Category: Content Posts
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Sharper than Steel, Colder than Death
by Robert Rhodes in Issue 156, January 2025 “They said I should be a hero. They said I could be a king. But all I wanted was to see the sunrise on your face. Every morning, Eleni …” He whispered those words, my lifelong friend—my blood-brother—Petyr Smith, and I was close enough to hear each…
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Sonja, Sex, and the Armour Bra
A few thoughts on Gail Simone’s Red Sonja: Consumed by Bryn Hammond in Issue 156, January 2025 [this essay has spoilers only for the sex scenes] In Sword & Sorcery, I crave grungy women of the barbarian type: women as convincingly uncivilized as Conan. Red Sonja – blustery, crude, smelly – certainly has potential to…
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A Ritual of Thieves
by Malcom North in Issue 155, December 2024 “The moon never lies,” the shrouded man whispered to himself. He studied his mark and made a small gesture with his left hand toward the night sky, acknowledging his lunar guide before putting on a black glove. The moon’s cold light reflected on the white marble columns…
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A Blackened Shield
by Jay Requard in Issue 155, December 2024 He knew something was amiss when they did not take him right to the feast hall, but to the sunlit halls of the east wing, where only the royal family lived. The chamberlain opened the door to a room off the main hallway. A serene warmth inside,…
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The Iron Bells of Xylinthia
by Jeffery Scott Sims in Issue 155, December 2024 Latia, hereditary Ruhtinatar of the island demesne of Xylinthia, was beloved by her people for her youthful beauty and her mild, just ways, yet her subjects would scarcely have known her this day. Perched imperiously as possible on her simple satin-cushioned throne in the small receiving…
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The Eighth God
by Matthew Ilseman in Issue 154, November 2024 1 It is said that the gods are Seven in number, but in Zeliaka it is whispered that the gods are Eight. – Salahan the Sage Obbo Karonga ran through the serpentine streets of Zeliaka. As he ran his turban fell off revealing his shaven black skull.…