Flame and Crimson: A History of Sword-and-Sorcery Paperback – January 16, 2020

Last year, in the depths of COVID, I restarted a novel I’d left off eleven years earlier. A hundred thousand words of manuscript staring at you like a hungry dog will make you wonder about what you’re doing in life, so finally I couldn’t stand it any longer and decided to finish the damn thing. It’s a fantasy novel, and getting back into it caused me to refamiliarize myself with some of the lit that inspired me as a youth. A lot of that was sword & sorcery, and when I saw Brian Murphy on a panel talking about S&S and heard he’d written a genre history, I bought it in a flash.It does not disappoint.FLAME & CRIMSON is a literate, comprehensive, balanced work of love and scholarship. Exhaustively referenced (the works cited list runs 22 pages) and with a wonderful timeline of the genre’s life, death, and resurrection at the end, the book begins at the logical starting place: definitions, origins, the coming of Conan—er, I mean Robert E. Howard—and proceeds to detail the ups and downs of the literature. Toward the end other media—movies, comics, music etc—are discussed, as well as the wider cultural impact of S&S.Brian is a fluid, entertaining writer, never dry, never lost in the weeds. Even his digressions--encapsulated in little boxes at the ends of some of the chapters--are invitations to further learning and exploration and well written in themselves. The only critiques I would make of the book would be typos randomly strewn about (not so many as to cause anyone to come unhinged), some quotes that get repeated in a few places (so you get a kind of echo effect), and the lack of an index. I think if a second edition were ever envisioned, this latter would be the thing I’d most want to see. One other thing which is not so much a critique as just a point I noticed was the absence of any discussion of Samuel R. Delany’s Return to Nevèrÿon series. Delany of course is best known as a science fiction writer (Dhalgren et al), but Neveryon is explicitly S&S as a subversion of S&S—kind of like what Moorcock (think Elric) did back in the 60s. (The Neveryon sequence was written in the 80s.) There is one mention of Delany—or, rather, of one of his essays—but it seems to me like there was a missed opportunity here to explore some other dimension of what was happening to the genre in the mid-late 80s.As a side note, Brian has appeared on a number of podcasts and panel discussions to talk about Sword & Sorcery and (ahem) to plug his book. I would definitely urge anyone who, for whatever reason, doesn't have the time or funds for a book, to check those out. Brian's fun not only to read but to listen to.Now I can’t wait for the second edition!Anyway, hats off to Brian for this effort. Something else I’d like to see from him sometime is a collection of all his fantasy genre-related essays under one cover. Seems like he’s made a name for himself on the scholarship front so I bet there’d be a market for that. I’ll be buying!

It's hard to get a good, thorough, scholarly account of S&S, especially given that most academic writers don't take the subgenre seriously, but Murphy is a scholarly fan writer who manages to treat his subject with sympathy, understanding, and yet critical discernment. Highly recommend.

As a rabid fan of the sword and sorcery genre of fantasy, I’ve always found it rather difficult to find a complete guide and history to the genre. That is, at least, until now, with debut author Brian Murphy’s “Flame and Crimson: A History of Sword-and-Sorcery." This is truly a well-researched book that is thoroughly engrossing and enjoyable to read. Murphy covers the authors that inspired the sword and sorcery genre and what are referred to as “proto sword and sorcery” authors such as Lord Dunsany, E.R. Eddison, H. Rider Haggard, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Talbot Mundy, Harold Lamb, Abraham Merritt and Clark Ashton Smith. He then moves on to the legendary father of sword and sorcery fiction, Robert E. Howard, with his contributions of Kull of Valusia and Conan the Cimmerian that jumpstarted the genre, and also his contemporaries such as C.L. Moore with her Red Sonya-inspired Jirel of Joiry character, and Henry Kuttner with his tales of Elak of Atlantis and Price Raynor. These all compose the “first wave,” that were mainly established in the Weird Tales pulps. Murphy then delves into the second, third and subsequent waves of sword and sorcery fiction including Poul Anderson’s “The Broken Sword,” “Three Hearts and Three Lions,” “Hrolf Kraki’s Saga,” “War of the Gods,” and his various short stories in the genre, Fritz Leiber with his “Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser,” as well as other legendary authors such as Michael Moorcock with his “Elric Saga” and Karl Edward Wagner with his “Kane Series.” Also included are the authors that helped keep this genre alive through the years such as David C. Smith with his “Oron Series,” Richard L. Tierney with his “Simon of Gitta Series,” Charles R. Saunders with his “Imaro Saga,” Keith Taylor with his “Bard Series,” Ramsey Campbell with his tales of Ryre, Tanith Lee with her myriad sagas and tales, the collaborated “Thieves’ World Stories,” Glen Cook’s “Black Company Series,” and many others, all the way up until the mid-to-latter ’80s where there was inevitably a sword and sorcery bust due to the flow of the piles of steaming garbage films such as “Conan the Destroyer,” “Red Sonja,” “The Barbarians,” “Deathstalker,” and films made by brainless, money-hungry dolts that had no clue what the essence of sword and sorcery really was, and mindless novels churned out without much thought to plot, character, or atmosphere. After emphasizing the severity of this tragedy, he brings new hope by revealing a whole new wave of sword and sorcery authors and publishers that are flourishing in the underground, dedicated to delivering the goods in the vein of the blood-and-thunder authors of old, including DMR Books, Steven Shrewsbury & Brian Keene, Howard Andrew Jones, and also the advent of the subgenre of grimdark, that owes a lot to the genre of sword and sorcery. This is a true gem of a book, and Brian Murphy is a stellar new author that is certainly one to watch. I give Flame and Crimson a 4.5 out of 5.

Sword-and-sorcery fiction holds a special place in my heart. I grew up on it, to some extent, from the time that I could seek out my own preferences for reading. It holds a central place in the Appendix N list by Gary Gygax in the 1st edition Dungeons & Dragons "Dungeon Master's Guide" - the list of authors and books that inspired the creation of my favorite hobby, RPGs (specificallyD&D). This is a very thorough look at the history of sword-and-sorcery, what differentiates it from high/epic fantasy, the impact it has had on culture, etc. It is a field with which I am already somewhat familiar, but this is a good book whether for beginners or those with some expertise, and it even managed to add to my reading list! Highly recommended for anyone with an interest in fantasy (in general) or sword-and-sorcery (specifically), or in the history of D&D and Appendix N.

As a HUGE fan of Sword & Sorcery, I've read hundreds of books in this genre. This book is the complete story of its humble beginnings and meteoric rise in the 80's to its current state. It is clear that the author thoroughly researched this genre but tells its story in a non-academic, inspiring way. Murphy is a true master of words! The author also has a blog called "The Silver Key" which has quickly become my go-to for all my Sword & Sorcery needs. If you love Sword & Sorcery, you need this book!The cover art by Tom Barber is stunning!

If you're interested in sword and sorcery or fantasy more generally, this is a great reference that'll broaden your horizons.

Sword and Sorcery is a subgenre of fantasy that is much grittier and earthier than the usual Tolkien pastiches. The main characters are rarely "good", their world has lots of grey shades, is not well-ordered and will likely never be.Sword and Sorcery begins with Robert E. Howard, and specifically with his "Conan the Barbarian" stories. Set in an imaginary distant past, Conan rises from a barbarian outsider (and exile) to mercenary and thief, to war chief and finally king of Aquilonia. Howard spent an astounding amount of thought concerning the background and "morals" of his tales, though he usually denied it. The Lovecraft-Howard letter exchange is quite revealing in this aspect. Later authors like Leiber and Moorcock and their contributions are given ample space, too, once again with a thorough look at the authors' stated intentions and literary theories.This book is a very well-researched, in-depth look at this subgenre, its authors, its history and development. It is full of insights, meticulously annotated and footnoted, but also a pleasure to read and full of wit. The author's insights concerning the appeal of sword and sorcery are quite handy for anyone "in the business", be them aspiring writers or GMs.Commentary and literature analysis concerning "fun" literature might sound boring. This book is absolutely not, but a scholastic and entertaining page-turner. Full recommendation, no reservation. (Could have done with more illustrations, though...)

Sono appassionato di sword-and-sorcery fin dagli anni '70, quando per caso ho scoperto in libreria dei paperback in inglese con le copertine di Frank Frazetta, e da allora ho collezionato molti dei libri che sono citati in questo interessante saggio che si propone di tracciare non solo la storia, ma anche le ragioni per cui questo tipo di letteratura ha catturato l'attenzione dei lettori nei diversi momenti storici. L'autore riesce senza dubbio nel suo proposito, e non risparmia davvero le citazioni: basti dire che la lista delle opere menzionate nel libro è lunga 22 pagine, e fa venir voglia di andare a cercare quelle che ancora mancano nella propria collezione. Certo non esiste in versione italiana, ma è scritto in un inglese molto terso e scorrevole, oltretutto da ogni pagina traspare l'autentica passione dell'autore per quello che scrive, e la sua profonda conoscenza della sword-and-sorcery. Secondo me non dovrebbe mancare nella libreria degli appassionati di questo genere letterario, spesso ingiustamente sottovalutato.

I heard the author interviewed on the Appendix N podcast and ordered the book just after. Pleased to say it lived up to expectation. A thoughtful and comprehensive history of an overlooked and sometimes maligned genre. I've been reading S&S since the mid-70s but discovered several unfamiliar writers in this book who I'll be catching up on.If you are an S&S fan this is a must read.

An excellent history of a frequently despised genre.