Musings on a Witch World and What Survives

A few years ago I discovered Andre Norton's Witch World series and it's pretty good stuff.  She wrote seventeen books so I still have a lot to read, but I'm really looking forward to them.  Fortunately, they're all pretty short by today's standards, so they got that going for them. 
   They really deserve to be better read than I think they are these days.  I was surprised to see so few comments on Matthew David Surridge's review of the first novel at Black Gate the other day.  With my review today of Three Against the Witch World and the Appendix N stuff about her books over at Tor.com maybe she'll get a little more reader love.

   I think the biggest problem they have is their name - Witch World.  It's all a little twee.  If "witch" only brings to mind Margaret Hamilton or Margaret Murray, you might not think Norton's books will be the exciting, slightly pulpy heroic fantasy (yeah, they start off sort of sword & planet, but that kind of fades away) that they are.  
   And they really are a blast.  C. J. Cherryh's introduction to the excellent Lore of the Witch World describes how every valley has something new, behind which lies something else which is linked to the deep history of the Witch World.  That only hints at the depth of creation Norton brought to the series.

  As with so much of what I've read in S&S, I have to thank the late Lin Carter my entree to Witch World. He managed to get a new Witch World story for Flashing Swords #2, "Toads of Grimmerdale", and it's great.  I don't think if I had read that first story I would be writing about her now.  Dead twenty-five years and Carter's still garnering new readers for writers he loved.

   I wonder if there's still a place for the Witch World books in this day and age.  For all its success, I don't think the series ever developed quite the critical cachet of Moorcock's Eternal Champion cycle and definitely never achieved the cultural critical mass of Tolkien.

   In fact what's the fate of all these mid-level fantasy series of the past forty years?  Will anyone hunt down Katherine Kurtz's Deryni books in twenty years?  How about Raymond Feist?  What about all the blatant Tolkien, and let's call them homages to be nice, books that sold well, like Terry Brook's Sword of Shannara or anything by Dennis L. McKiernan?

  Every year there's a new series started and of course that's what gets the attention.  Let's admit to ourselves, most genre fiction, good as it is, is disposable.  It's like pop music, rising up and reflective of its times, and then fading away from the larger public awareness.  Most of the times it's like Foghat, fun but nothing special.  The good stuff is like Deep Purple, and it's awesome.  But if no one ever hears it again, things will go on.
   It's the same thing with fantasy fiction.  We all find books that catch us in certain ways or at certain times.  They might even become our favorites even though no one else has even heard of them.
   And for anyone keeping track, I did make a Yes playlist for this week's Black Gate post.  It leaned heavily on Relayer and Going for the One.  I'm writing about the month's short stories next so I think I'll just put the Zune on shuffle.

Musical Musings About Kane

   I'm easily distracted when I'm writing.  Now that I have a deadline over at Black Gate that's a serious problem.  Ill discipline is one of my greatest flaws at all times.

   Knowing that, I've stripped the games most obsessing me lately off my home computer.  I'm also forcing myself onto a steady schedule.  Read, write, let the luminous Mrs. V. proof/edit, then rewrite, repeat.  So far so good.

   One problem is, I'm the sort of person who leaves the tv or radio on when I'm reading.  I like some sort of background sensory stimulation.  Too often I find silence more distracting than tv.

    One of the things I do when I write is make a playlist I and let it go.  Which meant for this week's Night Winds article old school Sabbath and non-acoustic Zeppelin (except for "Gallows Pole" which really fit the mood).  Seems sort of obvious now that it's done.  Electric Funeral and When Levee Breaks were part of a perfect soundtrack for Wagner's stories.

   I'm not sure, but I'm thinking Yes for Andre Norton's Three Against the Witch World.  And, yes, I know my choices betray my age.

Bloggin' at the Gate

  Providing my writing doesn't turn away readers in droves, I'm going to be blogging Tuesday mornings at Black Gate.  At lot of what I've been doing here I'm planning to transfer there, particularly my reviews of new heroic fantasy short stories.  I'll also being doing my usual promotion of the best of classic S&S.  Some other stuff too, though it's all a little vague still.  Here's hoping it all works.
   I don't plan to stop posting here.  I'm not sure how that'll work as I'm a poor steward of my time and resources.  Still, I hope to keep things in motion.  It could happen.

Swords and Sorcery Magazine #19

   Sorry I'm so late reviewing this month's issue of Swords and Sorcery Magazine.  It did come a little late but it's September now and this should have been up at least a week or two ago.   Continuing to publish solid stories, both of the August issue (#19) are good.  The first, "Fisherman and Old Cloot" is by DC Harrell.   It opens as a folk-tale, complete with a once-upon-a-time setup with lines like "Those few who did dwell" and sounding as if being conveyed by spinner of stories.  It quickly switches from twice-told-tale mode to standard third-person before returning to folk-tale mode.   Old Cloot is a Nessie type monster living in the deepest parts of a lake surrounded by high peaks and cut off from much of the world.  Like the fisherman of the title's sons, we learn the elaborate legend of Old Cloot from a cattleman.  Containing a saint, a magic bridle, and a monster that changes shape into a horse, it wouldn't surprise me if it appeared in a collection of Scottish fairy tales.   Dubious of the existence of Old Cloot, the fisherman comes face to face with the monster one morning.  Contending with the monster's sudden appearance is only the beginning of the terrors the man must face.  The result of his struggle against the beast is something completely unforeseen and devastating.
   Harrell avoid the pitfalls I've found common in such mock folk-tales.  Too often they succumb to tweeness or are smothered by unaffecting pseudo-archaic language.  "The Fisherman and Old Cloot" doesn't and I definitely wouldn't throw it back into the lake.

   Garnett Elliott's "Winter Exodus" is actually a swords & sorcery story.  Young Gecerix leaves his father's royal chamber only to return to find his father overthrown and pinned to his throne with his own spear.  The teenager, his mother and the few retainers who remain loyal to him are cast out into the cold night.  With few supplies they face death at the hands of the cannibalistic Skrae or from exposure and starvation.  

   Driven to seek sanctuary in a haunted tower, Gecerix finds himself tempted by a mysterious, dark figure.  Called Eilu, the dark figure, with words and visions, weaves a tale of an ancient world warm and lush.  Great cities and towers stood where only ruins now remain.  If only Gecerix will do a certain service for it the dark figure will restore that world for the exiled prince and his followers.  The young man's reactions are the heart of "Winter Exodus".

  It's a good story, though a found the end a little rushed.  The sudden ending turns what could have been a great stand alone story into one that feels like the opening pages of a much longer story.  Sometimes that works for me, but here it jarred the story a little too much.  Instead of being great it only ended up be pretty good.
   So there's another month and another two stories by authors I've never read before.  Based solely on these two stories I'd give both another go.   

Vacation and New Books

  The luminous Mrs. V. and I just got back from a nice roadtrip through the South.  Mostly it was just driving around checking out some utterly beautiful scenery.  If anyone every asks why you'd go to Arkansas, tell them it's because it's gorgeous.  I'm still debating whether the mountains of Arkansas or West Virginia are prettier.  

 We only had a few specific destinations in mind and managed to hit all of them.  The first was the Perryville battlefield in Kentucky. I get so much out of walking the hills and fields of the places I read about and experiencing a 3-D reality to then apply to the maps and narratives.

   Perryville's an interesting and pivotal, if somewhat less well known, battle.  It was actually a little difficult to picture nearly 40,000 men fighting and dying over the bucolic green hills.  The visitors' center is well done and the presentation did a good job explaining a confusing conflict.

   The next planned stop was the Laura Ingalls Wilder Home in Mansfield, Missouri.  My wife is a major fan of the Little House books (and assuredly not the tv show).  When we traveled to Montana a few years ago we visited numerous Little House locations.  I'm not a particular fan but all site we've visited provided me great insights into the pioneer life of the nineteenth century.

   Our final historical destination was the Chickamauga battlefield in north Georgia.  Being one of the last major Civil War battlefields I haven't been to, this was my trip highlight.  

   Chickamauga was the only major victory the poor Army of

Tennessee managed to win over its various Union opponents. Strategically it led nowhere.  In fact, Union general Rosecran's defeat led directly to the introduction of U.S. Grant and W. T. Sherman to the region and the stunning defeat of Confederate general Bragg at Chattanooga a few months later.

   We also, really only as an afterthought, revisited Gettysburg on the second to last day of driving home.  We got there after the visitors' center closed so we just did the auto-tour.  I've been there twice before but it was the first time I drove up Culp's Hill.  There, we climbed the observation tower.  The vista was stunning and helped reinforce the difficulty of communications and simply seeing things across the battlefield.

   We did see other things (including Mammoth Cave, and Luray Caverns) but the above were the definite highlights.  If you never have, you need to get in your car and just travel around this country.  There's just so much to see and so many people to meet.  

   I just ordered and downloaded the new Morlock book, Wrath-Bearing Tree, by James Enge.  I still need to read the last one but hopefully soon.

   I also got the The Soul Within the Steel and Deathwind of Vedun, the last two books in T. C. Rypel's (and the man who called me an archaeo-bibliophile) Gonji series.  I think the first is next on my to-read list.

   Finally I've ordered and paid for Deepest, Darkest Eden, edited by Cory Goodfellow.  I was hoping to find it in my mailbox when I got home but no such luck.  As you can see it's got an amazing cover.  It'll look great alongside my copy of The Last Continent from a few years back.

   Swords & sorcery may not be as prominent as it was in the past, but dang, there is an overwhelming amount of great writing going on.  I really am going to try and stop buying anything new for the next few months so I can catch up a little bit.

Swords and Sorcery Magazine #18

   Good and eh in this month's issue of Swords and Sorcery Magazine.  Still, for something you get for free and the writers barely get paid for, you can't go wrong devoting a half hour or so of your life to reading Issue #18's pair of stories.  In fact, if you want to support S&S as a genre you should feel obligated to read the magazine.

   "Skullwitch" is by returning S&S Magazine alumna, Rebecca L. Brown.  Her previous stories, "The Open Pouch" (S&SM #10) and "Shadow of Ragnarok" (S&SM #8), were both fine pieces.  The only real action in either story is psychological.  "Skullwitch" is in the same vein, contemplative and a little moody.

   Brown's story is about a young man named Jaten and the prophecy about his life delivered by the Skullwitch, the town seer. At his birth she told his father, "Lasseus, we name your firstborn Jaten. Raise him well and he will make you proud. His first kiss will be given to a maiden's lips - and it will be her very first kiss and her last."   
   Faced with this prediction about his future, Jaten is unable to court the girl he loves from afar.  Burdened by fate he hates and curses the Skullwitch.  How the prophecy unspools is the heart of the story.  Again, Brown's not writing S&S here, but she is writing good stuff.

   Ivan Ewert's "The Fate of Donaldo" is a Lovecraftian Dream Landeques (really, more Lumleyesque) S&S story.  A daring thief named Faisha snipes a job offer out from under a another thief.  With a story of past daring and a quick sword, she convinces the sorcerer Vornak to hire her to deface the sanctuary of another wizard, Donaldo, and if present, steal from him a vial of mystical drug.  

   On its on the story's alright, I just never felt like the Dream Lands elements were really more than purposeless chrome.  The references to Leng and the Hounds of Tindalos were really just distractions.  There's also some clunky writing.  The opening paragraphs read: 

   "The gibbous moon shone upon the streets of Dorath Vur, her visage pierced by the great minarets which clawed hungrily toward the jewels of the stars. 

   Dorath Vur! City of greed, whose streets ran equally with filth and spices, coin and offal - Dorath Vur, the sweetly perfumed groin of the world. Its winds blew from the south and the sea this night, carrying the clean tang of salt waves and the sickly scent of beached idolfish alike, and through the winding harbor alleys stalked Faisha of Adorann."  
   It's all a little too purple, a little too much.  Still, there's a decent adventure in the story and a nice  bit of goofy detail at the end.  
   So that's the July issue of Swords and Sorcery Magazine.  Not the best magazine out there, but one which keeps chugging along.  Looking back at the last year and half of stories it's carried there are several really good ones.  Mr. Ellett really needs to be commended on supporting and publishing short fiction in a genre dominated by back breaking tomes.  
    

Heroic Fantasy Quarterly Issue 17 - Review

   Arriving via the interweb a few weeks late, Heroic Fantasy Quarterly #17 is hands down the best showcase for new S&S short fiction around.  I haven't been reviewing Beneath Ceaseless Skies as frequently as in the past because it's been running mostly sci-fi the last bunch of issues.  Sticking true to its title, HFQ remains focused on, well, you know, heroic fantasy.  Again, it's a fine collection of rip roaring action, moody dark adventure and some poetry.

   Charles Gramlich's a man whose blog I read regularly but till now I've never read any of his fiction.  Well, that's changed and I know I'm going to track some of his other work down in the future.  Gramlich's "A Whisper in Ashes" opens the issue with a jolt of suspense followed by fire and blood.  The warrior Krieg, whilst traveling, comes across the remnants of a viking-style funeral ship.  From the direction of the burned ship's remains comes a trail of footprints.  The footprints, "small and slender, such as those made by a woman", lead to a beheaded and eviscerated bear.  The trail leads to a small walled town, a lord, his dog and his spaewife.  What follows from there is mayhem, wolf-fu and firey mayhem.  Gramlich's writing is clear and direct.  He creates a world reeking of that northern thing that doesn't feel like just one more retread.

   J. Kathleen Cheney's "The Nature of Demons" slows the pace down a little with a darker story of a man hunting a demon across the northern reaches of his country in the company of a tribal shaman.  Driven by personal tragedy, Doctor Antris, has tracked a demon who, until the story opens, has only made his way into women's beds with illusion and left unwanted children in his wake.  Now he has left a woman dead.  Cheney's story is a detective story set against a terrible past event, imminent winter and a rising apprehension on Antris' part that for all his years of hunting he really doesn't know the true nature of what he's seeking.

   Issue #17's last story is a blackly comic tale of faked identity and terrible witchcraft in ancient Japan.  "Jiro" is Peter Fugazzotto's first published story and it's a ball.  

   Failing to make his way in the world as an actor, Jiro steals a suit of armor with the intention of using it to convince villagers to pay him for protection and slip off in the night.  He hopes to make it back to the dull safety of his parents' pickled vegetable stand.

   From the his first encounter after putting on the suit of armor nothing goes right for Jiro.  An old man named Nardo sees through his disguise immediately.  The first town he stops at to try and con doesn't face mere bandits but a witch.  Finally, even the villagers and the witch plaguing them is more than Jiro anticipates.

   Finally come the HFQ poems.  The first, Don Quixote's Quandry by Colleen Anderson, is alright.  The second, "The Death of Conwynn the Wild-Eyed" by Colin Heintze, is a great piece on the fleeting nature of martial success particularly in a world of ever repeating warfare.

   Once again the estimable editors of HFQ have put together a great issue.   I BCS gets some more fantasy out in the next few issues.  In the mean time I'm planning to review the July and August issues of Swords and Sorcery Magazine together.  So keep reading and supporting the publishers and writers of quality S&S short fiction.