In addition to his Black Vulmea and Bran Mak Morn stories, David C. Smith collaborated with Richard L. Tierney (1936 –2022) on six novels in a series about Red Sonja. Though often described as Robert E. Howard pastiches, that label is not completely accurate. Red Sonja (spelled with a J), is not a Howard character, although she is based on a couple of female swordslingers Howard did create, particularly — it seems to me — on Valeria, from the Conan story “Red Nails.” (A very similar character named Valeria appeared in the first Conan movie — Conan the Barbarian.)

Howard did create a character named Red Sonya (spelled with a “y”), who appeared as a secondary character in one historical tale — “The Shadow of the Vulture,” from the collection Sowers of the Thunder. She had red hair instead of blonde like Valeria, but otherwise is less reminiscent of Red Sonja than is Valeria.

Left: Marvel Feature, issue #1, featuring Red Sonja by Roy Thomas, Dick Giordano, and
John Romita. Right: Red Sonja #1, by Roy Thomas, Clara Noto, Ed Summer, and Frank
Thorne (Marvel Comics, November 1, 1975 and October 12, 1976). Covers: Frank Thorne

The character of Red Sonja (with the J) was actually created for Marvel Comics in 1973 by Roy Thomas and Barry Windsor-Smith. She was developed as a potential companion for Conan in the comics and inhabits the same Hyborian Age. This character was featured in the 1985 film starring Brigitte Nielsen.

Smith & Tierney wrote 6 books in the Red Sonja Sword & Sorcery series for Ace books. All had covers by Boris Vallejo.

1. The Ring of Ikribu, 1981
2. Demon Night, 1982
3. When Hell Laughs, 1982
4. Endithor’s Daughter, 1982
5. Against the Prince of Hell, 1983
6. Star of Doom, 1983

The series is particularly notable for its consistency. The books move. They are well plotted, full of action — with a surprising amount of philosophy — and they deliver a healthy dose of exciting S&S fun. I read the first two books quickly and then doled the others out because I knew each would deliver a good shot of S&S. I’ve not read the Red Sonja comic books but I recommend the paperbacks to anyone. In fact, the books generally got stronger across the series, which is very rare among series books in my experience. Books 5 & 6 were particular favorites.

A couple of general notes about the series. One, Red Sonja wears: “a brief vest and a skirt of silvery scale-mail that covered her breasts and hung from her waist.” Smith & Tierney recognized this as impractical attire but it had already been established for the comic book character. In When Hell Laughs they give an interesting explanation for why Sonja continues to wear this outfit. She was once taken prisoner and forced to wear the brief armor as an insult. She killed her captive but continued to wear the armor “just for the pleasure of disemboweling any man who chose to make an issue of it.”

Second, we learn that Sonja was a farmer’s daughter. (He’d once been a soldier and taught her brothers swordplay, which she observed and practiced on her own.) Mercenaries slaughtered her family and raped her. She fled into the forest afterward and was visited by a “goddess.” The goddess’s spectral sword imbued Sonja’s sword arm with strength and speed. I’ve never been a fan of god given powers or weapons but, again, this was part of the comic book backstory for the character, as we see in the 1985 movie.

Overall, Smith and Tierney did REH’s legacy proud with this series. Lots of action and exotic situations described in strong, aggressive prose. Enough consistency with the tropes of S&S to keep the genre fans connected but some surprises too. I wouldn’t have read the whole series if I hadn’t liked them.

Coming in Part Three: Oron and the Tales of Attluma.

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Charles Gramlich administers The Swords & Planet League group on Facebook, where this post first appeared. His last article for us was Part One of David C. Smith & Robert E. Howard. See all of his recent posts for Black Gate here.