Books I Read in March 2026

Just one book and one comic collection this month

Arcane Arts and Cold Steel by David C. Smith (Pulp Hero Press, 2025)

I enjoyed David C. Smith’s Tales of Attluma so much last month (and which I still plan to post a longer review of) that I read his recent book on writing sword & sorcery. It begins with what sword & sorcery fiction is and what it is not and then does a deep dive on how to write sword & sorcery fiction using numerous examples from both classic and contemporary authors. It’s a gold mine of information. I learned a lot and I discovered quite a few authors that are new to me. Highly recommended for readers of the genre as well as aspiring writers. 

Conan the Barbarian Vol. 5: Twisting Loyalties by Jim Zub, Danica Brine, and Doug Braithwaite (Titan Comics, August 2025)

This collects issues 17-20 of Titan’s Conan the Barbarian comic. The four issues cover two okay stories, one in which Conan and Belit attempt to steal a Stygian artifact and one that takes place later in which Conan is being stalked by something through the jungle. Not my favorite of the run so far but still enjoyable. It was cool to see a character show up from the original Marvel Comics Run. 

Short Stories and Novellas I Read in February 2026

 All short stories and novellas this month. All highly recommended.

“Rider in the Widow Lands” short story by Coy Hall. (The Scythian Wolf, 2026. Available as an ebook)

A dark rider on a mysterious mission in an eerie land. By the end all is revealed. A tale just brimming with sword & sorcery atmosphere with vivid prose, interesting worldbuilding, and an ending that totally sticks the landing.

“Viy” by Nikolai Gogol (From The Collected Tales of Nikolai Gogol. Vintage, 1999. Story first published in 1835)

A philosophy student holding vigil over the dead body of a beautiful young woman in a remote church is terrorized by supernatural creatures. It has a slow buildup up but the wild supernatural events that begin happening towards the end make up for it. As soon as I finished reading, I watched the film adaptation from 1967.

Viy (1967) Directed by Georgi Kropachyov and Konstantin Ershov 

A faithful and well-done adaptation with some beautiful location shooting in Ukraine. Like the novella, it has a bit of a slow beginning, but it leads into a phenomenal latter half. The set of the church interior, the lighting, the color, the direction, and the practical effects during those scenes were all amazing and creatively done, especially for a film from 1967.

The Dolphin and the Deep by Thomas Burnett Swann (Ace Books, 1968)

This collects three fantasy stories of varying length. Each story mixes history and mythology in a way that I really enjoyed. 

Where is the Bird of Fire? by Thomas Burnett Swann (Ace Books, 1970)

Three more stories that deftly mix mythology and history. Swann has become a new favorite author of mine. I’ll be looking out for more of his work, and I’ll write more details about both books in an upcoming post. 

Tales of Attluma by David C. Smith (Pulp Hero Press, 2020)

Sixteen stories about sorcerers, warriors, demons, and gods on the island continent of Attluma. Fantastic stuff. Once again, I’ll post a longer review soon.

Books and Short Stories I Read in January 2026

Mostly short stories this month plus one book. 

The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammet (Vintage Crime/Black Lizard, 1989. Originally published in 1930)

This was a re-read. I enjoyed this just as much as I did when I first read it many years ago. A cynical mystery with interesting characters, some hardboiled dialog, and a plot that kept me reading. I plan to re-watch the 1941 film soon. 

Conan: Comrades by Brian D. Anderson (The Heroic Legends Series, Titan Books, 2025) 

A gritty and fast paced short story about Conan as a mercenary. It does a great job of showing what those who fight for coin deal with. The ending hits hard. 

Old Moon Quarterly: A Magazine of Dark Fantasy and Sword and Sorcery Issue #5 (Summer, 2023)

This is another great mix of dark fantasy/sword and sorcery stories along with some poetry. Highly recommended. I’ll post a more in-depth review soon. 

“Blood of the Gods” by Robert E. Howard 

(From El Borak and Other Desert Adventures, Del Rey Books, 2010. Originally published in Top Notch, July 1935)

It’s been a while since I read anything by one of my favorite authors, Robert E. Howard. As his birthday is on January 22, I wanted to read something by him, but I wasn’t sure what to pick at first. Then I remembered that author Scott Oden recently wrote on his Substack about what Robert E. Howard taught him about writing fight scenes. I learned a lot from it. In the article he analyzes the El Borak story “Blood of the Gods.” Here’s a link: Rivers of Crimson - by Scott Oden

I have the Del Rey collection of El Borak stories, so between the Scott Oden post and the book sitting unread on my shelf, “Blood of the Gods” was an easy pick. The stories are about an American gunfighter’s adventures in Afghanistan. He’s given the name El Borak (Arabic for “The Swift”) due to speed and quickness. 

In this story he races to the aid of a friend after learning that dangerous soldiers of fortune are seeking the friend and his treasure, the Blood of the Gods. The story is fast paced with lots of action right from the start leading to an excellent finale. While I wouldn’t rate it as high as most of Howard’s Conan or Soloman Kane stories, it’s an excellent pulp adventure story and I enjoyed it quite a lot. Looking forward to reading more of El Borak in the future. 

Books I Read in December 2025

 Noir, Christmas hauntings, and sword & sorcery for December. 

Double Indemnity by James M. Cain (Vintage Crime/Black Lizard, 2011. First published in 1935)

I first read this a few years ago and really enjoyed it. Tightly plotted and suspenseful with twists and some sharp prose. A masterpiece of crime fiction. I also highly recommend the 1944 film adaptation, which I wrote about in last month’s post. 

Film Noir: A Very Short Introduction by James Naremore (Oxford University Press, 2019)

A well-done and concise overview of film noir. I found the first few chapters more interesting than the last, but overall, this was an enjoyable and informative read.

Dark City: The Lost World of Film Noir, Revised and Expanded Edition by Eddie Muller (Running Press, 2021)

In this book author and noir scholar Eddie Muller looks at film noir as if it were a city, with each chapter covering a different theme or aspect. For example, “The Precinct” covers noir films about cops, “Shamus Flats” covers private eyes, and “Knockover Square” covers heists and holdups. It’s written in the style of hard-boiled novels and short stories which I found hit and miss and the text is tiny, but the book is loaded with behind-the-scenes info, photos, and movie posters. Also included are sidebars covering famous noir figures. Entertaining and quite informative.

Sunless Solstice: Strange Christmas Tales for the Longest Nights edited by Lucy Evans and Tanya Kirk (British Library Publishing, 2021) 

This is another great anthology of Christmas hauntings from the British Library Tales of the Weird series. I’ll post a full review soon.

Soloman Kane: The Lair of the Mari Lwyd by Shaun Hamill (The Heroic Legends Series, Titan Books, 2025)

This Solomon Kane story set during Christmas gives background on the character's Puritan beliefs and mixes sword & sorcery with Welsh folklore really well. What a fun read. 

Looking Ahead

I didn’t read or post as much as I had hoped to this year. Here’s to doing more in 2026!

Short Stories I Read in October 2025

Only two short stories this month.

Conan: Black Starlight by John C. Hocking (Titan Books, 2023) 

Originally serialized in twelve parts in Marvel’s Conan the Barbarian comic book in 2019, this story takes place between Conan and the Emerald Lotus, which I read last month, and Conan and the Living Plague. It's now available as a digital short as part of Titan’s Heroic Legends Series. This was a blast to read. A great cast of characters, Conan’s characterization is spot on, and the supernatural threats are chilling. An excellent combination of prose, pacing, and action. 

Grimnirsson by Graham Thomas Wilcox (Black Library, 2023)

Genseric, a dwarf berserker tired of war and now part of a group of free peoples, fights to stay in control after a group of Sigmarite Crusaders show up demanding supplies and fighting men. A story about oaths, chosen kin and found family, and the warrior's way. Genseric’s back story was interesting as was his relationship with the human Aoife and the action scenes were well done. On top of that, I really enjoyed the prose and the melancholic atmosphere throughout. 

Instead of reading I watched lots of movies this month. I'm not sure if that trend will continue next month or not. We'll see.

Books and Comics I Read for Cimmerian September 2025

Two books and two volumes of comics this month.

Old Gods and Other Tales by Scott Oden (Independently published, 2025)

I absolutely loved this collection of historical fiction, fantasy, and sword and sorcery tales, especially the historical fiction. I enjoyed some stories more than others but as a whole this was an excellent read. Look for a more in-depth review in the future. 

Conan the Barbarian Vol. 4: Frozen Faith by Jim Zub and Doug Braithwaite (Titan Comics, 2025)

This volume collects issues in which Robert E. Howard’s story “The Frost Giant’s Daughter” is expanded upon. Between savage battles and flashbacks to Conan’s childhood, we learn how he comes to believe what he believes regarding the existence of Crom and other gods. An excellent combination of story and art. 

The Savage Sword of Conan Vol. 2 by a variety of writers and artists. (Titan Comics, 2025)

This collects issues 4-6 of Titan’s black & white magazine-sized Savage Sword of Conan. Quite the mixed bag. Issue 4 includes one Conan story and five back up stories featuring other characters. Not much happens as each story is a prologue to Titan’s Black Stone crossover event. I enjoyed Solomon Kane by Patrick Zircher and El Borak by Ron Mars and Mike Perkins as they felt more like complete stories as well as prologues.

The high point for me was the story by Jason Aaron and Geoff Isherwood from issues 5 & 6 in which King Conan encounters a witch as well as a cult of witch-finders. I also enjoyed the prose fiction short story by Matthew John from issue 6.

Lots of great pin-ups, but the rest of the stories and art just didn’t connect with me.  So far Conan the Barbarian has been knocking it out of the park, but I’ve found Savage Sword to be pretty uneven, but I guess that’s to be expected with an anthology series. 

Conan: City of the Dead by John C. Hocking (Titan Books, 2024)

This collects two books, Conan and the Emerald Lotus (1999) and its long-awaited sequel, Conan and the Living Plague (2024). I didn’t get to the sequel, but I finished the first one. 

In Conan and the Emerald Lotus, Conan deals with sorcerers, the undead, and a monstrous plant. It takes a few chapters to get started as it introduces a number of characters, but once it gets going it’s a real page turner. I quite enjoyed Hocking's prose as it brought the Hyborian Age to life and Conan felt like Robert E. Howard's Conan. Looking forward to reading more of Hocking's work, which I'll definitely be reading some of next month.

Books I Read in August 2025

Besides the Arthurian Short stories I wrote about in my previous post, I read one book and two volumes of comics this month. 

A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs (Ballantine Books, 1979. First published in 1912)

I have very fond memories of A Princess of Mars. It’s one of the first paperbacks I bought at the local mall after reading all the Star Trek books I could find. I devoured it quickly and then jumped into the next two in the series. The wrap around cover by Michael Whelan is one of my all-time favorite book covers. It’s what got me to buy the book, and Whelan has been my favorite cover artist ever since. 

This didn’t wow me as much as it did the first time I read it in my teenage years. John Carter is too good at everything he does, there are too many coincidences, and more than a few ideas are outdated. But even with its imperfections it's still an enjoyable read. While the world building often gets in the way of the story, the world of Mars/Barsoom and many of its characters are quite imaginative. Sure, part of it is nostalgia, but it's also just plain fun. 

Hellboy: The Complete Short Stories, Volume 1 by Mike Mignola, Richard Corben, and Duncan Fegredo (Dark Horse Books, 2018)

This collects fifteen Hellboy stories by Mike Mignola with art by a nice variety of artists, including Richard Corben. Most were great, some were okay, and some were outstanding. One of my favorites was “The Crooked Man,” which was written in tribute to author Manly Wade Wellman. It was the basis for the most recent Hellboy film which I really enjoyed even with its low budget. 

Absolute Batman Vol. I: The Zoo by Scott Snyder, Nick Dragotta, and Gabrial Hernandez Walta (DC Comics, 2025)

This is an absolutely wild and over the top alternate universe take on Batman. The art by Nick Dragotta compliments Scott Snyder’s script really well with some outstanding, jaw dropping panels. I’m not sure how long they can keep up the momentum, but I’m in. 

Next month: Cimmerian September!