This review originally appeared in New Edge Sword & Sorcery Magazine Issue #3, released on December 9, 2024.

Shared World

By Jonathan Ball, GMB Chomichuk, James Gillespie, Chadwick Ginther – Stranger Fiction Inc. – November 20, 2023

Review by Robin Marx

Released under the auspices of Jonathan Ball’s Stranger Fiction Inc., Shared World collects six short stories by four Canadian authors, all taking place within the same jointly created Sword & Sorcery setting. While the concept of a shared Sword & Sorcery world immediately summons to mind Robert Asprin’s enduring Thieves' World series, surprisingly no acknowledgment is made of this antecedent. Instead, Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s introduction hearkens back to the days of Weird Tales magazine, when names and motifs from H. P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos horror stories began cropping up in the more fantasy-oriented creations of his correspondents Robert E. Howard, C.L. Moore, and Clark Ashton Smith. The argument is that not only is there a long history of cross-fertilization between authors working in the pulp fantasy milieu, but that elements of Lovecraft’s Mythos in particular have had a strong presence in Sword & Sorcery fiction since the earliest days of the genre. Shared World is positioned as an heir to this literary tradition.

The setting of Shared World is a post-apocalyptic one. In the distant past, a great human civilization approached godhood. A mysterious calamity wiped out their kingdoms, however, leaving their monolithic ruins scattered across the shunned and monster-infested Once Lands. Various tribal societies keep to the less inhospitable margins of the wilderness, but one dominant metropolis has coalesced in the form of Khyber, a mighty city serving as a central gateway to three continents. Elements of the Cthulhu Mythos are prominent in Shared World, with several stories concerned with strange gods of the “dead but dreaming” persuasion. The tales are united by a central tension between characters striving to keep those ancient gods dormant and those seeking to hasten their return.

While the stories are presented in a mixed order for variety’s sake, each of the Shared World contributors has a particular focus. For example, both stories co-written by GMB Chomichuk and James Gillespie deal with members of the Vani, a tribal people, and begin with the same inciting incident: a Vani apparently driven mad by greed has slain the Spear King and sold his seven children into slavery. “Kaa-Rokaan,” the first story in this diptych, involves a Vani scout who ventures forth to rescue the enslaved tribesmen. Rokaan is assisted in his task by the totem spirit, or “Kaa,” of a crow. While he is initially disappointed in not being chosen by a more martial totem like Bear or Boar, Rokaan eventually comes to appreciate his spiritual ally’s strengths as he deals with the alien obstacles barring the path to his enslaved comrades. “Kaa-Shufa,” the second entry by Chomichuk and Gillespie, follows the Bear totem warrior woman tasked with pursuing Lothar, the traitor who killed the Spear King and sold his offspring. Shufa learns that Lothar’s heinous crime was motivated by desperation, and the two become uneasy allies in a quest that leads them deep underground, where yellow lichen-infected cultists attend to an alien god on the verge of an apocalyptic awakening. The Chomichuk/Gillespie stories are an intriguing blend of First Nations mythology and Lovecraftian horror, with resourceful heroes and their inscrutable spiritual allies pitted against eldritch threats.

Chadwick Ginther’s two contributions to the anthology are set in Khyber, a crowded and colorful metropolis pleasingly reminiscent of Fritz Leiber’s Lankhmar, or Sanctuary of Thieves' World fame. In “When the Gods Send You Rats,” a heavily tattooed midwife (inscribed with songbirds for babies delivered and crows for enemy lives taken) is attacked by a humaniform swarm of rats bearing an enchanted crown. She joins forces with the Rat-King, one of Khyber’s ubiquitous Rat-Catchers, and the pair soon discover that the rodents of Khyber are attempting to summon an extradimensional entity that threatens to devour the entire city. “Red” is another excursion deep below Khyber. When her dissolute haberdasher brother Needle is abducted under mysterious circumstances, deadly swordswoman Redala visits a string of Diviners and disreputable underworld figures in an effort to pick up his trail. While we only get a small taste of the setting, both of Ginther’s stories present Khyber as a bustling and chaotic city filled with bizarre communities, each with their own social codes and mores—fertile ground for Sword & Sorcery adventures.

Jonathan Ball’s pair of stories return to the tribal side of the setting. Both tales feature Draxas, a beastlike woman cast out from the matriarchal Shaaraka cannibals for the heresy of atheism. In “There Were Once Words,” Draxas tracks a hooded sorcerer through blighted wildernesses, eager to learn about the sleeping gods he serves. She ends up with more than she bargained for in her final confrontation with the sorcerer. “Circle of Stones” is a sequel that deals with the fallout of her fateful encounter with the sorcerer. Half of the story is a flashback dealing with Draxas’ bloody expulsion from the Shaaraka, and the remainder centers on her newfound devotion to dark gods. Ball’s entries emphasize mood over plot, and Draxas is an interesting—if challenging—character. Clad in leather of human origin and messily slurping the marrow from women’s bones, it wasn’t until a few pages into her introduction that it became clear Draxas was intended to be human, rather than a ghoul or some other monster.

Despite its regrettably bland title, Shared World is a fascinating literary experiment. The anthology was released simultaneously with Khyber, a companion collection of stories by Ginther. Although they have not yet appeared at the time of this writing, Once Lands by Chomichuk & Gillespie has been announced, as well as Draxas by Ball. The Shared World project’s website has an open call for contributors, and it will be interesting to see if the Once Lands are adopted by writers outside of this initial circle. With plenty of space for further development, Shared World offers a tantalizing look at a Lovecraftian Sword & Sorcery setting boasting a lot of potential.

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This review originally appeared in New Edge Sword & Sorcery Magazine Issue #1, released on November 30, 2023.

Woman of the Woods

By Milton J. Davis – MVmedia, LLC – June 13, 2013

Review by Robin Marx

While Charles R. Saunders may have founded the “Sword and Soul” sub-genre of fantasy, Milton Davis has quickly become one of the field's most indefatigable contributors and promoters. Through his publishing house MVmedia and via collaborations with other creators (including Saunders himself, prior to his 2020 passing), Davis continuously works to create and lend a platform to African- and African diaspora-inspired fantasy and science fiction literature.

Set in the world of Uhuru, which previously appeared in Milton's Meji series, Woman of the Woods follows the adventures of Sadatina. Born to a member of the Shosa, an elite corp of spiritually-imbued fighting women who are forbidden from possessing families of their own, Sadatina is bequeathed to a warm but humble farming family. Even separated from her birth mother, Sadatina distinguishes herself from her adopted family with her superior athletic and hunting ability.

Tragedy strikes, however, when at the tender age of 13 she finds herself drawn into an inter-generational conflict between her people—the Adamu—and the Mosele. Driven from their lands by the encroachment of the Adamu, the Mosele have submitted to the dark god Karan. While the Mosele's counter-invasion was barely fended off long ago, ever since the Adamu have been plagued by sporadic attacks from Karan's servitors: demonic creatures called nyoka (“serpent” in Swahili). One such raid claims the lives of Sadatina's family. She vows revenge, making a home in the wilderness and hunting the nyoka with the assistance of her inborn martial ability and her loyal “sisters”: a pair of orphaned lionesses Sadatina has raised since they were cubs. Viewed with both awe and fear by the people of surrounding settlements, she becomes known as the “Woman of the Woods.”

Her solitary battle does not last long, however. Word of her nyoka-slaying prowess spreads as attacks intensify, and she is sought out by the Shosa as a potential recruit. Sadatina is suspicious of urban society and hierarchy, but the threat of Karan's nyoka grows by the day. Her own quest for vengeance and the needs of her people inevitably push her into assuming a central role in the conflict. Over time she gains new skills and weapons, but also heavy responsibilities and nagging doubts.

Gender is handled in a nuanced fashion in Woman of the Woods. The Shosa warrior women are an accepted and valued part of society, but they are also a breed apart. One must be chosen by the god Cha to join their ranks, and—while Sadatina is allowed an uncommon degree of autonomy—refusing to join is generally not an option for the average villager. They are the symbolic wives of the Adamu people's leader and, while celibacy is not required, bearing children is forbidden and harshly punished. Non-Shosa girls and women appear expected to adhere to traditional gender roles. As presented in Woman of the Woods, Uhuru is neither an egalitarian utopia nor a setting where only the heroine is allowed to occupy a place outside marriage and childbearing.

Religion also plays a central role in Woman of the Woods. The Adamu follow Cha, who is framed as a benevolent but demanding and occasionally distant god. The Mosele worship Karan, a malicious being of stone and magma. The Adamu deride Karan as a demon with delusions of grandeur, but where Cha is content to guide his people through ambiguous visions the divine aid Karan grants his supplicants is frighteningly concrete. His baboon-like ginanga nyoka