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

The perfect excuse to read your ever-growing To-Read pile. Choose a Sword & Sorcery book from there, then confess why you haven't read it sooner here!

No Return and Gonji: Red Blade from the East. Both terrific books, but since I have little reading time these days, I'm hoping to finish both of them during the Group Read.

Hmm, I can take part in this one by virtue of being already doing it, I think. The next novel I start reading is probably going to be Sword-Sworn, the second half of this reissue . I hadn't read it back when I was reading this series in the late nineties because when the last two came out I was living in a small village with no bookstore access and didn't know two more had come out, then life carried on and it was one of those things I never got around to picking up again. It was actually coming across a Roberson short story in the anthology group-read here some months ago that reminded me the story had been left hanging, leading to the discovery that there were now three I hadn't read. That's my confession. (Plus, there's that Harold Lamb addiction taking up much of my fiction-reading time.)

Periklis wrote: "No Return and Gonji: Red Blade from the East. Both terrific books, but since I have little reading time these days, I'm hoping to finish both of them during the Group Read."

Wasn't aware that you had started into RED BLADE FROM THE EAST (first book of my Gonji "Deathwind Trilogy"), Periklis. Happy to hear it! I do hope it starts you on a pleasant journey through Gonji's saga.

The second book, THE SOUL WITHIN THE STEEL (formerly SAMURAI STEEL, in the old Zebra Books edition) is still out only in paper in the new Borgo Press edition. Don't know what's holding up the Kindle. And the final trilogy book, DEATHWIND OF VEDUN (formerly SAMURAI COMBAT), is imminent in paper, as I heard from the art designer just last week, while he was prepping the graphics and layout of the cover illo.

I turned in my proofing of Book 4---FORTRESS OF LOST WORLDS---a few weeks ago. So the series is sailing along into this long overdue domestic re-issue.

Let me know your feelings about the books as you read them. And by all means direct any inquiries to me.

Thank you kindly for the interest you've shown in Gonji, my vintage heroic-fantasy series character!

If work allows i'll try to tackle Legend. I've been meaning to check out this Saga for a while so this might be it .

I'm working on one now, Scorpio Invasion by Kenneth Bulmer. I've had it for quite a while but am just starting it now. Sword and planet more than S and S, though.

I started reading A Feast for Crows a few days back. Originally I had given up on the series, but HBO convinced me to give it another go.

Decisions, decisions ... Maybe it's finally time for The Clockwork Vampire Chronicles. Or Matthias Thulmann: Witch Hunter (Warhammer).

I will most likely be picking up C.L. Moore's Black God's Kiss after I finish The Dying Earth.

Dan wrote: "I will most likely be picking up C.L. Moore's Black God's Kiss after I finish The Dying Earth."

I loved it

Just finished Wolfshead and Swords of Shahrazar by Robert E Howard. Had these on the shelf forever and since the REH group was doing a "how many REH books will you read this year" I was like it is time to get down some of these titles and dig in. I can't believe I took so long to read these stories and to be honest Ali el Ghazi has become one of favorite Howard characters I think right next to Conan.

The curse of the writer is having to read your own stuff a hundred times over, and I also write YA and like to keep my reading diversified ... which is all a long winded way to say: I have far too many S&S books languishing in my to-read pile. And I feel a sense of dread choosing one because I know it might have to tide me over for many moons.

I have some yellow-spines Tanith Lee books I've been meaning to read for a long time. I should choose one of those ... Or maybe Blackdog.

Give in to blind chance David. Just close your eyes, twirl around, and then reach out and be surprised! lol

Having finished, and liked, Legend which turned out to be atypical in many aspects I'm moving on to The King Beyond the Gate.

David wrote: "...I have some yellow-spines Tanith Lee books I've been meaning to read for a long time. I should choose one of those ... Or maybe Blackdog.
"
I'd, um, say, go for Blackdog ...

I didn't do so well on the 'read something from your to-read pile' assignment. I did get a little more of Sword-Sworn read, but had so many other things I had to do more urgently (and such a stack of non-fiction research) that I'm still not through it. What I've read so far, though, I'm liking better than Sword-Born (which I did enjoy - I just found the male versus female banter in that one got worn out after a while). I think in these later Tiger and Del books Roberson's starting to deal -- interestingly -- with the question of what to do with your wandering swordsmen as they age: let them go on, more or less unchanging, and expand the world to keep something new showing up, or find something new within the characters. Both, of course, is probably most fun for all concerned. I think that's where she's going with this, but I need more time to read.