Die By The Sword
We begin Die By the Sword with a strong opening, thanks to Dariel R.A. Quiogue’s Ardax in Antillia which sets up the narrative. From the Philippines, Quiogue has been frequently relied upon by various publishers in the genres of fantasy and adventure fiction such as the first part of Rakehell magazine and issue zero of New Edge Sword and Sorcery Magazine.
Like his other works, Quiogue captures elements of sword fighting and monsters in tales set within historical backgrounds, which are reminiscent of Ray Harryhausen’s fantasy adventure films. In “Ardax in Antillia”, a pair of gladiators escape a Roman arena in Iberia only to find that a beautiful maiden is destined to be sacrificed to the evil Atlantean gods. Then you have this very absorbing plot that comes next, which is filled with dry fighting and an interesting mix of sea creatures.
More superb fiction follows: Paul D. Batteiger’s ‘Rites of the Black Goddess’ is another excellent tale. Morcar, a legionary Lord returning from the crusades is greeted with hostility as a Norman count is ruling his fiefdom. Thanks to steel and a form of magic that would be understood as unholy, Morcar promptly takes action to restore his rightful rule. While the majority of the stories in Die By the Sword remain focused on combat and a hopeless point of view, this story will certainly please the enjoyment of grimdark readers as it is both bloodthirsty and moody.
Set in the same universe as the author’s 2022 novel Frolic on the Amaranthyn, Chase A. Folmar’s “The Sorcerer’s Scion” is yet another story that stresses ghastly atmospheres. Most of this short is about the last hours of the sell-sword Kulvrak: he was killed in the very beginning of the story for unknown reasons. He was contracted to get a crazy herbalists’ daughter out of a but cherish garden in filthy Old Iskalruun. Folmar mentions the classic Weird Tales author Clark Ashton Smith as an influence, and this story also has a rich narrative and threatening weirdness.
As in any anthology, there are some stories that did not work quite well. I think neither of Howie K. Bentley’s “Secrets Only Dragons Know” nor “The Key to the Blood Pyramid” by Matthew Knight satiated me completely. Firstly, it started with Eldol, the Warrior Briton who teams up with a witch from one of the tribes to seek revenge on the Saxons who betrayed them. While it is made clear that the witch has her own agenda, ragged narration and an enigmatic conclusion were among the reasons why the dragons never revealed their aspirations.
That said, it is the narrative in “The Key to the Blood Pyramid” that is more coherent, although the cross-dimensional, vampyre-slaying protagonist in magical armor seemed excessive for this reviewer, it also brought memories of a good natured yet obnoxious gentleman in a game shop who couldn’t stop regaling every person who walked past about his high level character from dungeons and dragons.
There were numerous interesting narratives within Die By the Sword, but I would highlight Gregory D. Mele’s “The Heart of Vengeance.” Similar to Mele’s past works in Tales From the Magician’s Skull No. 6 and Whetstone: Amateur Magazine of Pulp Sword and Sorcery No. 5, “The Heart of Vengeance” is set in the Azatlan which is the land of Aztec civilization.
After the warrior Helmón Twelve-Vulture gets his kingdom usurped by a backstabbing cousin, he goes on an epic journey to take vengeance on his foe. He is aided by the skull-faces priesthood of Xokolatl, Lord Death, but is also given a foreboding prophecy: all other victories will be Helmón’s, but if he longs to kill the usurper cousin, he will never see the victory. This central dilemma–will it be ever wise for one to die for vengeance? and the unique location come together in a very interesting dark fantasy story.
The last story in the What Lies Beneath, “The Sacrifice” should be mentioned from the author Elias Varsity. Deceived by an attractive woman of the night, arrogant Greek wanderer Cleofas finds himself trapped by a marble statue in a derelict temple. Almost in a fever state after being left with only a stone limb – it’s clear that the hot sun of the Mediterranean beats down on him before succumbing to the shame of slowly being beaten by thirst.
The savage, cloaked, unhealthy person who answers all questions in the form of a riddle is his only salvation, if at all. In exchange for helping him, the figure in the cloak asks him to pay a hefty price. Quite a nasty little grimdark fable that is rather straightforward about hubris and its consequences, “The Sacrifice” sticks in the head.
Die by the Sword is a powerful anthology of short stories which certainly deserves the attention of the readers as it presents new intriguing authors. Although not every short story worked for me, it is worth noting that NONE of the narratives published in Die By the Sword are dull.
Action and battles and romances are abundant, there is a good amount of fantasy in the stories, and there are satisfying ballad-like stories in them, for example, the stories of revenge, rescue and voiceless tyrants. As well as its reprints, DMR Books has put a lot of energy into promoting fresh pulp sword & sorcery and dark fantasy authors. Certainly it is interesting to see DMR expanding even more with general submission calls, and it is to this reviewer’s dismay that the series does not appear to try and go forward.
For more movies Visit Gomovies.
