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A READER'S GUIDE TO SWORD & SORCERY S-V

S

Fred Saberhagen (1930 - 2007)

Fred Saberhagen is known to the world as the creator of the popular Berserker stories and his Dracula fantasies. His present popularity lies with a series of S&S novels that started off on an sf footing in The Empire of the East, but has become more and more fantastical as it progresses with the Book of Swords and The Book of Lost Swords Triads.

The Empire of the East Series

1. The Broken Lands (1968)
2. The Black Mountains (1971)
3. Changeling Earth (1973) a: Ardneh’s World
4. Empire of the East (1979)–omnibus–Illustrated by Enrich

The Book of Swords Series

5. The First Book of Swords (1983)
6. The Second Book of Swords (1983)
7. The Third Book of Swords (1984)
8. The Complete Book of Swords (1984)–omnibus

The Book of Lost Swords Series

9. The First Book of Lost Swords: Woundhealer’s Story (1986)
10. The Second Book of Lost Swords: Sightblinder’s Story (1987)
11. The Third Book of Lost Swords: Stonecutter’s Story (1988)
12. The Lost Swords: The First Triad (1988)–omnibus
13. The Fourth Book of Lost Swords: Farslayer’s Story (1989)
14. The Fifth Book of Lost Swords: Coinspinner’s Story (1989)
15. The Sixth Book of Lost Swords: Mindsword’s Story (1990)
16. The Lost Swords: The Second Triad (1990)–omnibus

17. An Armory of Swords (1993) which contains:

18. "Blind Man’s Blade" by Fred Saberhagen
19. "Woundhealer" by Walter Jon Williams
20. "Fealty" by Gene Bostwick
21. "Dragon Debt" by Robert E. Vardeman
22. "The Sword of Aren-Nath" by Thomas Saberhagen
23. "Glad Yule" by Pati Nagle
24. "Luck of the Draw" by Michael A. Stackpole
25. "Stealth and the Lady" by Sage Walker

26. Ardneh's Sword (2006)

Books of the Gods

1. The Face of Apollo (1998)
2. Ariadne's Web (1999)
3. The Arms of Hercules (2000)
4. God of the Golden Fleece (2001)
5. Gods of Fire and Thunder (2002)

Jessica Amanda Salmonson (1950 - )

Jessica Amanda Salmonson has produced something different, an S&S series set in Japan. The Tomoe Gozen series are as bloody as any of Wagner’s Kane novels, showing that the ladies can produce high-powered S&S. The Swordswoman also shows her debt to Robert E. Howard. Salmonson has edited two excellent S&S anthologies, Amazons! and Heroic Visions. Amazons! won the World Fantasy Award as Best Anthology of 1982.

The Tomoe Gozen Series

1. Tomoe Gozen (aka The Disfavored Hero) (1981)
2. The Golden Naginata (1982)
3. Thousand Shrine Warrior (1984)

Single Volumes

1. The Swordswoman (1982) - illustrated by Wendy Adrian Shultz

Charles R. Saunders (1946 - )

Canadian author, Charles Saunders, has created something only Jessica Amanda Salmonson has done well. He has invented an interesting S&S character in a non-European setting. The Imaro series features an African backdrop.

The Imaro Series

1. Imaro (1981) which contains:

2. "Mwanza" (Night Voyages #6, Summer 1980) - “Prologue”
3. "Turlhana Knives" (Dragonbane #1, February 1978)
4. "The Place of Stones" (Phantasy Digest #1, Fall 1976)
5. "Slaves of the Giant Kings" (1981)
6. "Horror in the Black Hills" (Dark Fantasy #14, September 1977)
7. "The City of Madness" [aka “M’ji Ya Wazimu” (Dark Fantasy, July 1974)

8. The Quest for Kush (1984)

9. "The Half-Men of Chikanda" (aka "N'Tu Nusu Ya Chikanda") (Fantasy Crossroads #9, August 1976) - “In Mwenni”
10. "The Curse of the Bana-Gui" (Fantasy Crosroads #14, September 1978)- “In Bana-Gui”
11. "On the Bahari Mashiriki" (1984)
12. "In Kush" (1984)

13. The Trail of Bohu (1985)

Revised Editions

14. Imaro (2006)
15. The Quest for Cush (2008)
16. The Trail of Bohu (2009)

Other Stories

8. "The Hut of Death" (aka "Kibanda ya Kufa") (Dark Fantasy #7, September 1975)
8. "The Pool of the Moon, (aka "Bwala li Mwesu") (Dark Fantasy #8, 1976)
9. "The Nunda" (The Diversifier #16, September 1976)
10. "Death Castle of Djenne" (Black Lite #2, October 1976)
11. " Mai-Kulala" (Space & Time, November 1977)
12. "The Blacksmith and the Bambuti" (Escape! #1, Fall 1977)
13. "Khodumodumo" (1977)
14. "The Singing Drum" (Windhaven #2, Summer 1977)
42. "Khodumodumo" (Stardock #1, Summer 1977)
15. "Two Rogues" (Weirdbook 11, March 1977)
16. " Betrayal in Belverus" (Fantasy Crossroads #12, 1977)
18. "Luendi" (The Diversifier #22, September 1977)
19. "Amma" (Beyond the Fields We Know, Fall 1978)
20. "The Skeleton Coast" (Dark Fantasy #18, December 1978)
21. "Mbodze" (Stardock #2, Winter 1978)
22. "Okosene Alakun and the Magic Guinea-Fowl" (Weirdbook #13, March 1978)
23. "The City of Mists" (with Kenneth Huff) (Weird Adventures #2, 1978)
24. "Agbewe’s Sword" in Amazons!, 1979
4. "Death in Jukun" in Heroic Fantasy, 1979
12. "Ishigbi" in Hecate’s Cauldron, 1982
30. "The Return of Sundiata (aka “Sundiata’s Return”) (1982) (Cascade #1, Winter 1982)
31. "The Silent Ghosts" (Space and Time #63, 1982)
32. "Gimmile’s Songs" in Sword and Sorceress #1, 1984
33. "Mzee" (Dragon #86, June 1984)
34. "Shimenege’s Mask" in Sword and Sorceress #2, 1985
35. "Marwe’s Forest" in Sword and Sorceress #3, 1986
36. "Ishu’s Gift" in Liavek: The Players of Luck, 1986
37. "Death’s Friend" (Weirdbook #22, 1987)
38. "Drum Magic" (Argonaut #14, 1988)
39. "The Last Round" (1988)
40. "Scorpion Sand" (unknown)
41. "Katisa" (Forbidden Worlds of Fantasy)
42. "Imaro and the White Queen" (Escape! #2 ?)

Singles

1. Doussouye (2008)

Darrell Schweitzer (1952 - )

Darrell Schweitzer has made a name for himself as a critic of horror and fantasy literature. As one of the editors of Weird Tales (in its 4th incarnation), he publishes the best current fiction. Besides editing and criticism, Schweitzer writes some of the most meaningful fantasy, including his one S&S masterwork, The White Isle, originally published in Fantastic in the early 1980s. This novel is as deep as it is dark, but never dull. His work is continuing heroic fantasy in the Clark Ashton Smith tradition.

Singles

1. The Shattered Goddess (1982)
2. The White Isle (1988)
3. The Mask of the Sorcerer (1995)
4. Sekenre: The Book of the Sorcerer (2004)

John R. Sharpe (?)

1. Hogar, Lord of the Asyr (1987)

Michael Shea (1946 - )

Michael Shea, despite his infrequent publishing, is an artist of great talent. His two S&S novels are unique. The first, The Quest for Simbilis is a sequel to Jack Vance’s The Dying Earth , but is so highly original that it is no mere pastiche. Shea later applied his talents to Nifft the Lean , which won him the World Fantasy Award.

The Dying Earth Series

1. The Quest for Simbilis (1974)

Nifft the Lean Series

1. Nifft the Lean (1982) World Fantasy Award 1982
2. The Mines of Behemoth (1997)
3. The A'Rak (2000)
4. The Incompleat Nifft (2000)

John Shirley (1953-)

Darkworld Detective Series

1. The Black Hole of Carcosa: Kamus of Kadizhar (1988) S&S satire

Mike Sirota (1946-)

Berbora Series

1. Berbora (1978)
2. Flight from Berbora (1978)

Dannus Series

1. The Prisoner of Reglathium (1978)
2. The Conquerors of Reglathium (1978)
3. The Caves of Reglathium (1978)
4. Dark Straits of Reglathium (1978)
5. The Slaves of Reglathuim (1978)

Ro Lan Series

1. Master of Boranga (1978)
2. The Shrouded Walls of Boranga (1980)
3. Journey to Mesharra (1980)
4. The Demons of Zammar (1981)

Singles

1. The Twentieth Son of Ornon (1980)
2. The Golden Hawk of Zandraya (1981)

Clark Ashton Smith (1893-1961)

C. A. Smith was one of the big three of Weird Tales, along with Robert E. Howard and H. P. Lovecraft. Not everything written by Clark Ashton Smith is Sword & Sorcery. (More Sorcery, less Sword.) He wrote Space Opera, Horror and his own brand of weirdness, blending genres to achieve a kind genre all his own with worlds with names like Xiccarph, Zothique, and lands like Averoigne and Hyperborea. Listed here are some of the stories that come closest to S&S. Critics may quimble. Quimble away. Smith inspired Jack Vance's Dying Earth and many others.

1. "Sadastor" (Weird Tales, July 1930)
2. "A Rendezvous in Averoigne" (Weird Tales, April 1931)
3. "A Voyage to Sfanomoe" (Weird Tales, August 1931)
4. "The Tale of Satampra Zeiros" (Weird Tales, November 1931)
5. "The Door to Saturn" (Strange Tales , January 1932)
6. "The Monster of the Prophecy" (Weird Tales, January 1932)
7. "The Weird of Avoosl Wuthoqquan" (Weird Tales, June 1932)
8. "The Maker of Gargoyles" (Weird Tales, August 1932)
9. "The Empire of the Necromancers" (Weird Tales, September 1932)
10. "The Testament of Atthammaus" (Weird Tales, October 1932)
11. "The Double Shadow" The Double Shadow and Other Fantasies, (1933)
12. "The Isle of the Torturers" Keep on the Light (1933)
13. "A Night in Malneant" The Double Shadow and Other Fantasies (1933)
14. "The Witchcraft of Ulua" (Weird Tales, February 1934)
15. "The Charnal God" (Weird Tales, March 1934)
16. "The Death of Malygris" (Weird Tales, April 1934)
17. "The Tomb-Spawn" (Weird Tales, May 1934)
18. "The Collosus of Ylourgne" (Weird Tales, June 1934)
19. "The Seven Geases" (Weird Tales, October 1934)
20. "Xeethra" (Weird Tales, December 1934)
21. "The White Sybl" The White Sybil (1935)
22. "The Dark Eidolon" (Weird Tales, January 1935)
23. "The Flower-Women" (Weird Tales, May 1935
24. "The Black Abbot of Puthuum" (Weird Tales, March 1936)
25. "Necromancy in Naat" (Weird Tales, Jul 1936)
26. "The Death of Ilalotha" (Weird Tales, Sep 1937)
27. "The Garden of Adompha" (Weird Tales, April 1938)
28. "Mother of Toads" (Weird Tales, July 1938)
29. "The Coming of the White Worm" Stirring Science Stories, (Apr 1941)
30. "The Enchantress of Sylaire" (Weird Tales, July 1941)
31. "The Last Incantation" Lost Worlds (1944)
32. "The Maze of Maal Dweb" Lost Worlds, Arkham House (1944)
33. "Quest of Gazolba" (Weird Tales, September 1947) and its longer version "The Voyage of King Euvoran"
34. "The Weaver in the Vault" Genius Loci (1948)
35. "The Master of the Crabs" Weird Tales, (Mar 1948)
36. "Morthylla" (Weird Tales, May 1953)
37. "The Theft of the Thirty-Nione Girdles" (Saturn Science Fiction and Fantasy V1 #5 March 1958)
38. "The Ice-Demon" The Abominations of Yondo (1960)
39. "A Vintage From Atlantis" The Abominations of Yondo (1960)

David C. Smith (1952 - )

David Smith, along with Richard Tierney, are responsible for two of the best pastiches of the 1980’s, For the Witch of the Indies and For the Witch of the Mists. The latter does the one thing every Bran Mac Morn fan wishes to see: takes Bran to Rome to face Caesar himself. The other collaboration of these two men is the Red Sonja series, a character created by Marvel Comics.

The Red Sonja Series (With Richard L. Tierney)

1. The Ring of Ikribu (1981)
2. Demon Night (1982)
3. When Hell Laughs (1982)
4. Endithor’s Daughter (1982)
5. Against the Prince of Hell (1983)
6. Star of Doom (1983)

The Black Vulmea Series

1. For the Witch of the Indies (1977)

The Bran Mak Morn Series

1. For the Witch of the Mists (1978)

Oron Series (David C. Smith alone)

1. Oron (1978)
2. The Sorcerer's Shadow (1978) - aka The Shadow of Sorcery
3. Mosutha's Magic (1982) - aka Reign, Sorcery!
4. The Valley of Ogrum (1982) - aka Deathwolf
5. The Ghost Army (1983) - aka Death in Asakad and Other Stories which contains:

7. "The Ghost Army"
8. "The Seven-Pointed Star"
9. "The Jewel of the Sorcerer’s Daughter"

Charlotte Stone (Pseudonym for Charles and Dominique Nightingale)

The writing team that is Charlotte Stone lives in England and writes mainstream, Mystery and Fantasy. Not that I could find any of these books. The bio in the DAW paperback seems to be fictional as well.

1. Cheon of Weltanland Book 1: The Four Wishes (1983)
2. Cheon, Warrior Witch (2002)

T

Keith Taylor (1946 - )

Keith Taylor, when not collaborating with Andrew Offutt on Cormac novels, has created one of the most popular Celtic heroes, Felimid the Bard. In the tradition of Poul Anderson, Taylor mixes erudition and S&S to make history more fun to read. Taylor has written other historical S&S stories for the resurrected Weird Tales. His early work appeared under the pseudonym “Dennis More”

The Bard Series

1. Bard (1981) which contains

2. "Fugitives in Winter" (Fantastic, October 1975)
3. "The Forest of Andred" (Fantastic, Nov 1976)
4. "My Sendings Return"
5. "The Atheling's Wife" (Fantastic, August 1976)
6. "Buried Silver" (Fantastic, February 1977)

7. Bard II: The First Longship (1984)
8. Bard III: The Wild Sea (1986)
9. Raven’s Gathering (1987)
10. Felimid’s Homecoming (1991)

Stories

11. "On Skelling Michael" in Swords Against Darkness 2 ,1977
7. "Hungry Grass" Swords Against Darkness V, 1979
12. The Unlawful Hunter (Weird Tales, Spring 1988)
13. The Haunting of Mara (Weird Tales, Fall 1988)
14. The Demon Cat (Weird Tales, Winter 1989/90)

The Cormac Mac Art Series–with Andrew Offutt

1. When Death Birds Fly (1980)
2. The Tower of Death (1982)

The Danans Series

1. The Sorcerers' Sacred Isle (1989)
2. The Cauldron of Plenty (1989)
3. Search for the Starblade (1990)

Other Stories

1. "The Conqueror of Vectis" in There Will Be War v4, 1985
2. "Spirit Places" in Faery!, 1985
3. " The Harvest of Malice" (Argos, Spring 1988)
4. "Men from the Plain of Lir" (Weird Tales, Fall 1988)
5. "The Ordeal Stone" (Weird Tales, Fall 1988)
6. "Revenant" (Weird Tales, Win 1991)
7. "Spears of the Sea-Wolves" (Weird Tales, Summer 1991)
8. "The Brotherhood of Britain" in The Camelot Chronicles, 1992
8. "At the Edge of the Sea" in Dream Weavers, 1996
10. "The Walking Walls of Rome" in Classical Stories, 1996
11. " The White Doe" in Fantasy Stories, 1996
12. " The Castles of Testing" in Chronicles of the Holy Grail, 1996
13. "Tournament of Rogues" in Tales of the Round Table, 1997
14. "The Bath-house" in Fantastic Worlds, 1998

Richard L. Tierney (1936 - )

Along with his collaboration with DavidC. Smith, Tierney did some pastiche work with Robert E. Howard as well as create the supernatural swordsman Simon of Ghitta set in a Roman hisotrical setting.

The Red Sonja Series (With David C. Smith)

1. The Ring of Ikribu (1981)
2. Demon Night (1982)
3. When Hell Laughs (1982)
4. Endithor’s Daughter (1982)
5. Against the Prince of Hell (1983)
6. Star of Doom (1983)

The Black Vulmea Series

1. For the Witch of the Indies (1977)

The Bran Mak Morn Series

1. For the Witch of the Mists (1978)

Cormac Mac Art Series (Richard L. Tierney alone)

1. Tigers of the Sea - with Robert E. Howard

Simon of Ghitta Series

1. Scroll of Thoth: Simon Magus and the Great Old Ones which contains:

2. " The Sword of Spartacus" · in Swords Against Darkness #3 1978
3. "The Fire of Mazda"in Orion’s Child May 1984
4. "The Seed of the Star-God" in Crypt of Cthulhu #24 1984
5. " The Blade of the Slayer" in Pulse Pounding Adventure Stories #1 1986
6. "The Soul of Kephri" in Space & Time Summer 1984
7. "The Ring of Set" in Swords Against Darkness #1 1977
8. "The Worm of Urakhu"in Weirdbook #23 1988
9. "Curse of the Crocodile" in Crypt of Cthulhu #47 1987
10. "The Treasure of Horemkhu" in Pulse Pounding Adventure Stories #2 1987
11. "The Scroll of Thoth" in Swords Against Darkness #2 1977
12. "The Dragons of Mons Fractus" in Weirdbook #19 1984
13. "The Pillars of Melkarth" in Space & Time Summer 1990

Also in the series:

14. "The Wedding of Sheila-Na-Gog" with Glenn Rahman in Crypt of Cthulhu #29 1985
15. "The Throne of Achamoth" in Weirdbook #21 1985
16. "The Gardens of Lucullus" with Glenn Rahman in Sidecar Preservation Society 2001
17. "The Drums of Chaos" in Crypt of Cthulhu #86 1994

Peter Valentine Timlett (1933- )

English author, Peter Valentine Timlett, must have been surprised at how his work was packaged in the US. Made to look like Conan novels, his fiction is actually occult-influenced adventure fiction, one set in a Celtic world , the other in Atlantis. (The English covers were done by Patrick Woodroffe and are quite cool.) Sword & Sorcery? Certainly violent and gruesome enough. It's a matter of opinion.

1. The Power of the Serpent (1976)
2. Twilight of the Serpent (1977)

Singles

1. The Seedbearers (1974)

Peter Tremayne (1943-)

Lan-Fern Series

1. The Fires of Lan-Kern (1980)
2. The Destroyers of Lan-Kern (1982)
3. The Buccaneers of Lan-Kern (1983)

Harry Turtledove (1949 - )

Harry Turtledove has made a name for himself as a writer of history and sf as well as straight fantasy. Writing as Eric Iverson, he created an S&S world inhabited by blood-sucking lycanthropes, which Geran the Fox and his cohorts battle with blade and ax. A debt to Leiber’s Swords of Lankhmar hangs over these two novels.

Gerin the Fox Series

1. Were Blood (1979) (writing as Eric G Iverson)
2. Werenight (1979) (writing as Eric G Iverson)
3. Prince of the North (1994)
4. King of the North (1996)
5. Fox and Empire (1997)

Videssos Series

1. The Misplaced Legion (1987)
2. An Emperor for the Legion (1987)
3. The Legion of Videssos (1987)
4. Swords of the Legion (1987)
5. Videssos Cycle (omnibus) (1988)
6. Bridge of the Separator (2005)

Krispos Series

1. Krispos Rising (1991)
2. Krispos of Videssos (1991)
3. Krispos the Emperor (1994)
4. The Tale of Krispos (omnibus) (2007)

Time of Troubles Series

1. The Stolen Throne (1995)
2. Hammer and Anvil (1996)
3. The Thousand Cities (1997)
4. Videssos Besieged (1998)
5. The Time of Troubles I (omnibus) (2005)
6. The Time of Troubles II (omnibus) (2005)

Darkness Series

1. Into the Darkness (1998)
2. Darkness Descending (2000)
3. Through the Darkness (2001)
4. Rulers of the Darkness (2002)
5. Jaws of Darkness (2003)
6. Out of the Darkness (2004)

Gap Series

1. Beyond the Gap (2007)
2. The Breath of God (2008)
3. The Golden Shrine (2009)

V

Jack Vance (1920 - )

The diverse Jack Vance has had several careers in sf, fantasy and everything in between. His Dying Earth series takes its lead from Clark Ashton Smith’s Zothique, a dying and ancient world, where magic has once again replaced science. Vance’s quirky and imaginative style creates more moments in a single story than can be found in an entire library of Xanth novels. Vance is a master who has to be “imbibed” to be appreciated. Vance has won the World Fantasy Lifetime Achievement Award.

The Dying Earth Series

1. The Dying Earth (1950)
2. Eyes of the Overworld (1966)
3. Cugel’s Saga (1983)
4. Rhialto the Marvellous (1984)
5. The Compleat Dying Earth (1998)

Lyonesse Series

1. Suldrun's Garden (1983)
2. The Green Pearl (1985)
3. Madouc (1990)
4. Lyonesse (1983)
5. Lyonesse II: The Green Pearl and Madouc (omnibus) (2003)
6. The Complete Lyonesse (omnibus) (2010)

Robert E. Vardeman (1947 - )

War of Powers Series (with Victor Milán)

1. The Sundered Realm (1980)
2. The City in the Glacier (1980)
3. The Destiny Stone (1980)
4. The Fallen Ones (1981)
5. In the Shadow of Omizantrim (1981)
6. Demon of the Dark Ones (1981)

Keys to Paradise Series (writing as Daniel Moran)

1. The Flame Key (1987)
2. Skeleton Lord's Key (1987)
3. Key of Ice and Steel (1988)
4. The Keys to Paradise (omnibus) (1983)

Jade Demons Series

1. The Quaking Lands (1985)
2. The Frozen Waves (1985)
3. The Crystal Clouds (1985)
4. The White Fire (1986)
5. The Jade Demons Quartet (omnibus) (1987)

Swords of Raemllyn Series (with George W Proctor)

1. To Demons Bound (1985)
2. A Yoke of Magic (1985)
3. Blood Fountain (1985)
4. Death's Acolyte (1986)
5. The Beasts of the Mist (1986)
6. For Crown and Kingdom (1987)

Demon CrownSeries

1. The Glass Warrior (1988)
2. Phantoms on the Wind (1989)
3. A Symphony of Storms (1990)
4. The Demon Crown Trilogy (omnibus) (1990)

Singles

1. The Sandcats of Rhyl (1978)