This review originally appeared on Goodreads on November 12, 2013.

Stealer of Flesh

By William King – Self-Published – March 27, 2012

Review by Robin Marx

The first book in the Kormak Saga, Stealer of Flesh consists of four linked sword & sorcery novellas. While there is currently quite a glut of low-cost self-published fantasy ebooks, I was quite pleasantly surprised by the quality of this work.

The story focuses on the adventures of Kormak—a Guardian equipped with a dwarf-forged sword and monastic martial training—and his efforts to track down and destroy a demonic body-stealing Ghul. While Serious Guy Slays Monsters is well-trodden fantasy ground, I appreciated the execution. Setting details and other exposition aren't presented to the reader in big info dumps, but rather handed out a tidbit at a time. Not much is disclosed about either the Guardians or their Ghul enemies, but what is revealed is interesting. And while at first glance Kormak himself could come across as a grim two-dimensional character, King fleshes him out in a subtle and interesting manner. Despite his heroic drive, there are a number of instances where Kormak questions his own motives and whether or not his quest has a point at all. And despite his apparent monk-like dedication to his cause, it doesn't take too much pushing for him to dally with women he'd be best off avoiding. There's more to both the world and the protagonist than what's revealed at first glance.

I also enjoyed the linked novella format. Compared to other fantasy subgenres, sword & sorcery lends itself extremely well to shorter formats. King doesn't draw things out to fill out page count; he sets up an interesting premise and immediately gets down to business. My only complaint is (view spoiler), but the concluding story was extremely satisfying, even if the ending was a little abrupt.

I'm not as familiar with the current sword & sorcery authors as I am with the classic ones, but King strikes me as a writer to watch. I look forward to reading more Kormak tales.

★★★★☆

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This review originally appeared on Goodreads on October 24, 2020.

The Troop

By Nick Cutter – Gallery Books – February 25, 2014

Review by Robin Marx

Nick Cutter cites Stephen King’s Carrie as an influence, but this book felt closer to King’s Thinner mixed with The Lord of the Flies.

The story centers on five 14-year-old scouts and their scoutmaster on a camping trip on a small island off Canada’s Atlantic coast. Their excursion is interrupted by the sudden arrival of an emaciated and insatiably ravenous man who turns out to be an escaped test subject from some extremely unethical human trials. Hilarity ensues.

This book is one of the most intense horror novels I’ve read in years. Characters are well rendered, few in number, and their situation desperate. It has some of the most squirm-inducing descriptions of violence and self-mutilation since the 80s Splatterpunk movement. This novel is not for the squeamish, but I found it to be an incredibly compelling page-turner.

This probably isn’t suitable for casual horror fans—people who stick with King and Koontz and think gross-out horror is a crutch for authors who can’t create an atmosphere of terror—but if you’re comfortable with the deeper end of the pool this book is a hell of a ride.

★★★★☆

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This review originally appeared on Goodreads on March 21, 2021.

Season of Storms

By Andrzej Sapkowski, David French (Translator) – Orbit – May 22, 2018

Review by Robin Marx

Season of Storms was written after the main series of Witcher novels but set before most of Geralt’s adventures. I’m reading these books in terms of their internal chronology rather than the order of publication. While I got the sense that there were some Easter Eggs left for fans who had read the other books, the story stood well enough on its own.

The plot itself was sort of a reverse Picaresque. Geralt is perhaps the most moral and scrupulous figure in the story, and he’s thrown about by the lies and manipulations of the corrupt people and authorities around him. He’s framed for a crime, railroaded through court proceedings, and has his swords—the instruments of his trade—stolen from him. He just wants to be left alone, but the politicians and mages around him see a tool they can use to further their own schemes.

It took me a while to notice, but despite the magic and monsters, Season of Storms doesn’t have a typical fantasy novel plot. It has a noir plot. It’s all there. The protagonist is cynical and tarnished but still abides by a code. There is a femme fatale. The cops (er, “town guard”) are the biggest gang around. The ruling class run roughshod over the commoners without a care for the collateral damage. Loyalties and motives are uncertain, and the plot takes a number of twists and turns.

Season of Storms was a fun and exciting read, and I look forward to continuing the series.

★★★★☆

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This review originally appeared on Goodreads on January 15, 2013.

Brak the Barbarian / Mark of the Demons

By John Jakes – Open Road Media – July 31, 2012

Review by Robin Marx

Brak the Barbarian was part of the late 1960s resurgence in the popularity of sword & sorcery and Robert E. Howard's Conan the Barbarian stories. While the series enjoyed a certain degree of popularity as paperback releases, they've been difficult to find for the past 15-20 years, making this e-book release especially welcome. This volume collects the Brak the Barbarian and Mark of the Demons novels, as well as a pair of bonus Brak short stories. The first Brak the Barbarian book is more of a short story anthology than a novel, however.

While John Jakes has apparently become a very successful Civil War-related historical fiction novelist, his Brak stories have never struck me as being particularly well-loved within the sword & sorcery genre. They were created at a time when hordes of writers were churning out cheap and cheerful barbarian stories to take advantage of Conan's paperback popularity. As a result, my expectations for this book weren't particularly high. In the end I was pleasantly surprised, though.

The premise is fairly simple. Brak is a blonde barbarian from the northern steppes. His goal is to reach the fabled city of Khurdisan in the far south. Why he's headed there isn't made very clear, but it doesn't have to be. Brak is the kind of guy who picks a direction and sets off. In his debut story he falls afoul of Septegundus, a dark wizard in league with the evil god Yob-Haggoth. While he defeats Septegundus, the dying foe swears an oath to plague Brak during his travels.

The stories are a bit formulaic. Brak comes to a new location and either encounters some people in need or falls into trouble himself. While extricating himself from the predicament he usually comes into conflict with evil magic or some manner of monster. There's often a femme fatale. In the beginning stories it's almost comical; Brak meets a number of untrustworthy men, but the women are almost invariably gorgeous and evil to the core. Were I Brak, I probably would've buried my broadsword in the head of every beauty I encountered, rather than be betrayed, tortured, or imprisoned any further. Still, this seemed less like misogyny on the part of the author than overuse of a favorite story trope.

While the stories follow a basic pattern, there's enough variation on the theme that I remained interested throughout. The setting is vaguely outlined and the characters aren't especially deep, but there are occasional flashes of brilliance: a particularly original monster or magic curse. And while Brak himself didn't seem to have much of an internal life (his goals tended to be fairly immediate, and spent much of his time reacting to threats than formulating his own plans), he was more than just a carbon copy of Conan. Unlike many pseudo-Conans I've encountered, Brak was more fallible—combat didn't always go his way—and he was more emotional as well. He's openly terrified by some of the monsters he runs into, and he's driven to sob by some of the more trying or tragic circumstances he endures as well.

While Brak and his adventures aren't quite distinctive enough to earn a place among sword & sorcery's classics, they were a fun read. Perhaps the best way to describe them is “solid.” Not startling or breathtaking, but well-constructed and without major flaws. I'd recommend newcomers to the genre look elsewhere, but if you're already acquainted with sword & sorcery and have already read through the top-tier stories, Brak the Barbarian is a worthwhile, satisfying read.

★★★☆☆

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This review originally appeared on Goodreads on March 29, 2015.

Spawn of Dyscrasia

By S.E. Lindberg – IGNIS Publishing – July 28, 2014

Review by Robin Marx

Sequel to Lords of Dyscrasia, Spawn of Dyscrasia carries over all of the strengths of the first book and none of its flaws.

The world portrayed in this novel remains every bit as strange and intriguing. Powered by blood magic, undead sorcerer-king Lord Lysis continues to rule his corner of the world, and his adopted insect hybrid “son” Echo has matured considerably. Spawn of Dyscrasia focuses on what happens when Lysis encounters a threat to his kingdom, and the growing pains—figurative and literal—experienced by Echo when he comes into contact with this mysterious interloper.

While fascinating, the god-like Lysis proved to be a difficult character to relate to in the first book. Thankfully, Spawn introduces Helen, a healer/attendant serving Echo, as the primary viewpoint character. While far from average herself, she provides a much more human perspective on the events in the story.

The prose as a whole was much stronger in this book. Here the author displayed the confidence to allow the exciting passages in the story stand on their own, rather than be highlighted with onomatopoeia and abundant exclamation points. The motivations of Lysis, Doctor Grave, and Echo still remained a little obscure, but this time I got the sense that it was due to their alien natures, rather than a lack of communication on the author's part.

The only real issue I had with this book is that it feels like the middle volume in a trilogy. While there is a climax, Spawn doesn't so much conclude as stop once the chess board has been set up for the finale. That being said, I was left eager to see what happens next, especially with respect to the illusive Doctor Grave.

Spawn of Dyscrasia is that rare sequel that exceeds its predecessor. It doesn't quite stand on its own, however; readers will need familiarity with the first book in order to understand the events of the second. Hopefully the author will release a revised version of Lords of Dyscrasia someday, now that he's grown so much as a writer.

★★★★☆

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This review originally appeared on Goodreads on September 14, 2021.

Barbary Slave

By Gardner Fox (writing as Kevin Matthews) – Gardner Francis Fox Library – May 12, 2017

Review by Robin Marx

Set in and around Tripoli in 1805, this swashbuckling adventure is about Stephen Fletcher, a United States Marine captured by corsairs and sold into slavery. After a chance encounter with the pasha of the city in which Fletcher exhibits bravery and martial prowess, he finds himself working as a harem guard, surrounded by beautiful women it is death to touch. He finds himself tempted by the exotic and lustful Marlani, the pasha's favorite consort, but his situation is complicated even further by the sudden addition of an American girl to the harem.

I wasn't sure what to expect, given that Gardner Fox also wrote a lot of fairly explicit erotica under various pseudonyms, but (unfortunately?) this story was much less salacious than the premise suggests. In fact, with its swashbuckling sword fights, decadent royalty, and love-driven heroics, this book reminded me a great deal of Edgar Rice Burroughs. The story is fast-paced and action-packed. There's a bit of reliance on coincidences and dei ex machina, but that's not unusual for this variety of story. Recommended for historical adventure fans.

★★★☆☆

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This review originally appeared on Goodreads on September 14, 2021.

Whetstone: Amateur Magazine of Sword and Sorcery Issue One

Edited by Jason Ray Carney – Spiral Tower Press – June 12, 2020

Review by Robin Marx

While some of the stories are a little rough, for the first issue of a free amateur fantasy magazine Whetstone makes an impressively strong showing.

The issue puts its best foot forward with “The Wizard’s Demise” by Géza A. G. Reilly. While the premise is a fairly simple perspective reversal of the “barbarian stalks an evil sorcerer” premise, it’s cleverly written and just plain fun.

“The Temple of Vanas” by Kieran Judge is another highlight, with some nice twists, a paranoid feel, an a tough heroine.

D. M. Ritzlin’s “Undying Thirst for Vengeance” reads like a fantasy episode of The Twilight Zone. It has some excellent sword & sorcery names, too: Fanzubibar, Flargesht, Nilztiria.

While not every story took my breath away, there was at the very least something interesting about each of them. Some of the authors may lack experience, but even if one of this issue’s stories didn’t quite land right I was left looking forward to future work by them. It’s great seeing contemporary sword & sorcery fiction being promoted and new talent being cultivated, and this inaugural issue left me excited about subsequent installments.

★★★☆☆

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This review originally appeared on Goodreads on July 3, 2022.

Hag of the Hills

By J.T.T Ryder – Old World Heroism – March 1, 2022

Review by Robin Marx

Set on the Isle of Skye around 200 BC, this heroic fantasy novel tells the story of Brennus, a young man who, stifled by pastoral village life, wishes to follow in the martial footsteps of his late father. He has an encounter with the titular Hag of the Hills, a wicked sidhe who promises that his wish will come true—but at a cost. Brennus' life is immediately thrown into chaos as mysterious invaders sweep across the island. He manages to survive the initial onslaught, but a doomed druid's final wish saddles him with a heavy burden.

This novel is exciting and action-packed, featuring plenty of both ancient warfare and bizarre encounters with the supernatural. The author has an archaeological background, and that clearly has enriched the story. Ancient Celtic customs and religion feature prominently; oaths possess an inviolable importance for the characters in the story and slaves are casually sacrificed to the gods in an effort to seek their favor. While the characters presented are largely relatable, I appreciated the occasionally alien mindset revealed by their actions.

First in a duology, this book tells a fairly self-contained story, but certain framing passages hint about a larger, more epic tale. I look forward to reading the forthcoming sequel.

★★★★☆

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This review originally appeared on Goodreads on September 19, 2021.

So Nude, So Dead

By Evan Hunter – Hard Case Crime – July 14, 2015

Review by Robin Marx

An addict wakes up next to a beautiful lounge singer he’d met the night before, only to discover two bullet holes in her stomach and the 16 ounces of heroin she showed him missing. Chased by the police, Ray Stone must find the killer and attempt to clear his name while fighting off the effects of withdrawal.

This book is a fast-paced tour of the underbelly of the city, bouncing back and forth from seedy hotels, bars, disreputable clubs, and the apartments of various temptresses. The prose is fast and the action tense throughout, but it sags a bit in the middle when Stone makes second visits to people he already visited during the course of his ad hoc investigation.

Overall this is a solid crime story with a driving plot, but the characters felt pretty stock. A decent read, but perhaps not worth going to great lengths to seek out.

★★★☆☆

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This review originally appeared on Goodreads on December 21, 2021.

Fast Forward: Confessions of a Post-Punk Percussionist: Volume II

By Stephen Morris – Constable – December 3, 2020

Review by Robin Marx

Much like the previous volume, this is a brisk and entertaining look at one of the most important bands in pop history. Hooky’s books get into more of the dirt within the band, Bernard’s book was pretty shallow, but the two Stephen Morris books feel like the most clear-eyed and grounded account of the history of Joy Division and New Order.

★★★★☆

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