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Path of the Swordsman
From dark forests to scorching deserts, Harkan Icebound, a barbarian swordsman forged in the harsh northern lands of ice and snow, ventures far beyond his homeland in this exciting collection of stories from author Tim Hanlon. Journeying through uncertain seas and shifting sands, Harkan battles monstrous foes, vengeful sorcerers, and treacherous enemies...all to rescue a friend in need. His is the path of courage and steel. Brimming with action, peril, and heroic adventure, Path of the Swordsman offers a thrilling selection of tales for fans of sword and sorcery. Will you dare to follow Harkan Icebound as he journeys into the great unknown?
“Tim Hanlon sends his sword & sorcery hero on an adventure tour with a bloody blade – which is just the kind of tour many fans of the genre are waiting for.” – Charles Gramlich, author of Swords of Talera (Talera Cycle) and the Concho series (writing as A. W. Hart)
“Tim Hanlon sends his sword & sorcery hero on an adventure tour with a bloody blade – which is just the kind of tour many fans of the genre are waiting for.” – Charles Gramlich, author of Swords of Talera (Talera Cycle) and the Concho series (writing as A. W. Hart)
145 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 8, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
February 13, 2025
Harkan Icebound is the protagonist in a collection of interconnecting short stories. After killing his Jarl and a treacherous wizard in his clan, Harkan steps out to find what the world has to offer. He finds plenty of trouble, but also finds a lasting friendship with a pirate captain known as the sea witch. He also finds love in a Desert princess. Great concepts of dark magic, sorcerers, a vampire-like sand witch, and many other foes both human and non human. This is old school sword and sorcery with a light modern touch. No need to “push the boundaries “ when this is the type of stuff we’ve always loved. A map might have been a nice feature. Recommend!
February 26, 2025
Not quite a 5 star book but 4.5 rounds up, right? Really enjoyed Harkan, a S&S character of Attitude, and his 7 story collection built very nicely and cohesively. There isn't a story I didn't enjoy - shoot, all of them are fun. I'm going to say "The Forest of the Red Boar" and "The Pit of Despair" are probably my favorite two. Though the first 2 stories are really good also. My only complaint is the last page, the denouement of the final story. Well done, Mr. Hanlon!
April 21, 2025
Harkan the Wandering Swordsman and his iron-forged ancestral blade, a product of the cosmos. Hanlon enraptured from the first story to the last. You get a Tolkien/Shakespeare worthy romantic tragedy, you get a "Queen of the Black Coast" turn of events, you get a night of horror that is 1 part The Blob, 1 part The Thing, 2 parts D&D Gelatinous Cube, you get abuses of sorcery and science, tyranny, enslavement, and many violent actions that just quench the soul. I'd love to see young adventures of a heartbroken duo in Arne Iron-Grip and Harkan Icebound, sea battles with the Swordsman and the Sea Witch with appearances by Atargatis and Eletheria's people, and maybe a Green Knight to carry on the honor of Ameera's father. But regardless of that, these tales were a good escape that gets deeper as you go. I first read Tim Hanlon's "Queen of the Shifting City" through Lyndon Perry's "Swords & Heroes" Substack and found it easy to jump at the chance to get Hanlon's book through Tule Fog Press.
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February 15, 2025As publisher, I'm privileged to release this new collection of sword and sorcery by Tim Hanlon. For more, visit Tule Fog Press.
February 13, 2025
Path of the Swordsman, Copyright 2025, written by Tim Hanlon, cover by Sophie Hanlon, edited and published by Lyndon Perry at Tule Fog Press.
Path of the Swordsman is a collection of sword & sorcery short stories in the grand tradition of Robert E. Howard, Gardner Fox, John Jakes, and Karl Edward Wagner. It contains seven tales, discussed individually below. A nice touch, and something I do when my own stories are collected, is a short introduction by Tim Hanlon to the tales—when they were written and how they fit into the collection. All stories feature the heroic northman character called Harkan, known as “the Swordsman,” or sometimes as “Icebound.”
The stories are:
1. To the Mountain: Although written last in this collection, this is something of an origin story in that we see Harkan in his northern village and find out why he left to wander. However, Harkan is full grown and a hero already here so we don’t really see the formation of his character. A sorcerer is whispering evil things to Harkon’s Jarl, and Harkan’s friend suffers for it. The big warrior won’t tolerate that. A classic tragedy.
2. The Edge of the Sword, The Edge of the Sea, was the first published story of Harkan. Hanlon suggests the idea came from something he read in Henry Treece. Harkan is staying at an inn when a hard-bitten group of warriors arrive protecting a mysterious woman. The characters are sketched quickly but have impact and are memorable. There’s a nice twist to the ending that I won’t reveal but which stays with you. Maybe my favorite in the collection.
3. The Swordsman and the Sea Witch: Harkan takes to the sea on a ship captained by a madman. When that ship is attacked by the pirate Sea Witch, the Captain decides to take everyone down with him. The Sea Witch is a great character and I was glad to see her again in other stories. She and Harkan make a good team. Harkan shows a little Conan but is no clone. My second favorite in the collection.
4. The Forest of the Red Boar starts with Harkan and the Sea Witch as captives. Harkan is purchased by a nobleman who turns out to actually have nobility. Harkan is given his freedom in turn for guiding the “Green Prince” to the north where his daughter will be betrothed to a Russ ruler. The trip takes a hard turn when they meet the “Red Boar,” who decides to take the daughter for his own. The Boar has abilities that make him a terrifying foe.
5. Queen of the Shifting City: Harkan is traveling the desert and finds a cursed city, although at first it seems a paradise. Definitely a Conan-esque story with the Queen as a sorcerous villain and a slave girl as Harkan’s ally.
6. The Pit of Despair: In Forest of the Red Boar, Harkan had promised the Sea Witch that he’d see her free and now he is on her trail. He reaches the “Eternal city,” which seems modeled on Rome, but things are not what they seem, of course. The Sea Witch was taken by a wealthy man as a concubine but when she wouldn’t cooperate, he sentenced her to the “Pit of Despair.” This is something of a “colosseum” story, with some nasty and vicious foes.
7. The Deadly Oasis: Hanlon describes this one as a “zombie” story, and it is, although well done and with a twist on the zombie concept. Harkan and the Sea Witch return to the Green Prince’s palace where the princes’ daughter, Ameera, has agreed to marry Harkan. But someone with a deep hatred of the Green Prince sends a single zombie after him. This zombie can’t be stopped even by hacking away the brain, and any severed piece still goes after the Prince, recruiting everyone it touches as it goes. There are some elements of the movie “The Thing,” here, the John Carpenter version.
Overall, we’ve got a lot of sword slinging action here and it is action with a purpose. Harkan is a fine hero, much less of an anti-hero than Conan or Kane, but that’s certainly OK. He’s someone the reader can root for. The secondary characters are well developed and memorable. I really enjoyed this collection and will be interested in reading more by Hanlon.
Path of the Swordsman is a collection of sword & sorcery short stories in the grand tradition of Robert E. Howard, Gardner Fox, John Jakes, and Karl Edward Wagner. It contains seven tales, discussed individually below. A nice touch, and something I do when my own stories are collected, is a short introduction by Tim Hanlon to the tales—when they were written and how they fit into the collection. All stories feature the heroic northman character called Harkan, known as “the Swordsman,” or sometimes as “Icebound.”
The stories are:
1. To the Mountain: Although written last in this collection, this is something of an origin story in that we see Harkan in his northern village and find out why he left to wander. However, Harkan is full grown and a hero already here so we don’t really see the formation of his character. A sorcerer is whispering evil things to Harkon’s Jarl, and Harkan’s friend suffers for it. The big warrior won’t tolerate that. A classic tragedy.
2. The Edge of the Sword, The Edge of the Sea, was the first published story of Harkan. Hanlon suggests the idea came from something he read in Henry Treece. Harkan is staying at an inn when a hard-bitten group of warriors arrive protecting a mysterious woman. The characters are sketched quickly but have impact and are memorable. There’s a nice twist to the ending that I won’t reveal but which stays with you. Maybe my favorite in the collection.
3. The Swordsman and the Sea Witch: Harkan takes to the sea on a ship captained by a madman. When that ship is attacked by the pirate Sea Witch, the Captain decides to take everyone down with him. The Sea Witch is a great character and I was glad to see her again in other stories. She and Harkan make a good team. Harkan shows a little Conan but is no clone. My second favorite in the collection.
4. The Forest of the Red Boar starts with Harkan and the Sea Witch as captives. Harkan is purchased by a nobleman who turns out to actually have nobility. Harkan is given his freedom in turn for guiding the “Green Prince” to the north where his daughter will be betrothed to a Russ ruler. The trip takes a hard turn when they meet the “Red Boar,” who decides to take the daughter for his own. The Boar has abilities that make him a terrifying foe.
5. Queen of the Shifting City: Harkan is traveling the desert and finds a cursed city, although at first it seems a paradise. Definitely a Conan-esque story with the Queen as a sorcerous villain and a slave girl as Harkan’s ally.
6. The Pit of Despair: In Forest of the Red Boar, Harkan had promised the Sea Witch that he’d see her free and now he is on her trail. He reaches the “Eternal city,” which seems modeled on Rome, but things are not what they seem, of course. The Sea Witch was taken by a wealthy man as a concubine but when she wouldn’t cooperate, he sentenced her to the “Pit of Despair.” This is something of a “colosseum” story, with some nasty and vicious foes.
7. The Deadly Oasis: Hanlon describes this one as a “zombie” story, and it is, although well done and with a twist on the zombie concept. Harkan and the Sea Witch return to the Green Prince’s palace where the princes’ daughter, Ameera, has agreed to marry Harkan. But someone with a deep hatred of the Green Prince sends a single zombie after him. This zombie can’t be stopped even by hacking away the brain, and any severed piece still goes after the Prince, recruiting everyone it touches as it goes. There are some elements of the movie “The Thing,” here, the John Carpenter version.
Overall, we’ve got a lot of sword slinging action here and it is action with a purpose. Harkan is a fine hero, much less of an anti-hero than Conan or Kane, but that’s certainly OK. He’s someone the reader can root for. The secondary characters are well developed and memorable. I really enjoyed this collection and will be interested in reading more by Hanlon.
September 8, 2025
A killer collection of Viking tales that are reminiscent of the late great Robert Mancebo's tales in Revenge of the Night Wolf. The last tale in the saga wraps up a few plot ends rather perfunctorily, but I'm definitely on board for seeking out more of Hanlon's work.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews