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

Last sentence should read: I would prefer neither altar.

I grew up being told that it was impolite and/or rude to speak of two things in public: religion and politics.

It’s too easy to be drawn into such discussions b/c we all have opinions that we ‘know’ to be right and rational; at least to ourselves.

But what we have to remember is that with so many different walks of life we have to exercise tolerance with grace and understanding.

I don’t welcome editors and/or authors using this medium for their soapbox. I’ve read both FS6 and AppN and both works did not merit the injection of politics in either.

I read this type of fiction for enjoyment and as an escape. I don’t welcome reality or opinions creeping in.

No argument from me

Of interest to this discussion is Jason Ray Carney's article on Black Gate. Recall, he was tasked with editing a volume (Savage Scrolls Volume One : Thrilling Tales of Sword-and-Sorcery) to house some of the content from Price's controversial FS#6 collection (at least two stories found a new home there).

BG: How Sword & Sorcery Brings Us to Life

An excerpt:

"For 21st-century readers of pulp fiction (and sword and sorcery specifically), this view of literary art is a horn of mead to a parched throat. Fans of pulp-origin sword and sorcery, the kind published in Savage Scrolls, read and write in a time when social activism and imaginative literature are bound together, from the left and the right. Legitimate concerns about representation of difference and the perpetuation of xenophobia, sexism, homophobia, and racism seem to make pressing demands on writers in genre. New literary works are sometimes judged based on their moral vision, their political utility, and other non-aesthetic elements to which the sword and sorcery writer often seems indifferent (though not always).

In our current context, Morris’s pregnant question to his readers echoes in the mind of sword and sorcery fans everywhere: “Dreamer of dreams, born out of my due time, / Why should I strive to set the crooked straight?” Should writers strive to set the crooked straight, to fix the broken world? Or, like Morris, should it suffice that “not-too-importunate” tales “wing” us to paradise?"

Hello everyone, hope it's okay I stopped by to say hello and to tell you how much I appreciate this lively discussion about Appendix N. I honestly did not foresee so much controversy over what for me was just a love letter to old school D&D and sword & sorcery. (I do admit we should have been more diligent in what we chose as a subtitle and I do regret that mine is so close to Jeffro Johnson's book.) In any case, I would love to answer any questions (no matter how tough!) but otherwise just happy to see the generally nice reception the book has received here.

@Peter B
Welcome, and thank you for dropping by to say hello. I enjoyed your book for what it was: a fine collection of stories inspired by Appendix N. I enjoyed your inclusion of the comic and the hint that it might be a preview of a book about comics that influenced your D&D game. I would read that book.

Wow, Peter strolled by. Welcome! I wonder if any more Deluxe Editions will ever be made.

Thanks to you both for the nice welcome. I don't think they will publish anymore of the special editions, but if we do a follow up collection that will have a limited hardcover run. I'll keep you posted!

Peter wrote: "Thanks to you both for the nice welcome. I don't think they will publish anymore of the special editions, but if we do a follow up collection that will have a limited hardcover run. I'll keep you p..."

Peter, I've yet to write my review, but there is a lot to like about this volume that I plan to say.

1- Appendix N and related D&D literature is huge in scope.... and having one targeted on the "weirder" influences in wonderful
2- Blending classic's like REH's "Tower of the Elephant" with more obscure ones like Campbell's Ryre tale as well as David Madison's tale is perfect---it satisfies new and veteran readers of the genre
3- Organizing contributions by "level" is fun theme
4- The book design echoes the weird dungeon crawl and D&D theme

You know all this of course, but the intent and execution is spot on and appreciated.

Thanks, this is a very kind review!

Clint wrote: "Last sentence should read: I would prefer neither altar."

Exactly. My own politics are rather strong -- and yet, I'd prefer them the hell out of what gets into fiction. I neither want or expect a Bronze Age world to look like Progressive America, and get sick of that -- just as much as I eventually got sick of Adams's Horseclans novels in the 90s when it became clear that he increasingly wanted to let me know how much he had hated 80s liberals, queers and feminists -- in novels set in 2700 AD.

Just. Stop. We all live through too many cultural politics daily. We should be free to integrate them, or NOT, in our fiction and our gaming, expressly because this genre is designed to make you see other worlds and other ideas.

Coming back to Peter's book...in a sense the title is misleading (or rather the subtitle is) because of the OTHER Appendix N, but I actually found that I liked the overall premise -- we all have our own Appendix N, both in the tales we choose and how we interact with them. There's been so many blog posts, etc about what is in Appendix itself, I rather liked seeing what was a different, very personal, take.

I have a theory that Gygax looked at his bookshelf and jotted down a bunch of authors on a page, typed it up and called it Appendix N. Some of those authors and books definitely influenced the design of the game, but many—crucify me for heresy—were simply a bunch of stuff that GG enjoyed. Ever since, D&D geeks have screamed about what is/not Appendix N like it is Holy scripture.

Clint wrote: "I have a theory that Gygax looked at his bookshelf and jotted down a bunch of authors on a page, typed it up and called it Appendix N. Some of those authors and books definitely influenced the desi..."

Pretty much.