The Just The Axe Ma'am Holiday Gift Guide Special!

For the curious newcomer to the discerning sword & sorcery fan who has everything.

Santa Nigoliath : You better be NICE!

by RubusTheBarbarian used under the Creative Commons License.

Season’s greetings! With the recent resurgence of Sword & Sorcery attracting the interest of people outside the community these past few months, it seemed like it was appropriate to put together a curated Holiday Gift Guide to introduce curious newcomers to what’s going on in the genre right now or for the fans who think they have everything…

Anthologies

A Book of Blades 1 & 2, ed. Matthew John & Logan Whitney, Rogues in the House Presents

Within these tomes are buried the blades of warriors, thieves, and wizards. Tales of daring and adventure, of dark sorcery and bloody combat’. Their deeds, glories, and triumphs shall ring throughout the ages.

Rogues in the House Podcast has gathered the best tales of Sword & Sorcery from across the community.

Here, brave adventurers will find stories lovingly crafted from Heroic Fantasy greats such as Howard Andrew Jones, John R. Fultz, and John C. Hocking. At their side are up-and-coming genre authors Chuck Clark, T.A. Markitan, Cora Buhlert, and many more.

Volume II has returning authors John R. Fultz, Jason Ray Carney, and Charles Clark and are joined by new additions like J. Thomas Howard, Bryn Hammond, and the legendary Kirk A. Johnson. Journey across distant, unremembered lands with these and many more!

Includes artwork from various artists, including Morgan King, director of Spine of the Night, and Sara Frazetta, granddaughter of the Legend himself!

Buy through the publisher Rogues in the House Presents by clicking here.

Blood on the Blade, ed. Jim Beard & John C. Breuning, Flinch Books

They are mercenaries, wanderers, soldiers, and oftentimes barbarians. They are usually for hire, though some simply seek justice for its own sake. They wield swords, axes and other weapons forged from cold steel and honed to a deadly edge that will inevitably bear the stain of their enemies, some earthly and others beyond mortal ken.

And above all, they loathe sorcery.

BLOOD ON THE BLADE chronicles the adventures of these savage yet noble warriors as they stand against conjurers and spellcasters who practice dark magic in their pursuit of power, their lust for fortune, and their demonic desire to watch the world burn. And when it all unfolds, you have a front-row seat for the mayhem and carnage.

Herein you will find stories by ten luminaries of fantasy fiction: Cliff Biggers, Adrian Cole, Anne Marie Lutz, Paul R. McNamee, James A. Moore, D.M. Ritzlin, Charles R. Rutledge, Frank Schildiner, Steven L. Shrewsbury, and James R. Tuck. Each of these scribes reaches back to long-ago times and distant lands to weave visceral tales of epic adventure.

Join them on their quest to bring you the very best in sword and sorcery!

Available on Amazon in ebook and paperback.

Shared World & Khyber, Chadwick Ginther, GMB Chomichuk, Jonathan Ball, and Jamie Gillespie.

A home to reavers and rakes, sorcerers and slayers, undead king and undying things—expanding a page at a time in the stories added by its authors.

In the Once Lands, a lineage of sorcerous wayfinders work to keep godlike monstrosities locked behind the crumbling walls of cursed cities by allowing the vengeful ghosts of forest gods to inhabit their living flesh.

In the wild wastes, tribes of cannibal huntresses fight to balance the old ways and new in a struggle to keep their culture alive by trading in death.

In the sprawling city of Khyber, ambitions dance on sword edges while clans of thieves and reavers clutch at power.

Welcome to Shared World.

Khyber collects all of Chadwick Ginther’s groundbreaking Shared World stories in a new collection, plus new works presented for the first time in paperback.

“Unflinching in its violence, seasoned with humor…” —Brian Murphy, author of Flame & Crimson: A History of Sword & Sorcery

Buy Shared World directly from the publisher here.

Buy Khyber directly from the publisher here.

Sorghum & Spear: The Way of Silk and Stone ed. Sheree Renee Thomas, Outland Entertainment

A new world of wonders and adventures awaits you in this highly original anthology of bold tales inspired by Dedren Snead's remarkable Sorghum & Spear. Here, celebrated and emerging writers take you on a journey of the imagination, one filled with imperfect heroines reaching for new horizons, dark, distant forces breaking through the veil of time, and those seeking love, sisterhood, and community. From sunlit savannahs to the rolling fields of bright-stemmed sorghum to sharp-edged cliffs and lush, green mountaintops, The Eternal Realm unfolds a mysterious map of memory and legends. But don't worry if the ground shifts beneath your feet, for some people were born to fly!

Buy through MV Media here.

Swordplay ed. Dan Brereton, Allison Pang & James A. Moore, Storytime Books
Thirteen Tales of Sword & Sorcery!

Mixing classic with unconventional approaches, SWORDPLAY collects into a single volume a group of tales you've never experienced while retaining a familiar feel all fans of the genre will recognize.

Lending their considerable talents toward tales of blades, battles, necromancers, sorceresses and lethal creatures, thirteen writers celebrate the genre while enhancing and expanding the range and scope of Sword & Sorcery.

Available as ebook, paperback and hardcover at Amazon.

Swords in the Shadows, ed. Cullen Bunn, Outland Entertainment

It was an age of adventure. An age of sorcery. An age of unrelenting horror. Sword and sorcery and pulp horror go hand-in-hand. Sinister enchanters working foul magic. Hideous beasts lurking in shadowy dungeons. Blasphemous elder gods uncoiling from forgotten and forbidden temples SWORDS IN THE SHADOWS features twenty-one stories with a bloody stake driven into the heart of both the horror and fantasy camps. Herein, you will find fantasy worlds, brave warriors, fabulous creatures, wondrous magic. But you will also uncover bloodcurdling chills, spine-tingling horror, and an examination of those things that truly terrify.

Available as ebook, and trade paperback directly from the publisher.

Art Books

The Fantastic Worlds of Frank Frazetta, ed. Dian Hanson, Taschen Books

Frank Frazetta has reigned as the undisputed king of fantasy art for 50 years, his fame only growing in the 12 years since his death. His high energy oils of Tarzan, Conan, Vampirella and his signature Death Dealer define not just fantasy worlds, but the bodies that occupy them: fleshy, muscular, tactile and sensual. Winner of the 2023 Eisner Award for Best Archival Collection.

See more and order directly at Taschen here.


Classics Revisited

Milton Davis, Changa’s Safari Collected Edition, MV Media

In the 15th century on the African Continent a young prince flees his homeland of Kongo, vowing to seek revenge for the murder of his father and the enslavement of his family and his people. He triumphs over the slavery and the fighting pits of Mogadishu to become a legendary fighter and respected merchant.

From the Swahili cities of the East African Coast to the magnificent Middle Kingdom of Asia, Changa and his crew experience adventures beyond the imagination. Changa will not rest until he has fulfilled his promise to his family and his people. The anchors are raised and the sails unfurled. Let the safari begin!

Changa's Safari Special Edition is 600 pages of non-stop Sword and Soul action, adventure and artwork.This tenth anniversary special edition of Changa's Safari contains entire series; Changa's Safari, Changa's Safari Volume Two, Changa's Safari Volume Three and Son of Mfumu. It also contains a gallery of color and black and white illustrations from all four books, in addition to special commissions.

Order directly through the publisher here.

Michael Moorcock, The Elric Saga, and The Citadel of Forbidden Myths, Gallery/Saga Press

In one of the most well-known and well-loved fantasy epics of the 20th century, Elric is the brooding, albino emperor of the dying Kingdom of Melnibone. With Melnibone’s years of grandeur and decadence long since passed, Elric’s amoral cousin Yrkoon sets his eyes on the throne. Elric, realizing he is his country’s best hope, must face his nefarious cousin in an epic battle for the right to rule.

Elric of Melnibone is the first in Michael Moorcock’s incredible series, which created fantasy archetypes that have echoed through the genre for generations.

In Volume 2, after defeating his nefarious cousin and gaining control over the epic sword, Stormbringer, Elric, prince of ruins, must decide what he’s willing to sacrifice in a fight against Armageddon.

In Volume 3, after coming into an unnatural, devastating power that felled his enemy Yrkoon and destroyed an entire city, Elric is haunted by the many deaths he caused and sets out on a quest for redemption and renewed purpose.

Elric is on the hunt for the great Citadel of Forgotten Myths while traveling through the remnants of his empire with his tragic best friend Moonglum, as Elric seeks the answers to the nature of the phroon of The Young Kingdoms. Citadel of Forgotten Myths takes place between the first and second book in the Elric Saga

The beautiful, vivid illustrations bring new life to the story and are sure to captivate fans, new and old.

All three volumes of The Elric Saga and Citadel of Forgotten Myths available through the publisher here.

Brian Murphy, Flame & Crimson, Pulp Hero Press

Little did then-obscure Texas writer Robert E. Howard know that with the 1929 publication of “The Shadow Kingdom” in the pulp magazine Weird Tales, he had given birth to a new and vibrant subgenre of fantasy fiction.

Sword-and-sorcery went from pulp obscurity to mass-market paperback popularity before suffering a spectacular publishing collapse in the 1980s. But it lives on in the broader culture and today enjoys a second life in popular role-playing games, music, and films, and helped give birth to a new literary subgenre known as grimdark, popularized by the likes of George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire fantasy series.

Flame and Crimson: A History of Sword-and-Sorcery provides much-needed definitions and critical rigor to this misunderstood fantasy subgenre. It traces its origins in the likes of historical fiction, to its birth in the pages of Weird Tales, to its flowering in the Frank Frazetta-illustrated Lancer Conan Saga series in the 1960s. It covers its “barbarian bust” beneath a heap of second-rate pastiche, a pack of colorful and wildly entertaining and awful sword-and-sorcery films, and popular culture second life in the likes of Dungeons & Dragons and the bombast of heavy metal music.

Available as Kindle and Paperback through Amazon

David C. Smith, Oron, Wildside Press

The Original Sword-and-Sorcery Epic in a New, Author-Approved Edition!

Oron the Wolf, a barbarian outlander, rises to become a commander in the army of General Amrik of Salasal. But the young fighter is meant for greatness far above military service. He is the Na-Kha, the legendary figure fated to confront an evil from the dawn of Time—the demon Kossuth.

The Wolf gains a throne when he rescues Princess Desdira, the rightful ruler of Neria, from armed nobles who have turned against her. But becoming a king means that Oron must confront the brutal Amrik. The general has earned a kingdom of his own and now wishes to conquer Neria with the aid of Kossuth, who is poisoning the land with plague and darkness. To face these enemies, Oron will accept his destiny and prepare for a confrontation with elemental evil that could throw the world into anarchy.

Available again for the first time since its original appearance nearly 50 years ago, this classic of the sword-and-sorcery genre comes to you in a text completely refreshed by the author.

“Mythological, cosmic, and epic!”
—Jason Ray Carney, PhD

Buy directly through the publisher here.

Comics & Graphic Novels

Barbaric, volume 1 & 2, Michael Moreci (Writer), Nathan Gooden (Artist, Cover Artist), Addison Duke (Colorist), Jim Campbell (Letterer), Vault Comics

Owen the Barbarian is under a witches' curse to make amends for his murderous past. His bloodthirsty talking Axe is his moral compass. And he'll do whatever it takes to do good, even it if it means cleaving a few skulls even if it means helping a witch.

OWEN THE BARBARIAN HAS AN AXE. AND HE'S GONNA DO GOOD WITH IT IF HE HAS TO KILL SOMEONE.

Owen the Barbarian has been cursed to do good with what remains of his life. His bloodthirsty weapon, Axe, has become his moral compass with a drinking problem. Together they wander the realm, foredoomed to help any who seek assistance. But there is one thing Owen hates more than a life with rules: Witches.

Welcome to the skull-cracking, blood-splattering, mayhem-loving comic brave enough to ask: How can a man sworn to do good do so much violence? Hah! F***ing with you!

Find out what everyone is buzzing about and screaming BLOODY murder! It’s just … BARBARIC!

When a foe from Owen's past returns, he embarks on a bloody mission to succeed where he once failed and kill a malevolent demigod. Which suits Axe just fine, considering he hasn't gotten drunk on god blood yet! Meanwhile, Owen's former barbarian comrade, now a timid vampire, gets cold feet about a life of violence. But in the world of BARBARIC, where orcs, giant spiders, and devil bats roam the land, and doing good is full of gore, is there any other way?

Order Volume 1: Murderable Offenses through the publisher here.
Order Volume 2: Axe To Grind through the publisher here.

Black Beth: Vengeance Be Thy Name, Alec Worley (writer) Blas Gallego, DaNi (artists), Rebellion/2000AD

In a world of swords and sorcery, the evil tyrant Rassau discovers that he is destined to be killed by a fearsome warrior called Beth. Together with his men, Rassau seeks Beth out, destroying her village and killing all held dear to her. With the aid of a former warrior – the blind Quido – Beth becomes a skilled fighter and sworn enemy of all that is evil! She will not rest until her people are avenged!

This book contains both the original strip and the brilliantly resurrected stories that have been masterfully guided by writer Alec Worley and DC Comic's newest star, the astonishing Greek artist, DaNi!

Order directly through the publisher here.

Heathen, The Complete Series: Natasha Alterici (Writer, Artist, Colorist, Cover Artist), Ashley A. Woods (Artist), Morgan Martinez (Letterer), Rachel Deering (Letterer), Vault Comics

SMASHING THE PATRIARCHY – Viking Style!

WOMAN. WARRIOR. VIKING. HEATHEN. OUTCAST. THE GODS MUST PAY… Born into a time of warfare, suffering, and subjugation of women, and exiled from her village for kissing another woman, the lesbian Viking warrior, Aydis, sets out to destroy the god-king Odin and end his oppressive reign.

Aydis is a viking, a warrior, an outcast, and a self-proclaimed heathen. Aydis is friend to the talking horse Saga, rescuer of the immortal Valkyrie Brynhild, and battler of demons and fantastic monsters. Aydis is a woman. Born into a time of warfare, suffering, and subjugation of women, she is on a mission to end the oppressive reign of the god-king Odin.

Order directly through the publisher here.

Novels, Novellas, and Single Author Collections

Marie Brennan, Waking of Angantyr, Book View Cafe

Bondsmaid. Berserker. Bane.

Hervor is no stranger to hardship. Not only is she a reviled bondsmaid, but she’s haunted by the ghosts of dead men. When a berserker fit turns her into a murderer, she has nothing left to lose: fleeing everything she’s known, Hervor goes to find a new future and a way to silence the past.

Her quest will take her from the viking seas to the depths of a witch’s forest, from frozen mountains to a king’s golden hall. But the road ahead is no less bloody than the one behind, and the foul magic Hervor fears most is the only thing that can lay her ghosts to rest.

They say when you seek revenge, you should dig two graves, but Hervor might be able to get away with one. Because the voices of the dead are getting stronger . . . and her greatest enemy may be herself.

Order ebook or paperback directly through Book View Cafe here.

Cora Buhlert, Kurval: The Plain of Shadows, Pegasus Pulp Publishing

Long before Kurval became King of Azakoria, he was a guard captain in service to the tyrannical King Talgat of the land Temirzhan beyond the sea.

One day, Talgat orders Kurval to escort the condemned witch Aelisia to the Plains of Shadow and behead her, so her blood may feed the dark gods who dwell there.

Kurval does not want to execute the sentence, once he learns that Aelisia is innocent of the crimes of which she has been accused.

But if he lets Aelisia go free, Kurval will not only have to face the wrath of Talgat but also the fury of the dark gods who dwell upon the Plains of Shadow.

The new sword and sorcery adventure by Hugo award-winning Cora Buhlert and her occasional alter ego, 1930s pulp writer Richard Blakemore. This is a novelette of 9800 words or approx. 33 print pages in the Kurval sword and sorcery series, but may be read as a standalone. Includes an introduction and afterword.

Order directly through the publisher here.

Chase A Folmar, Frolic on the Amaranthyn, Sable Star Press

Through lands awash in dark secrets and half-forgotten truths, the duo Uralant and Emrasarie wield swordsmanship and seduction alike in the pursuit of fortune and precious coin.

But when a failed ploy for riches leads them to a city seduced beneath the thrall of ancient and malevolent sorcery, they unwillingly become entwined in the schemes of a nightmarish zealot and his own search for guarded treasures.

...and the deeper they continue to delve, the more the two come to realize they are little more than pawns against powers far greater than anything they could have ever imagined.

Available as ebook and as a paperback through Amazon.

John R Fultz, Worlds Beyond Worlds, DMR Books

“Fultz has rapidly matured into a major fantasist.” —Laird Barron, Author of Black Mountain

“This is fantasy of the Dunsany, Smith and Vance school, where breathless wonders spill off the page in spendthrift profusion.” —John Hocking, Author of Conan and the Emerald Lotus

Worlds Beyond Worlds collects 11 fantasy tales published during 2010 to 2020, most of them set in various imaginary worlds of wonder. From dark fantasy to sword-and-sorcery, heroic fantasy to weird history, here is a magic bagful of mystic trips and fantastic adventures. Avenging warriors defy the grip of death, wizards wander between the worlds, and savage hordes storm the gates of elder cities. Weird sorcery twists the fabric of reality, strange creatures run wild, and swords ring like thunder in the storm of battle. Eleven unforgettable excursions into the boundless realms of weird fantasy.

Ebooks and Paperbacks available through Amazon.

Kirk A, Johnson, The Obanaax, Far Afield Press

"The Obanaax" is a collection of two novelettes and two short stories that take the reader on a journey to the world of Aaduna on the great northern continent of Mbor. This novel's imaginative sword and sorcery world, influenced by several West African languages, sets this book apart from other stories explored in this genre. These narrative elements, naming conventions, and heart-pounding prose makes "The Obanaax" an adventure that will ignite a passion for exploring this undreamed-of new world far beyond the last page has turned. These tales from far afield will introduce to you the adventurous derring-do of those unaccustomed to the monstrous chaos of the unnatural and, at times, its alien desires. An epic for those willing to brave far and away from the world we know.

Order directly through the publisher here.

Howard Andrew Jones, The Chronicles of Hanuvar, Baen Books

A VAST EMPIRE'S GREATEST FOE. A CONQUERED PEOPLE'S LAST HOPE. HIS NAME IS HANUVAR, AND HE WILL SET HIS PEOPLE FREE!

In Lord of a Shattered Land, The Dervan Empire has at last triumphed over Volanus, putting the great city to the torch, its treasures looted, temples defiled, and fields sown with salt. What little remains of Volanus is scattered across the empire, its wealth plundered and its survivors sold into slavery. It is an absolute victory for the Dervans in every way but one.

Hanuvar, last and greatest general of Volanus, still lives. He now travels the length of the Dervan Empire that conquered his homeland, driven by a singular purpose—to find what remains of his people who were carried into slavery across the empire, and free them from subjugation by any means necessary.

Against the might of a vast empire, he had only an aging sword arm, a lifetime of hard-won wisdom, and the greatest military mind in the world, set upon a single goal. No matter what the empire musters against him, no matter what man or monster stands in his way, from the empire’s festering capital to its furthest outposts, Hanuvar would find his people, every last one of them.

And he would set them free.

In City of Marble and Blood, Hanuvar had pledged to find the remnants of his people, scattered into slavery across the whole of the peninsula. This time he had no army to help him. His would be a stealthy war of liberation, buying the freedom of some and arranging for the escape of others, aided only by a young playwright, the daughter of a hated political rival, the tattered remnants of his old spy network, and the unlikeliest ally of all, the general who had once defeated him.

Arrayed against them were the mighty legions, the sorcerous Revenants, and the wily Metellus of the Praetorian guard, ever alert to seize advantage. To add to their troubles, someone was drawing unwanted attention to the helpless Volani slaves by murdering influential Dervans and leaving the sign of the sacred Eltyr corps beside their bodies. Someone who might well be Hanuvar’s lost daughter, who’d fought her way from captivity and was even now being hunted through the countryside.

Worst of all, a magical attack had left Hanuvar with a lingering curse that might change him forever . . . or lead him to an early grave.

Lord of a Shattered Land is available through the publisher here.
City of Marble and Blood is available through the publisher here.

Sarah Macklin, Bride of the River God, Dancing Star Press

Anene is chosen as her generation's bride to the river god Nniro - but when she arrives in the world of the gods, instead of a welcoming groom, she finds Nniro with his heart ripped out of his chest. While she had never wanted to marry a stranger, god or no, Nniro's death could threaten the river her village depends on, and thus the life of everyone she knows and loves. With nothing but her own determination to guide her, she sets off on a quest to restore Nniro's heart.

Macklin has created a magical world of strange creatures and capricious gods, where a young woman can discover what she is truly made of.

Order directly through the publisher here.

Sylvia Moreno-Garcia, The Return of the Sorceress, Subterranean Press

From the bestselling author of Mexican Gothic comes a magical novella of revenge and redemption.

Yalxi, the deposed Supreme Mistress of the Guild of Sorcerers, is on a desperate mission. Her lover and confidant seized her throne and stole the precious diamond heart, the jewel that is the engine of her power. Yalxi sets out to regain her magic and find a weapon capable of destroying the usurper. But this will mean turning to unlikely allies and opening herself up to unpleasant memories that have been suppressed for many years. For Yalxi is no great hero, but a cunning sorceress who once forged her path in blood—and must reckon with the consequences.

Set in a fantastical land where jewels and blood provide symbiotic magical powers to their wearers, The Return of the Sorceress evokes the energy of classic sword and sorcery, while building a thoroughly fresh and exciting adventure ripe for our era.

Ebook available through the publisher here.

Scott Oden, The Grimnir Saga, St. Martin’s Press

To the Danes, he is skraelingr; to the English, he is orcnéas; to the Irish, he is fomoraig. He is Corpse-maker and Life-quencher, the Bringer of Night, the Son of the Wolf and Brother of the Serpent. He is Grimnir, and he is the last of his kind—the last in a long line of monsters who have plagued humanity since the Elder Days.

Drawn from his lair by a thirst for vengeance against the Dane who slew his brother, Grimnir emerges into a world that’s changed. A new faith has arisen. The Old Ways are dying, and their followers retreating into the shadows; even still, Grimnir’s vengeance cannot be denied.

Taking a young Christian hostage to be his guide, Grimnir embarks on a journey that takes him from the hinterlands of Denmark, where the wisdom of the ancient dwarves has given way to madness, to the war-torn heart of southern England, where the spirits of the land make violence on one another. And thence to the green shores of Ireland and the Viking stronghold of Dubhlinn, where his enemy awaits.

But, unless Grimnir can set aside his hatreds, his dream of retribution will come to nothing. For Dubhlinn is set to be the site of a reckoning—the Old Ways versus the New—and Grimnir, the last of his kind left to plague mankind, must choose: stand with the Christian King of Ireland and see his vengeance done or stand against him and see it slip away?

Scott Oden's A Gathering of Ravens is a novel of vengeance, faith, and the power of myth.

Now, Grimnir is back to fight for his survival in Twilight of the Gods.

It is the year of Our Lord 1218 and in the land of the Raven-Geats, the Old Ways reach deep. And while the Geats pay a tax to the King in the name of the White Christ, their hearts and souls belong to the gods of Ásgarðr. But no man can serve two masters.

Pledging to burn this Norse heresy from the land, famed crusader Konráðr the White leads a host against the Raven-Geats, using torch and sword to bring forth the light of the new religion. But the land of the Raven-Geats has an ancient protector: Grimnir, the last in a long line of monsters left to plague Miðgarðr. And he will stand between the Raven-Geats and their destruction.

Aided by an army of berserkers led by their pale queen, Grimnir sparks off an epic struggle—not only against the crusaders, but against the very Gods. For there is something buried beneath the land of the Raven-Geats that Odin wants, something best left undisturbed. Something the blood of the slain, Christian and pagan, will surely awaken.

The third and final book, The Doom of Odin, releases December 19, 2023.

All three books available through the publisher here.

Dariel Quiogue, Track of the Snow Leopard

Track of the Snow Leopard features five savage tales of Orhan Timur, the gray-eyed wanderer known and feared as the Snow Leopard. From an enchanted palace lost in time to a haunted temple-city, to robbing an Emperor's tomb for the keys to an immortal army to a hunt for a demon tiger to finding a lost world beneath the snow-clad Drokpa Mountains, Orhan Timur swashbuckles and slays through a world filled with hostile forces and magics in the classic pulp sword and sorcery style.

Also includes the bonus story, “The Lions of Malakkaria.”

Available as an ebook and paperback through Amazon.

David C. Smith, Sometimes Lofty Towers, Pulp Hero Press

“This Will Be a Quick War”

Twenty years ago, Hanlin and Thorem fought side by side as mercenaries in the Border Wars, hired by rich landowners and the settled business interests to push the western frontier farther into lands held by the westlings—the kirangee, the People, who have lived there for untold generations.

Now the business interests intend to encroach still farther on the territory held by the People. Hired by the wealthy Lady Sil of Tidon to assist in this enterprise, Thorem cannot convince Hanlin to join him on another campaign. Following the earlier battles, Hanlin had gone to live with the kirangee, learned some of their ways, married a kirangia woman—and has no interest in making war against them again.

But Hanlin’s and Thorem’s destinies will nevertheless become entangled once more as both are drawn back to the frontier that saw their earlier glories—and failures.

David C. Smith, recognized for a career spent writing sword-and-sorcery and weird fiction, here offers an insightful, often brutal modern novel that vividly brings to life the ferocious wills and dark hearts of the skilled mercenaries and the redoubtable kirangee. The People will raise the sorcery of their ancestors to defend their land at all costs, but Lady Sil will not be deterred, for as Thorem tells his old friend, “As mothers breed sons, the sons breed war.”

Available as ebook and paperback through Amazon.

Thank you everyone for reading this far. We hope you found something to give to someone, even yourself. We will be back with our regularly scheduled newsletter, Just The Axe Ma’am #4, on November 30th.