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Flashing Swords! #5
DEMONS AND DAGGERS; Flashing Swords #5
Come enter the amazing realms of magic and mythic fantasy, where wizards and magic conjure up astounding powers and spell s against fearsome demons of the Shadow Worlds.
Hardcover
First published November 1, 1981
3 people are currently reading
166 people want to read
About the author
Lin Carter
413 books167 followersLin Carter was an American author, editor, and critic best known for his influential role in fantasy literature during the mid-20th century. Born in St. Petersburg, Florida, he developed an early passion for myth, adventure stories, and imaginative fiction, drawing inspiration from authors such as Edgar Rice Burroughs, Robert E. Howard, H. P. Lovecraft, and J. R. R. Tolkien. After serving in the U.S. Army, Carter attended Columbia University, where he honed his literary skills and deepened his knowledge of classical and medieval literature, myth, and folklore — elements that would become central to his work.
Carter authored numerous novels, short stories, and critical studies, often working within the sword-and-sorcery and high fantasy traditions. His own creations, such as the “Thongor of Lemuria” series, paid homage to pulp-era adventure fiction while adding his distinctive voice and world-building style. His nonfiction book Tolkien: A Look Behind The Lord of the Rings was one of the first major studies of Tolkien’s work and its mythological roots, and it helped establish Carter as a knowledgeable commentator on fantasy literature.
Beyond his own writing, Carter was a central figure in bringing classic and forgotten works of fantasy back into print. As editor of the Ballantine Adult Fantasy series from 1969 to 1974, he curated and introduced dozens of volumes, reintroducing readers to authors such as William Morris, Lord Dunsany, E. R. Eddison, and James Branch Cabell. His introductions not only contextualized these works historically and literarily but also encouraged a new generation to explore the breadth of the fantasy tradition.
Carter was also active in the shared literary universe of the “Cthulhu Mythos,” expanding upon the creations of H. P. Lovecraft and other members of the “Lovecraft Circle.” His collaborations and solo contributions in this genre further cemented his reputation as both a creative writer and a literary preservationist.
In addition to fiction and criticism, Carter was an active member of several science fiction and fantasy organizations, including the Science Fiction Writers of America. He frequently appeared at conventions, where he was known for his enthusiasm, deep knowledge of the genre, and willingness to mentor aspiring writers.
Though sometimes critiqued for the derivative nature of some of his work, Carter’s influence on the fantasy revival of the late 20th century remains significant. His combination of creative output, editorial vision, and scholarly enthusiasm helped bridge the gap between the pulp traditions of the early 1900s and the expansive fantasy publishing boom that followed.
Lin Carter’s legacy endures through his own imaginative tales, his critical studies, and the many classic works he rescued from obscurity, ensuring their place in the canon of fantasy literature for generations to come.
Carter authored numerous novels, short stories, and critical studies, often working within the sword-and-sorcery and high fantasy traditions. His own creations, such as the “Thongor of Lemuria” series, paid homage to pulp-era adventure fiction while adding his distinctive voice and world-building style. His nonfiction book Tolkien: A Look Behind The Lord of the Rings was one of the first major studies of Tolkien’s work and its mythological roots, and it helped establish Carter as a knowledgeable commentator on fantasy literature.
Beyond his own writing, Carter was a central figure in bringing classic and forgotten works of fantasy back into print. As editor of the Ballantine Adult Fantasy series from 1969 to 1974, he curated and introduced dozens of volumes, reintroducing readers to authors such as William Morris, Lord Dunsany, E. R. Eddison, and James Branch Cabell. His introductions not only contextualized these works historically and literarily but also encouraged a new generation to explore the breadth of the fantasy tradition.
Carter was also active in the shared literary universe of the “Cthulhu Mythos,” expanding upon the creations of H. P. Lovecraft and other members of the “Lovecraft Circle.” His collaborations and solo contributions in this genre further cemented his reputation as both a creative writer and a literary preservationist.
In addition to fiction and criticism, Carter was an active member of several science fiction and fantasy organizations, including the Science Fiction Writers of America. He frequently appeared at conventions, where he was known for his enthusiasm, deep knowledge of the genre, and willingness to mentor aspiring writers.
Though sometimes critiqued for the derivative nature of some of his work, Carter’s influence on the fantasy revival of the late 20th century remains significant. His combination of creative output, editorial vision, and scholarly enthusiasm helped bridge the gap between the pulp traditions of the early 1900s and the expansive fantasy publishing boom that followed.
Lin Carter’s legacy endures through his own imaginative tales, his critical studies, and the many classic works he rescued from obscurity, ensuring their place in the canon of fantasy literature for generations to come.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
January 19, 2018
I am something of a book hoarder. I impulsively purchase books with the intent to someday read them. It seems that I purchased this on eBay back in '04. (I only know b/c I keep receipts, packing slips, etc. inside the books that I purchase.) Yikes! 14 years! Anyway, I picked this up because of our Anthology Group Read.
Many will attest that Mr. Carter was a better editor than author. With this anthology I feel like he shines as an editor. The stories he chose are diverse in setting, but all fall under the Demons and Daggers subtitle.
Tower of Ice by Roger Zelazny is my second encounter with this author's work. This is a story of Dilvish and his quest to revenge himself on the evil wizard who sent him to hell. I plan to read more of Dilvish in the future. 3/5
A Thief in Korianth by C. J. Cherryh is my second encounter with this author's work. This is the story of a thief who steals something that will ultimately lead to her death; unless she is quick witted enough to turn the tables. 3/5
Parting Gifts by Diane Duane is my first encounter with this author's work. Can an ageing woman and her chance companions survive and defeat the evil that is to be perpetrated on The Long Night?
This is a tale set in the world of Mrs. Duane's Tale of Five. I will be reading this hopefully very soon. 5/5
A Dealing with Demons by Craig Shaw Gardner is my first encounter with this author's work. A light tale of a wizard that has a special handicap b/c of a curse. 1/5
The Dry Season by Tanith Lee is another great story by one of my favorite authors. A soldier in a strange land meets his 'soul mate', only she is to be ritualistically sacrificed to bring the rains. 5/5
Recommended!
Many will attest that Mr. Carter was a better editor than author. With this anthology I feel like he shines as an editor. The stories he chose are diverse in setting, but all fall under the Demons and Daggers subtitle.
Tower of Ice by Roger Zelazny is my second encounter with this author's work. This is a story of Dilvish and his quest to revenge himself on the evil wizard who sent him to hell. I plan to read more of Dilvish in the future. 3/5
A Thief in Korianth by C. J. Cherryh is my second encounter with this author's work. This is the story of a thief who steals something that will ultimately lead to her death; unless she is quick witted enough to turn the tables. 3/5
Parting Gifts by Diane Duane is my first encounter with this author's work. Can an ageing woman and her chance companions survive and defeat the evil that is to be perpetrated on The Long Night?
This is a tale set in the world of Mrs. Duane's Tale of Five. I will be reading this hopefully very soon. 5/5
A Dealing with Demons by Craig Shaw Gardner is my first encounter with this author's work. A light tale of a wizard that has a special handicap b/c of a curse. 1/5
The Dry Season by Tanith Lee is another great story by one of my favorite authors. A soldier in a strange land meets his 'soul mate', only she is to be ritualistically sacrificed to bring the rains. 5/5
Recommended!
August 31, 2020
The second Flashing Swords anthology I read also had 5 stories. I will again rank the stories 1 - 5 with 5 being my favorite to 1 being my least favorite.
5) "A Dealing with Demons" (Ebenezum) by Craig Shaw Gardner This was a wonderful story featuring a wizard with allergies to magic. Full of humor, mystery and the right balance of magical mayhem easily tops my list of the best of the 5 stories presented.
4) "Tower of Ice" (Dilvish) by Roger Zelazny I had never read any prior Dilvish stories, but this was a neat yarn with a cold setting spending time on the hero just trying to get into a tower in the snow along with his magical talking steed creature.
3) "A Thief in Korianth" by C. J. Cherryh A city story that was as much about class struggles as it was any kind of sword & sorcery with the town itself as much of a character as the ones in it.
2) "The Dry Season" by Tanith Lee Sort of a meandering story that was as dry as the title itself until the ending when it got violent and with a lesson learned.
1) "Parting Gifts" by Diane Duane I really couldn't get into this one at all to be honest.
5) "A Dealing with Demons" (Ebenezum) by Craig Shaw Gardner This was a wonderful story featuring a wizard with allergies to magic. Full of humor, mystery and the right balance of magical mayhem easily tops my list of the best of the 5 stories presented.
4) "Tower of Ice" (Dilvish) by Roger Zelazny I had never read any prior Dilvish stories, but this was a neat yarn with a cold setting spending time on the hero just trying to get into a tower in the snow along with his magical talking steed creature.
3) "A Thief in Korianth" by C. J. Cherryh A city story that was as much about class struggles as it was any kind of sword & sorcery with the town itself as much of a character as the ones in it.
2) "The Dry Season" by Tanith Lee Sort of a meandering story that was as dry as the title itself until the ending when it got violent and with a lesson learned.
1) "Parting Gifts" by Diane Duane I really couldn't get into this one at all to be honest.
February 20, 2018
In which Lin Carter drops the Swordsmen and Sorcerers' Guild of America conceit, which was probably for the best.
"Tower of Ice" lets the story unfold without providing undue details. The reasons behind Dilvish's visit to the stronghold and the situation behind its inhabitants are revealed slowly.
I was convinced when reading "A Thief in Korianth" that there would be a follow-on for the characters or the setting (and there apparently isn't). It took only a single page of reading to intrigue: a scummy fantasy Venice, done more deadly serious than Lankhmar and stripped of Leiber's literary gilding. The infighting and backbiting and intrigue was very familiar but Cherryh wrings new things out of it and the characters are very realized, all of whom are driven by desperation and the need to seize opportunity.
"Parting Gifts", also excellent, reworks the theme of "heroes versus Dark Lord" in a fairy-tale sort of logic and setting. The story sits on top of a lot of mythology that is only barely shared with the reader--a word here, a name there, some half-made reference--but feels so complete.
From the first page of "The Dry Season", you know that nothing will end well. The tragedy is baked into the entire design, and it proceeds inexorably towards a doom in a slow-motion collision between a man and his fate.
"Tower of Ice" lets the story unfold without providing undue details. The reasons behind Dilvish's visit to the stronghold and the situation behind its inhabitants are revealed slowly.
I was convinced when reading "A Thief in Korianth" that there would be a follow-on for the characters or the setting (and there apparently isn't). It took only a single page of reading to intrigue: a scummy fantasy Venice, done more deadly serious than Lankhmar and stripped of Leiber's literary gilding. The infighting and backbiting and intrigue was very familiar but Cherryh wrings new things out of it and the characters are very realized, all of whom are driven by desperation and the need to seize opportunity.
"Parting Gifts", also excellent, reworks the theme of "heroes versus Dark Lord" in a fairy-tale sort of logic and setting. The story sits on top of a lot of mythology that is only barely shared with the reader--a word here, a name there, some half-made reference--but feels so complete.
From the first page of "The Dry Season", you know that nothing will end well. The tragedy is baked into the entire design, and it proceeds inexorably towards a doom in a slow-motion collision between a man and his fate.
April 20, 2021
Demons and Daggers is the fifth and final volume of the Flashing Swords heroic fantasy series that was edited by Lin Carter. Curiously, the similar series of swords & sorcery anthologies Swords Against Darkness edited by andrew j. offutt that was published in the roughly the same era also lasted for five books. This one has pretty standard stories by C.J. Cherryh, Diane Duane, and Tanith Lee, and a very funny one from Craig Shaw Gardner. My favorite was Tower of Ice, an excellent story by Roger Zelazny that features his character Dilvish the Damned.
July 14, 2019
This is probably the best of the 5 books. Carter brings in fresh blood.
July 24, 2008
I have the hardback version of this, from Nelson Doubleday.
Again, a collection of short heroic fantasy stories. Most of these volumes are good.
Again, a collection of short heroic fantasy stories. Most of these volumes are good.
February 3, 2017
Flashing Swords #5: Demons and Daggers is the final book in the old school Flash Swords! series edited by Lin Carter. It contains five fantasy short stories of different settings, tones and degrees of action or magic usage.
The two best stories in the anthology are Diane Duane’s “Parting Gifts” and Craig Shaw Gardner’s “A Dealing with Demons.” Both tales are short stories set in larger, fleshed out series by their respective authors, yet the stories stand on their own, without needing background from other sources. “Parting Gifts” is the most interesting, unique and fleshed out story in the anthology, focusing on an aged warrior/magic-using lady who is on one final quest from her Goddess. The character, Sirronde, is different from other protagonists, not only in her age, but she operates more humbly and wise. In her adventure, she parties up with a kitten and another traveler who tells lies to bolster himself. It’s a motley crew, but it works.
“A Dealing with Demons” is a story about a mighty wizard, Ebenezum, who is struct with a malady that causes him to sneeze when sorcery is about. This story is the most fun of the lot, fully embracing humor. Guards are bonked on the heads, dim-witted kings lose their memory, and wizards bicker at each other by conjuring odd creatures. Lighthearted, it’s amusing and definitely makes a reader want to read more of Ebenezum’s adventures.
“Tower of Ice” by Roger Zelazny is an average tale. This one has plenty of swords and sorcery action, but no agency. The main character, Dilvish (also a hero of a larger series), infiltrates a keep to kill its master who has wronged him. Instead he finds two siblings, with the brother suffering from multiple personalities. Dilvish’s presence has almost zero influence on what transpires in the story.
Tanith Lee’s “The Dry Season” and C.J. Cherryh’s “A Thief in Korianth” are the two lackluster stories of the lot. “The Dry Season” is polluted with metaphors for water and aridness, it gets tiresome. Another story, like “Tower of Ice” with no agency, what the main character does has no bearing on the plot. “A Thief in Korianth” is simply boring. A street thief pilfers a scroll and sets off a chain of events. She shuffles back and forth between a prince and people who want him dead. It’s not particularly interesting as it doesn’t lack any action to be a proper sword and sorcery story, nor enough suspense or intrigue to be a cloak and dagger story.
Overall, an average anthology, two great stories, an average one, and two disappointing ones.
The two best stories in the anthology are Diane Duane’s “Parting Gifts” and Craig Shaw Gardner’s “A Dealing with Demons.” Both tales are short stories set in larger, fleshed out series by their respective authors, yet the stories stand on their own, without needing background from other sources. “Parting Gifts” is the most interesting, unique and fleshed out story in the anthology, focusing on an aged warrior/magic-using lady who is on one final quest from her Goddess. The character, Sirronde, is different from other protagonists, not only in her age, but she operates more humbly and wise. In her adventure, she parties up with a kitten and another traveler who tells lies to bolster himself. It’s a motley crew, but it works.
“A Dealing with Demons” is a story about a mighty wizard, Ebenezum, who is struct with a malady that causes him to sneeze when sorcery is about. This story is the most fun of the lot, fully embracing humor. Guards are bonked on the heads, dim-witted kings lose their memory, and wizards bicker at each other by conjuring odd creatures. Lighthearted, it’s amusing and definitely makes a reader want to read more of Ebenezum’s adventures.
“Tower of Ice” by Roger Zelazny is an average tale. This one has plenty of swords and sorcery action, but no agency. The main character, Dilvish (also a hero of a larger series), infiltrates a keep to kill its master who has wronged him. Instead he finds two siblings, with the brother suffering from multiple personalities. Dilvish’s presence has almost zero influence on what transpires in the story.
Tanith Lee’s “The Dry Season” and C.J. Cherryh’s “A Thief in Korianth” are the two lackluster stories of the lot. “The Dry Season” is polluted with metaphors for water and aridness, it gets tiresome. Another story, like “Tower of Ice” with no agency, what the main character does has no bearing on the plot. “A Thief in Korianth” is simply boring. A street thief pilfers a scroll and sets off a chain of events. She shuffles back and forth between a prince and people who want him dead. It’s not particularly interesting as it doesn’t lack any action to be a proper sword and sorcery story, nor enough suspense or intrigue to be a cloak and dagger story.
Overall, an average anthology, two great stories, an average one, and two disappointing ones.
March 3, 2022
Tales of sinister sorcerors and wizards, eerie ritual sacrifice and dank dungeons that trap dashing adventurers…
This is filled with wonderful swords-and-sorcery short stories. It starts with a tale of Roger Zelazny’s Dilvish scaling a wizard’s mountain of ice on a mission of revenge. Craig Shaw Gardner presents a tale “From the casebook of Ebenezum the Enchanter”, “A Dealing with Demons”, my favorite story in the collection. Ebenezum is powerful but afflicted with a curse that makes it difficult to cast spells. It’s fun and twisty and very high sorcery. Diane Duane’s “Parting Gifts” is Duane’s first offering of her Sirronde series and takes head on the never-ending battle between good and evil.
C.J. Cherryh’s “A Thief in Korianth” introduces her Leiberish world of Korianth, and the thief Gillian. It’s a world of high sorcery and low sorcery, of wizards reduced to drunken bums and political intrigue fueled by magic.
All four of these were at least very good. The only story that didn’t excel in this collection was Tanith Lee’s “The Dry Season”, and even that wasn’t so much because it wasn’t a good story but because it didn’t really fit the collection. No one did anything; they reacted, and their reactions didn’t matter. There’s no sense that there were any demons or even magic here, nor do I recall daggers being used at any point. There were interesting mysticisms that probably weren’t meant to be real, such as each soul being broken in two, and when you meet the other half of your soul you recognize it immediately. This was probably just a sales pitch by someone who wanted Marcus Seteva in their debt. The other half of Seteva’s soul didn’t seem to recognize him, for example. But that was probably the most promising idea of the story, that sometimes you meet your other half at exactly the wrong time to do anything about it.
October 16, 2017
Excellent stories by CJ Cherryh & Diane Dunce. Very good tale by Tanith Lee.
Want to read
June 18, 20152 stars Tanith Lee "The Dry Season" A story set in the alternate Roman world where Cyrion lives, but several centuries earlier. I found the characters unsympathetic and the plot rather predictable.
April 9, 2016
In this collection of fantasy short stories and longer works, some of the stories are lighter in tone, such as the Craig Shaw Gardner tale. Others are more serious, including the two that I liked most, by Roger Zelazny and Tanith Lee. Overall, the story quality varied but the entertainment level was fairly high -- not a bad way to pass the time.
April 8, 2015
Wanted something to read in a day and picked this one up. Thought that the stories might be a bit better than what you usually find in anthologies, since they're a bit longer, but I was wrong.
A few interesting bits, but the overall impression was bad.
A few interesting bits, but the overall impression was bad.
August 15, 2016
Nice selection of 58 short stories from (the then) relatively newly established authors. Some went on to great things in genre fields other than sword and sorcery. All this, edited by the great Lin Carter . I recommend this book.
Read
February 6, 2008Five stories in the classic Swords and Sorcery mode. Good quality.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews