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. The genre originated from the early-1930s works of Robert E. Howard. The term "sword and sorcery" was coined by Fritz Leiber in the 6 April 1961 issue of the fantasy fanzine Ancalagon, 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.
Unknown was an American pulp fantasy fiction magazine, published from 1939 to 1943 by Street & Smith, and edited by John W. Campbell. Unknown was a companion to Street & Smith's science fiction pulp, Astounding Science Fiction, which was also edited by Campbell at the time; many authors and illustrators contributed to both magazines. The leading fantasy magazine in the 1930s was Weird Tales, which focused on shock and horror. Campbell wanted to publish a fantasy magazine with more finesse and humor than Weird Tales, and put his plans into action when Eric Frank Russell sent him the manuscript of his novel Sinister Barrier, about aliens who own the human race. Unknown's first issue appeared in March 1939; in addition to Sinister Barrier, it included H. L. Gold's "Trouble With Water", a humorous fantasy about a New Yorker who meets a water gnome. Gold's story was the first of many in Unknown to combine commonplace reality with the fantastic.
Donald M. Grant, Publisher, Inc. is a fantasy and science fiction small press publisher in New Hampshire that was founded in 1964. It is notable for publishing fantasy and horror novels with lavish illustrations, most notably Stephen King's The Dark Tower series and the King/Peter Straub novel The Talisman.
The Hour of the Dragon, also known as Conan the Conqueror, is a fantasy novel by American writer Robert E. Howard featuring his sword and sorcery hero Conan the Cimmerian. It was one of the last Conan stories published before Howard's suicide, although not the last to be written. The novel was first published in serial form in the December 1935 through April 1936 issues of the pulp magazine Weird Tales. The first book edition was published by Gnome Press in hardcover in 1950. The Gnome Press edition retitled the story Conan the Conqueror, a title retained by all subsequent editions until 1977, when the original title was restored in an edition published by Berkley/Putnam. The Berkley edition also reverted the text to that of its original Weird Tales publication, discarding later edits. Later editions have generally followed Berkley and published under the original title.
Elements of the supernatural and the fantastic were an element of literature from its beginning. The modern genre is distinguished from tales and folklore which contain fantastic elements, first by the acknowledged fictitious nature of the work, and second by the naming of an author. Works in which the marvels were not necessarily believed, or only half-believed, such as the European romances of chivalry and the tales of the Arabian Nights, slowly evolved into works with such traits. Authors like George MacDonald (1824–1905) created the first explicitly fantastic works.
Harold Albert Lamb was an American writer, novelist, historian, and screenwriter. In both his fiction and nonfiction work, Lamb gravitated toward subjects related to Asia and the Middle East.
Adventure was an American pulp magazine that was first published in November 1910 by the Ridgway company, a subsidiary of the Butterick Publishing Company. Adventure went on to become one of the most profitable and critically acclaimed of all the American pulp magazines. The magazine had 881 issues. Its first editor was Trumbull White. He was succeeded in 1912 by Arthur Sullivant Hoffman (1876–1966), who edited the magazine until 1927.
Tros of Samothrace is a fantasy historical novel by American writer Talbot Mundy. The story was composed of several novellas which were published originally in the American magazine Adventure during 1925 and 1926. It was published first together as a book during 1934 by Appleton-Century company.
Slaves of Sleep is a science fantasy novel by American writer L. Ron Hubbard. It was first published in book form in 1948 by Shasta Publishers; the novel originally appeared in a July 1939 issue of pulp fantasy fiction magazine Unknown. The novel presents a story in which a man travels to a parallel universe ruled by Ifrits. The protagonist takes on the identity of a human in this dimension, and becomes involved in the politics of Ifrits in this fictional "Arabian Nights" world.
Henry James O'Brien Bedford-Jones was a Canadian-American historical, adventure fantasy, science fiction, crime and Western writer who became a naturalized United States citizen in 1908.
The Temple of the Ten is a fantasy novel by H. Bedford-Jones and "W. C. Robertson". It was first published in book form in 1973 by Donald M. Grant, Publisher, Inc. in an edition of 1,000 copies. The novel originally appeared in the magazine Adventure on March 3, 1921.
The Bowl of Baal is a 1975 science fiction novel by Robert Ames Bennet. It was first published in book form in 1975 by Donald M. Grant, Publisher, Inc. in an edition of 1,600 copies. The novel was originally serialized in All Around Magazine beginning in 1916.
Black Vulmea's vengeance & Other Tales of Pirates is a collection of adventure short stories about pirates by Robert E. Howard. It was first published in 1976 by Donald M. Grant, Publisher, Inc. in an edition of 2,750 copies. The title story first appeared in the magazine Golden Fleece in 1938.
The Dream of X is a novella by English writer William Hope Hodgson, an abridged version of his 1912 science fiction novel The Night Land.
Durandal is a novel of historical fiction by Harold Lamb. The first part of a 1931 novel, it was published as a stand-alone book titled simply Durandal in 1981 by Donald M. Grant, Publisher in an edition of 1,875 copies of which 400 were boxed and signed by the artists. Intended as the first part in a proposed trilogy, it was followed in 1983 by The Sea of the Ravens, comprising the second section of the 1931 novel. A final volume to complete the trilogy, to be titled Rusudan, has yet to be published. The book has illustrations by George Barr and Alicia Austin.
The Sea of the Ravens is a novel of historical fiction by Harold Lamb and illustrators George Barr, and Alicia Austin. It was first published in stand-alone book form in 1983 by Donald M. Grant, Publisher, Inc. in an edition of 1,925 copies of which 200 were specially bound and signed by the artists. The novel originally appeared in Adventure in 1927. It was published with its prequel and sequel novels with new linking sections by Doubleday in 1931.
Post Oaks & Sand Roughs is a semi-autobiographical adventure novel by Robert E. Howard. It was first published in 1989 in France by NéO under the title of "Le Rebelle", since 1990 by Donald M. Grant, Publisher, Inc. in an edition of 850 copies. The book contains an introduction and appendix by Glenn Lord where Lord identifies the real people who appear as thinly disguised characters in the novel.
Two Complete Science-Adventure Books was an American pulp science fiction magazine, published by Fiction House, which lasted for eleven issues between 1950 and 1954 as a companion to Planet Stories. Each issue carried two novels or long novellas. It was initially intended to carry only reprints, but soon began to publish original stories. Contributors included Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, Arthur C. Clarke, Poul Anderson, John Brunner, and James Blish. The magazine folded in 1954, almost at the end of the pulp era.
Flash Gordon Strange Adventure Magazine was a pulp magazine which was launched in December 1936. It was published by Harold Hersey, and was an attempt to cash in on the growing comics boom, and the popularity of the Flash Gordon comic strip in particular. The magazine contained a novel about Flash Gordon and three unrelated stories; there were also eight full-page color illustrations. The quality of both the artwork and the fiction was low, and the magazine saw only a single issue. It is now extremely rare.
Howard Andrew Jones is an American speculative fiction and fantasy author and editor, known for The Chronicles of Hanuvar series, The Chronicles of Sword and Sand series and The Ring-Sworn trilogy. He has also written Pathfinder Tales, tie-in fiction novels in the world of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, published by Paizo. He is the editor of Tales from the Magician's Skull and has served as a Managing Editor at Black Gate since 2004. He assembled and edited a series of eight volumes of the short fiction of Harold Lamb for publication by Bison Books.
