I discovered Adrian Cole (1949 – ) in the late 1970s through his Dream Lords trilogy. 1. Plague of Nightmares (1975) 2. Lord of Nightmares (1975) 3. Bane of Nightmares (1976) All were from Zebra books, with covers by Tom Barber, Jack Gaughan (maybe), and Tom Barber respectively. Volume 2 was also published with a Tom Barber cover but I don’t have it. I’ve shown it below and wish I owned it because it’s cooler than my version. However, the…
Donar wanted to read the depth of my anger, to plumb my sorrow at the loss of Thusnelda. I shared these things with him. What I do next, Argedestes, I do with pain like a banner above me. It is given to me. It is given to me to be the hammer of Rome. Arminius, Bane of Eagles (2021) is the first volume of Adrian Cole’s new sword & sorcery alternate history trilogy set against the struggle between the Roman…
Tyrandire, the Palace of Pain, moves secretly and silently through unseen tunnels between the many dimensions of the omniverse, traversing any of them that its grim master wishes to visit. A minute moon, perfectly circular, colder than terror, Tyrandire speeds on its way like light, sometimes lingering like a biting frost. The energy that charges this oval missile is greater than that of any sun, indeed greater than the energy contained within an entire universe, for it is the will…
I don’t often hear of fantasy described as “In the tradition of Tolkien and Lovecraft!” Just seems like an odd mix to me. But that’s exactly how Adrian Cole’s first three novels, collectively known as The Dream Lords trilogy, are described. Cole is a British writer also known for his four-volume Omaran Saga, and his more recent trilogy The Voidal, which Fletcher Vredenburgh called “an endless collection of interesting settings: universe-sized dimensions; monster-infested pocket worlds; a realm filled not with…
Last year I reviewed (quite favorably, after an initial aversion to it) The Oblivion Hand (2001), the first collection of Adrian Cole’s stories about the Voidal. To say they’re excessive, over the top, and incredibly phatasmagorical barely does them justice. They are all those things and much more. These traits are carried over into the second volume, The Long Reach of Night (2011), an even better book than the first. The Voidal is a man, cast out by the Dark Gods onto…
Stripped of all his memories for some great transgression against the Dark Gods, the mysterious one called the Voidal, or Fatecaster, endlessly traverses the dimensions of the omniverse. Always he brings vengeance via his Oblivion Hand, an additional punishment of the Dark Gods. And furthermore, any who aid or befriend him are made to suffer. Oblivion Hand (Wildside Press 2001) is a fix-up of eight early stories by Adrian Cole about his dark wanderer, the Voidal. Cole’s amnesiac protagonist was introduced…
Savage Heroes (Star, February 1977). Cover by Les Edwards A couple more Sword & Sorcery anthology reviews: first up is Savage Heroes (Subtitled Tales of Sorcery & Black Magic) (1977), from British Publisher Star, edited by Eric Pendragon and illustrated by the great Jim Pitts, who is still working today. The cover looks to have been done by Les Edwards, however. It contains stories by C. L. Moore (Jirel), Henry Kuttner (Elak), Clark Ashton Smith, Clifford Ball, Ramsey Campbell, Daphne…
Can you match the fantasy world on the left with its creator on the right? Kregen _________ 1. John Norman Magira _________ 2. Edmond Hamilton Newhon ________ 3. Gardner F. Fox Janus __________ 4. Charles Allen Gramlich Ur_____________ 5. Jack Vance Amber__________ 6. Adrian Cole Skaith__________ 7. Leigh Brackett Gor ___________ 8. Fritz Leiber Kaldar _________ 9. Alan Burt Akers Tschai_________ 10. Edgar Rice Burroughs Talera _________ 11. Andre Norton Barsoom _______ 12. Roger Zelazny Llarn __________ 13. Hugh Walker…
Battleborn is an upcoming action-packed sword and sorcery magazine curated by Sean CW Korsgaard and published by IronAge Media. Read this to learn the scope of this supercharged magazine, the crowdfunding campaign needed to make it a reality (Indiegogo Aug 1st!), and learn Black Gate Exclusive scoops! As an editor at Baen, Sean CW Korsgaard championed the Hanuvar series, and was mentored by the author, the late Howard Andrew Jones. Sean CW Korsgaard states that Battleborn is emulating Howard’s run on…
Jason M. Waltz has published 16 Books under Rogue Blades Entertainment (RBE), another 3 under Rogue Blades Foundation (RBF), having lured in authors Such as Brandon Sanderson, Orson Scott Card, C.L. Werner, Glen Cook, Steven Erikson, Ian C. Esslemont, William King, Andy Offutt, and spurred the writing careers of dozens. Not all are Sword and Sorcery (S&S), with weird western and pirate anthologies appearing, but most are. Two of my favorite introductions to anthologies cap the ends of the RBE…