One of my “whiff” moments in Flame and Crimson was failing to include a “seminal works” or a “suggested reading” list. So without further ado here are my top 25 sword-and-sorcery stories, by approximate publication date.
Some explanation.
Yes, they are dated, with nothing coming after 1981. I like a lot of new authors, but they don’t displace anyone on this list.
These are my favorite S&S stories that I return to again and again, not necessarily the “most important” or foundational.
These are in approximate order of publication, although some of the printings I am referring to (Imaro, Sailor on the Seas of Fate), contain stories that were written earlier. A couple of these are obviously not “stories,” but collections. But they can be read as such, and are strongly associated in my mind that way.
The first three stories are really proto sword-and-sorcery, but they tap the spirit of the genre and are among its direct spiritual predecessors.
Four Robert E. Howard, and four Fritz Leiber. Excessive? Perhaps. But these two are the best pure sword-and-sorcery authors in the cosmos, IMO. I can’t live without “Elephant,” “Red Nails,” “The Shadow Kingdom” or “Beyond the Black River,” the latter of which is arguably the finest story on the list. Although you can make a case for The Broken Sword. Some may not consider Anderson’s 1954 novel to be S&S, but I can’t bear to part with it.
As for Leiber, I think he hit his writing peak on “Stardock,” “Ill Met,” and “Bazaar,” but upon recent re-read of “The Snow Women,” I found Fafhrd’s origin story so rich and multi-layered and well done that I had to include it.
Clark Ashton Smith appears only once, and I could have included a few other of his amazing atmospheric catalog (“The Dark Eidolon,” among others) but he didn’t write a lot of S&S, and “Satampra” is everything I like about the genre. Just one by C.L. Moore, who again did not write a lot of S&S, but “Black God’s Kiss” is that good. I have a soft spot for Kuttner and “Dragon Moon” is probably his best.
I’m not a big fan of de Camp’s cynical posturing, but I have read and enjoyed The Tritonian Ring many times, and I think it captures the humor and whimsy and titillation found in certain corners of the genre.
Moorcock is uneven as a writer, but “The Dreaming City” and Sailor on the Seas of Fate are must reads, rich with atmosphere and imagination and the weird.
Three by Karl Edward Wagner is again a lot, but hey, I love the Kane stories. I called Bloodstone the Rosetta Stone of S&S in Flame and Crimson, and “Cold Light” and “Lynortis Reprise” are just bad-ass. Anderson makes his second appearance with “The Tale of Hauk.” I’m a fan of Norse mythology and the Sagas, and this tale is all about The Northern Thing. As is Drake’s “The Barrow Troll,” an extremely well done tale of action and horror.
I had many Vance tales to choose from but Chun the Unavoidable, unavoidably made his way onto this list. Terrifying villain/monster. And if you haven’t read any Imaro, what are you doing? Fix that pronto.
Thoughts? What are your favorites? Post them here.
1. Eric Brighteyes, H. Rider Haggard
2. The Sword of Welleran, Lord Dunsany
3. The Ship of Ishtar, A. Merritt
4. The Shadow Kingdom, Robert E. Howard
5. The Tale of Satampra Zeiros, Clark Ashton Smith
6. The Tower of the Elephant, Robert E. Howard
7. Black God’s Kiss, C.L. Moore
8. Beyond the Black River, Robert E. Howard
9. Red Nails, Robert E. Howard
10. Dragon Moon, Henry Kuttner
11. Liane the Wayfarer, Jack Vance
12. The Tritonian Ring, L. Sprague de Camp
13. The Broken Sword, Poul Anderson
14. The Dreaming City, Michael Moorcock
15. Bazaar of the Bizarre, Fritz Leiber
16. Stardock, Fritz Leiber
17. Sailor on the Seas of Fate, Michael Moorcock
18. Ill Met in Lankhmar, Fritz Leiber
19. The Snow Women, Fritz Leiber
20. Cold Light, Karl Edward Wagner
21. Bloodstone, Karl Edward Wagner
22. Lynortis Reprise, Karl Edward Wagner
23. The Tale of Hauk, Poul Anderson
24. The Barrow Troll, David Drake
25. Imaro, Charles Saunders
6 comments:
You know I consider "The Snow Women" one of the wose things Leiber ever wrote. I would gladly replace it with say "Thieve's House" or any of the stories in Swords Against Death really. I have no problem with "Ill Met" or "Bazaar of the Bizarre" both I think was Leiber at his best. "Stardock" I liked but I don't know if I would consider it one of my top 25.
Of course, everyone has different tastes.
Ha! Love that reaction, Matthew. I know that Leiber's origin stories are not particularly popular, and most consider them lesser to his earlier material. "Thieves' House" is amazing. The atmosphere and horror in that one is without parallel. The D&D thieves' guild owes it everything.
There was something about The Snow Women however that did it for me--Fafhrd's father buried under the floor of the house, the stifling matriarchy, his need to break away from conformity, Leiber's skillful portrayal of barbarism vs. civilization (very nuanced, barbarism is far from romanticized here). Fritz was attempting a lot in this story, it was ambitious, how well he pulled it off is another matter.
I can see what you mean about civilization vs. barbarism. Though it still is not my favorite story.
To be clear a lot of stories on the list are would be my list of favorites as well. I might exchange one of the Kane stories on the list for "Under Tow." I also consider Eric Brighteyes more proto-sword and sorcery than pure sword and sorcery. If that's considered acceptable I might have included other works I consider proto-S&S like "Wings in the Night" or "Worms of the Earth." Though the list is already overloaded with Howard.
Agreed Matthew. I also should have made room for at least one Fox novel—Kothar or Kyrik, take your pick. Pastiche? Sure. But a lot of fun.
Man, "Cold Light" is brutal. It just drips with moral ambiguity. It so successfully blurs the line between hero, antihero and villain that you really don't know who's who.
Interesting list, by the way.
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