Contents:
THE RISE OF THE BANE-BLOOD by G. W. Thomas
G. W. spins four connected segments in the history of Malis, the Slaughter Daughter of the Temple of the Burning Lady. She breaks free from tyrannical control and self-interested customers, to lead her own crusade against the most feared killers in the land. Several attempts are made to deal with her, both with brute force and sinister magic, but Mother Bittern herself will face Malis’s black-burning sword.
THE EYE OF SIRAMA by M. D. Jackson
Bradik is a simple enough fellow, and not a bad drinking companion, for a thief. When he is sent to steal the Eye of Sirama he is for in a surprise. Soon his fate is lashed to a seeress who can see the future but prefers not to talk about it. Bradik has no choice but to run from the might of an imperial army, though he won’t fight alone. His own father has a few tricks up his sleeves, not to mention Philip the were-bear.
THE BRIDES OF DRIGOONA by Will Parker
Come sail the seas with Captain Kif and the crew of the Black Lotus. Things turn dark when the ship is becalmed in a Sargasso of missing ships where a terrible secret awaits. A ship full of beautiful women sounds like a sailor’s dream, but Lovecraftian terror lurks nearby.
THE FALL OF THE GOLDEN CITY by Jack Mackenzie
Sirtago & Poet are back! This short novel is a prequel that looks back to the pair’s early days in the land of Golden Kandra. The boys come to town to run their brand of con with four beautiful white Alabachian horses. But there is danger lurking amongst the tax-loving Kandrians, more than their roving tax inspectors and unfair exchange rates. In a section of town, where no light exists except a strange, green glow, someone is moving to grab the throne from the emperor. And they don’t mind if they use Sirtago and Poet as their unwitting puppets.
Here’s the introduction to this third volume:
INTRODUCTION
The Swords of Fire series has always been about celebrating the longer Sword & Sorcery tale. These are no five thousand worders trying to squish everything, setting, character, rising action and some kind of a pay-off all in a few thousand words. It can be done, but does it always have to? Sword & Sorcery began as a short story medium, unlike High Fantasy, which was dominated by the novel.
But what can an author do with a little more time, a sense of freedom and a raring good tale? That’s what we have aimed for, and continue to do so. Is the 15,000 word novella the best? Recently, I did a survey article on the subject for my blog, Dark Worlds Quarterly, interviewing dozens of current heroic fantasy writers on that very question: what is the right size for a Sword & Sorcery tale? The answer: all of them. I got writers who preferred every length: short story, novella and novel. There are as many thoughts on this as there are writers.
Having written all sizes of heroic fantasy tales, I can only comment on what I believe. The novella is, again, in my opinion, the best for the job. There is enough room to add color and character but not so much that you have to introduce many characters or sub-plots or go on about Elvish history at length. To put it in television terms, the short story is a TV episode; the novel is a movie. The novella is that unusual best, the extra-long episode or the two-parter. (Like that time Spock was on trial and we got to see Captain Pike look like a raisin…)
The contents of this third volume is a little different than its predecessors. You will find a 30,000 word short novel by Jack Mackenzie. If you are already a Sirtago & Poet fan, this is good news, indeed! We have not written the 15,000 word rule in stone. To counter that space, we also have “The Brides of Drigoona” at around 10,000 words, still a long short story, and a fun one if you like Sword & Sorcery set on the sea. For anyone with a short memory, Conan sailed the oceans blue with his pirate mate, Belit, for a while, before encountering a flying ape monster. Robert E. Howard folded in (to use a cooking expression) several different types of adventure fiction into the Hyborian mix, to our advantage. It has made Sword & Sorcery a wiry sub-genre that can adapt and survive.
Once again, M. D. Jackson has painted us a fiery cover with exciting figures that hint at what you will find between these covers. He has also introduced a new character, Bradik the Slayer, with a fiction piece of his own. With any luck, we will see him again, perhaps in Swords of Fire 4? Will there be a number 4? Count on it.
This volume is dedicated to Per J. Okerstrom.
Memoria De valens vivat tamque vestri.
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