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Swordsmen from the Stars
Poul Anderson is one of the most celebrated authors of science fiction and fantasy. He combines elements of both genres in the three novellas presented here, which have never been collected in one book before. Heroic science fantasy at its best!
WITCH OF THE DEMON SEAS—Guide a black galleon to the lost, fear-haunted citadel of the Xanthi wizards—into the very jaws of Doom? Corun, condemned pirate of Conahur, laughed. Aye, he’d do it, and gladly. It would mean a reprieve from the headman’s axe—a few more precious moments of life and love… though his lover be a witch!
THE VIRGIN OF VALKARION—Tonight, so spake the Temple Prophecy, a sword-scarred Outlander would come riding, a Queen would play the tavern bawd, and the Thirty-Ninth Dynasty should fall with the Mating of the Moons!
SWORDSMAN OF LOST TERRA—Proud Kery of Broina felt like a ghost himself; shade of a madman flitting hopelessly to the citadel of Earth’s disinherited to recapture the fierce, resonant Pipes of Killorn—weapon of the gods—before they blared out the dirge of the world!
WITCH OF THE DEMON SEAS—Guide a black galleon to the lost, fear-haunted citadel of the Xanthi wizards—into the very jaws of Doom? Corun, condemned pirate of Conahur, laughed. Aye, he’d do it, and gladly. It would mean a reprieve from the headman’s axe—a few more precious moments of life and love… though his lover be a witch!
THE VIRGIN OF VALKARION—Tonight, so spake the Temple Prophecy, a sword-scarred Outlander would come riding, a Queen would play the tavern bawd, and the Thirty-Ninth Dynasty should fall with the Mating of the Moons!
SWORDSMAN OF LOST TERRA—Proud Kery of Broina felt like a ghost himself; shade of a madman flitting hopelessly to the citadel of Earth’s disinherited to recapture the fierce, resonant Pipes of Killorn—weapon of the gods—before they blared out the dirge of the world!
176 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 4, 2020
23 people are currently reading
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About the author
Poul Anderson
1,621 books1,107 followersPseudonym A. A. Craig, Michael Karageorge, Winston P. Sanders, P. A. Kingsley.
Poul William Anderson was an American science fiction author who began his career during one of the Golden Ages of the genre and continued to write and remain popular into the 21st century. Anderson also authored several works of fantasy, historical novels, and a prodigious number of short stories. He received numerous awards for his writing, including seven Hugo Awards and three Nebula Awards.
Anderson received a degree in physics from the University of Minnesota in 1948. He married Karen Kruse in 1953. They had one daughter, Astrid, who is married to science fiction author Greg Bear. Anderson was the sixth President of Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, taking office in 1972. He was a member of the Swordsmen and Sorcerers' Guild of America, a loose-knit group of Heroic Fantasy authors founded in the 1960s, some of whose works were anthologized in Lin Carter's Flashing Swords! anthologies. He was a founding member of the Society for Creative Anachronism. Robert A. Heinlein dedicated his 1985 novel The Cat Who Walks Through Walls to Anderson and eight of the other members of the Citizens' Advisory Council on National Space Policy.[2][3]
Poul Anderson died of cancer on July 31, 2001, after a month in the hospital. Several of his novels were published posthumously.
Series:
* Time Patrol
* Psychotechnic League
* Trygve Yamamura
* Harvest of Stars
* King of Ys
* Last Viking
* Hoka
* Future history of the Polesotechnic League
* Flandry
Poul William Anderson was an American science fiction author who began his career during one of the Golden Ages of the genre and continued to write and remain popular into the 21st century. Anderson also authored several works of fantasy, historical novels, and a prodigious number of short stories. He received numerous awards for his writing, including seven Hugo Awards and three Nebula Awards.
Anderson received a degree in physics from the University of Minnesota in 1948. He married Karen Kruse in 1953. They had one daughter, Astrid, who is married to science fiction author Greg Bear. Anderson was the sixth President of Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, taking office in 1972. He was a member of the Swordsmen and Sorcerers' Guild of America, a loose-knit group of Heroic Fantasy authors founded in the 1960s, some of whose works were anthologized in Lin Carter's Flashing Swords! anthologies. He was a founding member of the Society for Creative Anachronism. Robert A. Heinlein dedicated his 1985 novel The Cat Who Walks Through Walls to Anderson and eight of the other members of the Citizens' Advisory Council on National Space Policy.[2][3]
Poul Anderson died of cancer on July 31, 2001, after a month in the hospital. Several of his novels were published posthumously.
Series:
* Time Patrol
* Psychotechnic League
* Trygve Yamamura
* Harvest of Stars
* King of Ys
* Last Viking
* Hoka
* Future history of the Polesotechnic League
* Flandry
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
May 9, 2022
A collection of three of Anderson's 1950s sword & planet stories, rescued from entirely undeserved obscurity (two of them had only been reprinted once or twice in anthologies from the 60s or 70s, and one had never been reprinted at all, at least until eBook versions started cropping up around 2015 or 2016) by the good people at DMR Books.
The stories:
Witch of the Demon Seas
The Virgin of Valkarion
Swordsmen of Lost Terra
Well, I say sword & planet because they were initially published in Planet Stories, and thus have the thinnest possible veneer of planetary romance to them (Witch takes place on a planet which, while never named, is presumably Venus because it's perpetually shrouded by clouds; Virgin takes place presumably on Mars; again, it's never named, but there are dead sea bottoms, canals, and twin moons; Swordsmen takes place on a world that has become tidally locked to its sun, so one side is always day, one side is always night, and there's a band of perpetual twilight between them), they're actually some of the finest examples I've read recently of in-the-tradition-of-Robert-E.-Howard barbaric adventure stories, with decadent cities, scheming villains, beautiful princesses or empresses, and heroic swordsmen from the fringes of civilization.
Highly, highly recommended, and I'm sad that these are probably the only three stories in this vein that Anderson wrote.
The stories:
Witch of the Demon Seas
The Virgin of Valkarion
Swordsmen of Lost Terra
Well, I say sword & planet because they were initially published in Planet Stories, and thus have the thinnest possible veneer of planetary romance to them (Witch takes place on a planet which, while never named, is presumably Venus because it's perpetually shrouded by clouds; Virgin takes place presumably on Mars; again, it's never named, but there are dead sea bottoms, canals, and twin moons; Swordsmen takes place on a world that has become tidally locked to its sun, so one side is always day, one side is always night, and there's a band of perpetual twilight between them), they're actually some of the finest examples I've read recently of in-the-tradition-of-Robert-E.-Howard barbaric adventure stories, with decadent cities, scheming villains, beautiful princesses or empresses, and heroic swordsmen from the fringes of civilization.
Highly, highly recommended, and I'm sad that these are probably the only three stories in this vein that Anderson wrote.
April 8, 2020
What an exceptional treat it is to be able to read these long out of print stories! If you are unfamiliar with Poul Anderson this is a good place to become acquainted. This trio of stories are essential sword and sorcery, but the setting is another planet. Or in the case of Swordsman of Lost Terra, set on an Earth that no longer bears any resemblance to what we now know.
Witch of the Demon Seas - Corun the Pirate is coerced into guiding an expedition into the heart of enemy seas. The expeditions goal is to enlist the aid of the Sea Demons. The only hitch is that the Sea Demons kill all humans they come in contact with. Adventure, betrayal, fish-men, and love. I had trouble buying and accepting the love story. It seemed opportunistic.
The Virgin of Valkarion - A dying world setting. A lone barbarian enters the city beset on all sides. Finds an ally in an unlikely place. And must fight his way to survival. Definitely my favorite. Pushes all the right buttons for my S&S fix.
Swordsman of Lost Terra - I had the pleasure of reading this first in Donald Wollheim's Swordsmen of the Sky published by Ace books. Man, that had a fantastic Frazetta cover! A roving band of warriors decides to help a besieged city. A weapon of mass destruction holds to key to winning the war.
Thank you DMR books for dusting these old stories off and presenting them to a new generation to enjoy.
Recommended!
Witch of the Demon Seas - Corun the Pirate is coerced into guiding an expedition into the heart of enemy seas. The expeditions goal is to enlist the aid of the Sea Demons. The only hitch is that the Sea Demons kill all humans they come in contact with. Adventure, betrayal, fish-men, and love. I had trouble buying and accepting the love story. It seemed opportunistic.
The Virgin of Valkarion - A dying world setting. A lone barbarian enters the city beset on all sides. Finds an ally in an unlikely place. And must fight his way to survival. Definitely my favorite. Pushes all the right buttons for my S&S fix.
Swordsman of Lost Terra - I had the pleasure of reading this first in Donald Wollheim's Swordsmen of the Sky published by Ace books. Man, that had a fantastic Frazetta cover! A roving band of warriors decides to help a besieged city. A weapon of mass destruction holds to key to winning the war.
Thank you DMR books for dusting these old stories off and presenting them to a new generation to enjoy.
Recommended!
April 4, 2024
This volume contains some early Anderson fantasy stories very much related to sword and sorcery with a little sword and planet style. I have previously read Witch of the Demon Seas. An excellent S&S style story with a dash of pirate adventure. The Virgin of Valkarion was a nice Sword and Sorcery on a Mars type world. Swordsmen of Lost Terra was a great story on a planet that stopped rotating. Great action and notable characters throughout. Great job by DMR choosing Anderson’s Fantasy/ sword and sorcery type works which tend to be his better stuff.
June 14, 2020
A fun trilogy of novelettes by the master Poul Anderson.
All three of these stories appeared in the 1950s in "Planet Stories" and all three are nominally sword and planet, although really only the third has that as a major plot element, and ironically, the planet in question is a post-apocalyptic earth.
These are fun stories, but not brilliant ones, that suffer somewhat from the constraints of where they appeared: two of the three really have enough plot and plot ideas for a short novel, or for a series of stories, but each represents the only time Anderson ever visited that world.
Witch of the Demon Seas
A captured pirate is forced by a court sorcerer to lead them back to the archipelago of Sea Demons (amphibious "tadpole/salamander-men") to enlist their aid to overthrow the empire's current ruler. An adventure story of fish-men and love. There "planet" element here is that there is reference to a Sky-Fire that seems to be something other than the sun, the "magic" are psionics, and there are hints that humanity is not native to the world. Honestly, remove maybe four or five sentences and this is a sword and sorcery story far more than sword and planet (my guess is that it had been rejected elsewhere, and Anderson tweaked it just enough for Planet Stories to take it), but the world of archipelago kingdoms, the strange races (besides normal humans there are several sub-species, plus the salamander-men), etc., all would have made for great further exploration.
The Virgin of Valkarion
A dying world setting that is quite simply Conan meets John Carter. Again, it is on a foreign planet, but so what? So is most S&S. The hero is not quite human (we are told about his pointed ears, for example), but other than that, this is perhaps more S&P rather than S&S more because there is no magic than any SciFi elements.
Swordsman of Lost Terra
Something has happened to earth -- apparently, a rogue asteroid or planetoid passing to close -- and the planet stopped rotating on its axis, destroying our civilization and leaving three societies: those who dwell in perpetual Daylight, those who dwell in perpetual Nightlands and the border Twilight Lander society. Our story is about the leader of a displaced barbarian tribe -- who are nothing more than Scots clansmen with Viking arms and armour -- who arrive in a twilight empire just in time for the Nighlands to invade. On the one hand, this is the best story stylistically, and certainly the most S&P. OTOH...it really needs to be twice as long. The sadly underdeveloped barbarians (really, Poul, you couldn't be more original than wagon-traveling Scots?) pale compared to the two rival empires, but we are left with no real time to see the Nightlanders or their city before the story rushes to its conclusion.
There is other good and bad here. Anderson's heroines are given a lot more to do than those created by a lot of male writers in the 1950s, but they are still primarily there to do the Dejah Thoris job of be a beautiful princess that draws the hero in.--they may be able to fight or use magic, or what have you, but that's their job. Even the one femme fatale proves not to be so fatale. It's a trope of the genre and these were written in 1951 - 1952, so I was actually pleasantly surprised at how much the women have their own plans, or fight on their own behalf, but the love stories themselves are as contrived as anything from the 20s or 30s -- love at first sight (or first sex) again and again, and it feels somehow more contrived in a 1950s story than one from a generation earlier.
Overall, the first tale had the most potential for a cycle of stories, the second is the best overall story and the third had the most interesting setting and writing, but is least successful.
Enjoyable for sure. Four stars for a fun production that brings these back into print, 3 or 3.5 for content in so far as they are fun, but not overly memorable.
All three of these stories appeared in the 1950s in "Planet Stories" and all three are nominally sword and planet, although really only the third has that as a major plot element, and ironically, the planet in question is a post-apocalyptic earth.
These are fun stories, but not brilliant ones, that suffer somewhat from the constraints of where they appeared: two of the three really have enough plot and plot ideas for a short novel, or for a series of stories, but each represents the only time Anderson ever visited that world.
Witch of the Demon Seas
A captured pirate is forced by a court sorcerer to lead them back to the archipelago of Sea Demons (amphibious "tadpole/salamander-men") to enlist their aid to overthrow the empire's current ruler. An adventure story of fish-men and love. There "planet" element here is that there is reference to a Sky-Fire that seems to be something other than the sun, the "magic" are psionics, and there are hints that humanity is not native to the world. Honestly, remove maybe four or five sentences and this is a sword and sorcery story far more than sword and planet (my guess is that it had been rejected elsewhere, and Anderson tweaked it just enough for Planet Stories to take it), but the world of archipelago kingdoms, the strange races (besides normal humans there are several sub-species, plus the salamander-men), etc., all would have made for great further exploration.
The Virgin of Valkarion
A dying world setting that is quite simply Conan meets John Carter. Again, it is on a foreign planet, but so what? So is most S&S. The hero is not quite human (we are told about his pointed ears, for example), but other than that, this is perhaps more S&P rather than S&S more because there is no magic than any SciFi elements.
Swordsman of Lost Terra
Something has happened to earth -- apparently, a rogue asteroid or planetoid passing to close -- and the planet stopped rotating on its axis, destroying our civilization and leaving three societies: those who dwell in perpetual Daylight, those who dwell in perpetual Nightlands and the border Twilight Lander society. Our story is about the leader of a displaced barbarian tribe -- who are nothing more than Scots clansmen with Viking arms and armour -- who arrive in a twilight empire just in time for the Nighlands to invade. On the one hand, this is the best story stylistically, and certainly the most S&P. OTOH...it really needs to be twice as long. The sadly underdeveloped barbarians (really, Poul, you couldn't be more original than wagon-traveling Scots?) pale compared to the two rival empires, but we are left with no real time to see the Nightlanders or their city before the story rushes to its conclusion.
There is other good and bad here. Anderson's heroines are given a lot more to do than those created by a lot of male writers in the 1950s, but they are still primarily there to do the Dejah Thoris job of be a beautiful princess that draws the hero in.--they may be able to fight or use magic, or what have you, but that's their job. Even the one femme fatale proves not to be so fatale. It's a trope of the genre and these were written in 1951 - 1952, so I was actually pleasantly surprised at how much the women have their own plans, or fight on their own behalf, but the love stories themselves are as contrived as anything from the 20s or 30s -- love at first sight (or first sex) again and again, and it feels somehow more contrived in a 1950s story than one from a generation earlier.
Overall, the first tale had the most potential for a cycle of stories, the second is the best overall story and the third had the most interesting setting and writing, but is least successful.
Enjoyable for sure. Four stars for a fun production that brings these back into print, 3 or 3.5 for content in so far as they are fun, but not overly memorable.
April 20, 2020
This a really phenomenal collection of early Poul Anderson stories. I would highly recommend them to any fan of sword & sorcery, sword & planet, or early sci-fi.
There are 3 stories enclosed in this volume.
Witch of the Demon Seas - The world in this is very creative, its got a really great swashbuckle too it. A loveable pirate protagonist, and a good sense of humor. Honestly, I would have loved a dozen stories in this setting, with this protagonist. However, I think the main conceit of the story is a bit flimsy and the protagonist does something at the end that felt out of the character that was established for him. Which is too bad as his character was great. But generally it was still good. Definitely above average for the genre. 4/5
The Virgin of Valkarion - This one is excellent. It’s going for that fusion of Conan and John Carter and it does it very well. It’s not quite as sublime as Leigh Bracket’s Eric John Stark stories, but its the same style, but a bit more fun. 4.5/5
Swordsman of Lost Terra - Again, phenomenally imaginative world. The writing is very different than the first two. It’s going for a old time, high fantasy feel, but the world is subtlety a post apocalyptic earth. It took a bit for the style to grow on me but when it did, it really did. Maybe the end is a bit too rushed and fell into the tropes of the 50s “Planet Stories” magazine, but overall very good. 4.5/5
Poul Anderson had a tremendous imagination and it is great DMR republished these more obscure works. Do yourself a favor and get this collection.
There are 3 stories enclosed in this volume.
Witch of the Demon Seas - The world in this is very creative, its got a really great swashbuckle too it. A loveable pirate protagonist, and a good sense of humor. Honestly, I would have loved a dozen stories in this setting, with this protagonist. However, I think the main conceit of the story is a bit flimsy and the protagonist does something at the end that felt out of the character that was established for him. Which is too bad as his character was great. But generally it was still good. Definitely above average for the genre. 4/5
The Virgin of Valkarion - This one is excellent. It’s going for that fusion of Conan and John Carter and it does it very well. It’s not quite as sublime as Leigh Bracket’s Eric John Stark stories, but its the same style, but a bit more fun. 4.5/5
Swordsman of Lost Terra - Again, phenomenally imaginative world. The writing is very different than the first two. It’s going for a old time, high fantasy feel, but the world is subtlety a post apocalyptic earth. It took a bit for the style to grow on me but when it did, it really did. Maybe the end is a bit too rushed and fell into the tropes of the 50s “Planet Stories” magazine, but overall very good. 4.5/5
Poul Anderson had a tremendous imagination and it is great DMR republished these more obscure works. Do yourself a favor and get this collection.
January 31, 2024
Swordsmen from the Stars collects three early sword & planet stories by Poul Anderson.
Witch of the Demon Seas (4/5)
(Planet Stories, January 1951)
A sorcerer and his daughter offer a captured pirate his freedom if he leads an expedition in search of an amphibious race. I liked the characters and enjoyed the balance of world building and action. Reminded me of Leigh Brackett.
The Virgin of Valkarion (3/5)
(Planet Stories, July 1951)
On a dying world with dry canals a barbarian rides into a city and becomes involved with a prophecy. Lots of sword play but this one felt very generic and I didn’t really care for any of the characters.
Swordsman of Lost Terra (5/5)
(Planet Stories, November 1951)
Earth has stopped rotating leaving half in permanent light and half in permanent darkness. After a blight hits their lands, a group of Scots-like barbarians head south. They encounter a horde from the Dark Lands and a besieged city. My favorite of the three stories, likable characters and an excellent mix of action and world building that felt epic.
As a Poul Anderson fan I’m very happy to see these stories in print. A great collection.
Witch of the Demon Seas (4/5)
(Planet Stories, January 1951)
A sorcerer and his daughter offer a captured pirate his freedom if he leads an expedition in search of an amphibious race. I liked the characters and enjoyed the balance of world building and action. Reminded me of Leigh Brackett.
The Virgin of Valkarion (3/5)
(Planet Stories, July 1951)
On a dying world with dry canals a barbarian rides into a city and becomes involved with a prophecy. Lots of sword play but this one felt very generic and I didn’t really care for any of the characters.
Swordsman of Lost Terra (5/5)
(Planet Stories, November 1951)
Earth has stopped rotating leaving half in permanent light and half in permanent darkness. After a blight hits their lands, a group of Scots-like barbarians head south. They encounter a horde from the Dark Lands and a besieged city. My favorite of the three stories, likable characters and an excellent mix of action and world building that felt epic.
As a Poul Anderson fan I’m very happy to see these stories in print. A great collection.
April 20, 2020
TBH, I did not get much of a vibe of sword and planet from these stories. However they were perfectly fine sword and sorcery tales. With sword and sorcery, it is not uncommon to have it dismissed as a Clonan, a Conan clone. But Clonans are not a bad thing. There are times when you are in the mood for reading something like that written by Robert E. Howard or Edgar Rice Burroughs but you do not want to re-read REH or ERB. That is where this collection from DMR Books of three stories by a well-known fantasy and science fiction writer in his own right, Poul Anderson, comes in. For $3.99, one can escape to worlds of the far future or the dim past and the adventures and escapades of the characters who lived within them. And that is a good deal, Clonan or not.
December 21, 2022
A thoroughly enjoyable trio of classically styled sword and sorcery tales, fast-paced and well-written. Not many surprises, perhaps, and reading the tales in sequence I did find the protagonists fairly interchangable, but there are nice distinctive touches of Weird throughout and good atmospheric (very loosely sci-fi) settings, especially the third tale set on the perpetually dark half of its planet. All in all, a great rediscovery from DMR.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews