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

Sorcery Against Caesar: The Complete Simon of Gitta Short Stories

Of course you do not need this book to read selected stories (i.e., I may just dig into The Scroll of Thoth: Simon Magus and the Great Old Ones: Twelve Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos)... but this new collection may be easier.



Book Blurb:

A REBEL AGAINST ROME

Simon of Gitta, an escaped slave turned magician, roves the Roman Empire battling dark magic and demons, all the while pursued by Caesar’s soldiers. Join Simon as he flees across the ancient world evading cultists and Legionaries, outwitting sorcerers and Centurions, and fighting gladiators and gods, even the deities of the Cthulhu Mythos. Yet all these foes cannot prepare him for his greatest challenge: the pursuit of his lost soul-mate Helen, a love so deep even death can’t stand in its way for long.

These stories were one of the inspirations for the Cthulhu Invictus campaign for the Call of Cthulhu role playing game by Chaosium.

Enjoy sixteen stories combining superbly researched historical fiction with sword & sorcery and Lovecraftian horror, including:



The Sword of Spartacus

The Fire of Mazda

The Seed of the Star-God

The Blade of the Slayer

The Throne of Achamoth

The Emerald Tablet

The Soul of Kephri

The Ring of Set

The Worm of Urakhu

The Curse of the Crocodile

The Treasure of Horemkhu

The Secret of Nephren-Ka

The Scroll of Thoth

The Dragons of Mons Fractus

The Wedding of Sheila-Na-Gog

The Pillars of Melkarth

Vengence Quest (poetry)

I’ve been on a real short story kick lately, sampling some Nick Nightmare tales by Adrian Cole, some Ben Perkins P.I. stories by Rob Kantner, and digging into The Big Book of Adventure Stories for inspiration for my own writing. I’m in the right mood to try some Simon of Gitta tales, for sure!

I haven't read all of these yet - but got into him hearing about the crossover with Cain ("Kane") in "Blade of the Slayer" - the Chaosium version had a note that Wagner insisted the story was "non-canonical" that Kane's history had him a thousand miles away at the time.

I'd like to gush about the story - at both simple and silly but then very deep - but don't want to be a spoiler. When Kane is finally talking to Simon and ... the place they are in ... happened to be from Kane's early years. Brought a tear to my eye the perspective of the man.

And I'm really biting my lip - note this is set in Africa and as the ruins of the lost city are described...