Why does Chaos need a Swordsmistress? I have no idea. Maybe the folks at Games Workshop know.
Anyway, I read a lot of Sword & Sorcery, and I’ll be the first to admit that sometimes we ain’t talking high-end literature here. Some of this stuff is pure crap. But in my efforts to produce stuff for Broadsword and Legends of Steel, I must suffer for my art.
Raven is a series of S&S books that were published in England in the late seventies and in the US in the mid-eighties. I stumbled across #1, 2 & 5 a few weeks ago. I’m halfway through #1 and I must admit I kinda like it.
Escaped slave girl with a mystical destiny meets a mysterious warrior / sorcerer who recognizes her hidden potential. And with the aid of a sword master and his a band of raiders, train her in the fighting arts so that she can fulfill an unknown prophecy that will change the world…Yadda, Yadda, etc. You know the drill.
The locations are exotic, the action scenes are fun, and there are naughty bits, including a little girl/girl action- kind of like Xena but with some payoff in the end. I enjoyed the supporting characters and paid more attention to the locales than I usually would probably because I’m working on a campaign world for Broadsword right now.
All in all as the genre goes, I was entertained and came a way with a few snippets for use in my own gaming. From what I understand there were only five books, so I think I’ll try and hunt down #3 & 4.
Why does Chaos need a Swordsmistress?
ReplyDeleteSome 3rd level fighters wear their alignments on their sleeves.
Thanks for mentioning those. I too love sword & sorcery--even some of the old, cheesy ones. I did a bit of research and figured out why those particular books have above average writing.
ReplyDeleteRichard Kirk is a pseudonym used by Robert Holdstock (author of the World Fantasy Award winner Mythago Wood) and Angus Wells. Both men worked on the first book. Holdstock wrote books 2 and 4. Wells wrote books 3 and 5.
I'm definitely going to have to look those up.
Btw, I've posted on here anonymously a few times before. I enjoy your blog.
Thanks for the additional info David.
ReplyDeleteand I'm glad you enjoy the blog!
This reminds me...
ReplyDeleteHave you ever read the Draco Falcon series? Boy, I loved that as a youngster.
Here's a link with a little more information:
http://www.swordandsorcery.org/swordsmen-falcon1.htm
yup, I have all the Falcon series except for the last one. I'll get that one soon. Another guilty pleasure. last time I played AD&D I modeled my knight character after Draco.
ReplyDeleteThis reminds me of my last used book shopping trip in a decent sized city - Two David Smith 'Oron' books, a copy of Lieber's Sword & Deviltry in new condition, C.L. Moore's Black Gods and Scarlet Dreams, and a couple 'Conan' novels. You know the ones.
ReplyDeleteAnd now I have two new series to look for. :0
I blame Broadsword and Sorcerer & Sword. BLAME YOU! lol. (btw, I posted a 4 star review of B-BF on RPG.net for next week. Great lil' game, can't wait to see some Legends of Steel. If you want any more feedback/playtesters...)
I will have look for this series at the used bookstore.
ReplyDelete