The Classics of Sword & Sorcery Fantasy Literature
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- Опубликовано: 23 июл 2024
- Robert E. Howard, Michael Moorcock, Fritz Leiber, C. L. Moore, Charles Saunders, and Karl Edward Wagner deserve your eyes, readers! I also mention some others, like Roger Zelazny, Jack Vance, Clark Ashton Smith, Gene Wolfe, Michael Shea, Robin Hobb, Tanith Lee, Lord Dunsany and one or two more.
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I contacted the publisher who holds the rights to Wagner’s work, and they are in the process of rereleasing his Kane stories, which currently are expensive and hard to come by in good condition, if anyone’s interested.
I look forward to easier access!
That's really great news! Wagner is very hard to find!
KANE is kickass have some old paperbacks want to upgrade
Awesome!
This is awesome to hear
There is FANTASTIC Fafherd and Grey Mouser comic book drawn by Mike MIgnola! WONDERFUL ART
@@ryno583 I’ve been gifted this and look forward to going through it
Great King Liam has created the greatest video of all! All hail his wisdom and his might!
⚔️
I’ve been a huge fan of Robert E Howard, Michael Moorcock, and Fritz Leiber since the late 1980s. I just recently this last January read Poul Anderson’s book, “The Broken Sword” I really enjoyed how it incorporated aspects of Norse and Irish mythology in the narrative. It also has forbidden love with the main protagonist and his biological sister. Great choices for Sword and Sorcery.
It is a classic, glad you enjoyed it!
I've read Howard and Moorcock. I was introduced to both authors when I was in grade school. I have been re-reading their stories over the years.
Tanith Lee - an excellent author. Gene Wolfe also.
Its really cool that we can totally see your love for these books shining through while you lay out the characters. Im sold!
Keep the Sword & Sorcery coming! Love it! I’d love to see you show off all the books you have in this genre. Howard’s my favorite but I love almost all the authors you mentioned. Would enjoy some deeper dives into prose, characterization, world building and style between all those authors. Keep up the good work!
Some good ideas, we’ll see what I can do!
Love your informative video, which brought back memories. I started reading S&S in the 1970s. Howard, Smith, Leiber, Vance, Moorcock, Dunsany, I read them all. Smith has remained a firm favorite because of his amazing (verbal) imagination. You're doing an excellent job. Kudos!
Thanks! Smith is a treat
Thank you so much for pushing and spreading the word of sword and sorcery, you're voice is being heard by young readers, wanting to delve the wizard that yearns for knowledge and experience!
Thank you! I'm trying to help spread it around
The fact that Karl Wagner's Kane books haven't been rereleased in modern editions is criminal.
One of the great later sword and sorcery series that a lot of people forget is the Theives World series of books it is a shared universe with stories written by a number of different authors all taking place for the most part in the city of Sactuary. It consists of 12 anthologies, and I believe 4 or 5 novels.
@@illmade2 I mentioned this one in my “What is Sword & Sorcery” video but a lot of fellow fans of the genre seem kinda against TW getting the genre label. I’m a big fan, hoping to start Dagger by David Drake actually.
Face in the Frost by Bellairs, Last Unicorn by Beagle, Red Moon, Black Mountain by Chant, Incomplete Enchanter by DeCamp
I absolutely love Howard's stories, particularly his Conan stories. The Hour of the Dragon is fantastic. His Great Game stories (El Borak, etc.) are also epic tales. If I had to list my favorite author of all time, it would be Howard. Clark Ashton Smith is heavily underrated and sadly forgotten by most. He creates such bizarre and interesting worlds and creatures. I really like his Zothique stories.
Clark Ashton Smith is amazing.
@@GodOfPlague agreed. One of my favorite stories of his (not sword and sorcery) is the Vaults of Yoh-Vombis. So creepy.
@@smkaitaia Oh man I just listened to Vault Yoh-Vombis again yesterday. It is incredibly eerie. Compulsion that leads to a fate worse than death. That's how I would sum it up. Also Vulthoom? I cant remember the spelling sorry. It was about making a deal with the Martian devil or backing out of it. Horrorbabble has a lot of his Martian stories and Hyperborean saga recorded.
@@GodOfPlagueVulthoom is a goodie. Has a lot of his classic disturbing descriptions of creatures. My favorite sword and sorcery one of his would be 'the charnel god.' Awesome descriptions of a unique culture and creepy magic, with a Robert E Howard vibe to it.
Leiber is my number one. Forgotten (?) by a lot of younger folk. ❤❤
He definitely is forgotten and often not appreciated when remembered
CAS is my favorite so far. Read Lovecraft and Howard but Smith has such originality and mystic wonder in his writings that is unmatched. You read sentences that no other author could write. I hope to write like him, his philosophical outlook of taking the imagination outward instead of inward in morbid introspection helped him create those stories. Huge inspiration for DD when I DM as well. ❤
CAS is a favorite of mine, definitely over Lovecraft and often over Howard too
The Double Shadow and The Dark Eidolon are both so good, my favorites by CAS. Love how unashamedly logophilic he is.
@@CeramicShot Hell yeah brother
@@LiamsLyceum CAS= Mystic wonder. (Psychedelic metal) Lovecraft = Dread and Doom (Doom/Death Metal) Howard = Pure B movie action. (Power Metal) lol 😆
Heard the name Clark Ashton Smith but never read any of his work. This needs to change, sounds right up my alley.
Try the Eldritch Dark website
@@LiamsLyceumThanks for the tip!!!
There are 5 vol of Smith’s stories published by night shade
For Clark Ashton Smith: first read an analysis of his work so you're aware he has several "settings". I personally like the hyperborean stories. (Try: the door to saturn) and even more his Poseidonis: particularly: anything with Malygris
Prepare to expand your vocabulary
‘The Knight,’ ‘Soldier of the Mist,’ and ‘Soldier of Arete’ all by Gene Wolfe
Gene Wolfe is a fantastic author the original grimdark
I would consider many of the stories in the Thieves' World anthologies to be S&S also.
I thought about mentioning it, I did in my “What is sword and sorcery?” video.
I can't say I care for them, but before he started doing sprawling American historical melodramas, John Jakes wrote a series of S&S stories about Brak the Barbarian.
If anyone wants to try Tanith Lee, I could recommend her fairy tales in Red As Blood.
They included a new story in the thirtieth anniversary reprint.
@@JustClaude13 good to know, I just got back to The Birthgrave, myself
This was really great Liam! Thanks for doing this video. I’ve been wanting a good overview of where to start with classic S & S.
Happy to help!
Perfect list. That is the essential. And my god, I love Kane so much.
I do plan on reading more Kane
This was great! I've read a lot of these, especially the original masters, but it's good to know there are a few out there I've yet to get to. Thanks!
Happy to help!
Holy crap Vecna . . . I never realized.
It’s cool to know.
I'm hoping to read Fritz Leiber this next year! Thanks for making this.
Awesome, happy to help!
I would not call Amber Sword and Sorcery but I agree that it is a must read 🙂
I had to sneak it in 😊
Read almost all of the big three, thanks for the secondary recommendations...never heard of Imaro before.
For fun I checked The Dark Eidolon against Brian Murphy's definition. It hits all seven points!
A worthy test, I’m glad it passes!
I'd reccomend the Gotrek and Felix series by a few authors. For Clark Ashton Smith the 5 volume "complete Fantasies" set from Nightshade is great. You may also like the Throngor series by Lin Carter and mayber the Kothar the Barbarian books by Lin Carter, but those are sort of dollar-store Conan.
I probably could have mentioned Throngor and Kothar but for newbies to the genre I don’t imagine they’re the best and I want the best to be recommended.
@@LiamsLyceum Lin Carter is also worth mentioning for his Flashing Swords! anthology series which featured authors like Jack Vance, Michael Moorcock and Poul Anderson.
An informative video and perfectly timed for me as I've recently been introduced to the genre with Brackett, Shea and Moore. Having read the first Nifft the Lean book I'd love to hear your thoughts on it but as you say, its ridiculously hard to find. I'm really looking forward to Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser now that i have them all.
I really want to read Shea’s stuff that’s not Vance pastiche, hopefully I’ll find some. I look forward to your thoughts on F&GM
Oh my, Howard or Lieber. It's a hard choice, but I suppose I'll have to say Lieber. I've read all of Conan except the novel and I just finished Swords Against Wizardry just recently. I love Sword and Sorcery. Thanks for the video. I've been watching for a while now.
@@LawrenceCaldwellAuthor ⚔️
Huge Lovecraft, REH, Zelazny, and Moorcock fan. Couple of good books that might fit the bill that I stumbled upon years ago are John Gardner’s Grendel (retelling of Beowulf from the monster’s PoV), and the true tales of Grettir from around 800 AD. He’s an Icelandic Viking outlaw.
My favorite comic book adaptation of Conan is Red Nails, which was originally illustrated in black and white by Barry Windsor-Smith in the pages of Savage Sword of Conan.
There’s a great sword and sorcery tale written by Thomas Ligotti in his Nightmare Factory collection. The story is called Masquerade of the Dead Sword: a Tragedie. It’s atypical of his usual fare because it’s heroic fiction.
Great presentation...glad you did it.
Thank you! ⚔️
That Vance cover looks like John Berkey. Love his stuff.
Good video as always Liam. While I haven't read as much sword and sorcery as I would like, I think that it's an oft overlooked subgenre in fantasy, and I wish that wasn't the case. Keep it up!
I wish that wasn't the case either! I'm hoping more people that aren't familiar with it will watch and maybe find something to read.
Excellent thumbnail!
I did try with this one. Thanks, potato power!
You've inspired me with the project I'm currently working on. We must keep S&S alive!
I still have to get my hands on Ashton-Smith.
He wrote great and a variety over a handful of years
Wow - terrific video! How on Earth did you keep it under 20 minutes?
Good question. It was midnight when I filmed this and I’m surprised I didn’t stumble over my words more
Great List. Just went and ordered a used copy of Harpy's Flight.
I threw that one in for epic fantasy fans, I assume I’ll like it when I get to it.
Bit late to the party. But I enjoyed this video. I’m definitely going to check out C.L. Moore’s work.
Besides her sword and sorcery I like her Northwest Smith stories and I want to read “No Woman Born” by her too.
@@LiamsLyceum A couple of days ago, Gareth (Books Songs and Other Magic) recommended the internet speculative fiction database. So I searched for C.L. Moore on that database and wow did she write a lot of novels. I found a copy of her first Northwest Smith story in Avon Fantasy Reader No 7 on the American Archive. So Maybe I start with that one.
And I also see that she did a Cthulhu story. I've recently started to read H.P. Lovecraft short stories and love his stories very much. So I'm definitely curious about how Moore did with Cthulhu.
Clifford Ball (only a handful of stories you can find in Weird Tales post-REH's passing, Henry Kuttner (C.L.Moore's spouse), and Gardner Fox (Kothar)
I am aware of those and maybe they deserve a mention here but they don’t sound like they’re the greatest of the batch! (Which isn’t to say they’re bad)
Fox is a legend for his work for DC Comics alone.
Great video. I’ve been wanting to read Charles Saunders, but as you pointed out, he can be hard to find. Can you suggest any other African-inspired fantasy? (Besides Marlon James)
While not strictly S&S, you might like "The World of Tiers" series by Philip Jose Farmer. Instead of sorcery it has godlike science that modern humans must defeat using wit, cunning, and strength. I was really into it in the '60s during my S&S period. I have no idea how hard to find the books might be now.
A prolific author of this century in the Fantasy realm is Lois McMaster Bujold, who has won four Hugo awards. "Paladin of Souls" is quite good and led me to buy more of her work.
Lastly, Ann Leckie has one novel, "The Raven Tower" and several shorts in her own fantasy world. Leckie is also a Hugo winner, for sci-fi. She is a current working author who is worth your time to sample.
If you are into the Marvel comic books, I have a box of Conan and Krull I am willing to part with. 😎 Shameless plug.
@@DocZom big fan of Bujold, haven’t read any Leckie yet
Really cool video. You mentioned Latro and Nifft the Lean, which makes me think you’re an Old Moon Quarterly fan (the magazine recommends those as “weird S&S” books). If u are an OM reader, I’d love to know your thoughts on it, especially on Graham Thomas Wilcox’s stories!
@@enaebee321 I do enjoy Old Moon, Graham is a nice fellow and I am a fan of his aesthetic and storytelling chops in each story I’ve read by him.
@@LiamsLyceum thanks!
Check out the "Grey Maiden" stories by Howden Smith. In them the primary character is a sword.
I'm loving sword & sorcery lately. I managed to track down a copy of Nifft the Lean; looking forward to that. Wolfe's Soldier novels (Soldier of the Mist etc.) don't strike me as particularly sword & sorcery. I think The Book of the New Sun has more prominent S&S elements than Soldier does.
BotNS definitely has some elements and it’s a favorite of mine.
Latro is awesome
Gurthang of Turin Turambar is the black sword!
Actually both are inspired by the finnish folk tale of Kullervo.
You're exactly right.
Thanks for sharing, I never knew there was such a close precursor to Elric and Stormbringer.
@@strawpiglet Neither did Michael Moorcock
If we think of them as pillars of weird fiction, Howard is of a very Doric order, Lovecraft of an Ionic, and Smith of a Corinthian one?
Or, perhaps, Howard's more stripped-bare, Spartan style contrasts with the Neoclassicist style of Lovecraft & the lapidary style of Smith....
@@victoriafelix5932 interesting comparison but I can see it
For me the first two books in the Witcher series is Sword and Sorcery. There great short stories. But then in book 3 and onward it's more your typical epic fantasy.
I have not read any Witcher yet, though they sound like they’re close. I don’t think the label of classic is fitting if they do fit s&s. Glad you enjoyed them!
Would you consider Reymond Feist's books as sword & sorcery or high fantasy ?
@@toddjackson3136 I haven’t gotten to them yet! But the signs point towards high and epic fantasy, which is pretty typical of the period they came out in (if Riftwar is implied)
@LiamsLyceum Yes, Rift War is his main storyline that traces down through many of his other stories. I hope you get to them soon. I have quite enjoyed them. The Serpent War books are deeper thinking than the Rift War, but I suggest reading Rift War first.
@@toddjackson3136reading shards of a broken crown atm doing a full read through right now.
@abigailslade3824 That's a good one. I'm fond of the 1st book of that series because Eric VonDarkmore relates to me as a character and Shadow of a Dark Queen really shows his growth from blacksmith to soldier.
"Dilvish the Damned" is great. Don't put it off. And, the Ladro series by Gene Wolfe ("Soldier in the Mist") is superb.
Thanks for the note on how to pronounce 'Leiber'.
Aye aye
Howard is the best. He stands only behind Tolkien in general Fantasy. Sword and Sorcery he rules, Leiber and Moorcook aren’t even close. Poul Anderson comes close here and there.
I'd put Howard right behind Leiber for my own enjoyment but it isn't really a competition. As far as Spec Fic overall, Leiber and Moorcock have lots of influence Howard doesn't.
@@LiamsLyceum Ok, but without Howard no Leiber or Moorcock and Howard has the vastly superior prose. Leiber and Moorcock to me are conceptually really great, but their writing skills are so so.
I like to look at Elric inspired art way more than reading the actual stories tbh (especially Micheal Whelans cover artworks for the metal band Cirith Ungol are wonderful [as is their music]).
@@BanjoSick They definitely would not have written fantasy they way the did but Howard wasn’t their only influence. I’d say Leiber has more wit and verve than Howard, but he has more energy and swashbuckling adventure feel. Howard is considered the father of S&S for a reason, I just like Leiber more and that’s okay.
Cool video bro! But you have to correct the first two and the last time stamps... Their names are "Moorcock", "Leiber" and "Hobb"...
@@blueblood8658 those time stamps were generated by RUclips, thanks for the heads up!
Quag Keep. The Guardians of the Flame. 0:59
@@darrellee8194 Quag Keep is interesting, largely for historical purposes, but the two books I’ve read by Norton (Quag Keep included) have been ever so boring
Just out of curiosity, when you were talking about Imaro and you said he's like Tarzan, actually black Tarzan, are you just distinguishing a difference between the two or are you claiming Tarzen should have been black, instead of a white man? Cause in the original story, he's a white European. I hate to bring it up, but it's been bugging how to interpret that. Could you shed some light on that? Thank you.
@@luckywolf8238 a reference to the original blurb on the original version of Imaro which resulted in the ERB suing I think and the blurb being changed
@LiamsLyceum Okay. Thank you. I just looked up the picture you were referencing. Thank you for clarifying. I was nervous to ask cause I was genuinely wondering what was going on, and I was worried I would sound more accusing in the comment than I meant. I've seen the book around, and I'll try to check it out.
Who are the people in the thumbnail?
Left to right it’s Robert E. Howard, Michael Moorcock, Fritz Leiber, C. L. Moore, Charles Saunders, and Karl Edward Wagner
Try Jennifer Roberson’s first book.
What’s it called?
@@LiamsLyceum shapechangers
It was supposed to be a one of but the editors had her stretch it first to a duology and he a three book series. It ended ten books later stretched way to far. Of course she started another set with alternating books bouncing between the 2 series.
The Latro stories are Historical Fantasy not sword and sorcery. There probably is a S&S influence there though. Wolfe being a fan of Howard, Leiber, Smith and Vance.
Good to know, I’d like to read them at some point
If you are gonna be that strict then Broken Sword by Poul Anderson is also Historical Fantasy, so would Solomon Kane by Howard be.
@@BanjoSick Yes. I always saw Solomon Kane as Proto-Sword and Sorcery instead of Sword and Sorcery. Though S&S fans would definitely enjoy it.
I've read Robin Hobb. Wasn't impressed. Everyone I know was telling me how amazing she was. How talented. Blah. Blah. Blah. Nope. Ursula LeGuin. Now THERE'S a good female fantasy author. Clark Ashton Smith. He's pretty impressive, too. But Robin Hobb is terribad. Oh and Robert E. Howard? Yawn. He spent PAGES of the Conan novels I read describing Conan's muscular boobs but only one paragraph about the Lich he was trying to kill. He had a really cool mummy in one story, but dude only had a few lines. In the classic "show don't tell"....Howard did the opposite. He told us in a brief paragraph that Conan did a thing, then would wax eloquent for endless paragraphs about Conan's massive chest boobies. I mean, COME ON! Howard was the epitome of "excellent ideas, terrible execution."
I recently finished Harpy's Flight and was unimpressed myself.