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With Sword and Pistol
Collecting four incredible novellas in one volume, these are the writings of Edward M. Erdelac (Merkabah Rider) from some of his finest pieces to date.
Hundreds of years removed. Thousands of miles apart. But they all fight to the bloody end WITH SWORD AND PISTOL .
Hundreds of years removed. Thousands of miles apart. But they all fight to the bloody end WITH SWORD AND PISTOL .
356 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 16, 2015
4 people are currently reading
37 people want to read
About the author
Edward M. Erdelac
80 books115 followersEdward M. Erdelac is the author of thirteen novels including the acclaimed Judeocentric/Lovecraftian weird western series Merkabah Rider, Rainbringer: Zora Neale Hurston Against The Lovecraftian Mythos, Conquer, Monstrumfuhrer from Comet Press, Terovolas from JournalStone Publishing, and Andersonville from Random House/Hydra.
Born in Indiana, educated in Chicago, he lives in the Los Angeles area with his wife and a bona fide slew of kids and cats.
Born in Indiana, educated in Chicago, he lives in the Los Angeles area with his wife and a bona fide slew of kids and cats.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
August 27, 2015
Review copy
I recently had the privilege of reading Edward M. Erdelac's new novel Andersonville, the story of the south's most notorious Civil War prison, told with supernatural twist. A great story, well told.
Right on the heels of Andersonille, comes With Sword and Pistol, a collection of four novellas, each with its own distinct story, but all of them including battles with swords, or pistols, or both.
At this point, I can safely say, Erdelac is my new go-to guy for top notch storytelling.
Night of the Jikininki came from the author's love of George Romero's zombie flicks. This is one of the best novellas I've read recently. Part samurai, part zombies, lots of action, and a mystical monk who creates sculptures with his poo. I loved it.
Red Sails features pirates. The captain, a vampire, his crew is mostly loups garoux (werewolves), has convinced an island village to provide human sacrifices at each new moon. Sampari has watched this occur since she was a little girl. No more, with the help of two outsiders captured by the pirates and released on the island for sport, they make a stand in a climatic battle of cinematic proportions.
Sinbad and the Sword of Solomon is a wonderfully entertaining story with the legendary sailor fighting pirates, coming to the aid of a beautiful woman, and battling hideous monsters. What's not to like.
Gully Gods. In his comments on this story, Edward M. Erdelac says "Gully Gods is really one of the darkest stories I've ever written..." I thoroughly enjoyed the rawness of the language in this story of Gang-banging in Chi-town. There's a bit of a supernatural element in this tale, too. A gritty, all too real story that tore my heart out.
All four of the novellas in this collection have appeared elsewhere, but if you're like me, this may be the first you've encountered them.
With Sword and Pistol, from Ragnarok Publications, is available now, both in paperback and e-book formats.
Definitely recommended.
I recently had the privilege of reading Edward M. Erdelac's new novel Andersonville, the story of the south's most notorious Civil War prison, told with supernatural twist. A great story, well told.
Right on the heels of Andersonille, comes With Sword and Pistol, a collection of four novellas, each with its own distinct story, but all of them including battles with swords, or pistols, or both.
At this point, I can safely say, Erdelac is my new go-to guy for top notch storytelling.
Night of the Jikininki came from the author's love of George Romero's zombie flicks. This is one of the best novellas I've read recently. Part samurai, part zombies, lots of action, and a mystical monk who creates sculptures with his poo. I loved it.
Red Sails features pirates. The captain, a vampire, his crew is mostly loups garoux (werewolves), has convinced an island village to provide human sacrifices at each new moon. Sampari has watched this occur since she was a little girl. No more, with the help of two outsiders captured by the pirates and released on the island for sport, they make a stand in a climatic battle of cinematic proportions.
Sinbad and the Sword of Solomon is a wonderfully entertaining story with the legendary sailor fighting pirates, coming to the aid of a beautiful woman, and battling hideous monsters. What's not to like.
Gully Gods. In his comments on this story, Edward M. Erdelac says "Gully Gods is really one of the darkest stories I've ever written..." I thoroughly enjoyed the rawness of the language in this story of Gang-banging in Chi-town. There's a bit of a supernatural element in this tale, too. A gritty, all too real story that tore my heart out.
All four of the novellas in this collection have appeared elsewhere, but if you're like me, this may be the first you've encountered them.
With Sword and Pistol, from Ragnarok Publications, is available now, both in paperback and e-book formats.
Definitely recommended.
August 25, 2015
Full review over at Fantasy Book Critic
ANALYSIS: I am a fan of Ed Erdelac’s Merkabah series, and previously having read a couple of his short stories I was very excited about this new collection.
The author has provided a note before the start of each story and it’s very illuminating to read the origins of each one. The first tale of the book was the one which I was looking forward to the most called “Night of the Jikininki”. This tale is set in 1737 feudal Japan and features three remarkably dark characters, all of whom are stuck in the Fukuyama han prison for various reasons when a comet passes by and awakens the dead. Thereby setting off a horrid turn of events to which none are spared. The author has discussed quite a bit about the origins of this tale on his blog which makes for a fascinating read by itself however readers should be warned as it has minor spoilers for the story. Whilst keeping it horror-tinged, the author has very smartly also included commentary about the feudal situation in Japan and especially about the downtrodden class that is known as the “Eta”. Cleverly merging Japanese folklore and societal structure in a thrilling race to survive, the author’s efforts clearly make this tale a special one and one to be savored. Clearly this tale was my second favorite based on its inventive approach and suspenseful handling of its twists. The ending again in line with the collection is a very dark one and potentially underlines the cruel nature of fate.
The second story is titled “Red Sails” and features Jan a British Marine who has been shipwrecked along with a Dominican friar named Timoteo. The horrid part is that they are being cruelly killed in the water by a pirate crew. Jan challenges them and he and his friar companion are called for an audience with the captain. Things take a worse turn when the captain is revealed to be a vampire named Captain Vigoreaux and his crew is a group of Native American werewolves. They have taken the duo to hunt on a native island where the resident population and them will be their quarry. Sampari is the native islander who has her own plans for the island. This tale while being a dark one, has a strong thriller component and the author gives us two remarkable POV characters to follow. The story has quite a smooth pace to it and the readers will be racing all along to see how it all ends.
"Sinbad and the Sword Of Solomon" is a pulpy adventure story focusing on the fun and pulp aspect. We are introduced to Sinbad and his gang consisting of Rolf a Scandinavian viking, Henri a French archer & his trusted aide Omar a Sindhi seaman. Tasked with finding Solomon’s sword, Sinbad and his companions find themselves wondering who all can be trusted especially with a weapon that’s labelled as game-changer in the course of history. Flowing with snappy dialogue and action across the sails, this story was such a fun one that I genuinely wanted to know more of the characters once the story ended. This easily was the lightest in tone among all of the stories and the most fun to read.
"Gully Gods" is the last story and also the darkest one. It deals with J-Hoss or Joseph, a teenage gangbanger who arrives in Chicago after feeling Houston. He soon finds that gangs are virulent in Chicago as well and gets an invite to one. Trying to stay afloat of trouble and getting to know a Latina girl of his age soon lands him afoul of a Latino gang and J-Hoss has to decide whether to thrown in his lot with a bunch of Liberian ex-child soldiers who pray to a dark entity. He never quite knows the price for doing so. This story was a dark brutal one touching upon themes of gang culture, poverty and African child soldier initiation. One of the darkest stories that I have ever read, Ed Erdelac shows us through J’s eyes the darkness that is strewn throughout. I liked how he humanized J-Hoss by his love for his cousin, his remembrance of his Seminole ancestry and his efforts at trying to walk the straight walk. It’s a brutal read without much of a happy ending. I think the author meant to explore a lot in this story and mentions a few of these things on his blog. An absolute stunner of a story that will wallop you in the gut and leave you in shambles which I believe is precisely what the author was aiming for.
With each of these stories, the author showcases a widespread look into humanity and I happened to enjoy his take on the adventure, zombie, pulpy & horror genres. Within each story, the characterization is something that shines through strongly. Be it with Jan's firm resolve or Sinbad's alacrity, Dog's stubbornness and J-Hoss' desire for revenge. All of them have sympathetic sides and because of the structure of these stories we only get a glimpse into their situation. But even a glimpse like such is stark enough to leave a mark and these stories will leave you thinking.
CONCLUSION: With this collection we get a magnificent glimpse at Edward’s talent as he bring various characters and genres alive and presents us with different facets of humanity & inhumanity. I for one was completely enthralled at the breadth of scope presented within. If you want to see why many consider Ed Erdelac to be a gifted storyteller, just grab a copy of this collection & like me you’ll be a believer.
March 1, 2019
Never got to finish, as Amazon stole the copy I had back. I did enjoy the first story and recall being into the second, but that's all I've got. Sorry Ed. I'll give a 3 for catching my eye enough to buy and entertaining me at least once - it's not the author's fault I never got to finish his book.
January 18, 2016
With Sword and Pistol is a collection of four novellas by Edward M. Erdelac which, if not for the final story, could have easily been classified as a Sword and Sorcery work. As such, it's now, instead, a collection of three Sword and Sorcery stories as well as one dark urban fantasy one. This dissonance is kind of annoying but is mitigated heavily by the fact three of the four stories are very good.
The fourth?
Mostly good.
Ed is a talkative author who provides each of the stories an introduction which spells out his thoughts on the material within. I appreciate when authors do this. I enjoy reading about what they think of their stories as well as what they mean. Ed doesn't shy away from controversy in his stories, either, as the introduction to "Gully Gods" discusses his opinion as to why modern gangbangers get less respect in fiction than Wild West gunslingers.
While not familiar with any of Edward M. Erdelac's other material, it's interesting to see what common elements exist in his style across four wildly different settings as well as protagonists. There's a Golden Age of Piracy horror story, a zombie-horror story in Shogunate Japan, a modern-day horror story in the slums, and a Sinbad the Sailor pastiche set during the Caliphate's heyday.
One thing I got from Ed's stories is he's an individual who loves taking advantage of exotic foreign locals as well as the differing cultural standards thereof. His characters think differently based on their social rank, society, and class. All of them have doubts, feelings, and troubles which are universally applicable but are dealt with via their societal expectations. In simple terms, he's illustrating how people are the same because of their differences rather than in spite of them.
I enjoyed how Ed tends to deconstruct classicism as we have a conflict between castes in "Night of The Jikininki" and a Caribbean island native teaming up with a Catholic priest in "Red Sails." Sinbad the Sailor's crew is absurdly international for the time period but fits the sort of off-beat sensibility he's going for.
My opinion of the stories themselves?
Night of The Jikininki
"Night of the Jikiniki" is the aforementioned zombie-horror story set in Shogunate Japan but the zombies are almost incidental, a third act curse which comes to pass to bring down judgement on the cast. The story is really about class relations and how they've warped the protagonists in various ways.
Given the protagonists consist of a serial-killer, a man who tests swords on whoever is brought before him, and a bandit, it's not exactly a great collection of guys. The ending is appropriately bleak and called to mind the original Night of the Living Dead where it doesn't matter whether you're good or evil, prepared or unprepared, life is just not fair.
Red Sails
A priest, a Spaniard, and island woman team up to fight a pirate ship crewed by werewolves with a vampire captain. It's an over-the-top premise which I enjoyed reading about, especially as Ed manages to treat it with a complete absence of camp. One thing I liked about the story which was similarly true in "Night of the Jikiniki" was how the protagonists were normal people up against a supernatural horror. No Van Helsings here.
Anywho, this is a fun and dramatic little action-horror tale with an appropriately epic finale. Fans of pirate movies as well as classic horror will probably get the most out of it but it's a good story in general.
Sinbad and the Sword of Solomon
"Sinbad and the Sword of Solomon" is a story which is much-much more over-the-top than even "Red Sails" with the titular character being sent to find the sword by the Caliph. It's an old-fashioned Pulpy sort of tale with Sinbad versus an evil Jinn on a mysterious island with a beautiful female companion he rescues from pirates.
Aiding Sinbad in this task is a crew of Christians, Muslims, and other otherwise who, nevertheless, are the best at their jobs. Sinbad will encounter giant eagles, Maori, and ancient curses as he tries to figure out who (if any) of his crew has betrayed him. This was just a rollicking good time to read and one I found it to be incredibly entertaining. I would read a whole novel starring Ed's Sinbad.
Gully Gods
This is going to be the most controversial story in the book, I'm sure. It deals with gangbangers in South Houston and gets a rather troubled introduction from Ed Erdelac which indicates how he doesn't want to romanticize them. I understand that opinion but the most anti-gang stories I've ever read starred gangbangers. Hell, many older gang members have become virulently anti-gang once the full cost of their actions reached them. It was the chief source of controversy during the execution of Stanley Williams, founder of the Crips, that he had become an advocate against gang culture.
But, I digress.
This is a story about a gang member who makes a deal with a former child soldier from Africa to gain supernatural powers from a spirit of war. Honestly, this was my least favorite of the stories because the subject matter is clearly uncomfortable for Ed and I think he got a little trapped by the lingo (to the point the characters became nearly unintelligible). Likewise, some readers will dislike his use of racially charged language by the protagonist.
E for Effort, though.
Overall, I really enjoyed With Sword and Pistol and recommend it for people who want some quick swashbuckling fantasy stories.
8/10
The fourth?
Mostly good.
Ed is a talkative author who provides each of the stories an introduction which spells out his thoughts on the material within. I appreciate when authors do this. I enjoy reading about what they think of their stories as well as what they mean. Ed doesn't shy away from controversy in his stories, either, as the introduction to "Gully Gods" discusses his opinion as to why modern gangbangers get less respect in fiction than Wild West gunslingers.
While not familiar with any of Edward M. Erdelac's other material, it's interesting to see what common elements exist in his style across four wildly different settings as well as protagonists. There's a Golden Age of Piracy horror story, a zombie-horror story in Shogunate Japan, a modern-day horror story in the slums, and a Sinbad the Sailor pastiche set during the Caliphate's heyday.
One thing I got from Ed's stories is he's an individual who loves taking advantage of exotic foreign locals as well as the differing cultural standards thereof. His characters think differently based on their social rank, society, and class. All of them have doubts, feelings, and troubles which are universally applicable but are dealt with via their societal expectations. In simple terms, he's illustrating how people are the same because of their differences rather than in spite of them.
I enjoyed how Ed tends to deconstruct classicism as we have a conflict between castes in "Night of The Jikininki" and a Caribbean island native teaming up with a Catholic priest in "Red Sails." Sinbad the Sailor's crew is absurdly international for the time period but fits the sort of off-beat sensibility he's going for.
My opinion of the stories themselves?
Night of The Jikininki
"Night of the Jikiniki" is the aforementioned zombie-horror story set in Shogunate Japan but the zombies are almost incidental, a third act curse which comes to pass to bring down judgement on the cast. The story is really about class relations and how they've warped the protagonists in various ways.
Given the protagonists consist of a serial-killer, a man who tests swords on whoever is brought before him, and a bandit, it's not exactly a great collection of guys. The ending is appropriately bleak and called to mind the original Night of the Living Dead where it doesn't matter whether you're good or evil, prepared or unprepared, life is just not fair.
Red Sails
A priest, a Spaniard, and island woman team up to fight a pirate ship crewed by werewolves with a vampire captain. It's an over-the-top premise which I enjoyed reading about, especially as Ed manages to treat it with a complete absence of camp. One thing I liked about the story which was similarly true in "Night of the Jikiniki" was how the protagonists were normal people up against a supernatural horror. No Van Helsings here.
Anywho, this is a fun and dramatic little action-horror tale with an appropriately epic finale. Fans of pirate movies as well as classic horror will probably get the most out of it but it's a good story in general.
Sinbad and the Sword of Solomon
"Sinbad and the Sword of Solomon" is a story which is much-much more over-the-top than even "Red Sails" with the titular character being sent to find the sword by the Caliph. It's an old-fashioned Pulpy sort of tale with Sinbad versus an evil Jinn on a mysterious island with a beautiful female companion he rescues from pirates.
Aiding Sinbad in this task is a crew of Christians, Muslims, and other otherwise who, nevertheless, are the best at their jobs. Sinbad will encounter giant eagles, Maori, and ancient curses as he tries to figure out who (if any) of his crew has betrayed him. This was just a rollicking good time to read and one I found it to be incredibly entertaining. I would read a whole novel starring Ed's Sinbad.
Gully Gods
This is going to be the most controversial story in the book, I'm sure. It deals with gangbangers in South Houston and gets a rather troubled introduction from Ed Erdelac which indicates how he doesn't want to romanticize them. I understand that opinion but the most anti-gang stories I've ever read starred gangbangers. Hell, many older gang members have become virulently anti-gang once the full cost of their actions reached them. It was the chief source of controversy during the execution of Stanley Williams, founder of the Crips, that he had become an advocate against gang culture.
But, I digress.
This is a story about a gang member who makes a deal with a former child soldier from Africa to gain supernatural powers from a spirit of war. Honestly, this was my least favorite of the stories because the subject matter is clearly uncomfortable for Ed and I think he got a little trapped by the lingo (to the point the characters became nearly unintelligible). Likewise, some readers will dislike his use of racially charged language by the protagonist.
E for Effort, though.
Overall, I really enjoyed With Sword and Pistol and recommend it for people who want some quick swashbuckling fantasy stories.
8/10
January 31, 2023
Being a long time fan of Erdelac's work I of course loved this offering.
RED SAILS was my favorite of the 4 stories and is an incredibly unique pirate story that blends horror and pirate genres together wonderfully. I also enjoyed the other three stories find in this anthology quite a lot. My one criticism of this anthology is that with only 4 stories it is far too short.
RED SAILS was my favorite of the 4 stories and is an incredibly unique pirate story that blends horror and pirate genres together wonderfully. I also enjoyed the other three stories find in this anthology quite a lot. My one criticism of this anthology is that with only 4 stories it is far too short.
September 11, 2015
With Sword and Pistol by Edward M Erdelac is a wonderful set of stories. Each involve some type of battle with both steel and pistol in some fashion. Erdelac has a swift voice that quickly immerses you in the worlds he creates. He is a student of fiction and his knowledge shows. You'll find yourself hanging on every page, absorbing words like oxygen. His imagery is applied with a deft hand.
In Night of the Jikininki you get samurai and zombies with images standing out so clearly you can almost hear the Tarantino-esque 70's music while you read.
Red Sails gives you vampire and werewolf pitted against regular mortals in a battle that keeps you spellbound.
Sinbad and the Sword of Solomon is everything I remember from watching Sinbad movies as a kid. You get the sailing, monsters, a double cross or two, and a dominant Sinbad that's true to his swashbuckling inspiration.
And finally you have Gully Gods, a tale of former child-soldiers and gangbangers in modern Chicago that delves into the darkness of blood gods and dark magic. If this is your first experience reading Erdelac, you will want more.
In Night of the Jikininki you get samurai and zombies with images standing out so clearly you can almost hear the Tarantino-esque 70's music while you read.
Red Sails gives you vampire and werewolf pitted against regular mortals in a battle that keeps you spellbound.
Sinbad and the Sword of Solomon is everything I remember from watching Sinbad movies as a kid. You get the sailing, monsters, a double cross or two, and a dominant Sinbad that's true to his swashbuckling inspiration.
And finally you have Gully Gods, a tale of former child-soldiers and gangbangers in modern Chicago that delves into the darkness of blood gods and dark magic. If this is your first experience reading Erdelac, you will want more.
February 26, 2016
Great collection.
A very good and eclectic collection. I really like the way the action moves along. I discovered him a year ago, and I'm working my way thru his books. I've dug them all so far and this is no exception. My book reviewing skills are lacking (haha), but I highly recommend this book if you like action and cool plots.
A very good and eclectic collection. I really like the way the action moves along. I discovered him a year ago, and I'm working my way thru his books. I've dug them all so far and this is no exception. My book reviewing skills are lacking (haha), but I highly recommend this book if you like action and cool plots.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews