Renegade Swords II

My first reading of Moorcock here. It's an intriguing landscape but a little hard to keep up with the many names. Las and Chaos both give off a cynical view of the world. Howard gives us a story that reflects our own, or his, wonderments with tales of past glory and ancient romance. Taylor and Morressy 's stories were my least favorite with Taylor's people having a bit of a haughty hippy feel to them, too spiritual for their own pride, and Morrissey's guy not exhibiting much in redemption though he instills fear enough in the people to do right by each other, to some degree.Roaming Forest by Michael Moorcock - attacked by a seabear while seafaring to Tana Lorn, a high-ranking warrior-priest named Rackhir has spent a year on a foreign island, called Eerin, unable to speak their language, and being an itinerant archer-for-hire (ronan). A bloodthirsty, life-sucking forest harbors an evil serpent, berserker guardians, a Seed to the multiverse of moonbeam roads, and a beautiful Melnibonéan that makes even the gravest task more bearable. A man's desire for the fairer sex is so underrated and stronger than his own desire to survive. Moorcock seems to use color to paint the scene, with the red archer, the silver beauty, the green guardians, and such. This is my first direct reading of a Moorcock tale (I've read Roy Thomas' comic versions), and though I'm intrigued, it's a bit jarring to visualize all the new names and metaphysical realms, the different ages and multiple names of each character. I also am unsure what Moorcock may have tried to convey with the description of the island's religions in that the cross was popular on the island and a sign of their pantheon's chief god. God is the only god so there wouldn't be a pantheon but it's possible Moorcock was speaking through Ronan's mindset that he comes from a realm of different gods and only believes there are multiple gods in those new realm.To Rescue Tanelorn by M. Moorcock - Resting away from his Chaos allegiance to Lord Vezhan, to thieve, learn, and retire, Rackhir must now defend the neutral city of Tanelorn against the beggar horde "led" by Chaos Lord Narjhan. With the guidance of the Sighing Desert hermet seer Lamsar (who uses mountain gods' sorcery), Rackhir the Red Archer will have to journey through the risky Five Gates to reach the Grey Lord's to fight the horde. Rackhir will experience a village of aggressive dancers, Hionhurn the Executioner, the immortal Guardians who guard nothing, a man of nothingness who wills the environment to be nothing, the Grey Lords, an old lover: Sorana, pledged to Eequor of Chaos, and a floating fleet of airships.Marches of Valhalla by Robert E. Howard - Hialmar (incarnation of James Allison), son of the Fair-Haired, barbaric descendant of the Æsir. Kelka, savage Pict. Blood brothers in a marching war band. Aluna, handmaiden to the "goddess" Ishtar, but servant to the city of Khemu's king (and priest of Ishtar), Akkheba. Robert paints a desire for the ages with Hialmar and Aluna, though a classic tragedy is at hand for all involved. Warring Vanir against Æsir find more camaraderie than the elitist snobs who hire one to fight the other.Killer by David Drake & Karl Edward Wagner - Vonones and Lycon supply wild game to the gladiatorial arenas of Rome. An Armenian dealer and a Greek gladiator-turned-hunter, a battle-hardened veteran. Lycon traded the boredom and riches of the arena for the less lucrative world-traveling of beast capturing. But some folks are natural-born killers. Aliens? Demons? Predator or Prey? Who knows but the king of the jungle.The Unlawful Hunter by Keith Taylor - Fal mac Umai is an outlaw in the making, going against tradition by not staying in his family's line of being a bard. He also is an outlaw of sorts to his communities traditions and beliefs about the spiritual/magical side of Samhain. Being born on Samhain, he knows that certain beliefs aren't true for him though others swear by them. Fal and his crew use Samhain as the night to rustle cattle for a starving people only to be bogged down by a bawdy hag who wants more from Fal than he should give. But give he does, and it darkens his soul for future stories. Being a tale from the late 80's, it is still weird to read about a teen's forced debauchery.The Hunting of Mara by Keith Taylor - Fal faces the spears of a clan he has wronged. Fal carries the blood of the sea people, the Lir, on his mother's side, the seer. Being young, cocky, and wild, Fal still faces the memories of being forced upon a hag/fairie, amplified by the induced fear of a shadowy srigha.The Pool of the Stone God by A. Merritt - a very short story, Professor James Marston is stranded upon an island while traveling to New Guinea to view fossils. Here, he and his small crew experience a winged stone sculpture that has vampiric qualities and nightly magical mischief.Stoneskin by John Morressy - a gritty landscape of shady, rapey and lusty folks, an nameless warrior's vulnerability is untouchable with the magical skin of a witch's craft. No one is named except the dismembered sorcerer Kembrec, who's skin adorns the new warrior, and the son of the warrior and witch, who is named Kembrec also. This turn of good fortune makes ?the warrior, with stone skin, no less a lusty beast but a King and a protector. King Stoneskin.

There's only one great story in this collection, "Marchers of Valhalla" by Robert E. Howard. All the others are instantly forgettable, particularly two very inept tales by Michael Moorcock. When stories don't have much of a reprint history, there is generally a good reason.

Really enjoyed sitting down and reading stories from some of the masters of old school sword and sorcery. If you like your stories full of adventure with no political/social agenda, you'll love reading Renegade Swords ii.

A good selection of stories from some really good writers. I'm always happy to see a Robert E. Howard story, even though I've read it before. I read and re-read Howard all the time. A real gem is the story by David Drake and Karl Edward Wagner, "Killer". Also, in an aside, they let you know that the short story has been expanded into a novel, so here I am waiting for that novel to arrive from Amazon in a few days!

An amazing collection. The two Moorcock pieces justify the book. The Howard isn't one of his best, but still well-written. The Wagner was exquisite. The Merritt piece was a warm-up that he didn't put under his name to start with. All in all a good, if uneven, collection. If there's a third volume I will buy it.

Renegade Swords was a hard act to follow, but I have to say its successor easily bests it. This superb collection of Sword & Sorcery tales will satisfy any aficionado. Penned by top names in the genre, the stories contained within are thrilling, action-packed, and flush with sorcery and magic. A true gem of a collection that shouldn't be missing from your hoard. Don't miss it.

All old good stuff.

Renegade Swords II is the newest exciting release from DMR Books. Six authors with eight stories. An assorted mix of sword and sorcery tales. There is certainly something for everyone in this collection.Once again, Brian LeBlanc has created an awe inspiring cover illustrating To Rescue Tanelorn by Michael Moorcock.Often authors will write short stories about reoccurring characters and these stories are sold to various outlets. These stories are not always collected together. Two fine examples of this are present here with two tales each by Michael Moorcock and Keith Taylor. These stories can be read independently, but are better read together.The Roaming Forest by Michael Moorcock- Rackhir the Red Archer is lost on a strange world. He desperately searches for a way home. This is the newer of the two tales, and for some reason Moorcock has changed Tanelorn to Tana Lorn. Does anyone know why?To Rescue Tanelorn by Michael Moorcock- Tanelorn is threatened by Chaos. Rackhir decides to travel the multi-verse to appeal to the Grey Lords for assistance. But the Grey Lords are neutral, why would they interfere in the conflicts of Order and Chaos?Marchers of Valhalla by Robert E Howard- The first James Allison story. Vikings in the New World. A goddess enslaved. I have this in a collection with the same title, but have yet to read it. So many books, finite time.Killer by David Drake- During the height of the Roman games there was a great demand for exotic dangerous animals for the Coliseum. This is a tale of something more human than animal but all killer. I was aware of the novel, but I had no idea this began as a short story. Another I have yet to make time to read...The Unlawful Hunter by Keith Taylor- A good old cattle theft during Samhain what could go wrong? Fal the Reiver, father to Felimid must serve an old hag with the lives of his friends in the balance.The Haunting of Mara by Keith Taylor- Fal is haunted by the hag from the first story. Things aren't quite as they would appear though.The Pool of the Sun God by A. Merritt- A short piece written under a pen name. Almost a flash piece. Marooned on an island, the survivors discover an abandoned village with a strange statue above a pool. Horrors abound after sundown.Stoneskin by John MorressyAn unnamed warrior, a witch, and a magical glove which bestows invulnerability to its owner. This was my favorite of the bunch. I have several of his books I think I'm going to have to move up on my TBR pile.Every author presented here is well known, with the possible exception of John Morressy. The best part of this anthology was that I was unfamiliar with every single story. It was all new to me. In fact, I only own one of these stories in another anthology.I heartily recommend this and eagerly look forward to more from DMR!