Swords & Dark Magic: The New Sword and Sorcery

by Jonathan Strahan (Editor), Lou Anders (Editor)

Overview

An anthology of seventeen original tales of sword and sorcery penned by masters old and new.

Elric . . . the Black Company . . . Majipoor. For years, these have been some of the names that have captured the hearts of generations of readers and embodied the sword and sorcery genre. And now some of the most beloved and bestselling fantasy writers working today deliver stunning all-new sword and sorcery stories in an anthology of small stakes but high action, grim humor mixed with gritty violence, fierce monsters and fabulous treasures, and, of course, swordplay. Don’t miss the adventure of the decade!

Featuring:

• Goats of Glory by Steven Erikson
• Tides Elba: A Tale of the Black Company by Glen Cook
• Bloodsport by Gene Wolfe
• The Singing Spear by James Enge
• A Wizard in Wiscezan by C.J. Cherryh
• A Rich Full Week by K.J. Parker
• A Suitable Present for a Sorcerous Puppet by Garth Nix
• Red Pearls: An Elric Story by Michael Moorcock
• The Deification of Dal Bamore: A Tale from Echo City by Tim Lebbon
• Dark Times at the Midnight Market by Robert Silverberg
• The Undefiled by Greg Keyes
• Hew the Tintmaster by Michael Shea
• In the Stacks by Scott Lynch
• Two Lions, a Witch, and the War-Robe by Tanith Lee
• The Sea Troll’s Daughter by Caitlín R. Kiernan
• Thieves of Daring by Bill Willingham
• The Fool Jobs by Joe Abercrombie

“[Strahan and Anders] present seventeen original stories that recall the classic works of Robert E. Howard and Fritz Leiber. . . . Fans of the classics will appreciate the tie-ins to familiar series by Michael Moorcock, Glen Cook, and Robert Silverberg, plus a fully authorized Cugel the Clever cameo by Michael Shea.” —Publishers Weekly

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062000286
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	11/21/2023
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	546
Sales rank:	354,314
File size:	909 KB

About the Author

Jonathan Strahan has co-edited The Year's Best Australian Science Fiction and Fantasy series of anthologies for HarperCollins Australia, co-edits the Science Fiction: The Best of . . . and Fantasy: The Best of . . . anthology series with Karen Haber for Simon & Schuster/ibooks, edits the Best Short Novels anthology series for the Doubleday Science Fiction Book Club, and co-edited The Locus Awards for Eos with Charles N. Brown. He is also the Reviews Editor for Locus: The Magazine of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Fields, and reviews for the magazine regularly. He is currently working on The New Space Opera II.

A 2009/2008/2007 Hugo Award nominee, 2008 Philip K. Dick Award nominee, 2008/2006 Chesley Award winner/nominee, and 2006 World Fantasy Award nominee, Lou Anders is the editorial director of Prometheus Books' science fiction and fantasy imprint Pyr, as well as the anthologies With Great Power... (Gallery Books, July 2010), Swords & Dark Magic (Eos, June 2010, coedited with Jonathan Strahan), Fast Forward 2 (Pyr, October 2008), Sideways in Crime (Solaris, June 2008), Fast Forward 1 (Pyr, February 2007), FutureShocks (Roc, January 2006), Projections: Science Fiction in Literature & Film (MonkeyBrain, December 2004), Live Without a Net (Roc, 2003), andOutside the Box (Wildside Press, 2001). In 2000, he served as the Executive Editor of Bookface, and before that he worked as the Los Angeles Liaison for Titan Publishing Group. He is the author of The Making of Star Trek: First Contact (Titan Books, 1996), and has published over 500 articles in such magazines as The Believer, Publishers Weekly, Dreamwatch, DeathRay, free inquiry, Star Trek Monthly, Star Wars Monthly, Babylon 5 Magazine, Sci Fi Universe, Doctor Who Magazine, and Manga Max. His articles and stories have been translated into Danish, Greek, German, Italian & French.

Editorial Reviews

Editors Strahan (Eclipse 3) and Anders (Fast Forward 2) present 17 original stories that recall the classic works of Robert E. Howard and Fritz Leiber. To earn the book’s subtitle of “The New Sword and Sorcery,” Gene Wolfe puts on literary airs (“Bloodsport”); Tim Lebbon contributes some of the graphic horror and moral twists of the New Weird (“The Deification of Dal Balmore”); and Caitlín R. Kiernan introduces a complicated heroine rescued by the ostensible villain (“The Sea Troll’s Daughter”). But most of the stories are more traditional tales of apprentice mages coming-of-age and down-on-their-luck mercenaries facing unexpected perils. Fans of the classics will appreciate the tie-ins to familiar series by Michael Moorcock, Glen Cook, and Robert Silverberg, plus a “fully authorized” Cugel the Clever cameo by Michael Shea. (July)

Publishers Weekly