This review originally appeared on Goodreads on July 14, 2012.

Wizardry and Wild Romance: A Study of Epic Fantasy

By Michael Moorcock – UNKNO – March 16, 2004

Review by Robin Marx

This is an interesting and erudite overview of epic fantasy by one of the genre's living masters. The breadth of Moorcock's knowledge is impressive, particularly when it comes to pre-Tolkien fantasy and it's roots in gothic literature. It's also incredibly opinionated; there's something in here to irritate any serious fantasy fan. I delighted in his notorious portrayal of Lord of the Rings as safe and bland “Epic Pooh,” but I thought he gave Robert E. Howard short shrift in places, especially since he appeared to be working from one of the inferior products resulting from L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter's tampering. For the most part everything is well-argued, however. This is a worthwhile read for serious fantasy fans.

★★★★☆

#CapsuleReviewArchive #BookReview #Nonfiction #Fantasy #SwordAndSorcery #WizardryAndWildRomance #MichaelMoorcock

This review originally appeared on Goodreads on October 9, 2013.

Witch of the Four Winds / When the Idols Walked

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

Review by Robin Marx

This ebook volume collects the third and fourth Brak the Barbarian novels as well as two subsequent short stories. I enjoyed the first volume well enough, but this one left me pleasantly surprised. The novels here are much stronger than those in the previous book.

Witch of the Four Winds was the highlight of this volume. The premise is pretty standard; Brak must stop an evil sorceress from using her magic to destroy a beleaguered kingdom. But the great thing about the story is how lean it is. There is nothing extraneous here. Every character has an important role to play in the story, and no plot threads are left dangling. Everything comes together in the end to form a neat and tidy package.

The fourth novel, When the Idols Walked, was interesting, but not quite as strong as the third. The antagonists' motives are less clear than in other stories, and apart from a perceived debt of honor, Brak doesn't have much reason to stick around and become involved in a war that doesn't involve him. Still, the use of bound souls to control inanimate objects is an interesting one and leads to a pretty spectacular finale.

The novels are followed by “Brak in Chains.” While it wasn't quite as action-packed as the novels, the premise was an interesting one. Taken as a slave and blamed for heresy in a drought-cursed land, Brak is ordered to make it rain within two days or be executed. Like Witch of the Four Winds, the plot he uncovers is a clever one, and there's very little wasted verbiage or exposition.

Unfortunately the concluding story, “The Mirror of Wizardry,” is the dog of the collection. While it had a neat monster appearing it (piranha-like stones), the rest of the story is rather unremarkable and the characterization thin. It's a shame the book ended like this. To the best of my knowledge, this is the last Brak story, and with John Jakes' considerable age and the fact that his historical novels are so much more commercially successful, it doesn't look like Brak will ever get a worthy send-off.

While it didn't affect my opinion of the stories either way, one thing I noticed was how chaste the stories are. There's a pretty significant amount of gore (people reduced to “red slime” by falling rocks, enemies getting stabbed in the eyes, etc.), but zero sensuality. Every story has a beautiful girl appearing in it (or two: a companion/damsel and a femme fatale), but unlike Conan, Brak doesn't get any action at all. The evil girls tempt him but are ultimately rejected, and the good girls are either already romantically involved with other characters or lamely rejected by Brak by the story's conclusion. Brak has to be the most celibate literary barbarian I've come across.

While nowhere near as innovative and indispensable as the Conan, Elric, Kane, or Fafhrd & The Gray Mouser stories, the Brak stories are still worthwhile reads for fans of sword & sorcery. If you're new to the subgenre, however, I'd recommend you stick to the classics.

★★★☆☆

#CapsuleReviewArchive #BookReview #SwordAndSorcery #Fantasy #JohnJakes #BrakTheBarbarian #WitchOfTheFourWinds #WhenTheIdolsWalked

This review originally appeared on Goodreads on February 5, 2013.

Guardian of the Dawn

By William King – Self-Published – August 1, 2011

Review by Robin Marx

This atmospheric fantasy short introduces Kormak, a disreputable-looking stranger belonging to a semi-mythical order of monster hunters. Wounded and caught out on the night of the full moon, when hostile creatures roam, he takes shelter at an isolated house. Realizing his true identity, the house's residents use his code of honor to coerce him into defending them against one particularly menacing creature.

The premise is appealing, and while Kormak himself is only vaguely sketched out as a character, he seems interesting. I also liked the setting hinted at in the story, with a sort of uneasy detente between the human realm and the bestial “children of the moon” roaming just outside the borders. However, I was disappointed when the story name-checked elves, dwarves, and orcs. Those Tolkienian races are completely played out, and their seemingly automatic inclusion marred an otherwise original sword & sorcery setting. The ending was also a bit of let-down. I respect the author for taking a daring chance with the narrative, but I can't help feeling that it effectively invalidated much of the preceding excitement.

Still, this was a good read overall. While I wasn't quite moved to run out and buy the other Kormak books, this story put King on my radar, and I'll keep an eye out for his stories in the future.

★★★☆☆

#CapsuleReviewArchive #BookReview #SwordAndSorcery #Fantasy #WilliamKing #GuardianOfTheDawn #TheKormakSaga

This review originally appeared on Goodreads on August 2, 2012.

Michael Moorcock's Multiverse

By Michael Moorcock (Writer), Walter Simonson (Artist), Mark Reeve (Artist), John Ridgway (Artist) – DC Comics – November 1, 1999

Review by Robin Marx

Beautiful art, but this comic is for the hardest of hardcore Moorcock fans only. I've read about two dozen Moorcock books and have a decent grounding in his Eternal Champion mythos, and this series was still largely incomprehensible.

The idea of three parallel plot lines linking at the end of the story is an interesting one, but things never quite mesh, and the various threads don't seem to share equal relevance to the overall story. In the end the reader is left with a host of mostly cipher-like characters shouting about how “destruction of the multiverse is imminent” without gaining any real sense of the how and the why behind the threat.

Moorcock has written many of my favorite books, but this is him at his most impenetrable.

★★☆☆☆

#CapsuleReviewArchive #ComicReview #Fantasy #SwordAndSorcery #DCComics #MichaelMoorcocksMultiverse #MichaelMoorcock #EternalChampion #WalterSimonson #MarkReeve #JohnRidgway

This review originally appeared on Goodreads on August 7, 2011.

The Chronicles Of Solomon Kane

By Various – Dark Horse – December 8, 2009

Review by Robin Marx

This volume collects a two volume series called “The Mark of Kane” and a later six issue miniseries called “The Sword of Solomon Kane.”

Despite scripts by Roy Thomas, the former is a little on the cheesy side, but I was pleasantly surprised by the “Sword of Solomon Kane” series. With only six issues to work with, I found it baffling that they spent time making a few original stories (one called The Prophet was particularly sleight and disappointing, despite excellent Mike Mignola artwork) rather than sticking with adaptations of the original Robert E. Howard short stories, but the comic versions of “Red Shadows,” “Hills of the Dead,” and “Wings in the Night” were well done.

The highlight of this volume was the characterization, however. While the authors of the current Dark Horse series seem to be struggling with how to present Kane, the staff of this old Marvel comic got him right. Dour, vengeful, and above all driven.

While I wouldn't recommend this volume as an introduction to the adventures of Solomon Kane, it's certainly worth a look for those already familiar with the character.

★★★☆☆

#CapsuleReviewArchive #ComicReview #Fantasy #SwordAndSorcery #SolomonKane #TheChroniclesOfSolomonKane

This review originally appeared on Goodreads on June 21, 2012.

Travellers' Rest

By James Enge – Pyr – December 3, 2010

Review by Robin Marx

This sword & sorcery story plays out almost like a spaghetti western, with the moody wizard-swordsman Morlock Ambrosius and his dwarfish companion happening on a tiny hamlet with a dark secret. Both the characters and story remind me a great deal of Michael Moorcock's Elric stories, sharing driven, melancholy characters, a tense atmosphere, and weird events. This free Kindle novella was released by James Enge's publisher Pyr to introduce readers to his Morlock Ambrosius series, and it certainly succeeded in capturing my interest.

★★★★☆

#CapsuleReviewArchive #BookReview #SwordAndSorcery #Fantasy #JamesEnge #TravellersRest

This review originally appeared on Goodreads on August 14, 2012.

Wrath of the White Tigress: A Tale of Pawan Kor

By David Alastair Hayden – Typing Cat Press – June 25, 2011

Review by Robin Marx

Billed as a modern sword & sorcery tale in the tradition of Moorcock and Gemmel, this book starts with a compelling premise: an assassin tasked with killing a high priestess manages to shake off decades of mystical brainwashing. Working with Zyrella, the high priestess, he turns against the evil emperor Salahn and attempts to destroy the regime he once helped build.

I enjoyed the book, but it had a few issues. The beginning and conclusion were quite strong, but the middle part seemed to lose focus and meander a bit. I liked the main trio of characters, Jaska, Zyrella, and Ohzi, but the middle third of the book rapidly introduces a number of new faces that failed to leave much of an impression. As a result there are a couple cases of dramatic self-sacrifice that fell flat. I didn't really need the archer twins with their vague prophecy or the desert tribesmen, they were all fairly interchangeable and I would've rather spent more time with the main characters.

The prose was solid, but not particularly ostentatious. Not much time was spent on world-building, but the setting seemed interesting and a pleasant change from pseudo-Europe. The magic presented was interesting, but perhaps a little under-developed (the star-based magic was especially vague). The fast pace and action reminded me a bit of my favorite sword & sorcery stories, but the frequent divine intervention and good versus evil plot are well-trodden epic fantasy tropes and appealed less.

Hayden is a newer author, and I suspect my issues with the book are related to that. It was a fun read, though. I own another Hayden book besides this one and I plan to keep an eye out for future releases as well.

★★★☆☆

#CapsuleReviewArchive #BookReview #SwordAndSorcery #Fantasy #DavidAlastairHayden #WrathOfTheWhiteTigress

This review originally appeared on Goodreads on July 27, 2020.

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe Minicomic Collection Volume 2

By Various – Dark Horse Books – November 3, 2015

Review by Robin Marx

Like the first volume, this collection delivers a fun look at the mini comics included with the Masters of the Universe toy line. In addition to the later He-Man mini comics not included in the first volume, this book contains the She-Ra: Princess of Power mini comics, the few that were produced for the more space opera-oriented New Adventures line, and some fun fan service-filled comics that were created for the recent Masters of the Universe Classics toy line for adult collectors.

While the volume itself is assembled with every bit as much care and attention to detail as the first, it suffers a bit in that the stories included aren’t quite as entertaining as those contained in Volume One. While the entire line was conceived as a marketing instrument to promote toy sales, the earlier comics had more of a “wild and wooly” feel. As the comic line progressed, the formula became a bit more repetitive and the commercial aspect slightly more obvious. This book is still a fun read and a worthwhile companion to the first, but I missed the weirdness and mystery of the first comics, where the setting of Eternia was less developed.

★★★☆☆

#CapsuleReviewArchive #ComicReview #Fantasy #SwordAndSorcery #DarkHorse #HeMan #MastersOfTheUniverse #MOTU

This review originally appeared on Goodreads on July 3, 2020.

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe Minicomic Collection Volume 1

By Various – Dark Horse Books – November 3, 2015

Review by Robin Marx

The Masters of the Universe toy line was an imaginative mix of fantasy and science fiction, with wildly unique character designs. While the premise has a clear delineation between good and evil (“these guys fight those guys”), it was thought that kids could benefit from a bit more backstory. Knowing more about the characters and the setting they lived in would provide inspiration for children to come up with their own stories, and thus the bonus pack-in mini comics were born.

While the comics were quickly produced and tended to have simplistic, linear plots much like the subsequent Filmation cartoon, they have their own charm. Many of the people that worked on the mini comics were either established pros doing some quick work on the side for extra money, or newcomers who later went on to greater success and fame. It was also interesting to see how the Masters of the Universe setting developed over time. Backstories change, characters are given different roles, etc.

First of a two-volume series, this book was clearly assembled with care. The artwork is presented in a larger format than originally used, allowing the readers to see both fine details and artistic goofs. Footnotes are sprinkled throughout the book, drawing attention to trivia, errors, first appearances, and other interesting aspects of the comics. There are also a number of interviews with members of the shifting teams behind their creation.

All in all, this is a fun look at a part of many kids’ childhoods. The comics were marketing instruments thrown together in haste, but the characters and stories are enjoyable and nostalgia-filled. It’s also an interesting look at the early work of a number of comic creators who would go on to bigger and better things.

★★★★☆

#CapsuleReviewArchive #ComicReview #Fantasy #SwordAndSorcery #DarkHorse #HeMan #MastersOfTheUniverse #MOTU

This review originally appeared on Goodreads on October 22, 2012.

Thieves' World: First Blood

Edited by Robert Lynn Asprin and Lynn Abbey (Editor) – Tor Books – December 1, 2003

Review by Robin Marx

The volume collects the first two Thieves' World anthologies, Thieves' World and Tales from the Vulgar Unicorn. While it was great finally having a chance to read these (previously long out of print) stories, I don't think many of them lived up to the great premise.

The Thieves' World I expected was quite similar to what was described in the Making of Thieves' World essay included in the book: a massive slum various sword & sorcery heroes call home, their adventures tangentially intersecting and their paths crossing. While there are some stories that deliver—those stories tend to be the highlights—there are surprisingly few actual thief protagonists, and far too much high fantasy mucking about with competing gods. Fritz Leiber is cited as an influence, but Thieves' World's city of Sanctuary is nowhere near as lush, decadent, and dangerous as Lankhmar, and few of the adventures found here have the same kind of personal stakes and gritty, street-level action of the Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser tales. The Making of Thieves describes a teeming hive of corruption that could play home to Conan, Elric, Karl Edward Wagner's Kane, etc., but then it has too many stories about humans acting directly as pawns for interventionist, physically manifested gods. This felt like a bait and switch to me. For something called “Thieves' World” there were surprisingly few heists; perhaps “Prophet's World” would have been a more appropriate title.

Perhaps it can be said that Thieves' World shows the fantasy genre in transition. It was released in 1979, when pure sword & sorcery was on the decline and Tolkien-inspired high fantasy (as embodied by Terry Brooks's The Sword of Shannara, released in 1977) was becoming increasingly commercially successful. I suspect that's the reason for the tension between the few gritty street-level tales and the more high flying epic stories. This is interesting from a genre history perspective, but not really what I was looking for. I don't think I'll go out of my way to seek out the sequel anthologies, as it appears that the competing pantheon aspect of the stories only grows more prevalent.

As a final note, the Kindle edition of this book is probably the most poorly formatted commercial e-book I've seen to date. There are numerous cases of OCR errors (spelling errors are particularly obnoxious in jargon-prone fantasy), several instances of strangely hyphenated words, and even a few snippets of missing text. While I didn't factor this into my rating, I expect better from a major publisher like Macmillan/TOR.

★★☆☆☆

#CapsuleReviewArchive #BookReview #SwordAndSorcery #Fantasy #RobertLynnAsprin #LynnAbbey #ThievesWorld