Flame and Crimson: A History of Sword & Sorcery
You learn a lot about Conan the Barbarian, but also dime store novels and the history of the booms and busts of Fantasy.
Contemporary S&S Links!
www.soimwritinganovel.com is my podcast all about writing a new S&S novel, featuring interviews with all kinds of contemporary creators, and people knowledgeable about classic works. In the first episode I summarize an excellent, elastic definition of the genre, taken from Brian Murphy's book Flame & Crimson: A History of Sword and Sorcery.
There's very new, growing movement to do more of this, wanting to preserve the virtues the classics while leaving behind the baggage of assorted bigotries, and also seeking to diversify readership & authorship moving forward. It's called "New Edge Sword & Sorcery".
There’s also a 60K word sampler of works from new authors you can download free. (Disclaimer: you have to sign up for an S&S newsletter to get the book, but if you just want to check out the sampler, please feel free to sign up and unsubscribe immediately....but the newsletter is a great way to hear about new S&S!)
https://swordandsorcerynews.wordpress.com/newsletter-signup/
OTHER COOL STUFF TO CHECK OUT (Books, Magazines, Podcasts...) include:
Tales from the Magician's Skull (The editor's S&S definition, essays on where to start with S&S)
Whetstone Magazine (Free! Stories all 2.5k words or less, its Discord is the place to talk S&S)
Frolic on the Amaranthyn by Chase A. Folmar is a novella about an S&S thief couple.
The Red Man and Others is a short story collection centered on an S&S found family, feat. sensitive depictions of queerness & disability.
Swords of the Four Winds tells rip-roaring historical S&S tales centered on South Asian cultures.
MVMedia is author Milton Davis' publishing house, which focuses on sword & soul, S&S focused on stories rooted in black history & cultures. Milton has worked with and published the father of sword & soul, Charles Saunders.
Rogues in the House is a really fun, pop-culture focused S&S chat podcast.
Though marketed as historical fantasy, JTT Ryder's Hag in the Hills is absolutely new S&S.
And this is just what I can toss up here before I have to get on with my day. I strongly recommend my podcast, the newsletter, and the Whetstone Discord as great ways to learn about S&S in general and participate in the contemporary S&S scene!
It's alive and small, but growing, as a fandom. Right now I'd argue the most active, positive place to chat about it is the Whetstone Magazine Discord, though r/SwordandSorcery is lovely too, if less active.
To "What is Sword and Sorcery?" I recommend Howard Andrew Jones' definition, orthe more elastic one given by Brian Murphy in his excellent book on the genre. I summarize the latter and give my own thoughts in the first episode of my podcast about writing a sword & sorcery novel.