A moment when one must decide what one is willing to accept. Death, defeat, or allow one’s carnal rage to take control and consequences be damned.” Skharr DeathEaterA lone DeathEater has forsaken his clan. Leaving behind his previous life, Skharr starts building a future next to a dangerous forest in an unknown land.He tells himself it is better than taking gold for questionable reasons.A lone old man travelling with a donkey offers him a choice: Continue this farm life, or trade him Skharr’s just finished home and tilled land for a map.A map that Skharr can use to live large for years… If he survives.The old peddler watches him. Realizing the intelligence, the polished actions of the huge man is but an act. A carefully orchestrated semblance of civility, and shudders.Of all the Barbarian hordes, the rumor was to never, ever upset a DeathEater.And he had come here to unleash this particular DeathEater back into the world.

    The only ones who could have opposed him are the Knights of Dragonwatch, an ancient order created to defend the world against the Dragon Queen, and they are no more, betrayed by one of their own and hunted to extinction.Jarryd is a young man with a secret. He sees demons. The visions have plagued him since he witnessed a traumatic event as a small boy.Jarryd lives in fear that his secret will be discovered, and he will be condemned to the fate of those who consort with demons. Or, even worse, that the demons will consume him, make him one of them.As the visions grow ever more powerful, Jarryd sets out on a journey to find answers at Knights Keep, the ancestral home of the Dragonwatch Knights. The journey brings him to the notice of the Emperor himself and sets Jarryd on a desperate quest to resurrect the Dragonwatch Knights.Can Jarryd overcome the demons within himself and defeat the Emperor in time? Or will the Dragon Queen escape her prison and ravage the cosmos once again?

    A völva tells me I am destined to marry a hero, that my child’s name will become legendary. How I’m supposed to achieve this enormous fate is beyond me. However, when my father announces we shall visit the great temple in Uppsala for the midsummer blót, I can feel my fortune changing. The Æsir are busy weaving their own plans, and I cannot wait to find out what destiny the Norns have planned for me.Under the Strawberry Moon is a prequel to The Road to Valhalla series.

    Her imagination fed by the Narnia books and Arthurian legends, she dreams of another world. Discovering the ancient prophecy stone in a Cornish antique shop, she and her cynical older sister, Cassie, suddenly find themselves in the mythical land of Erinsmore. A realm of swords, chivalry and magic, it is everything Ruby has been longing for, but, is a world poised on the brink of war… The evil warlock Lorcan has escaped his prison, bringing death and destruction to Erinsmore and its people with the release of his hounds of death, the skraelings, and the Gilmesh, creatures of pure evil who extract the souls of their victims. Struggling to understand this strange world, Ruby and Cassie have to toughen up quick, if they wish to survive and help their new-found friends in the oncoming battle. For if Erinsmore falls to Lorcan, then their own world will be next. And what exactly does the last verse of that prophecy mean… Two shall fight for freedom Defend the dragon’s throne Two shall walk the dark path And one return alone

    Howard's Conan stories published during his lifetime.These stories were originally published in Weird Tales magazine between 1933 and 1936.The Conan stories included in the collection are:1. Gods of the North (The Frost Giant's Daughter) (1934)2. The Tower of the Elephant (1933)3. Rogues in the House (1935)4. Shadows in the Moonlight (Iron Shadows in the Moon) (1934)5. Black Colossus (1934)6. Queen of the Black Coast (1934)7. The Slithering Shadow (Xuthal of the Dusk) (1934)8. A Witch Shall Be Born (1934)9. The Devil in Iron (1934)10. The People of the Black Circle (1934)11. Shadows in Zamboula (Man-Eaters of Zamboula) (1935)12. The Pool of the Black One (1934)13. Beyond the Black River (1935)14. Red Nails (1936)15. Jewels of Gwahlur (The Teeth of Gwahlur) (1935)16. The Phoenix on the Sword (1932)17. The Scarlet Citadel (1933)18. The Hour of the Dragon (Conan the Conqueror) (1935)As an added bonus, also included in the set are:The Hyborian Age—Conan's World (This is Howard's background essay on the world of Conan) (1936), andThe Shadow Kingdom and The Mirrors of Tuzun Thune (These are two of Howard's early Kull of Atlantis stories that predate and strongly influence his later Conan works.) (1929)For ease of navigation, the anthology includes an interactive table of contents. The stories in this collection are ordered roughly in chronological order from Conan's first adventures as a young mercenary adventurer and thief to his final epic clashes as a king and are based on the Rippke chronology.About Conan:Conan the Barbarian (also known as Conan the Cimmerian) is a fictional sword and sorcery hero who originated in pulp fiction magazines and has since been adapted to books, comics, several films (including Conan the Barbarian and Conan the Destroyer), television programs (cartoon and live-action), video games, role-playing games and other media. The character was created by writer Robert E. Howard in 1932 via a series of fantasy stories published in Weird Tales magazine.Conan the Character:Conan is a Cimmerian. From Robert E. Howard's writings (The Hyborian Age among others) it is known that the Cimmerians were based on the Celts or Gaels. He was born on a battlefield and is the son of a village blacksmith. Conan matured quickly as a youth and, by age fifteen, he was already a respected warrior who had participated in the destruction of the Aquilonian outpost of Venarium.

    Titans like Robert E. Howard and Jack Vance worked their magic on magazine and pulp pages, delighting readers with strange visions and pulse pounding action. In 2016, editor P. Alexander dared to bring those days back with the launch of Cirsova, a magazine of science fiction and fantasy fiction.DMR Books is proud to present a collection of one of Cirsova’s rising stars, Schuyler Hernstrom. These stories will take the reader across strange and sweeping landscapes of adventure. Life and death, blood and desire, greed and sacrifice, all and more are contained within. Classic barbarians and classic rogues are here, along with Dunsanian knights and witches, sentient computers and savage beasts. This collection includes all of Hernstrom’s stories from the first three years of Cirsova along with three tales that have never appeared in print before.

    Howard know that with the 1929 publication of “The Shadow Kingdom” in the pulp magazine 'Weird Tales', he had given birth to a new and vibrant subgenre of fantasy fiction.Sword-and-sorcery went from pulp obscurity to mass-market paperback popularity before suffering a spectacular publishing collapse in the 1980s. But it lives on in the broader culture and today enjoys a second life in popular role-playing games, music, and films, and helped give birth to a new literary subgenre known as grimdark, popularized by the likes of George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire fantasy series.Flame and Crimson: A History of Sword-and-Sorcery provides much-needed definitions and critical rigor to this misunderstood fantasy subgenre. It traces its origins in the likes of historical fiction, to its birth in the pages of Weird Tales, to its flowering in the Frank Frazetta-illustrated Lancer Conan Saga series in the 1960s. It covers its “barbarian bust” beneath a heap of second-rate pastiche, a pack of colorful and wildly entertaining and awful sword-and-sorcery films, and popular culture second life in the likes of 'Dungeons & Dragons' and the bombast of heavy metal music.

    His adventures will become legend. He will become king. Roy Thomas and Barry Windsor-Smith brought Robert E. Howard's iconic creation to four-color life with work that set new standards for comic book storytelling. Marvel is honored to present their original epic sagas - all painstakingly restored to match the majesty of the original editions. In these early exploits, Conan ventures from his homeland for the first time, honing his skills as a thief, mercenary, and above all, warrior! COLLECTING: CONAN THE BARBARIAN (1970) 1-13 AND MATERIAL FROM CHAMBER OF DARKNESS (1969) 4

    com as a free ebook. It is not available on Amazon, or other stores.

    As he wanders the ancient world in search of adventure, Conan will face the Vanir, be enslaved by an ageless evil and battle Janissa the Widowmaker! He will experience the mystery of the Frost Giant's Daughter, the horror of the God in the Bowl, and the secrets of the Tower of the Elephant! Plus, witness the origin of Conan's arch-enemy Thoth-Amon! Allied with an outstanding array of artistic talent, Busiek's Conan sagas mix jaw-dropping adaptations of original Robert E. Howard stories with incredible interlocking new tales! COLLECTING: CONAN: THE LEGEND (2003) 0; CONAN (2004) 1-28, 32, 39, 45-46; CONAN: BOOK OF THOTH (2006) 1-4

    It overflows with thrilling adventures. There are swords, and there is sorcery. There are dark deeds and daring rescues. There are lands where heroes fear to tread. Dare you imagine it? Picture this as well — maps to wondrous and terrible places. Electrifying art for every tale. Guides to bring the terrors within to your own game table. All I lack are a few paltry shekels. Grant them to me, and I shall fling open a new portal to a world of ancient wonders! Join me, mortal dogs! Together we shall storm the gates of Valhalla!Tales From The Magician’s Skull is a magazine of all-new swords & sorcery fiction. Issue #5 features cover art by Sanjulian, and stories by Adrian Cole, James Enge, John C. Hocking, Violette Malan, Adrian Simmons, and C.L. Werner. The magazine is edited by Howard Andrew Jones and published by Joseph Goodman of Goodman Games. Each story is lovingly illustrated by industry stalwarts, and issue #5 features art by Chris Arneson, Randy Broecker, Samuel Dillon, Jennell Jaquays, Doug Kovacs, Peter Mullen, and Russ Nicholson.Finally, issue #5 includes a short appendix presenting DCC RPG stats for all the new material contained inside!

    In the west the Ravens seek to bring safety to women, and an end to slavery. In the east the remaining covens cling to their power, refusing to give up their way of life to foreign invaders. Across both lands the priests whisper and plot, their gods a shadowy threat hanging over them all.To protect their young family, Kesta and Jorrun have made their home in the Raven Tower of Elden. Unable to abandon their responsibility or friends, they remain embroiled in the fight to the north. Whilst peace and friendship blossom between the Fulmers, Borrows and Elden, the arrival of strangers turns the court of Taurmaline upside down. The history of the Fire-walkers is about to catch up with them, and the Fire-spirit’s truth will be revealed.

    Near her little brothers.With his empty grey eyes and massive bulk, the slave’s presence made her uncomfortable. The beast had spent majority of his life training and fighting on the red sands of the arena. If he’d decided to snap his chains and rip her head off, the collar around his neck would be no restriction.The slave trader said purebreds were the most obedient. They don’t feel, they don’t think, they don’t make eye contact, and they don’t speak unless spoken to. They live to serve and breathe to please. She had nothing to worry about.Then why was she feeling the slave’s angry glares every time she turned her back at him?She couldn’t wait to auction him off and pay off her debt - as soon as she took care of that nasty infection and nurtured him back to health.Little did she know, the slave was more than a bad investment. He was the infamous Lion of Zarall.---Lion of Zarall is the first book of a dark fantasy trilogy. Contains violence and slavery themes, romance, and dubious consent.

    You don’t have to explore darksome crypts to discover incredible ancient treasures—you can find them in Renegade Swords!Stories included:“The House of Arabu” by Robert E. Howard“Necromancy in Naat” (unabridged version) by Clark Ashton Smith“The Woman of the Wood” (previously unpublished version) by A. Merritt“The Slaughter of the Gods” by Manly Wade Wellman“People of the Dragon” by Lin Carter“The Pillars of Hell” by Lin Carter“The Rune-Sword of Jotunheim” by Glenn Rahman and Richard L. Tierney“Princess of Chaos” by Bryce Walton

    It can also compel us to confront our own assumptions and moral principles, to look outside the ordinary." -- LOCUS"Lancelot Schaubert's words have an immediacy, a potency, an intimacy that grab the reader by the collar and say, 'Listen, this is important!' Probing the bones and gristle of humanity, Lancelot's subjects challenge, but also offer insights into redemption if only we will stop and pay attention." -- Erika Robuck, bestselling author of Hemingway's GirlABOUT OGAG 2::Once more, my friends and colleagues and I have banded together to compose literature connecting astronomy and mythology: to write Of Gods & Globes II. Each one of us chose a name that connected astronomy (science fiction) and mythology (fantasy) such as "Janus" and wrote forth.But why on Earth -- or off Earth -- would we do such a thing?Well for starters, in his introduction to Bernard Silvestrus's Cosmographia, Winthrop Wetherbee III (which, let's be honest, is a doozy of a name but PERFECT for anyone destined to study and teach Latin) said that the thinkers of the classical and middle ages offered up: The idea the events of earthly life were governed and predetermined by the orderly disposition and activity of the heavenly bodies and could, in part, be foreknown through the careful analysis of celestial phenomena... Adelhard of Bath, in the De eodem et diverso, extols the power of the Arts to guide the soul in its earthly journey; they teach her to recognize her special relation to the rest of creation, to know the nature and intuit the divine pattern of the universe. For the soul's basic affinity is with the divine rationes of things...Man, like the universe, lives and moves through the interplay of rational and irrational forces... which evokes preoccupation with the archetypal implications of myth and the themes of classic literature. We had such a successful launch last time that we decided to come together and write even more stories around this theme. We have continuations on a couple of new universes, hilarious new additions, heartbreaking horror stories, and flirtatious little romps.In the spirit of drawing on themes of myth and classic literature and of the tidal influence of the constellations, I rounded up sci-fi and fantasy writers to write about cosmic influence. The fantasy writers took a more mythological approach, speaking of the symbolic (or perhaps godly) Mercury and Mars and Neptune. The sci-fi writers tell you what it's like to live on Jupiter and Uranus. All of them, though, speak of the influence of what one writer called "the music of the spheres." These are stories Of Gods and Globes. They're quite the ride: I enjoy each of these stories differently. They made me laugh and cry and chilled me to the bone with terror and one of them made me long for a home that... well for a home I don't think I've ever been to before.Come fly with us. Let's fly. Let's fly away.Or, if you prefer, to appeal from Sinatra to Sinatra:Fly me to the moon Let me play among the stars. Let me see what spring is like On Jupiter and Mars... Fill my heart with song And let me sing forevermore You are all I long for All I worship and adoreLancelot Schaubert Brooklyn, New York 2020

    In this issue, you'll find: The Last Word by H. A. Titus It's all in an evening's work when the owner of a speakeasy asks Owan Craig, half-fae private eye, to deal with a little problem. Trouble is, that problem is attached to fae mobsters--just the sort of folks Owan likes to avoid. The Singer's Tale by Jon Mollison An alluring chanteuse uses everything she has to amass fame and glory. How many lives is she willing to destroy to reach the top? The Lair of the Old Ones by Stanley W. Wagenaar A wandering adventurer helps the daughter of a local ruling Baron in a scrap, and finds that her family's castle is hiding a monstrous secret. Acme Denton: Out of Time by Michael Haynes A mid-20th century PI finds himself transported to an Old West where magic is real, and really deadly. The Last Contract by Dominika Lein A futuristic hitman and his alien assistant go for one last job, but something is amiss. Makani and the Vulture God by Paul R. McNamee When treachery disrupts an ancient contest, Makani the ka-man must fight human and supernatural foes to retrieve the stolen spirit of his friend. Night of a Thousand Eyes by Deborah L. Davitt Arthur Polaris long ago uploaded to an android body. Now, he's investigating the disappearance of several other GalSec operatives on a corporation world. The dark secrets he learns might just cost him his life. Black Dog Bend by JD Cowan A musician stumbles into a time warp and finds himself part of a revenge plot. Now he must battle a killer dog, hired hitman, and a witch to escape. Swimming with the Devil by William Eckman A Persian pearl diver decides to cut out the middleman when selling his pearls. He ends up at the mercy of pirates, then slavers, then a sea monster. Don't miss a word of the excitement.

    RitzlinThe Stain on the Skull Simon RulemanThe Augur of Khoalse Corey GrahamDark Meditations J. Thomas HowardThe Mortal Essence Ulysses Maurer Hounds Chuck ClarkMother of Malevolence Chase Folmar Raising Daughters S.E. LindbergThe Slain of Talhn R. SagusUnder the Oak Zack TaylorBest Left to Professionals Jace PhelpsRolf's Ride Frank CoffmanWHETSTONE is an amateur magazine that seeks to discover, inspire, and publish emerging authors who are enthusiastic about the tradition of "pulp sword and sorcery." Writers in this tradition include (but are not limited to) the following: Robert E. Howard, Fritz Leiber, Jack Vance, Michael Moorcock, Karl Edward Wagner, David C. Smith, and many more. "Pulp sword and sorcery" emphasizes active protagonists, supernatural menaces, and preindustrial (mostly ancient and medieval) settings. Some "pulp sword and sorcery" straddles the line between historical and fantasy fiction; at WHETSTONE, however, we prefer "secondary world settings," other worlds liberated from the necessity of historical accuracy.

    25 years later, destiny is pissed. And this time, it won’t take no for an answer!When destiny knocked on Chauncy's door, someone else answered it...and told destiny to take a hike. So instead of going on a grand adventure to become a great and powerful wizard so he could save the world from certain destruction, Chauncy got a job.Twenty-five years later, destiny came for Chauncy a second time...and when he told it to take a hike, it knocked him out, tied him up, and kidnapped him.Now Chauncy has no choice but to go on the grand adventure he'd been putting off, to become a great and powerful wizard. Except he doesn't believe in magic, and he doesn't particularly believe in destiny either. Problem is, if he doesn't fulfill his destiny, the world as he knows it will end. And even if he does learn to become the wizard he should have been long ago, it might be too late anyway!Experience this (inappropriate) fantasy comedy from the author of the Runic series and the Magic of Havenwood series!DISCLAIMER:This book contains inappropriate depictions of inappropriate people doing inappropriate things. Including, but certainly not limited to, inappropriate language and veiled connotations of the naughty variety. And of course, inappropriate magic.

    Fever Dreams of Sword-and-Sorcery in an Eld Realm of Unfathomable Beauty and CrueltyA psychotic witch, driven by the spirits of her murdered sisters, seeks out the secret of a ruined city and the formless horror that destroyed it…An impudent sorcerer, contemplating the outer beyond between stars, threshes shadowy demons from the lightless outside…A holy man and a pauper mage delve the devil-haunted maze of a dead wizard of legend…A nameless sorceress takes a thrall and gains a name…A guttersnipe transforms hatred into a force of nature…A reluctant scholar, forced to confront his impermanence, abandons hearth and wealth for a doomed passion…Hope steams as hot blood in the snow…Plus other enigmatic tales of horror and fantasy in the pulp tradition.

     Set in the myth-shrouded era of the Bronze Age Collapse. The Sigyn tales hearken back to the glory days of weird pulp fantasy.