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| SFReader Forums > Book, Magazine, and eZine Publishers > Flashing Swords > Flashing Swords Issue 3 | Forum Quick Jump
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jonesha
Forum Moderator
      
Date Joined Jun 2004
Total Posts : 655
| Posted 7/5/2005 7:41 AM (GMT -4) |   | ...it's live folks. I am thrilled to hear of such intense interest!
I think you'll be mightily pleased by what you find in this issue and look forward to your comments. Please, if you like what you find, let us know, and do post so the authors can see what you think.
Spread the word, and
Swords Together!
www.swordandsorcery.org
Best,
Howard
Managing Editor
www.swordandsorcery.org
Flashing Swords E-Zine | | Back to Top | | |
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Red Viper
Acolyte
Date Joined Mar 2005
Total Posts : 439
| Posted 7/5/2005 9:51 AM (GMT -4) | | Excellent editorial, Howard, a battle cry to all who hunger for sword-and-sorcery. Swords together, indeed!
I can't wait to get started on the huge feast of stories in Issue 3. Can we hope for such banquets in future editions?
Red Viper, aka Steve Goble | | Back to Top | | |
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Daniel
Carl Jung's Waterboy
Date Joined Aug 2003
Total Posts : 4515
| Posted 7/5/2005 10:04 AM (GMT -4) | | Great editorial, Howard. And the fiction lineup looks ... awesome!
Swords together!!
Daniel
www.pitchblackbooks.com | | Back to Top | | |
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PaulMc
Adept
Date Joined May 2005
Total Posts : 989
| Posted 7/5/2005 10:09 AM (GMT -4) | | I third the praise for the editorial. Here's to the New Edge!
-- Paul McNamee | | Back to Top | | |
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Supr
Neophyte
Date Joined Apr 2005
Total Posts : 107
| Posted 7/5/2005 11:12 AM (GMT -4) | | | Yeah, Swords together, Howard! Greatest news - time for celebration! | | Back to Top | | |
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Kuroboshii
Shogun
Date Joined Apr 2004
Total Posts : 543
| Posted 7/5/2005 11:36 AM (GMT -4) | | | | |
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RyanHarvey
Artikon of the Fourth Spire
Date Joined Jan 2005
Total Posts : 58
| Posted 7/5/2005 11:42 AM (GMT -4) | | Yes, the editorial will get everybody's blood pumping!
Good job, Howard.
What outrageousness! What arrogance! I salute you.
Ryan Harvey
Associate Editor at www.swordandsorcery.org
www.RealmOfRyan.com | | Back to Top | | |
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Bruce Durham
Crom's Administrator & Drinking Buddy
Date Joined Jan 2005
Total Posts : 605
| Posted 7/5/2005 1:32 PM (GMT -4) | | | | |
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Jay Stevol
Neophyte
Date Joined May 2005
Total Posts : 154
| Posted 7/5/2005 3:11 PM (GMT -4) | | | Looks like a good issue. The essay was excellent; really exciting to see so many people that share my same enthusiasm for real S&S. Stories look good. But where's Harold Lamb? | | Back to Top | | |
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Flint
Neophyte
Date Joined Jan 2005
Total Posts : 59
| Posted 7/6/2005 1:08 AM (GMT -4) | | I agree with all of the above comments about the editorial--I can hear the cries as the battle-flag is raised. Look at all of those flashing swords, keen and bright; each with a new edge.
I was immediately impressed with the content of this issue and for me it is a clear demonstration of the enthusiasm on both sides of the publication. In Issue 2 I reviewed each story individually and picked out what I liked or made it special for me. I do this because I get more from the stories and because I imagine the authors would like some feedback. I'm not an S&S specialist--as has become clear to me as I read these boards--but I am a reader and I know what I like and why I like it.
I've only read the first story so far so...
***************CONTAINS SPOILERS******************
Web of Pale Venom
John C. Hocking
I was a fan of John Hocking's story in Issue 2 and so I had a good idea of what to expect with this; I wasn't disappointed.
As far as I can tell the fact that S&S is JCH's chosen field is simple good luck for me and anyone else who enjoys this genre. I have no doubt that he could be just as comfortable writing detective stories in a foggy Victorian city--I've mentioned this before and it's a feeling which appeared again with this tangled tale.
Right from the first few words I was in cinema mode: "The knife flipped end over end..." and within seconds I could see Lucella leaning on the fence in all of her tough beauty. How do I know she's a beauty when there's no obvious description? There are hints throughout but JCH doesn't need to be obvious. I know she has good looks but I also know she's got a grip like iron and the calluses to match.
Then there's Kel; he's not a wimp but then he's not a tough guy either--I like that. As far as picturing him goes I vary, one minute he's in the long robes of the stereotypical librarian(whoops, archivist)and the next he's looking a bit cool. How can you have a dagger in a sheath in the small of your back and not be cool? And here I think I've hit on one of JCH's strengths with S&S--he seems to avoid stereotypes in both characters and storyline.
This brings me on nicely to the villain of the piece: the spider. It took a while for me to realise that was what the creature was; the build up had an ominous, supernatural feel for me: "Something like a bundle of sticks..." Wonderful when I thought back to it after identifying the creature. You may notice I call the spider "The villain" and not "The Monster" and that is very deliberate as I'm sure it was for JCH. This could easily have been another giant spider story, let's face it we've all read a few, but it ends up being so much more. The spider has brains and knows how to use them; that's where the tension and sense of "what next" comes from. Couple that with some inspired imagery: "many-jointed legs heaved convulsively and the spider flipped neatly onto its feet." and you have a really dramatic situation. I also got a sense of horror from one particular image: "Eight eyes like clumps of black onyx fixed on me." For whatever reason that really worked for me and I truly got a sense of malicious intelligence there. It reminded me of a story about killer snails I once read by Patricicia Highsmith: Blank Claverengia(or something like that). The terrible intelligence was more frightening than the creatures themselves. Now I've mentioned horror here but it is not overwhelming, and in my opinion it shouldn't be; this is S&S. The byplay between the characters creates a sense of excitement and humor which does not detract from the tension, but maintains the derring-do of S&S--I would have been amazed if either of the main characters had been killed. And less than happy!
The extra twist of the other villain and the spider surviving the knife wound are, from what I can tell, classic examples of JCH's efforts with a tight and involving plot. There's a lot more I could say but I'll save some of my comments for his next story. I wonder when a book of JCH's short stories will be released?
I must get a copy of "Conan and The Emerald Lotus"
Thanks
Flint
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Daniel
Carl Jung's Waterboy
Date Joined Aug 2003
Total Posts : 4515
| Posted 7/6/2005 5:38 AM (GMT -4) | | Flint, thanks for your detailed and enthusiastic feedback!
Daniel
www.pitchblackbooks.com | | Back to Top | | |
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jonesha
Forum Moderator
Date Joined Jun 2004
Total Posts : 655
| Posted 7/6/2005 8:11 AM (GMT -4) | | Thank you all for your compliments and enthusiasm, and thank you, Flint, for that detailed review.
Red, to answer your question, I'd love to jumbo-size FS every issue. That size comes courtesy of me selling a tale to <i>Black Gate</i>. While I do hope to keep selling fiction, what I'd like even more is to see Pitch Black products take off like a rocket so we run on profits from Lords of Swords, Sages of Swords, and future goodies.
So spread the word! I would love to double the size! I would love to pay the authors more money for their work! I'd love to quit my day job and just do this! Man, if you like FS and swordandsorcery.org now, just think what I could do if I could focus every day's work on the site instead of cramming time for it in around the edges...
Now I must resubmerge to tackle some work deadlines and then write a slew of e-mails about submissions that I read over the last week.
Best,
Howard
Managing Editor
www.swordandsorcery.org
Flashing Swords E-Zine | | Back to Top | | |
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Red Viper
Acolyte
Date Joined Mar 2005
Total Posts : 439
| Posted 7/6/2005 10:30 AM (GMT -4) | | Well, I'll keep spreading the word ... and I'll write Black Gate a letter DEMANDING more Howard Andrew Jones stories!
Red Viper, aka Steve Goble | | Back to Top | | |
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erazmus
Master
Date Joined Jul 2005
Total Posts : 4474
| Posted 7/6/2005 11:10 AM (GMT -4) | | Steve,
Even better, buy the magazine! Encourage others to buy it, give subscriptions away as Christmas presents! I've never sold a story to John O'Niell at Black Gate (and congradulations, Howard!) though I came close. I do think, however, that Black Gate is one hell of a publication that's right on the edge of going mainstream and its the best chance for any of us to see S&S back on the news stands.
Right now I see about every other issue on one of the magazine shealfs I regularly inspect here in Colorado Springs. Usually not the same rack, it varies. If Black Gate's numbers were to increase it would make it easier for John to get distributors to show a bit more interest in it.
I'll admit that regular stories from Howard could help. And if Mr. O'Niell would buy the next thing I send him well, that would be sure to push him over the top.[;)] Just make sure everyone you know who'd like what he has to offer knows about it.
Mike
Michael D. Turner
"Psyched Up" in _Turn the other Chick-ed. E. Friesner-Baen books | | Back to Top | | |
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John Hocking
The Olde Prospector
Date Joined Jun 2004
Total Posts : 144
| Posted 7/7/2005 9:31 AM (GMT -4) | |
I've only read the first four stories in "Flashing Swords' #3, but the issue is already full of Sword & Sorcery goodness in styles ranging from stately and elegant to outrageously intense.
C.L. Werner's tale is so lit up with passionate intensity it all but blazes off the page and burns your eyes out. Beware, if Sword and Sorcery is "spicy" reading, then this story is a Habenero pepper.
'The Covenant', by Stires, would have fit well in a 1930's issue of 'Weird Tales' and packs a broad, mythic level of fantasy into short, lucidly told tale. I enjoyed the savor of Clark Ashton Smith, Lord Dunsany and E. A. Poe.
C.J. Burch's 'Two Fools Make a Tragedy' is a surprise, doing a great many things very well. The editor praises the dialogue and characterization, which are indeed pretty damn good. But I was taken by the smoothly integrated depiction of the aged, isolated city and (especially) the show-stopping sword vs. sorcery battle at the climax. Fans of Sword & Sorcery will have read any number of scenes in which people armed with edged weapons go up against someone with supernatural powers. Burch shows that this archetypical conflict can still pack a punch by vividly imagining the battle down to the details and writing it with a blunt immediacy that puts the reader in the action. Don't miss it.
I'll get to the rest shortly.
Hey Flint, thanks for the (very) kind words.
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Daniel
Carl Jung's Waterboy
Date Joined Aug 2003
Total Posts : 4515
| Posted 7/7/2005 9:49 AM (GMT -4) | | While I do hope to keep selling fiction, what I'd like even more is to see Pitch Black products take off like a rocket so we run on profits from Lords of Swords, Sages of Swords, and future goodies.
***
This is in fact the best way to increase the frequency and/or size of Sword and Sorcery/Flashing Swords E-zine.
Remember if you love heroic fantasy and want to see it come "back" in a big way -- that buying the Lords of Swords anthology from your local bookstore, asking for it at your local library, generally talking about it to your friends and cohorts is the single best way to send a message to retailers that you heroic fantasy and sword and sorcery fans are alive and kicking!!!
Pitch-Black has a good chance of wheedling a market share on your local bookstore shelves for the kind of fantasy you love and want, and at a price you can afford, with the best stories available, but we can't do it alone. We need all of you to spread your enthusiasm as far and as wide as possible. Start blogging, talking,and buying whenever possible. We want to make as big of a statement with our first antho as we can. To ensure that we will be publishing more anthos, more writers, and future classics of heroic fantasy.
Believe me, if we build it, they will come. Or as some sharp sword around here said, if you publish it, they will buy.
Let's prove it's true. We need your help now, as we approach retail launch, more than ever.
Swords together!
Daniel
www.pitchblackbooks.com | | Back to Top | | |
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Supr
Neophyte
Date Joined Apr 2005
Total Posts : 107
| Posted 7/7/2005 9:51 AM (GMT -4) | | Howard, you wrote in your editorial:
quote:
To set aside the sexism
I agree, it's bad thing that women are not equal with men when it's about payment for their job etc.
But sexism is also when you use the woman as a toy. And I think that such kind of sex for joy is the thing that makes difference between S&S and fantasy.
Lemme tell you: I won't give up writing about quite hard sex.
BUT I'm always saying: I have nothing against using men as toys by women [8D] | | Back to Top | | |
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Daniel
Carl Jung's Waterboy
Date Joined Aug 2003
Total Posts : 4515
| Posted 7/7/2005 10:32 AM (GMT -4) | | 'The Covenant', by Stires, would have fit well in a 1930's issue of 'Weird Tales' and packs a broad, mythic level of fantasy into short, lucidly told tale. I enjoyed the savor of Clark Ashton Smith, Lord Dunsany and E. A. Poe.
***
Nicely done, Christopher. A bit of a surprise to me, the lyricism in this well-told tale. I, of course, have read The Inheritance, plus a couple of your scorching horror tales (one I published for FMAM) and though you've accomplished your usual heart-throbbing threshold of terror here, you managed to please my poetic side this time, too.
Loved the E.A.P. echo, as John mentions.
Daniel
www.pitchblackbooks.com | | Back to Top | | |
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ChristopherS
Storyteller & Gifted Liar
Date Joined Jan 2004
Total Posts : 61
| Posted 7/7/2005 6:04 PM (GMT -4) | | Thanks Daniel and John. I appreciate the kind words. I've written two more tales about the Crusader (the stories appeared in Pirate Writings and Fantastic: Stories of the Imagination). He is the only character I've written more than one story about. Anyway I have possible ideas for a couple more stories about him and his quest. We'll see what happens.
Chris
www.zumayapublications.com | | Back to Top | | |
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PaulMc
Adept
Date Joined May 2005
Total Posts : 989
| Posted 7/8/2005 7:24 PM (GMT -4) | | quote:
Originally posted by jonesha
...it's live folks.
Good to great stuff all around.
I've already commented on Hocking's tale and the editorial.
might be a spoiler here or there, so you've been warned ..
The White Wyrm, by C.L. Werner
A no-holds-barred tale of adventure and vengeance from the pen of the creator of Brunner and Mathias Thulman. You want action? You want mayhem? Start a'reading right here!
Yup, the story is a'rollickin' and a'rollin'. I thought it could have used one more polish, though. (I found references to "Indians" to be anachronistic. Though told by the author, given that most of the story was from Wolf's p.o.v., he wouldn't have called them Indians. I don't know *what* he would have called them. The Vikings would/could have called them Skraelings ...)
The Covenant, by Christopher Stires
To win his love, one man is prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice.
No offense to any of the other contributing writers, but this one really stood out, to me. It was a haunting vignette, devoid of action but so ripe with atmosphere you could nearly taste it. A great piece of writing.
Two Fools Make a Tragedy, by C.J. Burch
Idealists, fools, or merely the mad--who can say? Aduux and Kouer spring to life in their debut tale of wizardry, vengeance, and fleeting victories.
Interesting tale, love the toothy birds, interesting duo.
The Demon War, by S.C. Bryce
The Gray Mist finds himself in the midst of demonic machinations. But is he ally, or pawn?
We learn a little more about the Desert Elf (the last?), his blue sword and there are some very well described visions of a desert hell that is the demons' world. A different piece for this issue, I liked it.
End of Duty, by Joe McCullough V
Joe McCullough's Stevan the Targeteer strides into action on a midnight mission.
Short and to the explosive point!
Raven's Eye, by Jay Caselberg
She'd been stalking the men for days, and sooner or later Illiana knew they'd have to let down their guard...
A bit too direct for me, but nothing wrong with that. The story was solid enough.
The Catacombs of Dharwataqan, by Bruce Durham
This time all Dalacroy has to do is find the book in the catacombs. Too bad they'll kill him when he gets it.
I like this even more than "Marsh God". I wasn't expecting such a twist on the Golem/Gorgon legend. Very inventive. But if Dalacroy keeps picking up a companion per story, he'll have an entourage to match P. Diddy [;)]
-- Paul McNamee | | Back to Top | | |
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erazmus
Master
Date Joined Jul 2005
Total Posts : 4474
| Posted 7/8/2005 8:10 PM (GMT -4) | | Paul,
If Bruce can give us enough Delacroy stories to do it, I'll suffer through reading about his entourage.[;)] nice review!
Mike
Michael D. Turner
"Psyched Up" in _Turn the other Chick_-ed. E. Friesner-Baen books
www.baen.com | | Back to Top | | |
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Supr
Neophyte
Date Joined Apr 2005
Total Posts : 107
| Posted 7/10/2005 3:06 PM (GMT -4) | | Howard, I think the more folks know the better. That's why:
http://polter.pl/wiesci/5082-Flashing-Swords-nr-3.html | | Back to Top | | |
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Flint
Neophyte
Date Joined Jan 2005
Total Posts : 59
| Posted 7/11/2005 12:07 AM (GMT -4) | | ************CONTAINS SPOILERS************8
The White Wyrm
By C L Werner
I’ve been meaning to write my comments about this story for about a week but my time is short. As a result, I’m not going to be able to go into as much detail as before but please don’t take this as a reflection on the author or story.
A short response could be that I thoroughly enjoyed this story from start to finish. The action at the beginning was very vivid, as were the characters: “troll-like figures…” A nice variation on the normal viking image—it made me thing of the Valhalla stories in the old Thor comics. The scene that I really enjoyed was the deck of the ship awash with battle being joined—an excellent introduction to the hero.
I wasn’t sure about Wolf clinging to the dragon-head in full armour but I just put that down to the epic feel of the tale. Once things got going I thought the storyline had a very strong Howard feel to it—I’m not suggesting it was a copy, but I definitely felt some influence there. That’s a good thing as far as I’m concerned. It was late when I started reading but I couldn’t put it down until I’d finished it. I count myself as fortunate that I didn’t suffer nightmares about poor Malinche’s fate—an excellent touch because of its effect on the overall mood of the story. The ending was clever and memorable with the epic battle with the beast and the avenging hero.
I’d be a lot more specific if I had the time but I would honestly love to read more of this kind of thing from C.L. Werner. Superb setting and characters but I think the story was a particular strength.
More Please!
Flint
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Bruce Durham
Crom's Administrator & Drinking Buddy
Date Joined Jan 2005
Total Posts : 605
| Posted 7/11/2005 3:28 AM (GMT -4) | | quote:
Originally posted by PaulMc
But if Dalacroy keeps picking up a companion per story, he'll have an entourage to match P. Diddy [;)]
-- Paul McNamee
Heh. They're currently looking for a good, solid bass player. [:)]
No more additons to the entourage in #3. Thanks for the kind words, Paul, Mike.
-------------------------
Admin: Community Forums for the Official Site of Conan the Barbarian
Contributing Editor for Flashing Swords. The leading edge in fantasy: Guaranteed Oprah Free!
Moderator for Paradox Interactive Games AAR and Fanfiction Forums
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Bruce Durham
Crom's Administrator & Drinking Buddy
Date Joined Jan 2005
Total Posts : 605
| Posted 7/11/2005 3:30 AM (GMT -4) | | | | |
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