This review originally appeared at Grimdark Magazine on May 9, 2024.

Dark Dreams of Nilztiria

By D.M. Ritzlin – DMR Books – March 31, 2023

Review by Robin Marx

The follow-up to 2020’s Necromancy in Nilztiria, Dark Dreams of Nilztiria collects nine more sword & sorcery stories set in D.M. Ritzlin’s setting, Nilztiria. While several characters from the previous volume reappear—including Xaarxool the Necromancer, barbarian hero Avok Kur Storn, and Vran the Chaos-Warped (also featured in the 2023 novel, Vran the Chaos-Warped), the stories here are self-contained, and no prior experience with the characters or setting is needed to enjoy this volume.

Dark Dreams of Nilztiria starts off strong with the cover story, “More Blood.” A warrior awakens in a phantasmagorical arena, with no memory of the circumstances leading up to his imprisonment. With no time to pause for reflection, he faces a series of increasingly strange opponents: twin martial artists, a jester armed only with his index finger, even a walrus. All the while, the colosseum echoes with a repeated cry for “Blood! More blood!” The nameless warrior battles his way to the arena’s bloodthirsty spectator but is unprepared for what he finds. “More Blood” boasts an intriguing atmosphere and a killer finishing line.

“The Necromancer and the Forgotten Hero” centers on a cat and mouse game between the necromancer Xaarxool and Acclain Dorso, the new magistrate in charge of the Bureau of Sorcerous Affairs in the city of Desazu. The pair’s rivalry has taken a nasty turn, with Dorso dispatching an assassin and a series of summoned monsters after Xaarxool. As he attempts to flee Desazu, Xaarxool brings some protection, however, in the form of legendary warrior Hyallbor. Revived 500 years after his death, Hyallbor finds himself ambivalent about his new lease on life. While resurrection is common in fantasy fiction, the exploration of necromancy from one of its subjects felt refreshing.

Like the story before it, “The Head in the Globe” stars another of Ritzlin’s recurring heroes: Avok Kur Storn. Wandering through the forest, the barbarian hero is approached by an alluring young woman who begs him to retrieve her father’s severed head from the top of a massive tree. Avok learns that the head remains quite alive, imprisoned in a glass sphere through the magic of Syrakoss, a warlock hoping to extort magical knowledge from the head. Avok discovers that reclaiming the head is the easy part of his task, as he soon finds himself caught in a struggle between two sorcerous heavyweights, dealing with treachery and a host of bizarre creatures. Fast-paced and subtly humorous, “The Head in the Globe” covers a great deal of ground in a scant 18 pages.

“Crowned in Madness” presents a dungeon delve from hell. After choosing the wrong victim to waylay, failed bandit Rythe finds himself press-ganged into the service of the arrogant wizard Altogg Keldoum. Keldoum’s band of mercenaries are on an expedition to loot a magical crown from a dead king’s tomb, but careless tavern chatter catches the ear of Verohssa, High Priestess of the BDSM-flavored cult of Tuntilla, the Sadistic Maiden. Disaster strikes deep within the tomb and Rythe is caught between a rock and a hard place, trying to preserve his own life while Keldoum and Verohssa struggle to possess the crown. Hapless Rythe’s constantly shifting allegiances add a welcome touch of wry humor to what is otherwise a very gory and grim tale.

The shortest episode in the collection, “Diabolical Symphonies” follows the ruthless sorceress Ytra as she prepares a powerful magical incantation to get revenge on her long list of enemies and rivals (including Xaarxool and Avok Kur Storn). Epic spellcraft demands rare components, and Ytra must go to great lengths to enact her mystical vengeance. Magic is fickle at best, however, and the stakes are high for Ytra as she grapples with ancient sorcery. This story is sure to be appreciated by readers left cold by the safely reliable, almost scientific depiction of magic common in much modern fantasy fiction.

Another story starring Xaarxool, “The City the Gods Abandoned” finds the necromancer stranded in the otherworldly city of Vantophai after a magical mishap. A local ruler immediately approaches Xaarxool, attempting to coerce him into assisting his takeover of Vantophai. Sorcerers are even more resistant to compulsion than cats, however, and Xarxool decides to extract himself from the situation in spectacular fashion. “The City the Gods Abandoned” feels a little on the long side, but Xaarxool’s magical MacGuyver-like solution to his plight makes up for the slower scenes.

The longest story in Dark Dreams of Nilztiria at 40 pages, “Inside a Dead God’s Skull” has a suitably epic premise. Maniacal sorcerer Rothalzeng embarks on a mission of conquest, using a religious cult and the giant corpse of a dead god to further his aims. It’s up to Avok Kur Storn, Xaarxool’s ally Lodianux, and others to stand against Rothalzeng. While “Inside a Dead God’s Skull” includes some of the most impressive imagery in the book, it suffers from an overabundance of named characters and some pacing issues. Exciting but overstuffed, “Inside a Dead God’s Skull” might have worked better as a full-length novel.

Where “Crowned in Madness” prominently featured a cult devoted to the goddess of pain, “The Curse of Ambition” focuses on a competing religion dedicated to Veshakul’a, the goddess of death. Dantorol, a young adherent of the cult, finds himself disillusioned with the apparent complacency of his church’s superiors. When an opportunity to seize power presents itself, he takes it. While Dantorol succeeds in growing the cult, he must deal with other, unintended results. While slightly on the cryptic side, this story is another example of the recurring theme of a Ritzlin character getting what they want, “good and hard” (to paraphrase H.L. Mencken).

“The Demon’s Oak” is another story dealing with religion. An oak tree outside of Desazu becomes animated, declaring itself to be Arnvar, the god of earth and nature. A cult soon springs up around the tree, but some suspect the self-declared god has an ulterior motive. Famed mercenary Vran is hired to remove his client’s daughter Ulrika from the influence of the cult, but his task is complicated by the hidden powers of the being inhabiting the tree and the unpredictable effects that result when magic is cast in his presence. “The Demon’s Oak” packs a lot of adventure into 36 pages, without the inconsistent pacing of “The City the Gods Abandoned” and “Inside a Dead God’s Skull.”

The stories collected in Dark Dreams of Nilztiria are grim and gory, but occasionally glimmers of wry humor shine through. Many of the shorts have ironic endings, where the protagonist gets exactly what they sought, but with disastrous results. And while many sword & sorcery authors demonstrate a strong preference for either sorcery or sword (e.g., emphasizing plucky swordsmen while casting wizards as the perennial villains), Ritzlin gives equal “screen time” to both brawny and brainy protagonists. It’s also entertaining how his cast of characters seem to wander through each other’s adventures, either appearing directly through cameos or via off-hand references.

While the sorceress Ytra is a fun character who gets to star in her own story and pain cultist Verohssa makes for an entertaining antagonist, overall women tend to occupy a peripheral role in the stories contained here. Apart from Ytra and Verohssa, women tend to be either in need of assistance (e.g., Ulrika in “The Demon’s Oak”) or absent entirely. Readers hoping to read about, say, a quick-witted rogue who happens to be a woman are destined to be disappointed. Ritzlin has an engaging cast of recurring male heroes, perhaps adding another woman to the mix could address this imbalance.

Delivering swordplay and spellcasting in equal measure, Dark Dreams of Nilztiria has much to offer fans of dark fantasy. While—as presented in this book—Nilztiria seems somewhat amorphous and undefined as a fantasy setting, Ritzlin’s characters are both distinct and appealing.

#ReviewArchive #BookReview #SwordAndSorcery #DarkFantasy #Grimdark #DMRitzlin #DMRBooks #DarkDreamsOfNilztiria #GrimdarkMagazine #GdM

This review originally appeared at Grimdark Magazine on May 26, 2023.

Die By the Sword

Edited by D.M. Ritzlin – DMR Books – April 28, 2023

Review by Robin Marx

DMR Books has quickly established itself as one of the premiere sources for new and reprinted fiction written in the pulp sword & sorcery and science fantasy traditions. They’ve released a number of anthologies in recent years, including the Swords of Steel series of dark fantasy stories written by heavy metal musicians and the horror-themed Samhain Sorceries. Rather than reprints or specially solicited authors, Die By the Sword is intended to be the first in a series of anthologies featuring all-new sword & sorcery tales gathered via open calls for submissions. This initial volume includes eleven stories by both previous DMR contributors (Howie K. Bentley, Matthew Knight, etc.) and newcomers. The gorgeous cover artwork is provided by underground comix and paperback veteran John Pound, who may be most well known among readers of a certain age for his work on Topps’ Garbage Pail Kids line of trading cards. Alas, the cover is a reissue of a painting from 1980 and no lion-headed warriors appear in this book.

Die By the Sword starts off strong with “Ardax in Antillia” by Dariel R.A. Quiogue. Hailing from the Philippines, the prolific Quiogue has been popping up frequently in fantasy and adventure-fiction venues, including the first installment of Rakehell magazine and issue zero of New Edge Sword and Sorcery Magazine. As with those outings, Quiogue blends historically-inspired settings with swordplay and monsters, creating stories that bring to mind the classic Ray Harryhausen fantasy adventure movies. “Ardax in Antillia” involves a pair of gladiators who, after their escape from a Roman arena in Iberia, encounter a beautiful maiden condemned to be sacrificed to the cruel Atlantean gods. The fast-paced tale that follows is packed with visceral combat and fun aquatic monsters.

“Rites of the Black Goddess” by Paul D. Batteiger is another outstanding story. Fresh from the Crusades and Jerusalem, war-weary lord Morcar returns home to find his domain usurped by an arrogant Norman count. Through the aid of steel and decidedly unchristian magic, Morcar immediately sets about regaining his birthright. While most of the stories in Die By the Sword pair gritty combat with a dark outlook, this violent and moody piece is especially likely to appeal to grimdark fans.

Sharing a setting with the author’s 2022 novel Frolic on the Amaranthyn, Chase A. Folmar’s “The Sorcerer’s Scion” is another tale that emphasizes shadowy atmospherics. The bulk of this short chronicles the final hours of sell-sword Kulvrak—found killed under mysterious circumstances at the story’s outset—hired to rescue the daughter of a deranged herbalist from a nightmarish garden in squalid Old Iskalruun. Folmar cites classic Weird Tales scribe Clark Ashton Smith as an influence, and this story similarly delivers both lush prose and tense strangeness.

Inevitably with anthologies, some stories are less successful than others. Neither Howie K. Bentley’s “Secrets Only Dragons Know” nor “The Key to the Blood Pyramid” by Matthew Knight quite worked for me. The former involves Eldol, a warrior Briton who joins forces with a tribal witch in a quest for revenge against treacherous Saxons. The witch is demonstrated to have an agenda of her own, but muddy storytelling and an overly cryptic ending ensured that the titular dragons kept their secrets to themselves. “The Key to the Blood Pyramid” holds together better as a narrative, but the over-the-top vampyre-slaying magical armor-clad dimension-crossing protagonist (previously seen in 2019’s Karnov: Phantom-Clad Rider of the Cosmic Ice, by Knight, Bentley, and Byron A. Roberts) reminded this reviewer of a well-meaning but over-exuberant guy at a game store telling everyone within earshot all about his “cool” high-level Dungeons & Dragons character.

Among many strong stories, the highlight of Die By the Sword for me was Gregory D. Mele’s “The Heart of Vengeance.” Like Mele’s previous contributions to Tales From the Magician’s Skull No. 6 and Whetstone: Amateur Magazine of Pulp Sword and Sorcery issue 5, “The Heart of Vengeance” takes place in the Aztec-inspired setting of Azatlan. After warrior lord Helomon Twelve-Vulture loses his kingdom to a treacherous cousin, he embarks on an epic quest of retribution. He gains the mystical assistance of the skull-faced priesthood of Xokolatl, Lord Death, but is left with a troubling prophecy: all other victories will be Helomon’s, but should he seek the life of his usurper cousin he will not live to see the completion of his revenge. This central tension—is revenge worth one’s own death?—plus the intriguing setting combine for a very compelling dark fantasy tale.

Also worthy of note is the final story in Die By the Sword, “The Sacrifice” by Elias Varsity. Deceived by an alluring woman of the night, arrogant Greek wanderer Cleofas finds himself pinioned by a marble statue in an isolated ruin. His arm trapped in an unyielding stone fist, the harsh Mediterranean sun threatens to drive him delirious before an ignominious death of thirst. His only possible salvation lies with a cloaked, misshapen lurker that speaks in riddles. The shrouded figure offers him escape, but at a terrible price. A nasty little grimdark fable that deals quite directly with hubris and the punishment thereof, “The Sacrifice” lingers in the brain.

Die By the Sword is a strong collection of stories from fascinating newer voices. While not every story hit the mark with me, it is important to emphasize that NONE of the stories in Die By the Sword are boring. Violent action and fast-paced storytelling are ubiquitous, there is a generous serving of horror, and the stories are peppered with crowd-pleasing operatic themes like self-destructive revenge, desperate rescue missions, and rulers in exile. In addition to its reprints, DMR Books has devoted a great deal of effort to showcasing newer pulp sword & sorcery and dark fantasy authors. It’s exciting to see DMR casting its net even wider with open calls for submissions, and it is this reviewer’s hope that the proposed series continues.

#ReviewArchive #BookReview #SwordAndSorcery #DMRitzlin #DMRBooks #DieByTheSword #GrimdarkMagazine #GdM