Swordsmen from the Stars by Poul Anderson

“Thus “Tiger by the Tail” remains enjoyable while “Witch of the Demon Seas,” it’s running mate from the very same issue of Planet Stories, is mercifully forgotten.” — Sandra Miesel from her afterword in Agent of the Terran Empire by Poul Anderson (1980)

While I agree that the “Tiger by the Tail” (introducing Captain Flandry of the Imperial Naval Intelligence Corps) is a superior story, I’m pleased that “Witch of the Demon Seas” has not been forgotten. It’s one of the stories included in Swordsmen from the Stars and I found it quite enjoyable. (Miesel's afterword in Agent of the Terran Empire is a history of Anderson's Flandry character and is really good by the way.)

Swordsmen from the Stars (DMR Books, 2020) collects three early sword & planet stories by Poul Anderson. The cover art is by Allen Anderson who provided most of the covers for the pulp magazine Planet Stories where these tales first appeared.

Witch of the Demon Seas (4/5)

(Planet Stories, January 1951)

A sorcerer and his daughter offer a captured pirate his freedom if he leads an expedition in search of an amphibious race. I liked the characters and enjoyed the balance of world building and action. As the quote above mentions, Anderson had two stories in this issue. He used a pseudonym for this one. This story reminded me of another one of my favorite authors, Leigh Brackett. 

The Virgin of Valkarion (3/5)

(Planet Stories, July 1951)

On a dying world with dry canals a barbarian rides into a city and becomes involved with a prophecy. Lots of sword play but this one felt very generic, and I didn’t really care for any of the characters. I’m glad I read it, but I found it to be the least interesting compared to the other two. 

Swordsman of Lost Terra (5/5)

(Planet Stories, November 1951)

Earth has stopped rotating leaving half in permanent light and half in permanent darkness. After a blight hits their lands, a group of Scots-like barbarians head south. They encounter a horde from the Dark Lands and a besieged city. My favorite of the three stories, an excellent mix of action and world building that felt epic. This one felt the most like a Poul Anderson story.

The worlds from the first two stories aren’t named but based on the clues Anderson provides it seems that “Witch of the Demon Seas” is set on the oceans of Venus and “The Virgin of Valkarion” is set on a dying Mars.

As Poul Anderson is one of my favorite authors, I’m glad I got the chance to read these early stories and that they were collected under a cover by Allen Anderson. I'll finish with a link to short essay about the artist which includes an interesting story and clickable gallery of his art.

Allen Anderson: Pulp Art Legend — DMR Books

Books I Read in January 2024

 Ghost stories, vintage science fiction, and some cosmic horror this month.

The Ghost Stories of Edith Wharton (Wordsworth Editions, 2009)

As I mentioned in an earlier post, this was my first time reading anything by Edith Wharton and I was blown away. Beautiful prose and deeper themes than I was expecting from ghost stories.

Agent of the Terran Empire by Poul Anderson (Ace Books, 1980)

This consists of three short stories and a novella from the 1950s about Captain Flandry of the Imperial Naval Intelligence Corps. It's labeled Book 3, but it collects the earliest written stories. There’s also an essay by Sandra Miesel that gives an overview of the character. Flandry is a suave rogue who works to stop the collapse of the Terran Empire, what he refers to as “The Long Night.” He’s a little like James Bond (Flandry came first though) who eventually travels with the alien Chives, a character who very much reminds me of Jeeves from the Jeeves and Wooster stories by P. G. Wodehouse. You can really see Anderson’s growth as a writer in these stories. 

Swordsmen from the Stars by Poul Anderson (DMR Books, 2020)

This collects three sword & planet pulp stories that originally appeared in Planet Stories in 1951. I enjoyed the first one, thought the second was pretty generic, and loved the third one. More detailed review to come. 

The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories by H. P. Lovecraft (Penguin Classics, 2011)

I read this a few years ago and re-read some of the stories this month for Cosmic Horror January. Lovecraft is hit and miss for me but when he’s good he’s really good. This time I read from an edition that includes annotations from Lovecraft authority S. T. Joshi. I didn’t read every note but those that I did were fascinating and added to my enjoyment of the stories. 

The Complete Cthulhu Mythos Tales by H. P. Lovecraft (Sterling Publishing, 2015)

I also read parts of this for Cosmic Horror January. I had read about half the stories before and read the rest this month. This is a beautiful hardbound edition with an introduction by S. T. Joshi. 

Future Reading 

Now that I’ve read all of Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos stories, I’ll be reading some Mythos stories by other authors including Robert Bloch, Neil Gaiman, and Caitlín Kiernan.