Love the article and I am glad someone is talking about it. I am a fierce Conan lover and have read all of the Conan books over 15 times each in an attempt to absorbe their very essence.
I am making an effort to bring back quality fiction in my book The Living Light: From Gods to Ashes, and though it probably is closer to the Jack Vance Dying Earth vibe, it definitely has a ton of Robert E. Howard and Conan in it too. I made a point to keep it "Low Magic" and indeed, you really only see one spell in the entire adventure.
I’ve never read Conan and the like, but this article definitely makes me feel the FOMO on S&S. My life is better off having read this article. Thank you 🙏
I’ll be listening to those podcasts you suggested for sure!
Been a fan of HAJ for years. Loved the Hanuvar series and crushed that we won’t get the remaining books. Hopefully this post gets more people reading them.
The Sword and Sorcery genre was carried through the 90s with six seasons of Hercules and Xena and lots of made-for-TV movies, which was the equivalent of profitable but disreputable pulp magazines.
It's true about the indies getting involved. I'm an indie too and I've noticed amongst some of my peers that there is this fun little drive to go against the grain of traditional fantasy. Stories that have less to do with saving the world and more to do with dealing with the most intermediate threat to the character, having stories be more character driven and keeping that bloody and raunchy style. Also, so many new indie metal bands are doing power metal inspired by Conan and it seems like a good fit. This is the fantasy the grown ups read when they were kids. Grimdark is a genre that shot off from S&S too and could be considered Neo S&S (Though Grimdark sounds cooler though)
DMR are a great bunch. It's surprising to some but Instagram has a strong S&S community not just for the books but for art and music too. Also if you haven’t read Schuyler Hernstrom, check him out. Really awesome stuff.
Love the article and I am glad someone is talking about it. I am a fierce Conan lover and have read all of the Conan books over 15 times each in an attempt to absorbe their very essence.
I am making an effort to bring back quality fiction in my book The Living Light: From Gods to Ashes, and though it probably is closer to the Jack Vance Dying Earth vibe, it definitely has a ton of Robert E. Howard and Conan in it too. I made a point to keep it "Low Magic" and indeed, you really only see one spell in the entire adventure.
One of my favorite Conan stories is probably Rogues in the House: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4413682-rogues-in-the-house#
I'd also recommend Kull, and Solomon Kane as Grayson mentioned. Great sets of stories--the best!
Lets Bring back the great days! The days of High Adventure!
I’ve never read Conan and the like, but this article definitely makes me feel the FOMO on S&S. My life is better off having read this article. Thank you 🙏
I’ll be listening to those podcasts you suggested for sure!
Been a fan of HAJ for years. Loved the Hanuvar series and crushed that we won’t get the remaining books. Hopefully this post gets more people reading them.
Yes, he will be terribly missed.
The Sword and Sorcery genre was carried through the 90s with six seasons of Hercules and Xena and lots of made-for-TV movies, which was the equivalent of profitable but disreputable pulp magazines.
As a gamer that creates my own weird sword & sorcery/fantasy/science fiction. I enjoyed this article and found it relevant.
It's true about the indies getting involved. I'm an indie too and I've noticed amongst some of my peers that there is this fun little drive to go against the grain of traditional fantasy. Stories that have less to do with saving the world and more to do with dealing with the most intermediate threat to the character, having stories be more character driven and keeping that bloody and raunchy style. Also, so many new indie metal bands are doing power metal inspired by Conan and it seems like a good fit. This is the fantasy the grown ups read when they were kids. Grimdark is a genre that shot off from S&S too and could be considered Neo S&S (Though Grimdark sounds cooler though)
DMR are a great bunch. It's surprising to some but Instagram has a strong S&S community not just for the books but for art and music too. Also if you haven’t read Schuyler Hernstrom, check him out. Really awesome stuff.
Thanks for the recommendation!
If you're looking for postmodern Sword and Sorcery look no farther than the Queen of Sword and Horselords!
https://substack.com/@mistershock/p-163679188