Grasping for the Wind

E-zine Review: Flashing Swords #9

An e-zine for fans of swashbuckling adventure and sword and sorcery, Flashing Swords is in its Renaissance. Several years ago, this little quarterly e-zine was spearheaded by Howard Andrew Jones, now an editor at the critically acclaimed Black Gate, but through a series of unfortunate circumstances, was forced to shut down. When a new editor (who goes by the name Crystalwizard) stepped up to the plate, Flashing Swords was able to see a small revival, even top the point of spawning its own small press, Flashing Swords Press, whose first anthology The Return of the Sword I reviewed recently.

(In the interest of full disclosure, Flashing Swords republishes some of the material from this blog on its homepage.)

Flashing Swords Issue #9 is a wonderful collection of stories. Purchasable either as a print-on-demand title, or at a much cheaper rate in e-book format, ($9.97 for a print version, $7.00 for a pdf) this issue demonstrates why sword and sorcery can be much more than Conan style stories (although it is that too). The collection contains 12 stories, 4 poems, 2 interviews, and one nonfiction piece about the British in Zululand. (See a complete list at the end of this review.)

Although due to time constraints I was unable to read the entire zine, I did pick out a few of the most interesting stories, which I review below.

First is Wesley Lambert’s poem “The Reluctant Viking” a funny little poem, one could almost see the wolves of the sea chanting this tale in their mead halls during long winters.

“The Plague Ship” by Liane Whittier is a pirate story with ghostly elements, this tale borrows heavily from The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. Even so, Whittier writes well, and her story is able to have its own unique twist. This story does not have a lot of action, but rather relies on the reader’s desire to know what happens next to keep the story moving. Although the ending is anticlimactic, Whittier does create enough sense of danger throughout the story to keep the reader’s attention.

Joseph A McCullough V writes a historical fantasy tale called “Death’s Head”. It is a story about the narrow line between demons and angels. While not answering the question, it wonders at why God would allow demons to exist. It is a different take on demonology stories, and for that it is worth reading. It has lots of action at its ending, and its sharp shooting protagonist makes for an interesting character.

“Tyler’s Bed and Breakfast”, by Lyn Perry is ghost story set in our own time. Its action comes from a retelling of past events, but in The Sixth Sense style, it has a spooky ending. It is a good ghost story for reading aloud around a campfire.

As you can see from the stories I’ve spotlighted, Flashing Swords e-zine is more than what is generally considered sword and sorcery. And they do that as well, as well as publish longer novellas in serialized form. The stories are illustrated with excellent black and white art throughout, by several talented artists and they add panache to the story.

The editors might need to be more careful about ensuring the stories are spell-checked, as I saw several instances of homonyms or homophones being were their counterpart should be, but for the most part the stories are very well laid out and edited. Flashing Swords doesn’t publish just anything that is submitted, and it is obvious they are careful to weed through their slushpile for short story gems.

If you enjoy action/adventure stories, sword and sorcery, or enjoy stories like those found in Black Gate here is a regular way to get those tales. Flashing Swords' Renaissance is a in full swing, and I suggest that all fans of adventure fiction get on board.

What follows is the Table of Contents for Flashing Swords #9:

"The Shores of Limbo" by SC Bryce
"The Reluctant Viking" by Wesley Lambert
"Mightier Than the Sword" by Bill Ward
"The Plague Ship" by Liane Whittier
"And the Wind Sang" by Bradley H Sinor
"An Eyrieman Foresees His Death" by Elizabeth Barrette
"Offering" by Aurelio Rico Lopez III
"Will, the Maniac" by Washington Allston
"Zeerembuk" by Steve Goble
"Duel Song: Ahrzhuna Lux" by David M Pitchford
"The Porvov Switch" by Seth Skorkowsky
"Death’s Head" by Joseph A McCullough V
"Tyler’s Bed & Breakfast" by Lyn Perry
"Interview with Janrae Frank"
"Cold Fire" by Brian Dolton
"Like Ink in Rain" by Elizabeth Barrette
"The British Redcoat in Zululand" by Joseph A McCullough
"Interview with Bruce Durham"
"The Night of the Meld" by Bruce Durham

Posted by John on May 29, 2008 02:08 PM | Posted to Anthology/Short Fiction | Fantasy
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