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3.61 AVERAGE
3.61 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
My favorite series of Sword-and-Sorcery short stories, showing a broad range -- action, horror, wit, humor. Lots of heroic adventure in small doses.
Landmark collection, somewhat blemished by Offutt's failure to find any women to contribute. Full review: https://fakegeekboy.wordpress.com/2019/05/13/offutts-first-effort-as-editor/
This was a mixed bag. I really wanted to enjoy these stories more, but only a couple really stood out. I'll give a short review of each.
Nekht Semerkeht: 4.5/5
This story was a good starter. The lost Conquistador is a very cool character to follow, and the plot is a classic sword and sorcery yarn, with a tragic twist. Probably my favourite out of all of them.
The Tale of Hauk: 3/5
A Norse tale about a man taking on a dead warrior. Kind of plodding, but then again, I've gotten tired of Viking stuff so that's probably on me.
The Smile of Oisia: 3.5/5
A fun robbery tale. Not too amazing but not terrible either. Unlike this next story...
Pride of the Fleet: 0/5
Yep. The big zero. A sci-fi story in a book full of mainly-past era stories? Sounds amazing! And with a title like that? Must be a really badass ship!
Nope.
This story is horrendously sexed up, and not in the good way. I cringed all the way through this at his depiction of the heroine. I won't say too much in case anyone wants to read this, but it's terrible and disgusting.
Straggler from Atlantis: 4/5
Now this was better. A man washes up from Atlantis and meets a tribe of giants, and hunts down a monster. I wish there was more of this (is there?) because the character was very well written and I could see a novel or a few short stories being written with him.
The Ring of Set: 4/5
Another good historical tale. Based on Simon Magus, the character is a magician ex-gladiator who tries to warn the Roman emperor about a cursed ring from Egypt. I've heard there's more of this character written so I'm definetely going to read more into this. These historically based tales are my favourite.
Largarut's Bane: 2/5
At least this one was short. It seemed rather pointless and I didn't really get it, although the concept could have been cool.
Dragon's Teeth: 4.5/5
Another fun historical tale dealing with Roman legionaries and magical fuckery. I enjoyed it. A lot.
The Sustenance of Hoak: 3.5/5
A mercenary in a very creepy town. A decent closer, better than most of the other offerings in this collection.
Despite my low rating, I will probably seek out the other Swords Against Darkness collections, because I still enjoyed reading these (with the exception of Pride of the Fleet).
Nekht Semerkeht: 4.5/5
This story was a good starter. The lost Conquistador is a very cool character to follow, and the plot is a classic sword and sorcery yarn, with a tragic twist. Probably my favourite out of all of them.
The Tale of Hauk: 3/5
A Norse tale about a man taking on a dead warrior. Kind of plodding, but then again, I've gotten tired of Viking stuff so that's probably on me.
The Smile of Oisia: 3.5/5
A fun robbery tale. Not too amazing but not terrible either. Unlike this next story...
Pride of the Fleet: 0/5
Yep. The big zero. A sci-fi story in a book full of mainly-past era stories? Sounds amazing! And with a title like that? Must be a really badass ship!
Nope.
This story is horrendously sexed up, and not in the good way. I cringed all the way through this at his depiction of the heroine. I won't say too much in case anyone wants to read this, but it's terrible and disgusting.
Straggler from Atlantis: 4/5
Now this was better. A man washes up from Atlantis and meets a tribe of giants, and hunts down a monster. I wish there was more of this (is there?) because the character was very well written and I could see a novel or a few short stories being written with him.
The Ring of Set: 4/5
Another good historical tale. Based on Simon Magus, the character is a magician ex-gladiator who tries to warn the Roman emperor about a cursed ring from Egypt. I've heard there's more of this character written so I'm definetely going to read more into this. These historically based tales are my favourite.
Largarut's Bane: 2/5
At least this one was short. It seemed rather pointless and I didn't really get it, although the concept could have been cool.
Dragon's Teeth: 4.5/5
Another fun historical tale dealing with Roman legionaries and magical fuckery. I enjoyed it. A lot.
The Sustenance of Hoak: 3.5/5
A mercenary in a very creepy town. A decent closer, better than most of the other offerings in this collection.
Despite my low rating, I will probably seek out the other Swords Against Darkness collections, because I still enjoyed reading these (with the exception of Pride of the Fleet).