Six books this month.
Black Wings Has My Angel (1953) by Elliot Chaze
An escaped convict who served in WWII teams up with a woman on the run for the ultimate heist. The characters are flawed but fascinating. The prose is clear and elegant, the dialogue is sharp, and the story is haunting. One of the best crime noir novels I’ve ever read.
The Runestaff (1969) by Michael Moorcock
An exciting conclusion to the History of the Runestaff. As with the previous volumes the story is very fast paced. The book is divided into three parts and everything is set up for the final confrontation by the end of part two.
If I have a criticism, it’s that so many things happen and get wrapped up really, and I mean really quickly, in the last few chapters. On the other hand, it was a heck of a wild ride. I’m looking forward to reading more of Moorcock’s work.
Far Away and Never (1996) by Ramsey Campbell
This is a collection of sword and sorcery and fantasy stories by Ramsey Campbell, an author more well known for his horror stories.
One of the stories, “The Ways of Chaos,” is actually Campbell’s chapter of a round-robin novel based on a Robert E. Howard fragment. It didn’t do anything for me, probably because it’s part of a longer work. Three of the other stories are fantasy stories in the vein of Clark Ashton Smith. I found them to be a little wordy and obscure.
My favorite stories are the first four sword and sorcery stories featuring a wandering swordsman named Ryre. In each story Ryre has to use his wits to deal with something monstrous. These stories first appeared in the Swords Against Darkness paperback anthology series in the 70s. They were creepy and creative.
Night Winds (1978) by Karl Edward Wagner
This is a collection of stories about Kane, a wandering swordsman cursed with immortality. One of the things I really like about these stories is that they are all different. The first story kept me guessing until the very end, the second story begins with an interesting conversation which leads to all out adventure, the next two have different elements of gothic horror, the story after that is epic, and the last is a great example of travelers telling stories at an isolated inn. Another thing I liked is that all the stories have layers and interesting themes that become apparent once you get to the end. It’s all very well done. Every story is a standout.
My full review can be found here:
We Learn by Writing: Night Winds by Karl Edward Wagner
Bloodstone (1975) by Karl Edward Wagner
Kane the immortal swordsman comes across a mysterious ring. He learns that it’s part of a giant gemstone called Bloodstone, which controls a lost city from the stars. The city is now overrun by the Rillyti, devolved lizard men descendants of the original builders. Kane plays two sides against each other in an attempt to take control of the city. This was a wild mix of fantasy and science fiction with some great characters. I loved it.
Dark Crusade (1976) by Karl Edward Wagner
Kane deals with a deadly cult that has come to power and is storming the land. As in Bloodstone, Kane is manipulating various groups in order to come out on top. The book is well titled. Wagner was doing Games of Thrones-like grimdark stories in the 70s, folks. I learned from the Dark Crusade podcast that Wagner spent six months researching pre-firearm cavalry battles and it shows. The battles were thrilling. I enjoyed it but Night Winds is my favorite.
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