Sword & Sorcery: "An earthier sort of fantasy" discussion

Hello all. New here today. I may have stumbled into the wrong group. Is there a narrow definition of what constitutes a sword and sorcery genre and little interest in other fantasy genres here? Characters in Tolkien's LOTR series used swords and sorcery on many occasion during battles but I have the feeling this group would not consider Tolkien-esque novels to be "true" sword and sorcery reads. Help me understand please?

J. wrote: "Hello all. New here today. I may have stumbled into the wrong group. Is there a narrow definition of what constitutes a sword and sorcery genre and little interest in other fantasy genres here? Cha..."

Welcome J. Great question. Many in this group like both epic/high-fantasy as well as traditional sword-n-sorcery...so there are differences and commonalities. Some works fall in both camps.

The group has a whole folder on this topic:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/group...

The discussion you may like is the below one that defines the sub-genres:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Hi J.! Even if traditional Sword & Sorcery ain't your thing, stick around for a bit and give us a chance. Most of us like varying forms of fantasy too, and maybe you'll discover a S&S book or two that you'll like!

J. wrote: "Hello all. New here today. I may have stumbled into the wrong group. Is there a narrow definition of what constitutes a sword and sorcery genre and little interest in other fantasy genres here? Cha..."

Welcome to the group J! I'd regard LOTR as sword and sorcery. I'd also call it 'heroic fantasy' but would distinguish it from 'urban fantasy' in a modern setting.

I gotta say, LOTR is not really S&S, at least not in the traditional sense. It is definitely the archetype, or even the template of Epic Fantasy as we know it. The entire world at stake, a quest, multiple points of view, the naive country boy who saves us all...not exactly Conan or Elric or Kane or Brak...

Sword-and-sorcery is typically focused on a more personal quest, rather than a save-the-world quest.

J. wrote: "Hello all. New here today. I may have stumbled into the wrong group. Is there a narrow definition of what constitutes a sword and sorcery genre and little interest in other fantasy genres here? Cha..."

The differences (and similarities) between S&S and HF are equally interesting - there've been some wonderfully fascinating discussions here recently on what defines sword-&-sorcery. I devoted an a sizable chunk of an essay in the back of my book 'The Shadow Cycles' to the topic, and there's a recent book by Deke Parsons called 'J.R.R.Tolkien, Robert E. Howard, and the Birth of Modern Fantasy' which I hope to get hold of some day. There's also a significant essay by the late Steve Tompkins: http://theblogthattimeforgot.blogspot...
which tackles the subject.

Hi I am new to the group, I love reading Fantasy, Historical adventures and Sci-Fi and have been a fan of swords & Sorcery since my teens, my old favourites, include Conan, Fathrd and the Gray Mouser and the Michael Moorcock S & S books

Dan wrote: "Hi I am new to the group, I love reading Fantasy, Historical adventures and Sci-Fi and have been a fan of swords & Sorcery since my teens, my old favourites, include Conan, Fathrd and the Gray Mous..."

Welcome Dan. You'll fit right in here,

Welcome to the group Dan!

Welcome Dan!

Hi Folks,

Seth suggested I pop in and I thought I'd do a quick intro.

I'm an SFF writer with novels published by Harper Voyager (Beyond Redemption), Five Rivers (88), and a third novel I just signed a deal for but can't yet announce cuz things ain't 100% finalized. I also offer editing service, but I'll post that on the relevant thread.

My biggest single influence is probably Michael Moorcock's Stormbringer books.

Uh....What's up?

Hi Michael! Welcome to the group! It's nice to have another author join the ranks. Oh and Moorcock rocks!

So cool to see you on here, Mr. Fletcher. Loved your Beyond Redemption book

Michael wrote: "Hi Folks,

Seth suggested I pop in and I thought I'd do a quick intro.

I'm an SFF writer with novels published by Harper Voyager (Beyond Redemption), Five Rivers ([book:88|17734997..."

Cheers! It's good to be here. I like Moorcock so much I have the symbol of chaos tattooed on my arm. That series might have bent my youth a little.

Greg wrote: "So cool to see you on here, Mr. Fletcher. Loved your Beyond Redemption book"

Thanks, Greg! Glad you enjoyed the book. I just signed a deal for the next Manifest Delusions novel and should be making an official announcement in the next few weeks. The madness continues!

Welcome to the group, Michael - from another Greg!

Jack wrote: "Michael wrote: "Hi Folks,

Seth suggested I pop in and I thought I'd do a quick intro.

I'm an SFF writer with novels published by Harper Voyager (Beyond Redemption), Five Rivers ([..."

Cheers! I hope you enjoy it.

Greg wrote: "Welcome to the group, Michael - from another Greg!"

Hi another Greg! And thanks!

Michael wrote: "Greg wrote: "Welcome to the group, Michael - from another Greg!"

Hi another Greg! And thanks!"

LOL You're welcome!

Michael wrote: "Greg wrote: "So cool to see you on here, Mr. Fletcher. Loved your Beyond Redemption book"

Thanks, Greg! Glad you enjoyed the book. I just signed a deal for the next Manifest Delusions novel and sh..."

I'll keep an eye out for it.

Greg wrote: "Michael wrote: "Greg wrote: "So cool to see you on here, Mr. Fletcher. Loved your Beyond Redemption book"

Thanks, Greg! Glad you enjoyed the book. I just signed a deal for the next Manifest Delusi..."

You'll have time for blinking and stuff cuz it probably won't see the light of day (er...grimdark novels prolly don't do that) the bleakest dark of night until next year.

Hi I'm Adam, glad to be part of the group. Have always loved Epic and Sword&Sorcery fantasy, and have been reading the genres since my teens. Looking forward to chatting with everyone.

Welcome Adam. Friendly group here. Feel welcome to browse the threads and chime in. We always have broad themed group reads going.

S.E. wrote: "Welcome Adam. Friendly group here. Feel welcome to browse the threads and chime in. We always have broad themed group reads going."

Hi S.E, many thanks for the welcome. :)

Jack wrote: "Adam wrote: "Hi I'm Adam, glad to be part of the group. Have always loved Epic and Sword&Sorcery fantasy, and have been reading the genres since my teens. Looking forward to chatting with everyone...."

Hi Jack, thanks for the welcome, looking forward to being here. :)

Adam wrote: "Hi I'm Adam, glad to be part of the group. Have always loved Epic and Sword&Sorcery fantasy, and have been reading the genres since my teens. Looking forward to chatting with everyone."

Hi Adam! There's a good group of folks here, and plenty of discussions going on. Glad you joined!

Welcome to the group, Adam!

Many thanks for the welcome, Richard and Greg, much appreciated. :)

Really looking forward to chatting with everyone. I'm a real beginner when it comes to social media, so if I make any blunders please feel free to tip me off. lol

Hello all, excited about joining this group! Seems like a great place to find new books and people with similar interests! Esp since I just started reading Sword of Destiny by Andrzej Sapkowski, being the Huge witcher fan that I am. Look forward to seeing parts and discussions from you all!!

Welcome to the group, Christopher!

Greg wrote: "Welcome to the group, Christopher!"

Thanks Greg!!

Hello
I've joined the group recently but never introduced my self.
I am Fatima - to be honest the reason I joined was because I was looking for a group who shares the same interest I have in books.
Not a quick reader but I am almost done with book 3 of the witcher series.
Looking forward to more books in the same genre and discussions on the books

Fatima wrote: "Hello
I've joined the group recently but never introduced my self.
I am Fatima - to be honest the reason I joined was because I was looking for a group who shares the same interest I have in books..."

Fatima, glad to have you here. Looking forward to your Witcher comments. I just got #1 and plan to start ~June 1st.

Welcome aboard Fatima!

Greetings. I'm Joel Minty, author of an epic fantasy novel called Purge of Ashes. I'm part of plenty lil' fantasy groups all over the place. My favourites include: Erikson, Abercrombie, GRRM, Esslemont, Kay, Rothfuss, and Jordan back in the day. I like maps and weaving storylines! Ahoy!

Welcome to the group, Joel! Congrats on the recent publication of your first novel!

Jack wrote: "Christopher wrote: "Hello all, excited about joining this group! Seems like a great place to find new books and people with similar interests! Esp since I just started reading Sword of Destiny by A..."

Yeah I've already read every Witcher book thats been translated to English so far, must say I found them all equally entertaining. I just love the concept and character, even so much so i went to youtube to watch the series they did in Polish lol (tho that wasnt as good)

Greg wrote: "Welcome aboard Fatima!"

thanks Greg

S.E. wrote: "Fatima wrote: "Hello
I've joined the group recently but never introduced my self.
I am Fatima - to be honest the reason I joined was because I was looking for a group who shares the same interest ..."

thanks a lot - I just finished blood of elves - I can't wait to read your reviews when you reach book 2 or 3

Hello. I like s and s. Have loads of books ive never read. Facebook s and s groups are just advert sites. Thought id give here a bash. Also like rock n roll and trash cinema

Welcome to the group, Paul! :)

Thanks

Hello Everyone, im from Caracas Venezuela and I've translated my first dark fantasy book serie The Prisoner, and i would love to hear some reviews to improve my book before the release in August 18th

Thank you Guys

JP Machillanda

Hello everybody at Goodreads!

My name is Andrea Almering and I am an Illustrator and Graphic designer. I love fantasy! I also like to draw fantasy. So if any of you guys and gals need a book cover please contact me. Check out my work at : www.almering.nl
I am very flexible in what I can create so anything is possible!

Welcome Andrea

Charles wrote: "Welcome Andrea" Thanks Charles :)

Andrea, welcome! Please add a post in our networking section (there are folders for editors illustrators etc; below is the book cover one ):
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Welcome to the group, Andrea! I took a look at your site and like the range of drawings you have there, especially the reptilian ones and that of the mite!

I'm George and I was first introduced to Sword & Sorcery back in my early teens with the Marvel "Conan The Barbarian" comics. After reading some of them, I bought all of the Ace Conan paperbacks and read them as fast as I could get them. My favorites also include Elric, Fafhrd and the Mouser, Egil and Nix, and Michael J. Sullivan's Royce and Hadrian.