I have an old copy of this paperback. I got it when I was younger and tried to read it. I couldn’t get into it. I tried again later when I heard a famous author sing the praises of the story. I couldn’t get into it then.
This month it was the selected book for Watch The Skies. I tried again, and apparently the third time is the charm. I managed to get through the whole thing.
I understand now why there was praise for this book. I get it from the intellectual point of view, but it was not the page turning masterpiece that some others had claimed. It’s decidedly old school sword and sorcery fantasy. There is casual misogyny in there. Rape, murder and abuse are in there too. It is decidedly of it’s time. Also – the part that likely drew the praise – it is unlike other ‘heroic’ fantasy of its contemporaries because the main character(s) fights for the villain. Croaker is an unreliable narrator and not a hero in any real sense. The Black Company earns the name – black hearts all.
There is an really good quote from this work, “Evil is relative… You can’t hang a sign on it. You can’t touch it or taste it or cut it with a sword. Evil depends on where you are standing, pointing your indicting finger.”
There are tidbits like that throughout the book. The story is solid. The characters are believable, if not likable and the book has a reasonable conclusion. In all, if you want to dig into sword and sorcery from back in the day, this book is for you.
I grabbed this one off the shelf as part of my YouTube chat about fantasy works that inspire folks playing Dungeons & Dragons. I had every intention of just glancing through the pages to get a quick refresh on things.
I ended up rereading the entire thing. There are a few things in this series that have become “tropy” at this point, but the book itself came out back in 1979 or 80. Given the way things have changed in our current political environment I’m certain there are a number of my female friends that would not enjoy many aspects of these stories… but that’s one of the very best things about this book. There are multiple stories. The thieves’ world series is shared world. It’s the same setting with shared characters over a series of short stories. Don’t like the one your on? Skip to the next one, just don’t be shocked if you’re missing something that happened in another story.
This book also brings up the question of taking art as something separate from the artist. One of the first people on board and one of the stories in this book is by somebody lately accused of abuse. I don’t know all the details, but there is enough out there to make even the most staunch fans cast aside all this author’s works. It’s a tough question that has no clear answer.
IF you’re a fan of old school fantasy you should grab this book and take a look at what a city of villains, killers and schemers can be.
This part did not go up into the Goodreads review, but for those who question the abuser I reference was the author Marion Zimmer Bradley. I will reiterate that I don’t know all the details. Her time in the science fiction convention scene was well before my time. Her husband died in prison where he was after being convicted of molesting a child. I struggle to feel good about recommending something that includes the work of an accused child rapist and enabler of a pedophile. I don’t think we’ll ever know all the details since the author died back in 1999, but I felt it was important to point out.
Take it for what you will – I still recommend the work as a whole. It’s worth doing some reading to get deeper into the subject if you’re a fan of the work that Bradley did over the years to push women’s rights and the feminist movement. It’s simply more important to go into things knowing and understanding rather than blindly.
10a is in reference to my top ten list of sword and sorcery movies that I posted back in (checks notes… wow, that long ago?) June. I listed sword and sorcery movies that are my favorites. I was, and am, happy with this list.
As things go on the internet, more than one person declared that I was somehow “wrong”. I’m still not sure how I can be wrong about what *my* favorites are, but there you have that. It was also pointed out that a significant number of my choices were from the 80s. By significant they meant 80%. The other two on the list were even older (50s and 60s).
Have there been NO sword and sorcery films since the 80s that are worthy?
It’s a complicated question. Being that the list is MY favorites, uh, no. Simple answer. The simple answer is not always the best answer though. It’s been something that’s rattled around in all that empty space at the back of my noggin since the question was asked. I’ve started to look for, look at, and consider other fantasy movies and have found two others that I rather enjoy. They don’t crack the top ten but I’ve found worthy sword and sorcery is out there.
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
Seventh Son (2014) is the story of the seventh son of a seventh son who is recruited in the battle against the queen of all evil witches and her minions. Julianne Moore plays the queen of witches, Mother Malkin. Jeff Bridges plays the professional monster hunter Master Gregory. There are a couple of small plot twists in here that I won’t give away. It’s a challenge to say more about the plot after that… it’s a little thin. It is however filled with shape shifting monsters, sword and staff fights and magical spells. The computer generated effects don’t generally get in the way of the movie. All in all, fun to watch (and up on Netflix at the time of this writing).
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010) is the story of a rogue boy taken from the streets and brought into the life of a prince by the man who becomes his father (the king). This prince must then unravel the mystery of who is behind the threat to his adopted father’s kingdom and stop the villain before he unwittingly destroys the world. There’s not a ton of magic in this movie, but the magic is central to the plot. Jake Gyllenhall plays the parkour prince really well and having Ben Kingsley as part of the cast is always a giant plus in my book. It is a movie inspired by a video game (and at one time held the world record for most expensive film in that category) but don’t let that be a knock against it. It was a well done movie that is not overwhelmingly stuck in the psuedo-European model of swords and sorcery (and available on Disney+ at the time of this post).
I’m going to continue to hunt for good sword and sorcery films. I do love that genre so. Are there any you think are worthy that I’ve completely neglected?
Like so many people I’ve spent a lot of time with YouTube (and many over streaming services) lately. Along the way I bumped into a list video. These videos are not uncommon. Most of the time I can either enjoy or ignore them. One caught my attention – the top ten sword and sorcery movies list.
This particular list made it difficult to tell if they were in a particular order or not. I chose to believe they were in random, jumble order. If they weren’t, it only made the list more challenging for me. I could only agree with a handful of them. As I thought about it I tried to assemble my own list and realized I needed to narrow down what I meant by sword and sorcery and then what my own top ten would be.
Sword and sorcery is a sub-genre of general fantasy films. They are mythic adventures involving a great deal of action and supernatural or magical entities. They can (and often do) involve romance, but it is not always the case. The story could be a world saving adventure but doesn’t have to be. It can just as easily be a single hero’s journey to achieve some goal.
That definition puts epic scale fantasy in a different category. I love the Lord of the Rings series but I would call that epic fantasy rather than sword and sorcery. I think Narnia falls into the epic category as well, though that one is also clearly a portal fantasy. It also eliminates a really wonderful movie – The 13th Warrior (1999) from contention. While it has swords and action it is very short on sorcery. There is the barest hint of prophecy at one point, but it’s really just a great adventure movie set in the time of the Vikings.
In narrowing the field I found it made the choices here much more clear. My list starts at number 10 and works up to my favorite. It’s entirely possible that this list shifts over time. I haven’t seen a lot of great sword and sorcery coming out recently, but there’s always the chance that something new will jump in here too. The list:
#10 The Sword and the Sorcerer (1982) This is a pure nostalgia pick. The story of a mercenary with a triple bladed sword who is recruited to help stop a tyrant and his sorcerer, this was the very first R rated movie I ever went to the theater to see. It’s a bit dark at times, a bit cringy at times, and I don’t think it holds up well, but it makes the list.
#9 Sword of the Valiant (1984) This movie does not get the credit it deserves. Sean Connery, John Rhys-Davies, Ronald Lacey and Peter Cushing are all in this movie. I’m genuinely shocked more people are not on board with it. The story is of Sir Gawain accepting the challenge of the the Green Knight and the journey he takes to meet that challenge. I am actually looking to pick this one up on DVD to add to the collection. It shocked me that I don’t already have it.
#8 The Beastmaster (1982) I went back and rewatched this one recently. The story of a warrior who could communicate with animals – an ability that those in power tried to eliminate from the world. He and his animal companions set out to track down his father’s killer and take revenge. There are a lot of parts that are very cringe worthy given today’s view of things. I still put this one in the top ten.
#7 Willow (1988) This movie is just a lot of fun. It is the heart of what I think a sword and sorcery film can be. A villager who would be a wizard sets off on a quest to return a lost child ends up protecting her from an evil queen. This wizrad is joined by the great warrior Mad Mardigan – a masterful swordsman with a delightful mercenary streak. I really enjoy this one.
#6 Excalibur (1981) A wonderful film version of the Arthurian legend. It’s soooo shiny! The sword work is all over the place and Merlin is just as nutty and dangerous as you would imagine. One of my favorite versions of this tale.
#5 Jason and the Argonauts (1963) My only real inclusion of the Greek mythos in this list. I clearly remember watching this one on Saturday afternoon television as a kid. The story telling is solid and the special effects are from the one and only Ray Harryhausen. Stop motion battles at an amazing level. Harpys, skeletons, a hydra… just fantastic stuff that is still watchable today.
#4 The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958) Everything I said for the previous entry applies here as well. The fantasy aspects combined with pirates racing to save a princess from a sorcerer who has holed up on an island filled with monsters. Just as with Jason – still totally watchable all these years later. Harryhausen’s stop motion is magic.
#3 Legend (1985) I love the visuals of this movie. I love the soundtrack(s) from this movie. I love the villain in this movie SO much. Legend is the story of a young man who must stop the Lord of Darkness from destroying the last unicorns and ending daylight forever. It is a legend.
#2 Ladyhawke (1985) Significantly more romance than most of my top picks, this is the story of a thief who is rescued by a warrior after escaping from a dungeon. The thief becomes involved with the warrior and his plan to destroy the bishop in the city the thief just escaped from. IF the bishop can not be faced, the warrior will lose his love forever. Some anachronistic parts, but still great sword and sorcery.
#1 Conan the Barbarian (1982) Conan must take the top spot here. The Arnold Schwarzenegger portrayal of Robert E. Howard’s iconic hero is hands down my favorite. It has everything. War, cultists, magic, partying, stealing and vengeance. It is violent and grim. It had one of the first villains that gave me something to measure other villains against. When James Earl Jones plays the cult leader Thulsa Doom and says, “now they will know why they fear the night…” it gives you shivers.
That’s the list. My top ten. Do you agree? Is the order all wrong? Are there any that are missing?
