JUST THE AXE, MA'AM #14
A Monthly Curated Newsletter of New & Notable Sword & Sorcery
THIS MONTH’S NEWS & UPDATES
On September 5, Howard Andrew Jones shared this simple but devastating letter.
I have only had a few interactions with him on the now-defunct Whetstone Discord, but his intellect, friendliness, and pure class as a human being are apparent to all who knew him.
He had great taste in authors beyond Sword & Sorcery. He was the first person besides local friends with whom I could talk about Richard Stark's Parker crime novels. He championed the revival of historical fiction author Harold Lamb, getting the man’s books back into print and has, over the years, spotlighted underrated westerns that appeared in the 1950s as paperback originals.
His website and conversations on the server revealed deep insights into the writer’s craft that everyone should read.
+ Michael K. Vaughan did a video tribute to Howard Andrew Jones when the news broke.
+ Sword & Sorcery scholar Brian Murphy talks about the loss at the Silver Key.
+ Before the above news broke, Mark Rigney at Black Gate looked at comedy in Howard Andrew Jones’ Lord of a Shattered Land, particularly the story “The Autumn Horse.”
+ Bob Byrne, also at Black Gate, reviews audiobook versions of Jones’ Dabir & Asim novels Desert of Souls and Bones of the Old Ones.
Howard is still here for now, so there will be more updates in the future, but this is sad news for the Sword & Sorcery community and the fantasy genre in general.
His real-life story as the Sword & Sorcery Comeback King finally working on Sword & Sorcery the way he wanted was so wonderful. That was inspiring for so many of us who got to know him online over the past couple of years and saw the gracious gentleman he was. This is a punch in the gut for those who knew him that way.
Simply put, I can't help but think so many of us have been doing our part to revive Sword & Sorcery directly because of his reigniting in us that passion and how we want to do right by the man.
However, Howard always encouraged the growth of the community, and for there to be more Sword & Sorcery, we will move on to spotlighting what else is happening, and as Howard always used as a rallying cry for friends and fans:
“Swords Together!”
+ Brackenbury Books is in the middle of its crowdfunding campaign for Double-Edged Sword & Sorcery, two novellas published back to back that one can flip over to read like the old, fondly remembered Ace Double Science Fiction Paperbacks.
Last month, we showed the cover by Goran Gligovic for Waste Flowers by Bryn Hammond. (You can read an interview we conducted with her about it here)
Now pictured above is the cover by Artyom Trakhanov for Walls of Shira Yulun by Dariel R. A. Quiogue, who details the origin of his Genghis Khan-derived character, Orhan Timur, in this blog post.
Indeed, Black Gate just published an article in which artists Goran Gligovic and Artyom Trakhanov were interviewed about their conception and process for executing each book cover.
As of this newsletter’s publication, they are funded at 80%. If you want to support and achieve bonus goals like getting the book page edges colour sprayed as they did in the 1960s and 1970s, check it out here.
+ Liam Q. D. Hall of the book review Youtube channel Liam’s Lyceum is releasing a new novella mixing Sword & Sorcery and Cyberpunk tropes, receiving the following advance praise:
“Dreamer, Awake! is a pulse-pounding, savage revenge, and unexpected redemption. You’ll want more of this maimed protagonist and her gritty world.” —D. J. Butler, author of In the Palace of Shadow and Joy
“A vision—as if seen through smoke—of a world both savage and strange. Perfect for those who prefer their sword-and-sorcery with a side of science fiction.” —Christopher Ruocchio, Internationally Award-Winning Author of The Sun Eater
“Hall's Dreamer, Awake! is a page-turning mystery with its feet planted firmly on the sword and sorcery tradition and its eyes looking towards the exciting and introspective sky of cyberpunk storytelling. A unique tale of clashing swords and dark magic that leaves the reader guessing what it means to 'be' in a style that is very much the author's hallmark. Keep your eyes on Hall. I certainly intend to.” —Timaeus Bloom, editor of Howls from the Scene of the Crime
+
’s biography of Robert E. Howard was rightfully nominated for a 2007 World Fantasy Award for its emphasis on placing Howard’s life and fiction within the greater context of Texan history and culture, but it has only recently become available as an ebook. You can check it out here.
+ On Black Gate is an in-depth tribute to Janet Morris, who passed away last month from her friends and collaborators. This is quite lovely to read.
+ Continuing a look at landmark works of scholarship of pulp fantasy getting rereleases, Appendix N, Peter Bebergal’s anthology of classic works of Sword & Sorcery and other fantasy that directly inspired the creation of Dungeons & Dragons, is coming out in an expanded edition with more stories being reprinted by the likes of A. Merritt, Andre Norton, Ramsey Campbell, and a Gardner Fox comic are joining the original lineup.
Find out more in this interview of Bebergal conducted by Gareth Branwyn for Boing Boing.
H. R. Laurence wanted us to know the anthology Insurgent, featuring his Sword & Sorcery story “Deserter’s Bane, “ is now out. The theme of the anthology is described as:
The spirit of rebellion never dies.
Insurgent explores the timeless struggle against the iron grip of established power, weaving a tapestry of repression, courage, and the relentless pursuit of freedom through defiance.
Prepare to be transported to fantastical realms where every act of uprising ignites the spark of hope, and every insurgent's tale is a battlecry for a better tomorrow.
Will you join the uprising?
H. R. Laurence also has a (very) short story, 'The Tower of Tol-Dolon,' featured in Dragon Gems Summer 2024 from Water Dragon Press.
As he helpfully notes. “Another outing for Zivia the Cat, who took a supporting part in 'The Whips of Malmac' and is now back continuing her career as a thief.”
+ Scott Oden wanted to get the word out that the Self-Published Ancient Historical Blog Off is open and active! If you or someone you know has written an Ancient World set Historical Novel this year and self-published it, then you are eligible for a blog-off to have the work reviewed and selected.
Please click here to find out more about eligibility, criteria and more.
FILM & TELEVISION
+ Through the official Instagram, we received our first onscreen photo of Matilda Lutz as Red Sonja in the upcoming movie directed by M. J. Bassett.
INTERVIEWS & PANELS
+ Last month, Riley Pinkerton, the Rat Queen of the band Castle Rat, sat down with Monsters, Madness, and Magic to discuss her childhood and the origins of Castle Rat. She also revealed a West Coast tour for the band in November with Early Moods to complement the East Coast tour they did this month with Green Lung.
+ Bryn Hammond has done several interviews this past month, among them a live stream with Oliver Brackenbury and this two-part interview with Sad But Building Worlds, where in Part One, she discusses world-building and how those techniques can be applied to Historical Fiction and specifically medieval Mongolia.
Part Two discusses Gender, Sexuality, and Marginalized Lives and how they can be portrayed in Historical Fiction and Sword & Sorcery.
She also sat down with, er, Just The Axe, Ma’am, to answer The Eleven Questions of Doom, where she talked more about The Secret History of the Mongols, the poetry of Swinburne, her favourite song from David Bowie, and more.
+ Oliver Brackenbury video chats with Dariel R. A. Quiogue for a Q&A regarding the Double-Edged Sword and Sorcery crowdfunder.
He has also updated his blog with behind-the-scenes details about his character Orhan Timur, “The Snow Leopard,” an alternate take on a Chinggis Khan who found himself in exile instead of a conqueror.
+ From The Sorcerer’s Skull comes a joint interview of Dariel R. A. Quiogue and Bryn Hammond.
+ The Outlaw Bookseller sits with Michael Moorcock in a lovely Parisian cafe to discuss his decades-long bibliography. He also reviewed Moorcock’s new issue of the seminal New Worlds SFF magazine.
MUSIC
+ We are amused by the description mentioned above (intended to be complimentary). Yet, her rise in popularity allowed her the budget to stage this number at the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards in full camp medievalism, as historian Megan Cook calls it.
Her review also directed me to another of her meditations on the modern medieval aesthetic, which she calls dirtbag medievalist. Of particular relevance from that is this quote:
Ultimately, though, like most forms of medievalism, and most ways of loving the past, dirtbag medievalism is weird and recursive and personal. It shifts around to meet our immediate and often fairly embarrassing needs and desires, making it hard to pin down in list form.
As for Roan herself, it was rightfully pointed out by
that the earlier flowing gown she had was evocative of Kate Bush’s sword & sorcery costume she wore for her 1980 Babooshka music video, itself modelled after a 1978 Chris Achilleos cover for Raven: Swordmistress of Chaos, an “adult” sword & sorcery series co-written by a pseudonymous Robert Holdstock and Angus Wells.(Holdstock later won the 1985 World Fantasy Award for Mythago Wood.)
However, with Roan donning an outfit resembling medieval armour, she is likely thinking more of evoking Joan of Arc, which, ironically, around same time as the performance but otherwise unconnected, author Neill Willcox wrote this short but potent piece on the roots of the legend of Joan of Arc that we all know, the historical reality, and what it all means to the present day.
However, as a Sword & Sorcery fan, I can’t help but be reminded of this iconic cover of Jirel of Joiry by C. L. Moore.
Does that mean that Chappell Roan is secretly a Jirel fan? Sending out coded messages to her fans the same way Swifties dissect every photo and social media of Taylor Swift?
Likely no (and not just because of Roan’s ambivalence over her newfound fame), nor is it a sign the Sword & Sorcery revival is more successful right now than one would think. Yet one of the key drives of the current Sword & Sorcery revival is trying to reclaim and, if necessary, reconfigure the aesthetic of Sword & Sorcery imagery and concepts that have spread out and permeated not just the fantasy genre but pop culture in general.
As Megan Cook’s two essays above point out, people may not know where it originated and where it’s been in society before. As a result, synchronicities will happen that serve as unintended echoes of the past overlapping with the intended ones.
Yet they serve as valuable reminders that the genre, in terms of imagery and tropes that arose from stories that engaged in conversation with the history, legend and myth that first inspired it and what it represents, can be very relevant to all sorts of people in these modern and troubled times.
PODCASTS ON PARADE
+ The Cromcast does part 2 and part 3 of their multipart look this month at Michael Moorcock’s Elric of Melnibone and is joined by special guest Christopher Rowe.
+ Jay Requard returns with two episodes of Pondering the Orb. The one above is where he gives readings of some classic Fafhrd & Gray Mouser by Fritz Leiber and some modern work with Servant of a Pale Sword by Tim Akers. There is also music from the melodic death metal band Battlesword and synth-wave from Adieu Aru.
The second episode is a somewhat melancholy Season 3 finale as Jay Requard reads from “The Cat and the Skull,” aka “Delcardes’ Cat” by Robert E. Howard, featuring dialogue from the original version of Thulsa Doom as a nod to the passing of James Earl Jones on September 9, who played a different take on the villain in The Conan the Barbarian movie. Then Jay reads an excerpt of The City of Marble and Blood from Howard Andrew Jones as a tribute to the man, with bonus death metal and synthwave music from Nyktophobia and Lavenue.
Pondering the Orb returns for Season 4 in April 2025.
+ Sam Richard joins the Rejoinder at Writing The Rapids to talk about Weirdpunk Books' anthology of sword and sorcery Profane Altars, as well as the companion zine Profane Sorcery. They also talk about the link between fantasy and horror, the practice of editing anthologies, and more!
+ Aussie lads Tangenetic interviewed Dariel R. A. Quiogue and Bryn Hammond about Double-Edged Sword Sorcery for their podcast.
REVIEWS
Liam’s Lyceum does an advance review of The Walls of Shira Yulun by Dariel R. A. Quiogue…
…and a followup advance review of Waste Flowers by Bryn Jammond.
+ Over at Rogues in the House Presents: sword & sorcery scholar Brian Murphy reviews Jason Ray Carney’s academic tome Weird Tales of Modernity.
THIS MONTH IN SWORD & SORCERY MAGAZINES
HEROIC FANTASY QUARTERLY:
Heroic Fantasy Quarterly updated the story “The Physician’s Tale” by Jonathan Duckworth with the above illustration by Gary McCluskey, with McCluskey also uploading page 12 of his ongoing adaptation of “Spear and Fang” by Robert E. Howard.
The full issue #61, featuring stories free for you to read from Duckworth, Tim Hanlon, and Dariel R. Quiogue, plus poetry by Devan Barlow, and Ngô Bình Anh Khoa can be read at this link.
If you are interested in their Patreon, click here.
NEW EDGE SWORD & SORCERY:
Oliver Brackenbury has updated backers that issues 3 and 4 have all been sent off to the printer!
As always, you can try their free issue #0 here.
OLD MOON QUARTERLY:
Below are the listed contents of Old Moon Quarterly #8, which they sent to backers. Ebook copies of that issue will be sent to backers next week, and physical copies of 7 and 8 will follow soon.
SWORDS & SORCERY MAGAZINE:
For Issue #152, editor Curtis Ellett bids us “Many Returns” and offers three new tales for you to read free online.
“Bliss”, by Lindsey Duncan
“Numbers Matter”, by Teel James Glenn
“Tell Me the Count,” by Jonathan Olfert
Plus, continuing the Great Herpetological Debate of the genre, G.W. Thomas of Dark Worlds Quarterly contributes an essay:
Why Did It Have To Be Snakes? Sword & Sorcery’s Dislike of Snakes
Plus, over at the blog, they have revealed preview Artwork by Alison McGlone
All three stories and the essay are free to read online, but if you enjoy the magazine, consider supporting it on Patreon.
TALES FROM THE MAGICIAN’S SKULL:
The Kickstarter set up by the magazine’s new owners, Outland Entertainment, is now active. From now on, they will publish twice annually.
Click here for the complete Table of contents for issue 13 listed at their live Kickstarter page.
TRIAPA:
Issue #13 was released on September 1st, and the following authors contributed a 2-page amateur zine.
Carl Ellis, Tales from the Valley X
Andy Darby, Because the Bastards Won’t Write Themselves, Issue 4
Chase A. Folmar & Jason Ray Carney, Witchmark 1
Jon Olfert, Loose Talk and Lean Times 1
Ben Gardiner, Caliginous Chronicles, Vol 2
David J. Lynch, Ink and Hatchet: Musings on Larger than Life Fiction (Sep 2024, Issue 13)
Aaron Cummins, Views from the Pig Sty, September 2024
Black Cavalier Designs, 12 Leagues To Averoigne Vol 1, Issue 13
Jason Donaldson, The House Half Under a Hill, September 2024
Sage, The Job
Matt Holder, Pandemonizine, Vol 2 (September 2024) Issue 12
TRIAPA is an Amateur Press Association founded by Spiral Tower Press, the people behind the Amateur Zines Way Station, Whetstone and Witch House.
If you want to submit a zine for TRIAPA, please send a 2-page zine (maximum) to spiraltowerpress@gmail.com. They invite and encourage all fans of sword and sorcery, cosmic horror, and space opera to submit.
Find out more and check out all previous editions here.
WHETSTONE:
Whetstone: The Amateur Magazine of Pulp Sword & Sorcery will be on hiatus until 2025.
The archive of all eight issues can be accessed here.
In the meantime, check out Waystation, the amateur space opera magazine they are putting out in its place. The first issue has just been released, and it features stories from members of the Sword & Sorcery community.
You can read it for free here.
The Spiral Tower crew is concentrating on their next project, the next issue of Witch House, the amateur magazine of Cosmic Horror.
SUBMISSIONS
The following markets are dedicated to or specified to accept Sword & Sorcery.
+ BFS Horizons, put out by The British Fantasy Society, is always open. 500 - 5000 Words. The remuneration is £20. Submission Guidelines.
+ Indie Bites, a non-profit fantasy anthology series put out by Silversun Books, is available on Kindle Unlimited and is looking for stories for its upcoming Pirates & Prophecies-themed issue. Deadline: 30 November 2024. Accepts up to 7500 Words. The honorarium is £5. Submission Guidelines.
+ Seize The Press, ”Writers, please send us more fantasy! Particularly dark sword & sorcery, historical horror, grimdark, but anything you think falls under dark fantasy and all the weird stuff you can't truly pin down.”
Three pence GBP per word, max 7500 words. Submission Guidelines.
+ Swords & Sorcery is always open. Takes 1500 - 7500 words. Payment: USD 10. Submission Guidelines.
Thank you for reading to the end! If you like it, please share it with people you know who would dig it!
We will return at the end of October for more Sword & Sorcery News. Thank you for reading Just The Axe, Ma’am! —KB
That's such a shame about Howard. Even just on the most basic and selfish level, I was hoping there'd be a lot more Hanuvar to come.