre Norton. I’ve read people describe this story as a lost world-type tale since the story takes place in a crater in the Antarctic, though the crater is a temperate zone, filled with a hidden civilization and warring tribes. The strangeness of the people (descendants of aliens) and the various creatures (e.g., intelligent lizardfolk and giant bees) felt more otherworldly than what I typically think of as a lost world. The strange people also have unusual technology such as healing rays and a rod of disintegration.

”The Moon That Vanished” by Leigh Brackett. This story takes place on Venus and focuses on a psychologically distraught ship captain who is persuaded to lead two Venusians across the sea to a radioactive mist that gives god-like powers to those in its midst. However, to seek out the mist is considered sacrilege on Venus, and a cult will do anything it can to prevent people from finding it.

“A Vision of Venus” by Otis Adelbert Kline. This story is very short, focusing on a Venusian out on a mushroom-hunting expedition in his flying craft. Things go awry and the Venusian faces danger and daring. It’s light fare and a nice break after Brackett’s rich story.

Kaldar, World of Antares by Edmond Hamilton. This is a fun tale of high adventure. There is a transporter, light swords, light guns, flying ships, metal mountains, metal pyramid buildings, spider-men who shoot poison-spray from tubes, and a metal hive honeycombed with lots of passageways and rooms of the spider-men. What’s not to like? ...more

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Dec 27, 2008 Derek rated it really liked it

Shelves: sword-and-planet, pulp

Notable for containing some rarely-reprinted stories. In particular, "Kaldar, World of Antares" is the first of the Stuart Merrick adventures and is only otherwise available in an expensive hardcover collection.

This is a selection whose diversity belies the (awesome) title.

"Swordsman of Lost Terra" is written in a heavier, more literary or epic style, touched with strangeness. Its setting is not revealed until well into the story.

"The People of the Crater" is more of a lost-land scientific roma ...more

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Jan 01, 2018 Jason Waltz rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: heroic, fantastical, scifi, own, keeper, anthologies, s-s

wrote one review already, and as often happens in the Goodreads app, it failed to post. not rewriting the whole thing again. here's a summarized version:

Anderson - probably the strongest tale in the whole book, definitely the most lyrical w/a great hero, lots of swords
Brackett - exciting tale and locale, good characters, sort of ends in a whimper
Norton - my favorite story, exciting, harrowing, energetic, mysterious, ends with a slight rush and disappoinment
Kline - weak story, wondering why it ap ...more

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