Books I Read in July 2026

One book, one comic, and two short stories this month.

Robert E. Howard Changed My Life: Personal Essays about an Extraordinary Legacy, edited by Jason M. Walz. (Rogue Blades Foundation, 2021)

I picked this up during Robert E. Howard Days 2026. It was my first time making the pilgrimage to Cross Plains, Texas, and I had a fantastic time. I have a blog post that I’m working on about my experiences there but it’s taking longer than expected to finish it. Hopefully soon. 

This is a collection of over thirty essays about how people discovered Howard and how he inspired them. It includes essays by Robert E. Howard Days founders Rusty Burke and Bill “Indy” Cavalier as well as from authors such as Joe R. Lansdale, Scott Oden, Nancy Collins, Roy Thomas, Howard Andrew Jones, Charles R. Saunders, and Michael Moorcock. Although a lot of the essays are written by authors, there are essays by those in other professions as. While I enjoyed some essays more than others, I got something out of all of them. As a Howard fan, I found it quite interesting reading how everyone first encountered him, the variety of characters that they were drawn to, and the different ways Howard’s work made an impact on them. In a way, it was an extension of the experience I had at Robert E. Howard Days 2026. Yeah, I really need to finish writing that post.

Rating: 5/5

Comics

So, I broke down and bought another single issue…

Conan and Dragonero #2. Written by Luca Enoch and Stefano Veitti, art by Lorenzo Nuti. (Titan Comics, July 2026)

This is the second issue of the crossover between Conan and the Italian fantasy character Dragonero. After escaping from the cell he was put in last issue, Conan joins Dragonero on a flying ship only for them to run into a new threat. This issue definitely feels more epic fantasy than sword and sorcery. I liked the art and the issue did a good job of moving the story forward, but as it was such a quick read I’m thinking of sticking to my usual plan of reading the trade. 

Rating: 3/5

Short Stories 

After a friend recently recommended “The Word of Unbinding” by Ursula Le Guin to me, I decided to read it as Le Guin is one of my favorite authors and I still haven’t read much of her work. I wound up reading it and another story as they are the first stories Le Guin wrote set in her Earthsea world. The stories are available in a collection titled The Wind’s Twelve Quarters. 

“The Word of Unbinding” 

A wizard awakes to find that he has been imprisoned by another wizard. After his attempts to escape keep ending in failure, he realizes that he will need to do something quite drastic in order to escape. Quite original and very moving. It’s amazing what Le Guin accomplished in a short story.

Rating: 4/5

“The Rule of Names” 

Things get complicated on an island with a local wizard that isn’t very good at his job, after a mysterious man shows up. I was blown away by the ending. 

Rating: 5/5

Le Guin introduced a lot of concepts in these two stories that she would later flesh out in her Earthsea novels. I read the first one a few years ago and really liked it but I never continued with the other books. I may have to jump back in soon. 

Books and Comics I Read in June 2026

Between a busy month at work, making plans for a much-needed vacation, driving halfway across the US and back (more details to come in an upcoming post), and the heat of summer, not only did I not get much reading done, but I also took forever to write up my notes for what I did read.  Well, I’m finally back so here are some reviews!

Jangar! Slaves of the MInd Mage by L. D. Whitney. (Cliffhanger Press, 2026)

A barbarian raised in the jungle fights to save a woman from savage beast-men. This novelette was a really fun read. A fast-paced sword & sorcery jungle adventure with some world building deftly mixed in. An interesting mix of Tarzan and Conan. I love the cover art by Mike Hoffman as well as the cover design, which is done in the style of the old Ballantine Tarzan paperbacks.

This is the first of a series of six planned stories. The first five will be released as eBooks while the sixth will be included in a collection of the previous stories in paperback. Looking forward to reading more. 

Rating: Five Atlantean swords out of five. 

Conan the Barbarian #32. Written by Jim Zub, art by Doung Braithwaite. (Titan Comics, June 2026)

I’m reading Titan’s Conan the Barbarian in trade as I stopped buying single issues of comics quite a while ago, but I couldn’t resist picking this one up as it’s a done-in-one story. A mysterious woman hires Conan to safeguard her across a desert. It starts out as an adventure story and then becomes something more with its twist ending. This felt like something that would have been published in Weird Tales. The more I think about the ending, the more questions I have. In any case, I really enjoyed it and it was nice to read a stand-alone story. 

Rating: Four Atlantean swords out of five. 

Conan and Dragonero #1. Written by Luca Enoch and Stefano Veitti, art by Lorenzo Nuti. (Titan Comics, May 2026)

When I went to my local comic book shop to pick up Conan #32, I told myself that I wouldn’t pick up anything else… but then I saw this and the item below and I caved. This was a complete blind buy which turned out to be an entertaining read. After Conan is pulled into another world that has dragons, he meets Dragonero, a famous dragonslayer.

I did some research and I learned that Dragonero is a long running Italian fantasy comic. Dark Horse published one volume in English in 2009. This first issue of a seven-issue mini-series has a nice European style art and does a good job of setting things up. I’m not sure how the mix of standard fantasy and sword and sorcery is going to play out, but I’m on board so far. Now, do I wait for the trade or continue to buy single issues…

Rating: Three and half Atlantean swords out of five. 

The Savage Sword of Conan Reforged #1. (Titan Comics, October 2025)

This magazine sized comic is basically a color version of The Savage Sword of Conan, as each issue includes color versions of stories that originally appeared in black and white. I wasn’t planning on picking this up as most of the modern re-coloring of old comics that I’ve seen have been pretty awful, but after flipping through some issues I have to say the coloring done for this is quite good. That and the fact that my local comic shop had a copy of the Boris Vallejo variant cover, plus that it was still at cover price, got me to come away with another single issue. It includes adaptations of two of Robert E. Howard’s most famous Conan stories, an illustrated version of Howard’s poem "Cimmeria," an essay by writer/artist Patrick Zircher, and some pinups. A pretty nice mix. The stories are:

“The Frost Giant’s Daughter” 

Written by Roy Thomas. Art by Barry Windsor-Smith.

(Savage Tales #1, 1971)

“The Tower of the Elephant”

Written by Roy Thomas. Art by John Buscema and Alfred Alcala. 

(Savage Sword of Conan #24, 1977)

The stories are well adapted, the art is fantastic, and as I mentioned the coloring is very well done. Between the stories and the extras, they really knocked it out of the park with this. 

Rating: Five Atlantean swords out of five. 

It’s still pretty hot but things have calmed down, so I’ve been doing more reading this month. We’ll see if I can keep it up. 

Solomon Kane Pastiche I Read in April 2026

Somehow this turned into a Solomon Kane pastiche month with me reading one comic book collection and four short stories. 

Solomon Kane: The Serpent King by Patrick Zircher (Titan Comics, 2025) 

This collects the four issue Soloman Kane: The Serpent King series in which Kane and a group of companions search for the lost Serpent Ring of Thoth-Amon. Patrick Zircher delivers a fantastic combination of story and art with lots of elements from the works of Robert E. Howard. This was a thrilling and fun read. 

Rating: 5/5

This put me in the mood to catch up with the Solomon Kane digital short stories from Titan Books, so here they are. 

Solomon Kane: The Hound of God by Jonathan Mayberry (Titan Books, 2023) 

Solomon Kane goes on the hunt after he comes across a village that has been brutally massacred by some kind of beast. Although he thinks he’s figured everything out, he learns that things aren’t quite as simple as they seem. I really enjoyed the prose and where the story led. 

Rating: 4/5

Solomon Kane: The Banquet of Souls by Steven Savile (Titan Books, 2024) 

After a shipwreck, Soloman Kane washes up on the shores of Japan and winds up helping a clan defend against demons. Solomon Kane in Japan sounds interesting to me but at no point did it feel like the character was actually in feudal Japan. Everyone speaks English, Japanese words are inserted randomly (no futon or kimono though), and the descriptions of almost everything come across as half-hearted. On top of that, the character felt off, the plot felt weak, and the prose didn’t grab me. 

Rating: 2/5

Solomon Kane: The Lair of the Mari Lwyd by Shaun Hamill (Titan Books, 2025) 

I first read this back in December, but I figured I’d give it a re-read since I was reading all the other Titan Books Solomon Kane short stories anyway. This story set during Christmas gives background on the character's Puritan beliefs and mixes sword & sorcery with Welsh folklore really well. A very fun read.

Rating: 4/5

Solomon Kane: Where the Whitehorn Meets the Black by Cavan Scott (Titan Books, 2026)

Solomon Kane returns to his home in Devonshire, England and along with a mysterious woodcutter, winds up searching for a missing child. Fair folk, cursed woods, and dark nursery rhymes. Fast paced, engaging prose, and an ending that stuck the landing. Fantastic story. 

Rating: 5/5

Shaun Hamill has also written Solomon Kane: Suffer the Witch, a full-length novel that was released at the beginning of this year. I’m not sure when I’ll get to it, but I’ll be picking it up eventually.

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!