Gunthar- Warrior of the Lost World.

by Steve Dilks

GUNTHAR!
COLLECTED TOGETHER FOR THE FIRST TIME!
In a world of science and sorcery, shadowed crypts and jeweled towers, a mighty swordsman from the wild plains of Tatukura storms his way through four fantastic adventures.
PRIESTESS OF THE FIRE-GODS. THE CITY OF THE BLACK FLAME. THE DEVIL FROM BEYOND. LORD OF THE BLACK THRONE.

Genres: Sword and Sorcery, Fantasy

300 pages, Paperback

First published November 9, 2019

About the author

Steve Dilks (1971- ) is an English writer. He has written SF, fantasy and horror for Pulp Hero Press, Wildside Press, Literary Rebel LLC, Rogue Blades Entertainment, Hippocampus Press, and Parallel Universe Publications.

Reviews

[Jamie]

Ah, Gunthar, the itinerant barbarian, do-gooder, sell-sword and thief. Gunthar's is an intriguing sword & sorcery world of evil wizards, long forgotten gods and pre-cataclysm technology dug up from ancient buried cities. Mutants, giant lizards, ICBMs. This one has it all. He also tends to pick up some interesting companions during his exploits. The writing is a bit sparse in the first two stories, but improves markedly in the last two.

The final story, Lord of the Black Throne, is probably the best, realizing the potential of the science fiction and post apocalyptic elements together with some otherworldly eldritch horrors to distinguish it from more traditional S&S tales. Dilks leans frequently on prophecies of doom and redemption (at the hands of Gunthar of course) via dreams, legend and other portents to propel the narrative. The reliance on this trope in fantasy literature feels well worn to me, but I'm not complaining as it's applied here fairly lightly. The story ends in an epic battle, with Gunthar seething with blood lust and wielding some bad ass pre-catacylsm tech against an evil necromancer and his hordes of undead warriors trying to get his hands on same. Lots of blood, gore and splattered brain matter. Brains surely do matter when judging the literary merits of any battle scene.

Overall, I'm impressed with Gunthar as a character, enthralled by his wonderfully weird SFF world, and would happily read more of his future adventures.

[Richard]

I have read the first three of these many years ago. So reading them now is like rediscovering them.

Priestess of the Fire-Gods - Previously titled The Purple Priestess of Asshtar; the new title works better. It's a shame that all of the artwork from the original didn't make it into the omnibus. Gunthar must steal an idol and return it to the priestess Seruya. The idol holds the secret to the Spears of the Gods. With this weapon Seruya can create a new world. Dilks even name drops a legend of S&S: "By Vrooman's brazen balls!" Obviously an inspiration.

The City of the Black Flame - Previously titled Gunthar and the Jaguar Queen. Much like the first tale, Gunthar is accompanied by two companions: one male, one female. The Black Flame is the key to the Jaguar Queens prolonged life, and everyone who is searching for it is not all that they appear. I've wondered, because I have never read it, whether The Black Flame by Stanley Weinbaum was the inspiration for this tale.

The Devil from Beyond - Trouble finds Gunthar in a big way. Accompanied by the same ratio of companions, Gunthar must stop a coup and an incidental demon invasion.

Lord of the Black Throne - This story was new to the collection. It had more. Bigger odds. Vast conquering army. Baddie hell-bent on immortality. Sorta reminds me of the little bit of David Gemmell that I've read.

A nice addition to my sword and sorcery collection.

Recommended!

[Jason Ray Carney]

This is great, old school sword and sorcery in the 1970s, Lin Carter and Gardner F. Fox, vein. I was thinking about homebrewing beer while reading this: in homebrew contests, successful beer is judged "to style," i.e. the gold medal beers hew closely to the profile of the style judged, i.e. a gold medal "Dortmunder" lager, has, according to the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) guidelines, this narrow flavor profile: "Grainy-sweet malt nor floral, spicy, or herbal hops dominate, but both are in good balance with a touch of malty sweetness." The gold medal Dortmunder lager isn't the one that is iconoclastic, that incorporates, say, banana pulp or cardamom pods. Instead, it is the one that the skillful brewer creates to satisfy the judge's very specific flavor expectations. In an analogous way, Gunthar: Warrior of the Lost World is "gold medal" sword and sorcery anthology, an artful execution of the genre's archetypical conventions, tropes, and distinctive diction (a true love letter to the genre). Nevertheless, there are a few compelling innovations, i.e. the prevalence of super science (perhaps a nod to KEW's Bloodstone?) as a kind of foil to sorcery, the incorporation of mutants, and the use of fever dream montage and vivid imagery; however, the joy of this anthology is not how it experiments with the genre but in how it gives a spark of vitality to a specific period of the genre again, i.e. the S&S of the 1970s. A collection of novellas, a standout was Lord of the Black Throne, specifically its phantasmagoric ending, a montage of sword and sorcery images that recalled psychedelic, blacklight-illumined velvet paintings of sorcerers and warriors battling at the end of time in cosmic depths, or the airbrush tableaus of eldritch skullduggery on 1970s custom vans. The cover art painting by Regis Moulton is great, and the rough-edged interior ink illustrations by Steve Lines perfectly harmonize with the stories. If you enjoy Thongor, Brak, and Kyrik, you will enjoy the adventures of Gunthar, Warrior of the Lost World.

[Clint]

Old school sword & sorcery

This is a fun entertaining read that reminds me much of the s&s I read of old. It is marred by some clumsy writing and some typos but neither are too egregious. I liked the mixture of s&s in a post-apocalyptic setting. It was Lin Carter-ish with a Thongor of Lemuria vein. I would recommend this those like me that enjoy sword & sorcery.

[Don Mcgregor]

I just finished reading Gunthar Warrior of the Lost World by Steve Dilks. Gunthar's adventures are represented by four different novellas.
PRIESTESS OF THE FIRE-GODS was previously published as Gunthar: The Purple Priestess of Asshtar. This story is the shortest of the four found in this collection but it serves to point out that in Gunthar's world there had once existed a world steeped in science which brought about it's own destruction. So scientific artifacts shrouded in mystery, mutants, and sorcery all exist in the same setting. Once the last page of this story is turned there is no longer any doubt as to what kind of setting we're dealing with. I was getting some cool Battle Beneath the Planet of the Apes vibes from this one,
THE CITY OF THE BLACK FLAME is the second novella which was previously published as Gunthar and the Jaguar Queen. While I greatly enjoyed the first story in this book, this next one really resonated with me and really ensnares the reader. It is clear that Steve Dilks grew up reading Edgar Rice Burroughs and Robert E. Howard. This story is a homage to those giants in my opinion. I was getting some serious Tarzan vibes in some sections of this story and at one point I thought the story channeled the old Flash Gordon serials as well. This story and the final story vie for my favorite of the four. This is a must read.,
THE DEVIL FROM BEYOND is another strong entry and I really enjoyed the supporting character of Tullus Vantio. I hope to see this character in a future Gunthar installment or even perhaps in a story of his own. I also really dug the volatge whips introduced in this story.,
LORD OF THE BLACK THRONE is the last novella in this collection and quite possibly the best. There is much in this particular story that resonates so very well: the captivating and brooding atmosphere of the ancient city of Brough-Tyr and the surrounding fens, the stellar supporting cast from the 'sons of the fallen' to Kereth to Rumantyr and others, a fantastic portrayal of the main villain in this piece, and we learn a good piece of Gunthar's backstory. This one really fires on all thrusters.,
I really enjoyed this entire book and found that I could not put it down. It brought back to me nostalgic memories of reading Edar Rice Burroughs, Robert E. Howard, and Lin Carter. If you want a book that channels Conan, Tarzan, Thongor, Flash Gordon, and a setting much like the one in Terry Brooks' Shanarra series - then this book is definitely for you

[Larry]

This is anthology of Steve Dilks stories written of his primeur Sword & Sorcery hero Gunthar. Fans of the genre will likely enjoy this collection as it works with the tropes of the genre and then adds more while maintaining the exciting, grim, stunning atmosphere that is the calling card of good S & S.


There seems to be the following patterns in Dilk’s Gunthar tales:

-Science as a third force afoot in the world besides strength of sword and sorcery.
-Offers of immortality, usually coupled with a gorgeous, receptive alpha female and perhaps kingship over a people or force. These offers are usually rebuked, thus proving the moral superiority of the hero.
-Talk of evolution and devolution as well as mutants to create racial classes substituting in for the black/white racist racial tensions of the sword and sorcery works of yesteryear.
-old tropes expanded on-and for me this is one of the key traits, such as loin clothe described, former evil sorcerers turned good, etc.

In conclusion if your looking for a fun action packed read I’d recommend this.

[Roy Bayfield]

Action-filled sword and sorcery

This an exciting set of tales, each one better than the last - by the end it attains David Gemmell levels of excellence. Like Robert E. Howard, Steve Dilks creates an ideal environment for adventure from a variety of sources - a world where sorcery works alongside dubious remnants of technology, warriors ride reptilian steeds and mutants stalk the earth. But the heart and soul of the book is pure sword and sorcery, with plenty of blood-spilling action and a character who develops in depth as the stories unfold. The battles can be grim but the darkness isn't overwhelming, there's an old school sense of adventure where the next jack of ale and purse of gold is always waiting on the road ahead.

[Grignr the Ecordian]

Gunthar the Wanderer

Awesome sword and sorcery adventures of a warrior for hire who would love nothing more than wine, wenches and warfare, but often finds himself in situations that test heart and brain as well as steel and brawn. Being heroic is a lot of strain, effort and soul-searching, but much as he doesn't want to, Gunthar rises to the occasion. An enjoyable read!