Flame and Crimson: A History of Sword-and Sorcery
Brian Murphy
An ongoing read began in the spring and one I would like to wrap up this winter. A fantastic sword-and-sorcery history well written and chock-full of footnotes and cited works for your own deep dive into the genre.
I can’t seem to get too far into the book without pausing for note taking, book marking or a mad scramble to find a book within my collection. It has lit a fire within me to explore the genre in depth, one that I was well aware and intrinsically tuned in to but lacked the guidance to fully understand what exactly I was reading. Brian does an excellent job taking his knowledge on the subject and placing it in your hands to explore on your terms. A fantastic addition to your reference library.
A print on demand trade paperback from Pulp Hero Press is easily acquired through Brian’s blog:
And while your at it there’s plenty of great posts there, so feel free to get lost in those rabbit holes.
The Savage Tales of Solomon Kane
&
Kull Exile of Atlantis
Robert E. Howard
I like these Del Rey collections of Howard’s works, unadulterated goodness.
I’m working through my Sword-and-Sorcery expedition in a somewhat linear fashion, and currently leading up to ‘The Shadow Kingdom’, which I’ve already read.
I want to see how Howard got there, which is potentially a lot more outside of Howard reading than I had planned on as well as more research.
For now I’m taking a direct Howard line to ‘The Shadow Kingdom’, then a short trip to ‘By This Axe, I Rule’ / The Phoenix on the Sword’.
Solomon Kane ‘Red Shadows’ (August, 1928)
Solomon Kane ‘Skulls in the Stars’ (January, 1929)
Solomon Kane ‘Rattle Bones’ (June, 1929)
Kull ‘The Shadow Kingdom’ (August, 1929)
Kull ‘The Mirrors of Tuzun Thune’ (September, 1929)
Solomon Kane ‘The Moon of Skulls, pt. 1’ (June, 1930)
Solomon Kane ‘The Moon of Skulls, pt. 2’ (July, 1930)
Solomon Kane ‘Hills of the Dead’ (August, 1930)
Kull ‘Kings of the Night’ (November, 1930)
Solomon Kane ‘The Footfalls Within’ (September, 1931)
Solomon Kane ‘Wings in the Night’ (July, 1932)
Kull ‘By This Axe, I Rule’ (Re-Written by Howard into Phoenix)
Conan “The Phoenix on the Sword’ (December, 1932)
Afterwards not sure, still plotting that course.
Thune’s Vison
Schuyler Hernstrom
Hernstrom has been on my radar since, around 2017-ish? Not sure about that date but it seems right.
To this day I still kick myself for not buying a copy back then with original cover art by Schuyler.
It’s a recurring theme in my life.
Regardless, I am now working my way into his stories with ‘Thune’s Vision‘ available from Pilum Press.
On deck, ‘The Eye of Sounnu‘ from DMR books.
Weird Tales of Modernity
Jason Ray Carney
Just cracked this one and through the preface, looking forward to seeing where this goes.
AD&D Dungeon Masters Guide
Gary Gygax
Another ongoing read spurred by a comment made by Schuyler Hernstrom in an interview said:
“Right now Jeffro Johnson is taking a mace and braining the RPG world as we know it.“
This lead me to 1:1 time, BrOSR in AD&D and to this essential documentary: Secrets of Blackmoor: The True History of D&D…absolutely blew my mind.
Johnson lays out his ideas in a broadside titled:
How to Win at D&D.
A full version of this primer is upcoming.
I’ve been playing this game wrong from the get go, I am now returned to the DMG with a new set of eyes.
