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

Leigh Brackett's sword & planet adventure is a short novel but a favorite among aficionado's. Let's read: The Sword of Rhiannon...first published as Sea-Kings of Mars and Otherworldly Stories in "Thrilling Wonder" Magazine in 1949 (cover artist in banner image from that is Earle Bergey).

I read it last year -- great stuff -- but this probably means I should work at least something else by Brackett into the rotation ...

For any doubters, a brief passage from the book:

Carse walked beside the still black waters in their ancient channel, cut in the dead sea-bottom. He watched the dry wind shake the torches that never went out and listened to the broken music of the harps that were never stilled. Lean lithe men and women passed him in the shadowy streets, silent as cats except for the chime and whisper of the tiny bells the women wear, a sound as delicate as rain, distillate of all the sweet wickedness of the world.

60pages in... Sea of Rhiannon is great stuff. A touch of Mythos in a lost world setting full of hybrid humans... fast adventure with some intelligent writing. Enjoyed your review Joseph.

Really enjoyed this one.
Review = https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...


It is like Indiana Jones looted Cthulhu's tomb!

Some highlights:
-Written before Sci-Fi and Fantasy really became substantial genres of their own, the summary of this sounds Sci-Fi but really is Fantasy.
-Brackett employs better prose than one would expect from pulp Sword & Planet
(Just like Joseph said!)
-It begs to be a longer adventure, but remains a stand alone novella that is not fully realized.