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The Eye of Sounnu
Once upon a time, short fiction was the mainstay of science fiction and fantasy readers. Titans like Robert E. Howard and Jack Vance worked their magic on magazine and pulp pages, delighting readers with strange visions and pulse pounding action. In 2016, editor P. Alexander dared to bring those days back with the launch of Cirsova, a magazine of science fiction and fantasy fiction.
DMR Books is proud to present a collection of one of Cirsova’s rising stars, Schuyler Hernstrom. These stories will take the reader across strange and sweeping landscapes of adventure. Life and death, blood and desire, greed and sacrifice, all and more are contained within. Classic barbarians and classic rogues are here, along with Dunsanian knights and witches, sentient computers and savage beasts. This collection includes all of Hernstrom’s stories from the first three years of Cirsova along with three tales that have never appeared in print before.
DMR Books is proud to present a collection of one of Cirsova’s rising stars, Schuyler Hernstrom. These stories will take the reader across strange and sweeping landscapes of adventure. Life and death, blood and desire, greed and sacrifice, all and more are contained within. Classic barbarians and classic rogues are here, along with Dunsanian knights and witches, sentient computers and savage beasts. This collection includes all of Hernstrom’s stories from the first three years of Cirsova along with three tales that have never appeared in print before.
228 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 2, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
August 23, 2020
An eclectic anthology of innovative sword and sorcery tales. The anthology begins with the genre-conventional yet vital sword and sorcery adventure, "The Gift of the Ob-Men," that is nevertheless a masterpiece. "The Tragedy of Thurn" is a compressed story in the spirit of REH's Kull stories (very mystical and philosophical in probing the boundaries of how we define reality). "Images of the Goddess" is cleary inspired by Jack Vance and perhaps Lin Carter: humorous, serendipitous, bizzare, irreverent. "The Space Witch" is a vignette with lyrical wordplay and beautiful imagery. "The First American" is a compelling sword and sorcery and time travel / speculative fiction tale, with some Richard Matheson vibes. "The Law of the Wolves" was the most overtly literary, a brief meditation on how savagery is the bedrock of existence. "Mortu and Kyrus in the White City" was a paranoid sword and sorcery, perhaps in the spirit of Fritz Leiber's skulduggery tales in Lankhmar. "The Star-God's Grave" was amazing: Burroughs-like space opera (i.e. sword and planet) in its essence, thoroughly entertaining. 5/5. This anthology will clearly be remembered as a classic.
May 5, 2020
I first became aware Mr. Hernstrom's work when a friend recommended Thune's Vision. Enjoying his first collection of course I sought out his newest release. Several of the stories included in The Eye of Sounnu really scratched my sword and planet itch. So much promise, I look forward to reading more from Hernstrom in the future.
The Gift of the Ob-men - exiled warrior, dying race, sentient fungus, cannibalistic city man, guardian robot, looking deep into the future and realizing that it is all just one big circle.
The Tragedy of Thurn - relentless invaders, warlord bent on the extinction of all life, a spur of the moment cabal, fabled warrior held in illusionary prison, tragic ending.
Images of the Goddess - order dedicated to the Goddess, vision of a tome of icons, a green acolyte take up the quest, one-eyed wizard, barbarian tribes of the steppes, slavery, gladiator games, crashed ship, A.I., cannibalistic crewmen, insect man bounty hunter.
The Space Witch - short, good vs. evil, order vs. chaos, unending vying for balance.
The First American - primitive tribe, lizard men, sorcerer on the mountain, biological chemistry, possible time travel, enduring love, air ships. Possibly my favorite of the whole book. So much going on, so much to explore.
The Law of Wolves - death of a grandmother, woodsman's daughter, runs away with traveling performers, encounters wolves, quick wits keeps her from being a meal, learns law of wolves first hand.
Mortu and Kyrus in the White City - I've wanted to read this one for some time. Since both main characters are mentioned by name in the title, should we expect more from this duo? Mortu, barbarian from the north. Kyrus, a monk transformed into a monkey. People of the White City hide a black secret.
The Star-God's Grave - Three unlikely individuals team-up to pull off a very lucrative job. At least until striking it rich takes a back seat to maintaining their own survival.
DMR books is really putting some awesome things into print. I cannot wait to see what comes next!
Recommended!
The Gift of the Ob-men - exiled warrior, dying race, sentient fungus, cannibalistic city man, guardian robot, looking deep into the future and realizing that it is all just one big circle.
The Tragedy of Thurn - relentless invaders, warlord bent on the extinction of all life, a spur of the moment cabal, fabled warrior held in illusionary prison, tragic ending.
Images of the Goddess - order dedicated to the Goddess, vision of a tome of icons, a green acolyte take up the quest, one-eyed wizard, barbarian tribes of the steppes, slavery, gladiator games, crashed ship, A.I., cannibalistic crewmen, insect man bounty hunter.
The Space Witch - short, good vs. evil, order vs. chaos, unending vying for balance.
The First American - primitive tribe, lizard men, sorcerer on the mountain, biological chemistry, possible time travel, enduring love, air ships. Possibly my favorite of the whole book. So much going on, so much to explore.
The Law of Wolves - death of a grandmother, woodsman's daughter, runs away with traveling performers, encounters wolves, quick wits keeps her from being a meal, learns law of wolves first hand.
Mortu and Kyrus in the White City - I've wanted to read this one for some time. Since both main characters are mentioned by name in the title, should we expect more from this duo? Mortu, barbarian from the north. Kyrus, a monk transformed into a monkey. People of the White City hide a black secret.
The Star-God's Grave - Three unlikely individuals team-up to pull off a very lucrative job. At least until striking it rich takes a back seat to maintaining their own survival.
DMR books is really putting some awesome things into print. I cannot wait to see what comes next!
Recommended!
February 22, 2021
These stories really hit a sweet spot for me. Bursting with wild imagination, most are true sword & sorcery adventures with a smattering of sci-fi oddities. They evoke mostly Earth like alternate worlds of lost civilizations, ancient buried histories and forgotten gods, many in fact reminiscent to some extent of The Planet of the Apes films. Hernstrom doesn't rely on blood, gore or sex to sell a story. Most lack even a love interest of any sort. Rather, not unlike Jack Vance, the stories are about building a rich world with a rollicking atmosphere, populated with strange creatures and oddities out of space and time. And, of course, heroes on a perilous quest.
I'm hard pressed to choose favorites. Contenders certainly would include The Gift of the Ob-men, The Tragedy of Thurn, Images of the Goddess and The First American. Images of the Goddess stands out in particular for an uproarious twist that had me chuckling, as did Mortu and Kyrus in the White City. The Star-God's Grave is also worth a mention, more sci-fi than S&S, it's perhaps the most Vancean, yet a focus on camaraderie among the band of adventurers sets is apart from what you'd usually see from Vance.
I'm hard pressed to choose favorites. Contenders certainly would include The Gift of the Ob-men, The Tragedy of Thurn, Images of the Goddess and The First American. Images of the Goddess stands out in particular for an uproarious twist that had me chuckling, as did Mortu and Kyrus in the White City. The Star-God's Grave is also worth a mention, more sci-fi than S&S, it's perhaps the most Vancean, yet a focus on camaraderie among the band of adventurers sets is apart from what you'd usually see from Vance.
May 11, 2020
Excellent collection of pulp sword and sorcery style tales with hints of Vance's Dying Earth and a tinge of horror along the lines of Karl Edward Wagner's Kane series.
The Eye of Sounnu is an excellent collection consisting of a blend of pulp sword and sorcery along with the atmosphere of Jack Vance's Dying Earth and Cugel the Clever tales! I would recommend this for fans of Jack Vance's Dying Earth, Michael Shea's Nifft the Lean, and Karl Edward Wagner's Kane series.
The Eye of Sounnu is an excellent collection consisting of a blend of pulp sword and sorcery along with the atmosphere of Jack Vance's Dying Earth and Cugel the Clever tales! I would recommend this for fans of Jack Vance's Dying Earth, Michael Shea's Nifft the Lean, and Karl Edward Wagner's Kane series.
July 16, 2025
Enjoyable Sword and Sorcery short stories. Nothing deep or heavy, just entertaining fun.
The sort of short story I like, with an author skilled at bringing you quickly into the landscape and characters involved, and endings that are not left hanging.
SciFi themes feature in several of the tales too.
Several stories had a lead character tending towards the broad shouldered, heroic sword swinging type but the stories involved were better than you might think given that background.
I suspect best read as a diversion on a holiday beach, or when your reading time is likely to be interrupted (as in my case, especially liking how easy it was to pick up an interrupted read).
The sort of short story I like, with an author skilled at bringing you quickly into the landscape and characters involved, and endings that are not left hanging.
SciFi themes feature in several of the tales too.
Several stories had a lead character tending towards the broad shouldered, heroic sword swinging type but the stories involved were better than you might think given that background.
I suspect best read as a diversion on a holiday beach, or when your reading time is likely to be interrupted (as in my case, especially liking how easy it was to pick up an interrupted read).
March 4, 2022
'Science-fantasy' is a genre label that has fallen into obscurity over the years. It’s a term that springs to mind when reading this book.
Hernstrom's stories are of the best kind—inventive and colourful, familiar without being derivative. They brim with alien worlds, ribald humour and fantastic adventure.
This collection features eight stories, four of which are quite memorable.
'The Gift of the Ob-Men' opens the book and is probably the tightest and most weirdly imaginative of all.
'Images of the Goddess' is a superbly alien, colourful adventure. I saw all sorts of influences in this one—from the early magazine works of L. Sprague de Camp, Poul Anderson and Jack Vance. The only let down for me was the telegraphed nudge-wink punch line which I felt was below the sophistication of the rest of the story. Still a great read though.
'Mortu and Kyrus in the White City' is an SF barbarian sword-&-super science mash-up that made me feel like an awe struck thirteen year old. I'd already read this one on kindle and is the reason I succumbed to buying the book in the first place. I was pleased I enjoyed it again. It could be classed as the centre piece although that would do some of the other stories a disservice. Do we need more Mortu and Kyrus though? Yes, we do.
'The Star-God's Grave' is fantastic. Like the previous story, this gonzo blend of space faring barbarians dropped into a setting of outrageous weirdness deserves a series all its own. Like the other one too, there is humour a-plenty in the dialogue between the main characters.
Of the others, I liked 'The First American' though I felt the pace was a little uneven and it ends on a frustrating note. Unless there was some subtle sub-text underplay which eluded me, I was also perplexed by the title which I thought should have been called ‘The Last American’.
The three remaining are well written but minor; 'The Tragedy of Thurn' is Dunsany-ish. 'The Space-Witch' is a stoner SF version of Robert E. Howard's 'The Frost-Giant's Daughter'. 'The Law of Wolves' I found engaging although the latter half is somewhat jarring.
Overall, a solid collection. If we are in the midst of a revival of old school SF and fantasy then Schuyler Hernstrom is most assuredly at the forefront.
Hernstrom's stories are of the best kind—inventive and colourful, familiar without being derivative. They brim with alien worlds, ribald humour and fantastic adventure.
This collection features eight stories, four of which are quite memorable.
'The Gift of the Ob-Men' opens the book and is probably the tightest and most weirdly imaginative of all.
'Images of the Goddess' is a superbly alien, colourful adventure. I saw all sorts of influences in this one—from the early magazine works of L. Sprague de Camp, Poul Anderson and Jack Vance. The only let down for me was the telegraphed nudge-wink punch line which I felt was below the sophistication of the rest of the story. Still a great read though.
'Mortu and Kyrus in the White City' is an SF barbarian sword-&-super science mash-up that made me feel like an awe struck thirteen year old. I'd already read this one on kindle and is the reason I succumbed to buying the book in the first place. I was pleased I enjoyed it again. It could be classed as the centre piece although that would do some of the other stories a disservice. Do we need more Mortu and Kyrus though? Yes, we do.
'The Star-God's Grave' is fantastic. Like the previous story, this gonzo blend of space faring barbarians dropped into a setting of outrageous weirdness deserves a series all its own. Like the other one too, there is humour a-plenty in the dialogue between the main characters.
Of the others, I liked 'The First American' though I felt the pace was a little uneven and it ends on a frustrating note. Unless there was some subtle sub-text underplay which eluded me, I was also perplexed by the title which I thought should have been called ‘The Last American’.
The three remaining are well written but minor; 'The Tragedy of Thurn' is Dunsany-ish. 'The Space-Witch' is a stoner SF version of Robert E. Howard's 'The Frost-Giant's Daughter'. 'The Law of Wolves' I found engaging although the latter half is somewhat jarring.
Overall, a solid collection. If we are in the midst of a revival of old school SF and fantasy then Schuyler Hernstrom is most assuredly at the forefront.
June 19, 2025
Truly inventive and fun. Echoes of Robert E. Howard and Jack Vance. A name to watch for in the sword and sorcery space.
September 3, 2020
Full disclosure -- I was given a copy of this book to read for an honest review:
I first became aware Schuyler Hernstrom through his early collection, Thune's Vision. Mr. Hernstrom is an excellent writer -- each story is quite unique in tone and characters, his prose evocative and crisp. I have seen some compare him to authors like Robert E. Howard or Clark Ashton Smith, but I disagree. Hernstrom reminds me of the next generation of adventure writers -- a Poul Anderson or Michael Moorcock -- his tales darker in a "Cold War" sort of way, frequently marked by post-apocalyptic settings, a cynicism, and a blending of fantasy and scifi into science-fantasy that is indicative more of the 1950s - 70s (inspired by a return of interest in Burroughs, I suspect), then the 30s.
Regardless, Hernstrom is his own voice, and it is a fine one!
The Gift of the Ob-men - a gonzo tale of primitive humanity at the end of mankind's history (or perhaps its rebirth?), this has it all: a dying race of...mushroom men...cannibals, robots, vision-quests. This one, more than any, felt like something from the pulps, and it is an exciting tale with an unexpected end...that could have come from the equally unusual and gonzo film, Zardoz.
The Tragedy of Thurn - this was much more sword & sorcery, with a very interesting premise I don't want to spoil. There is an early reveal that makes this fairly short tale much more than it would have been otherwise.
Images of the Goddess - AI, radioactive mutants, high-tech "magic" and more abound in this tongue and cheek, post-apocalypse tale, with a cult of aesthetic monks on a search for a lost book of the Goddess that may have been produced by...Hugh Hefner?
The Space Witch - a short, very much cataclysmic "good vs evil" tale that I confess, seemed to fall completely flat, starting with the uninspired title.
The First American airships and lizardmen, what's not to love? This is one of the longer tales, and definitely genre-bending, with a setting that could easily be reused.
The Law of Wolves - straight fantasy, a dark fairy-tale that could come right out of the Brothers Grimm (only grimmer)
Mortu and Kyrus in the White City - by farm my favorite tale, this one has it all. A post-apocalyptic "Amerza" centuries after an alien conquest and a generation or two after the aliens were overthrown by the barbarian sub-race of humans they created. Mortu is just such a barbarian, much in the vein of Leiber's Fafhrd, only he rides...a motorcycle? The Grey Mouser here is instead, Kyrus, not a thief, but a monk ...and and a monkey. Not a "monkey-man"; a monkey. This duo get involved in a caper involving a lost city, a dark path to immortality, child-abduction and a twist on the Shangri-la story. So much fun and ripe for sequels.
The Star-God's Grave - A sci-fantasy story with space-travel and wizards in a heist story. Like many heist-capers, this one goes terribly wrong.
Overall, one total dud, and the last tale is clever, but not entirely effective. Nevertheless, Ob-men, Law of Wolves, First American and Mortu and Kyrus make it more than worth it!
I first became aware Schuyler Hernstrom through his early collection, Thune's Vision. Mr. Hernstrom is an excellent writer -- each story is quite unique in tone and characters, his prose evocative and crisp. I have seen some compare him to authors like Robert E. Howard or Clark Ashton Smith, but I disagree. Hernstrom reminds me of the next generation of adventure writers -- a Poul Anderson or Michael Moorcock -- his tales darker in a "Cold War" sort of way, frequently marked by post-apocalyptic settings, a cynicism, and a blending of fantasy and scifi into science-fantasy that is indicative more of the 1950s - 70s (inspired by a return of interest in Burroughs, I suspect), then the 30s.
Regardless, Hernstrom is his own voice, and it is a fine one!
The Gift of the Ob-men - a gonzo tale of primitive humanity at the end of mankind's history (or perhaps its rebirth?), this has it all: a dying race of...mushroom men...cannibals, robots, vision-quests. This one, more than any, felt like something from the pulps, and it is an exciting tale with an unexpected end...that could have come from the equally unusual and gonzo film, Zardoz.
The Tragedy of Thurn - this was much more sword & sorcery, with a very interesting premise I don't want to spoil. There is an early reveal that makes this fairly short tale much more than it would have been otherwise.
Images of the Goddess - AI, radioactive mutants, high-tech "magic" and more abound in this tongue and cheek, post-apocalypse tale, with a cult of aesthetic monks on a search for a lost book of the Goddess that may have been produced by...Hugh Hefner?
The Space Witch - a short, very much cataclysmic "good vs evil" tale that I confess, seemed to fall completely flat, starting with the uninspired title.
The First American airships and lizardmen, what's not to love? This is one of the longer tales, and definitely genre-bending, with a setting that could easily be reused.
The Law of Wolves - straight fantasy, a dark fairy-tale that could come right out of the Brothers Grimm (only grimmer)
Mortu and Kyrus in the White City - by farm my favorite tale, this one has it all. A post-apocalyptic "Amerza" centuries after an alien conquest and a generation or two after the aliens were overthrown by the barbarian sub-race of humans they created. Mortu is just such a barbarian, much in the vein of Leiber's Fafhrd, only he rides...a motorcycle? The Grey Mouser here is instead, Kyrus, not a thief, but a monk ...and and a monkey. Not a "monkey-man"; a monkey. This duo get involved in a caper involving a lost city, a dark path to immortality, child-abduction and a twist on the Shangri-la story. So much fun and ripe for sequels.
The Star-God's Grave - A sci-fantasy story with space-travel and wizards in a heist story. Like many heist-capers, this one goes terribly wrong.
Overall, one total dud, and the last tale is clever, but not entirely effective. Nevertheless, Ob-men, Law of Wolves, First American and Mortu and Kyrus make it more than worth it!
June 9, 2020
This book is excellent. If you like sword & sorcery, sword & planet or classic pulp Sci-Fi, stop reading this review and just buy it.
I think of all the books DMR has published this is the most competent. I don’t mean that to take away from the other authors. I really enjoy DMR’s pulp revival, but Hernstrom just really knows how to put words together in a punchy way that stands above his peers.
Another thing, and again I love what DMR does, this book really feels like its a lost of pulp author who’s been unfairly forgotten. If you had told me this is a collection of stories by a forgotten Weird Tales or Planet Stories author, I’d have believed you. There is an underground push, which I love, to bring back classic pulp sf/fantasy. A lot of it feels like fans of that stuff trying to recreate it. It’s good, but this really feels like it truly came from that era. Idk if that’s the best way to describe it. It just captures the era perfectly without feeling like it’s trying too hard to capture the era.
The stand out stories to me were; the Tragedy of Thurn, Mortu and Kyrus in the White City, and the Star God’s Grave.
Mortu and Kyrus was amazing. It’s an absolute must and I hope for many more staring these two.
Star God’s Grave felt straight out of Planet Stories in all the right ways.
Mr. Hernstrom is a tremendous writer and I hope to see much more of him in the future. Maybe some of this stuff is a little predictable but it’s just so damn good. It really felt like he was a forgotten classic author of the 50s. I can’t praise this book enough. Good on DMR for putting his work in a collection. Do yourself a favor and buy this book!!!!
I think of all the books DMR has published this is the most competent. I don’t mean that to take away from the other authors. I really enjoy DMR’s pulp revival, but Hernstrom just really knows how to put words together in a punchy way that stands above his peers.
Another thing, and again I love what DMR does, this book really feels like its a lost of pulp author who’s been unfairly forgotten. If you had told me this is a collection of stories by a forgotten Weird Tales or Planet Stories author, I’d have believed you. There is an underground push, which I love, to bring back classic pulp sf/fantasy. A lot of it feels like fans of that stuff trying to recreate it. It’s good, but this really feels like it truly came from that era. Idk if that’s the best way to describe it. It just captures the era perfectly without feeling like it’s trying too hard to capture the era.
The stand out stories to me were; the Tragedy of Thurn, Mortu and Kyrus in the White City, and the Star God’s Grave.
Mortu and Kyrus was amazing. It’s an absolute must and I hope for many more staring these two.
Star God’s Grave felt straight out of Planet Stories in all the right ways.
Mr. Hernstrom is a tremendous writer and I hope to see much more of him in the future. Maybe some of this stuff is a little predictable but it’s just so damn good. It really felt like he was a forgotten classic author of the 50s. I can’t praise this book enough. Good on DMR for putting his work in a collection. Do yourself a favor and buy this book!!!!
June 19, 2021
The stories in this collection hearken back to the golden age of pulp sword & sorcery and science fantasy. Images and themes occasionally remind the reader of Robert E. Howard, Fritz Leiber, Jack Vance, and even maybe a bit of Gene Wolfe but happily the author avoids well-trodden ground. These stories share the spirit of the classics without aping them outright.
Particular stand-outs include The First American, in which a barbarian tribesman enlists the scientific aid of a stranded US astronaut to rescue a captured woman from reptilian adversaries, and Mortu and Kyrus in the White City, about a motorcycle-riding warrior and his monastic monkey companion encountering an idyllic metropolis hiding a dark secret.
I look forward to reading more by Hernstrom and DMR Books!
Particular stand-outs include The First American, in which a barbarian tribesman enlists the scientific aid of a stranded US astronaut to rescue a captured woman from reptilian adversaries, and Mortu and Kyrus in the White City, about a motorcycle-riding warrior and his monastic monkey companion encountering an idyllic metropolis hiding a dark secret.
I look forward to reading more by Hernstrom and DMR Books!
August 17, 2021
The Eye of Sounnu is a collection of short stories by Schuyler Hernstrom, most of which appeared in issues of the Cirsova magazine before, but some of which see their original printing in this volume.
The Gift of the Ob-Men: this story features the titular Sounnu, a barbarian who gets exiled from his tribe, meets with mushroom-men who give him a third eye in exchange for doing them a favor, and explores the ruins of an ancient city on his way back to his tribe. This story has plenty of strange imagery and good action. Chronologically it was the first of Hernstrom's stories to appear in the pages of Cirsova, and it feels a bit raw accordingly - the least developed of the works in this volume, but a great start nonetheless.
The Tragedy of Thurn: this story introduces elements of Lovecraft and/or Clark Ashton Smith, with a Mongol-like conqueror laying waste to every city his army takes over, just to serve the goals of eldritch gods of destruction whose voices he hears in dreams. The story follows three wizards who are forced by the warlord to free these eldritch gods from their chains so they may destroy the universe, but instead they search the library for any magic that might help them stop the warlord before it is too late.
Images of the Goddess: my personal favorite from this collection. A young monk from a monastery serving a deity only known as the Goddess is sent out to search for an ancient book that contains images of Her. One of the monks found its location in a faraway place during his travels in the astral plane, and the monastery wants to secure this ancient holy work. On his way, the monk collects some unlikely companions and visits many exotic places. The descriptions paint wonderfully strange images of an exotic fantasy world mixed with elements of sci-fi and there's a lot of action and plenty of humor. A great read from start to finish, it's worth getting the book for this story alone.
The Space Witch: the shortest story in this collection at barely 4 pages. I prefer longer short stories that spend time building up setting and characters, so this one ended up being my least favorite. It does paint some nice imagery though and the ending is somewhat poetic, so it's not a bad story... just too short for my taste.
The First American: a stone age tribesman attempts to rescue his girlfriend from lizardmen in flying saucers. He secures the help of a "wizard" who is actually an American space ship captain who accidentally traveled back in time and is now stuck in Earth's deep pre-history. Our stone age hero gets a shotgun and ventures into the irradiated desert the lizardmen call their home to save the damsel. A highly imaginative subgenre-bending adventure romp that merges sci-fi, fantasy, and prehistoric caveman pulp into a coherent whole.
The Law of Wolves: this story is a little different from the others. It has more of a literary fantasy touch with a moral at the end, compared to the action-rich adventure romps of the other stories. A young woman from a woodcutter's family is about to be married but doesn't want to get stuck in a regular villager's life. She desires freedom and adventure and runs away. It's a good story with some nice twists and turns but overall feels quite different to the others in this book.
Mortu and Kyrus in the White City: my second-favorite story in this tome. A motorcycle-riding barbarian with a monkey companion (yes, a monkey - he used to be human but was turned into a monkey by errant sorcery) saves a caravan from raiders and follows them to their city. They dwell in an ancient city constructed by aliens that used to dominate Earth before they were expelled by warriors from the north, and not everything in this city is quite as it seems. Great mix of fantasy, sci-fi, and post-apocalypse.
The Star-God's Grave: this is the most sci-fi heavy story in this book, while still being firmly rooted in fantasy aesthetics. Spaceships are grown from crystals and can only be controlled by wizards. One such wizard offers his ship to two ex-soldiers who want to journey to a dangerous planet allegedly containing the corpse of a Star-God. They journey there in the hope of attaining great wealth, but of course encounter even greater peril. Highly imaginative story that blends all the genres, as Hernstrom has shown himself wont to do. Good stuff.
Overall, this is a great short story collection featuring highly imaginative worlds that seamlessly combine fantasy and sci-fi like those oldschool sword-and-planet stories used to do. Highly recommended.
The Gift of the Ob-Men: this story features the titular Sounnu, a barbarian who gets exiled from his tribe, meets with mushroom-men who give him a third eye in exchange for doing them a favor, and explores the ruins of an ancient city on his way back to his tribe. This story has plenty of strange imagery and good action. Chronologically it was the first of Hernstrom's stories to appear in the pages of Cirsova, and it feels a bit raw accordingly - the least developed of the works in this volume, but a great start nonetheless.
The Tragedy of Thurn: this story introduces elements of Lovecraft and/or Clark Ashton Smith, with a Mongol-like conqueror laying waste to every city his army takes over, just to serve the goals of eldritch gods of destruction whose voices he hears in dreams. The story follows three wizards who are forced by the warlord to free these eldritch gods from their chains so they may destroy the universe, but instead they search the library for any magic that might help them stop the warlord before it is too late.
Images of the Goddess: my personal favorite from this collection. A young monk from a monastery serving a deity only known as the Goddess is sent out to search for an ancient book that contains images of Her. One of the monks found its location in a faraway place during his travels in the astral plane, and the monastery wants to secure this ancient holy work. On his way, the monk collects some unlikely companions and visits many exotic places. The descriptions paint wonderfully strange images of an exotic fantasy world mixed with elements of sci-fi and there's a lot of action and plenty of humor. A great read from start to finish, it's worth getting the book for this story alone.
The Space Witch: the shortest story in this collection at barely 4 pages. I prefer longer short stories that spend time building up setting and characters, so this one ended up being my least favorite. It does paint some nice imagery though and the ending is somewhat poetic, so it's not a bad story... just too short for my taste.
The First American: a stone age tribesman attempts to rescue his girlfriend from lizardmen in flying saucers. He secures the help of a "wizard" who is actually an American space ship captain who accidentally traveled back in time and is now stuck in Earth's deep pre-history. Our stone age hero gets a shotgun and ventures into the irradiated desert the lizardmen call their home to save the damsel. A highly imaginative subgenre-bending adventure romp that merges sci-fi, fantasy, and prehistoric caveman pulp into a coherent whole.
The Law of Wolves: this story is a little different from the others. It has more of a literary fantasy touch with a moral at the end, compared to the action-rich adventure romps of the other stories. A young woman from a woodcutter's family is about to be married but doesn't want to get stuck in a regular villager's life. She desires freedom and adventure and runs away. It's a good story with some nice twists and turns but overall feels quite different to the others in this book.
Mortu and Kyrus in the White City: my second-favorite story in this tome. A motorcycle-riding barbarian with a monkey companion (yes, a monkey - he used to be human but was turned into a monkey by errant sorcery) saves a caravan from raiders and follows them to their city. They dwell in an ancient city constructed by aliens that used to dominate Earth before they were expelled by warriors from the north, and not everything in this city is quite as it seems. Great mix of fantasy, sci-fi, and post-apocalypse.
The Star-God's Grave: this is the most sci-fi heavy story in this book, while still being firmly rooted in fantasy aesthetics. Spaceships are grown from crystals and can only be controlled by wizards. One such wizard offers his ship to two ex-soldiers who want to journey to a dangerous planet allegedly containing the corpse of a Star-God. They journey there in the hope of attaining great wealth, but of course encounter even greater peril. Highly imaginative story that blends all the genres, as Hernstrom has shown himself wont to do. Good stuff.
Overall, this is a great short story collection featuring highly imaginative worlds that seamlessly combine fantasy and sci-fi like those oldschool sword-and-planet stories used to do. Highly recommended.
January 1, 2023
Utterly nails the classic sword & sorcery / sword & planet vibe yet has a contemporary style that keeps things fresh and interesting.
August 15, 2022
This book begins with a brief 'Foreword' by P. Alexander. Then we have the following novellas and short stories~
1. The Gift of the Ob-Men;
2. The Tragedy of Thurn;
3. Images of the Goddess;
4. The Space Witch;
5. The First American;
6. The Law of Wolves;
7. Mortu and Kyrus in the White City;
8. The Star-God's Grave.
These are works that transcend the boundaries of sword and sorcery by leagues. They are nuanced, haunting, deeply thought-provoking, and yet absolutely riveting. Once begun, they compel the reader to turn the pages faster than one can think.
And the humour!
The wit and irony lacing these works are incomparable. For example, I would forever remember 'Images of the Goddess' and 'The Star-God's Grave'. And I would be always haunted by 'The Tragedy of Thurn'.
Overall, I find this one to be one of the finest fantasy collection to grace our shelves in recent times.
Highly Recommended.
1. The Gift of the Ob-Men;
2. The Tragedy of Thurn;
3. Images of the Goddess;
4. The Space Witch;
5. The First American;
6. The Law of Wolves;
7. Mortu and Kyrus in the White City;
8. The Star-God's Grave.
These are works that transcend the boundaries of sword and sorcery by leagues. They are nuanced, haunting, deeply thought-provoking, and yet absolutely riveting. Once begun, they compel the reader to turn the pages faster than one can think.
And the humour!
The wit and irony lacing these works are incomparable. For example, I would forever remember 'Images of the Goddess' and 'The Star-God's Grave'. And I would be always haunted by 'The Tragedy of Thurn'.
Overall, I find this one to be one of the finest fantasy collection to grace our shelves in recent times.
Highly Recommended.
October 5, 2020
Very few people who are fully contemporary can pull off that old timey pulp feel when it comes to writing style, but that certainly happens here!
Unsurprisingly, the two most Vancean stories, 'Images of the Goddess' and 'Star Gods Grave' were my favorite. Especially the former as thematically it reminded me of the kind of things I like to write for myself.
If you have been looking for something new and yet very much in the style of better works that came out between the 30s-70s, this would be a great place to start.
Unsurprisingly, the two most Vancean stories, 'Images of the Goddess' and 'Star Gods Grave' were my favorite. Especially the former as thematically it reminded me of the kind of things I like to write for myself.
If you have been looking for something new and yet very much in the style of better works that came out between the 30s-70s, this would be a great place to start.
November 15, 2022
A common theme among these stories is the rise and fall of society, starting over in a primal state of hunters and foragers and falling at the height of technology and science. The mixture and reveals of sword-and-sorcery with technology and modern science, even science fiction and space, are handled in an enthralling way, written well by Schuyler. The first few stories felt dark and emotionless but the general feel became hopeful and often climactic. Dialogue became witty and entertaining. There is even a point of theological and scholarly debate, that was well-done in a way that simply sets the environment up of the story for a rich land of races and beliefs. My favorites are the exploring of a star-god's corpse as a nightmarish world, a pagan warrior and a Christian monkeyed monk in an immortal and Macabre city, and the hilarity and ridiculousness of putting a Playboy Bunny into the status of a pious goddess.
The Gift of the Ob-Men
A village in a vale. A ruined city to the west. Grasslands and dark forests separating the two with all manners of 4/5
The Tragedy of Thurn
Like Moorcock's Elric series, the gods of Order and Chaos battle amongst themselves for ages. With the defeated 4/5
Images of the Goddess
A darkly humorous tale. The Krixxis Mountains hold an all-male 5/5
The Space Witch
Light and Dark are at war but also at balance, with the darkness giving unlimited power to the 4/5
The First American
At the foot of the old mountains is the Ithra race, a tribal people who hold to 5/5
The Law of Wolves
After the fall of Adam and Eve, the Garden gave way to 3/5
Mortu and Kyrus in the White City
Once upon a time, the Illilissy 5/5
The Star-God's Grave
Tunkal is an orphan, apprenticed to a wizard master that gains knowledge and power through different crystals. But as an orphan, 5/5
The Gift of the Ob-Men
A village in a vale. A ruined city to the west. Grasslands and dark forests separating the two with all manners of 4/5
The Tragedy of Thurn
Like Moorcock's Elric series, the gods of Order and Chaos battle amongst themselves for ages. With the defeated 4/5
Images of the Goddess
A darkly humorous tale. The Krixxis Mountains hold an all-male 5/5
The Space Witch
Light and Dark are at war but also at balance, with the darkness giving unlimited power to the 4/5
The First American
At the foot of the old mountains is the Ithra race, a tribal people who hold to 5/5
The Law of Wolves
After the fall of Adam and Eve, the Garden gave way to 3/5
Mortu and Kyrus in the White City
Once upon a time, the Illilissy 5/5
The Star-God's Grave
Tunkal is an orphan, apprenticed to a wizard master that gains knowledge and power through different crystals. But as an orphan, 5/5
January 2, 2024
A nice collection of stories that was nestled between sci-fi and fantasy. I liked the majority of this collection. Some of the stories I felt had a bit too much going on with too many characters and separate threads. But my favorites were Images of the Goddess, The First American, and Mortu and Kyrus in the White City. Interesting worlds and some nice humor peppered in. I'd read more by this author.
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July 27, 2024A Fortuitous Recommendation from an Acquaintance
I picked this up on a recommendation, and I regretted having to take breaks from Schuyler's stories. Many of the stories are very memorable. The vibe and pacing are just spot on. I want my friends to read them as modern examples of the genre, and I think it's a fine entry point after a little familiarity with some of the older authors.
Easy to read and follow with some fun variety in characters and dialogue.
I picked this up on a recommendation, and I regretted having to take breaks from Schuyler's stories. Many of the stories are very memorable. The vibe and pacing are just spot on. I want my friends to read them as modern examples of the genre, and I think it's a fine entry point after a little familiarity with some of the older authors.
Easy to read and follow with some fun variety in characters and dialogue.
April 11, 2024
Hernstrom's care is evident in every sentence. A story or idea will occasionally fail to excite, but it's a blatant truth of the universe that ol' Schuy WANTS to entertain/intrigue the reader with solid plots and character development. I can't exactly point to why I know this to be true, but it definitely is. The pages bleed with an earnest intent to interest the reader.
May 7, 2022
Very impressed with this new author
I had never read anything by Hernstrom before and I really enjoyed this collection of stories. I hope to read future stories and novels by him. He really is worthy of comparison to Jack Vance and Robert E. Howard.
I had never read anything by Hernstrom before and I really enjoyed this collection of stories. I hope to read future stories and novels by him. He really is worthy of comparison to Jack Vance and Robert E. Howard.
May 28, 2020
Good Fun
A fine collection of short stories in the fashion of Jack Vance. I enjoyed it, which is all one can ask.
A fine collection of short stories in the fashion of Jack Vance. I enjoyed it, which is all one can ask.
January 18, 2024
Very well written fantasy in the dying earth sub-genre. A good mix of science fiction technology with sword & sorcery. Very funny as well, and not nearly as cynical as old Jack Vance.
December 20, 2022
Just fucking incredible. One of my top 5 of the year for sure. Wildly imaginative, weird as hell, and surprisingly funny.
It's like if Fist of the North Star was a Frazetta painting... Oh shit.. Perfect Dalle2/Midjourney prompt..
It's like if Fist of the North Star was a Frazetta painting... Oh shit.. Perfect Dalle2/Midjourney prompt..
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