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The Revelations of Zang: Twelve Tales of the Continent
A collection of dark fantasy tales with a metaphysical edge, full of grotesque wonders and weird splendor. Artifice the Quill flees from tyrant sorcerers into a world of strange magic, ancient gods, and exotic kingdoms. The exiled author joins a traveling troupe of performers known as the Glimmer Faire, where he learns the magical power of art and the art of magical power. These Twelve Tales of the Continent alternate between the exploits of Artifice and the adventures of Taizo the Rogue, a master of skullduggery who sparks a rebellion in the name of bloody vengeance. The Lost Gods of Narr were displaced a century ago by the Sorcerer Kings, a council of dictators who rule the Golden City with necromancy, alchemy, and terror. The mysterious folk of the Red Isle foster dissension in Narr by smuggling their enchanted goods into the city, while the ancient Zang Forest expands itself across the lands of men, devouring farms and towns as it reaches to smother the wicked city. Now that the Lost Gods are returning to destroy the world, only Artifice, Taizo, and a small band of rebels have any hope of preventing the apocalypse. Seven of these interrelated stories are previously unpublished, including "Spilling the Blood of the World," the novelette which brings the entire Zang Cycle to a staggering finale. Praise for the Zang Cycle "Fultz tells us a wonderful tale in 'The Persecution of Artifice the Quill.' Artifice is a writer in a city dominated by sorcerers. He runs afoul of them because he wrote a book called 'The End of Sorcery.' In just 12 pages, Fultz tells us what we need to know about this world and also provides a good story, quite an accomplishment." — SFRevu "In this dark, sparkling little fantasy ['The Vintages of Dream'], a thief sets out to rob a sorcerer who possesses a large number of expensive glass bottles in which he has captured his dreams." — SF Site "When the Glimmer Faire Came to the City of the Lonely Eye" is "a prosaic piece, filled with vivid descriptions that make it easy to imagine the characters, their surroundings, and… the words here are carefully chosen so as to maximize their effectiveness while minimizing the attention they draw to themselves. At its simplest, this is an enjoyable adventure that reveals the power of art and artists." — Tangent Online "The real interest [in 'Glimmer Faire'] is not so much in Artifice himself as in the head of the troupe, Mordeau, whose sorcery enhances the stagecraft and effects, so that even a god can be moved." — Locus "Fultz begins 'Return of the Quill' with a terrific opening scene… Treachery and clever intrigue follow as Fultz cleverly works out his dark tale's rewarding conclusion." — Tangent Online "…a powerful tale filled with imaginative and satisfying S&S goodness; meanwhile, Fultz never loses sight of the fact that even necromantic geeks have feelings. ['Return of the Quill'] was my favorite story of the issue." — SF Site
228 pages, Hardcover
First published September 3, 2013
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45 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 25, 2013
[full disclosure: I got my copy free through a giveaway at Black Gate (www.blackgate.com)]
The Revelations of Zang is an 11-story cycle (plus one semi-connected bonus story) somewhat after the fashion of Clark Ashton Smith's Zothique or Hyperborea tales or H.P. Lovecraft's Dreamlands -- a collection of stories that are chiefly bound by taking place in the same imaginary world, possibly with some connections or overlapping characters. The Zang stories have more of a narrative through-line than most cycles -- a definite beginning and end -- although they skip across the nameless Continent (Zang is, in fact, a large and significant forest) and other distant lands. Along the way you'll encounter wizards, gods, thieves, revenants and the occasional giant spider, told in language that, although not quite up to the extremely high standards set by Smith or Dunsany, still has some of that dream-like elevated tone.
A sample:
When Taizo of Narr approached the remote city of Ghoth he saw first its thirty-three towers of black basalt. The structures rose like baroque spears on the horizon, piercing the purple clouds of dusk. As the Narrian’s steed carried him closer he surveyed the vast mass of dark webs that linked the towers like hanging bridges, a product of the city’s gargantuan spiders.
The Revelations of Zang is an 11-story cycle (plus one semi-connected bonus story) somewhat after the fashion of Clark Ashton Smith's Zothique or Hyperborea tales or H.P. Lovecraft's Dreamlands -- a collection of stories that are chiefly bound by taking place in the same imaginary world, possibly with some connections or overlapping characters. The Zang stories have more of a narrative through-line than most cycles -- a definite beginning and end -- although they skip across the nameless Continent (Zang is, in fact, a large and significant forest) and other distant lands. Along the way you'll encounter wizards, gods, thieves, revenants and the occasional giant spider, told in language that, although not quite up to the extremely high standards set by Smith or Dunsany, still has some of that dream-like elevated tone.
A sample:
When Taizo of Narr approached the remote city of Ghoth he saw first its thirty-three towers of black basalt. The structures rose like baroque spears on the horizon, piercing the purple clouds of dusk. As the Narrian’s steed carried him closer he surveyed the vast mass of dark webs that linked the towers like hanging bridges, a product of the city’s gargantuan spiders.
March 24, 2024
First story down, promising.
These stories are obviously telling a larger story, and 70% of the way through, I'm still interested to see where we are going with this.
I feel like these belong on the same shelf as Clark Ashton Smith's Zothique tales, though linked in a larger narrative and nowhere near as flowery. Good stuff.
These stories are obviously telling a larger story, and 70% of the way through, I'm still interested to see where we are going with this.
I feel like these belong on the same shelf as Clark Ashton Smith's Zothique tales, though linked in a larger narrative and nowhere near as flowery. Good stuff.
March 1, 2019
Excellent. I'd already read two or three of the stories in this book some years ago in "Black Gate" magazine, but it was a pleasure to read them again and to discover new ones I was unfamiliar with but set in the same world and featuring some of the same characters.
Fultz has a fertile imagination and is a skilled wordsmith. There's depth to his characters and the plots are compelling, with lots of dramatic scenes featuring battling sorcerers, crafty thieves and lumbering titans. I read it through to the end in a couple of days. I could maybe only wish that the scenes with the mountain-sized gods were longer.
Fultz has a fertile imagination and is a skilled wordsmith. There's depth to his characters and the plots are compelling, with lots of dramatic scenes featuring battling sorcerers, crafty thieves and lumbering titans. I read it through to the end in a couple of days. I could maybe only wish that the scenes with the mountain-sized gods were longer.
March 26, 2024
This was quite phenomenal.
The prose has a truly exotic and picturesque quality to it, which match the wonderful fantasy of the world these stories take place in. The use of a writer, turned playwright, as one of the main protagonists was very clever. Especially since he conquers evil, not by violence, but the ability to convey emotion through his story telling. Not that there aren’t some action pack tales featuring Taizo the thief.
Everything about this world and it’s characters is splendidly fantastic. The nine sorcerer kings are captivating and compelling villains. The sense of momentum as each story takes place in a world in flux creates an interesting contrast to the typically static settings of Sword and Sorcery. The conclusion really draws upon the the thematic elements and captures “all the world is a stage” better than any other book I’ve read.
It’s interesting to see this considered under that genre, as to me it’s more so capital F fantasy before there really were sub genres. It feels like Dunsany but with occasionally more accessible prose coupled with a libertine sexuality.
Much like Dunsany, there’s hints at what would be distilled into Sword and Sorcery. Oblivion is the Sweetest Wine really captured the essence of the genre. It features the sense of adventure, wonder, a lusty romance, and behind all these alluring veils a repulsing terror. It’s probably my favorite story in the collection.
This is just a gorgeous set of stories, and Rogues in the House have done fantasy readers a service bringing it back into print. Whether you’re a fan of S&S or fantasy in general you really ought to read this.
The prose has a truly exotic and picturesque quality to it, which match the wonderful fantasy of the world these stories take place in. The use of a writer, turned playwright, as one of the main protagonists was very clever. Especially since he conquers evil, not by violence, but the ability to convey emotion through his story telling. Not that there aren’t some action pack tales featuring Taizo the thief.
Everything about this world and it’s characters is splendidly fantastic. The nine sorcerer kings are captivating and compelling villains. The sense of momentum as each story takes place in a world in flux creates an interesting contrast to the typically static settings of Sword and Sorcery. The conclusion really draws upon the the thematic elements and captures “all the world is a stage” better than any other book I’ve read.
It’s interesting to see this considered under that genre, as to me it’s more so capital F fantasy before there really were sub genres. It feels like Dunsany but with occasionally more accessible prose coupled with a libertine sexuality.
Much like Dunsany, there’s hints at what would be distilled into Sword and Sorcery. Oblivion is the Sweetest Wine really captured the essence of the genre. It features the sense of adventure, wonder, a lusty romance, and behind all these alluring veils a repulsing terror. It’s probably my favorite story in the collection.
This is just a gorgeous set of stories, and Rogues in the House have done fantasy readers a service bringing it back into print. Whether you’re a fan of S&S or fantasy in general you really ought to read this.
September 5, 2014
This was pretty wonderful, a swinging pendulum between dark, bloody and purple sword and sorcery and mythic creation tales. There are some really imaginative scenes and even a few three dimensional characters, an unusual occurrence even in good pulp. However, The Revelations has on glaring flaw. All of the female characters are beautiful and sexually available to the male protagonists. This is not a rarity, even in good pulp and I was a little disappointed.
June 17, 2013
An amazing new take on the hero's tale. Fultz proves that the pen truly is mightier than the sword, and that one well placed word can bring down whole nations, or create legends.
August 15, 2014
The Revelations of Zang is a great sword and sorcery collection of tales set in an amazing world. Imaginative and compelling. You won't be disappointed.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews