 Cover of first edition | |
| Author | Clifford Ball |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Virgil Finlay |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | fantasy |
| Publisher | DMR Books |
Publication date | 2018 |
| Media type | print (paperback), ebook |
| Pages | 206 |
| ISBN | 978-0-9909900-4-8 |
The Thief of Forthe and Other Stories is a collection of sword and sorcery and other fantasy short stories by American writer Clifford Ball. It was first published in paperback and ebook by DMR Books in March 2018. [1]
The book collects four novelettes and two short stories by the author, together with an introduction by the publisher, D. M. Ritzlin. [1] It gathers together all of Ball's published fiction, originally published in the 1930s and 1940s in Weird Tales , for the first time. The first story, featuring the barbarian adventurer Duar, and the second and third, featuring Rald the thief, were among the earliest sword and sorcery stories published after the pioneering work of Robert E. Howard, and were written in homage to him. The pieces following feature a modern-day quest for the legendary island of Circe, a fantastic detective yarn, and a traditional horror story. [2]
Fletcher Vredenburgh, reviewing the collection on blackgate.com, writes "Ball was one of the earliest authors to show that S&S wasn't just something a few specific authors wrote, but an actual genre that anyone else with a heart for it could do." "Ball's stories." he notes, "are the works of someone still finding his feet. They aren't as polished as those of his model, Robert E. Howard [but show he] could have been a solid talent had he continued writing." Vredenburgh finds the Duar story "not-great, but ... pretty darn good with some nice, weird bits," and notes "a lunkheadedness to Rald I found fun." "There's a creative exuberance to these stories that make me wish Ball had carried on," he observes, concluding "Dave Ritzlin has done a tremendous service in getting this book into print." [3]
Sword and sorcery (S&S) or heroic fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy characterized by sword-wielding heroes engaged in exciting and violent adventures. Elements of romance, magic, and the supernatural are also often present. Unlike works of high fantasy, the tales, though dramatic, focus on personal battles rather than world-endangering matters. Sword and sorcery commonly overlaps with heroic fantasy. The genre originated from the early-1930s works of Robert E. Howard. The term "sword and sorcery" was coined by Fritz Leiber in the May 1961 issue of the fantasy fanzine Amra, to describe Howard and the stories that were influenced by his works. In parallel with "sword and sorcery", the term "heroic fantasy" is used, although it is a more loosely defined genre.
The Coming of Conan is a collection of eight fantasy short stories by American writer Robert E. Howard, featuring his sword and sorcery heroes Kull and Conan the Barbarian, together with the first part of his pseudo-history of the "Hyborian Age" in which the Conan tales were set. It was first published in hardcover in the United States by Gnome Press in 1953 and by Boardman Books in the United Kingdom in 1954. The stories originally appeared in the 1930s in the fantasy magazine Weird Tales. The collection never saw publication in paperback; instead, its component stories were split and distributed among other "Kull" and "Conan" collections.
The Dark Man and Others is a posthumously-published anthology of fifteen short stories by American author Robert E. Howard, named after his short story "The Dark Man", and covering the genres of adventure fiction, horror, historical fiction, fantasy, sword and sorcery, weird fiction and the weird West. It was first published in 1963 by Arkham House, and was edited by August Derleth. Eleven of the stories had previously been published in the pulp magazine Weird Tales, and one each in Argosy, Oriental Stories and Strange Tales. It was reprinted in 1971 as a paperback by Lancer.
Clifford Nankivell Ball was an American fantasy writer whose primary distinction was having been one of the earliest post-Howard writers in the sword and sorcery subgenre of fantasy. He wrote as Clifford Ball.
David Claude Smith Jr. is an American author of fantasy, horror, and suspense fiction, medical editor, and essayist. He writes as David C. Smith. He is best known for his heroic fantasy novels, including his collaborations with Richard L. Tierney featuring characters created by Robert E. Howard, notably six novels featuring Red Sonja. He is definitely very much still alive.
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Kellory the Warlock is a fix-up fantasy novel by American writer Lin Carter, the third book of the Chronicles of Kylix series. Its seven episodic chapters were originally written as short stories, but only one, "In the Valley of Silence," had been previously published. The book was first published in hardcover by Doubleday in April 1984. It was reissued in hardcover and trade paperback by Wildside Press in October 2007, and in trade paperback and ebook by the same publisher in April 2016.
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The Sapphire Goddess: The Fantasies of Nictzin Dyalhis is a collection of fantasy and science fiction short stories by American writer Nictzin Dyalhis. It was first published in by DMR Books, appearing in paperback in March 2018, and as an ebook in June of the same year.
The Barbarian Swordsmen is an anthology of sword and sorcery stories edited by Peter Haining under the pseudonym of Sean Richards, cover-billed as "the original sword and sorcery adventures." It was first published in paperback by Star Books in 1981.
Savage Heroes is an anthology of sword and sorcery stories edited by Michel Parry under the pseudonym of Eric Pendragon. It was first published in paperback by Star Books in February 1977. The first U.S. edition was issued in hardcover and trade paperback by Taplinger in March 1980. The editor's pseudonym was dropped for the Taplinger edition.
Savage Scrolls, Volume One: Thrilling Tales of Sword-and-Sorcery is an anthology of fantasy short stories in the sword and sorcery subgenre, edited by Jason Ray Carney. It was first published in trade paperback and ebook by Pulp Hero Press in November 2020, and takes its title from Savage Scrolls, Volume One: Scholarship from the Hyborian Age (2017), an earlier volume of literary criticism by Fred Blosser from the same publisher. Each was projected to be the first in a series; no further volumes of the Blosser title were forthcoming, but a second volume of the Carney title "is already in the works," with at least four projected in all.
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DMR Books is a Chicago-based small publisher active since 2015. The press was founded by D. M. Ritzlin. It is primarily a paperback and ebook publisher specializing in "fantasy, horror, and adventure fiction in the traditions of Robert E. Howard, H.P. Lovecraft, and other classic writers of the pulp era."
Lin Carter's Flashing Swords! #6 is an anthology of fantasy stories in the sword and sorcery subgenre, edited by Robert M. Price. It was first published in trade paperback and ebook by Pulp Hero Press in July 2020, but was delisted by the publisher shortly after publication. A second edition with substantially different content was published in hardcover and trade paperback by Timaios Press in January 2021.
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Far Away & Never is a collection of fantasy stories by English author Ramsey Campbell. It was first published in trade paperback by Necronomicon Press in July 1996, and later reprinted. A new edition was issued in trade paperback and ebook by DMR Books in October 2021.
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