Tag: Review
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Review: David C. Smith’s -Sometime Lofty Towers-
by Anthony Perconti in Issue 161, June 2025 I have been aware of David C. Smith and his relation to the sword and sorcery community for some time now. Aware, but truth be told, not familiar with his work. Sure, I remember those Red Sonja paperbacks, rocking those Borris Vallejo covers. I associated Smith with…
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Robert E. Howard: The Life and Times of a Texas Author – A Review
I recently received a copy of Robert E. Howard: The Life and Times of a Texas Author by Willard M. Oliver [University of North Texas Press, 2025], at the author’s request. I found it an enjoyable and fascinating read, well worth my time. I would recommend it to any reader with an interest in Robert…
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Review: Hurled, Headlong Flaming or the Bishop’s Tale
by Anthony Perconti in Issue 159, April 2025 Matt Holder’s Hurled, Headlong Flaming is the inaugural offering from Spiral Tower Press’ Keen Blades imprint. Keen Blades’ mission statement is “to expand the boundaries of what sword and sorcery can be.” Bold statement, to be sure. Once I read the novella’s synopsis, coupled with that (utterly…
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Double-Edged Sword and Sorcery: Review
by Anthony Perconti in Issue 158, March 2025 One of the things I find compelling about the modern renaissance in sword and sorcery fiction, is way that some authors have shifted their focus away from traditional Eurocentric settings (or fictional analogs thereof). Hey, it’s a wide swath of human history, why not set adventures in…
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“Old Knucklebone” by PJ Atwater: A Review
by Curtis Ellett I first encountered Old Knucklebone when PJ Atwater queried me about whether I would be interested in it for Swords & Sorcery Magazine as I had published several of his stories previously. My answer was no, the story is too long, but I would be happy to read it. I am very…
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Why the “X Has Fallen” film series is (and isn’t) Swords and Sorcery in a suit, and why it would be better if it went the whole way
by Joel Glover in Issue 148 You may be familiar with the film franchise I will refer to as “has fallen”. Gerard Butler, in his final hurrahs as a borderline A-list action star, combines with glass-of-milk with cheekbones Aaron Eckhart and the ghost of good performances by Morgan Freeman in this land of the free,…