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Savage Realms Monthly #2
Savage Realms Monthly, February 2021
Quench Your Thirst for Savage Sword and Sorcery Action Adventure!Longing for the days of savage brutes, buxom wenches, and evil wizards? Look no more! Literary Rebel is proud to bring you a fresh new crop of monthly fantasy fiction by talented new authors. In the second a dangerous shield maiden does battle with creatures from the deep, a barbarian is tasked with stealing a precious gemstone, and a hunter stalks epic prey."The first issue does not disappoint!""Hack and slash goodness.""Harkens back to the days of the pulp masters..."Fans of Robert E. Howard, Lin Carter, Clark Ashton Smith, and Karl Edward Wagner will love this new fantasy fiction adventure magazine.
70 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 4, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
January 2, 2025
Let me get my grumpy complaint out of the way: if you purchase this and read this in print and not via Kindle Unlimited, then this is just too short for the price. $9.99 USD for 67 pages of fiction is too expensive. I see this is also available to read via Kindle Unlimited. I don't read via Kindle Unlimited, but reading this as part of a buffet of fiction priced as a subscription makes more sense. I'm a bibliophile and collector, so owning the print artifact matters to me. I only read things on Kindle that I cannot afford in print. Anyway, this complaint has nothing to do with the quality of the fiction inside, which was high.
The first story, "In the Cove of the Apostates," by B. Harlan Crawford, was my favorite. It is punchy, exciting, and has a compelling inciting incident: a woman discovers a cursed, drowned city at the bottom of a lake. Crawford is one of my favorite contemporary sword and sorcery writers. His work isn't deeply philosophical, but it is lyrical and writhes with extreme imagination. It hews to conventions but doesn't feel stale.
The second stort, "Titan's Thirst," by Alexander Karcher, was also good. It is about a tragic fight with an old lion. There was some superfluous worldbuilding in the opening, the typical barrage of fantasy neologism word salad (I'm guilty of this in my own writing). In essence, this was a heartfelt tale that worked for me. It made me feel something, i.e. it was successful as a work of literary art.
The last story, "Eye of the Serpent," by Willard Black, was probably the most well-written from a craft standpoint, but it was all tropes, tried and true and potentially worn out. It was almost like you knew the beats. Reading this story was like listening to someone Kareoke "Hey Jude," by the Beatles. The singer slurs and belts the first note... "Heeey...," and then the drunken crowd carries it along: "Jude...!" (henceforth, the song is sung, it's a crowd pleaser, moving on). There is nothing wrong with that, but it's a different reading experience, when you know who the characters are, what the conflict is, how it will be resolved, and can even anticipate some of the rhetorical forms (I loved Redgar's deflating banter with the guards). I mean, about 6 pages into the story you have a drunken barbarian wrestling an ape and then celebrating his victory by having relations with the dark priestess of a snake cult who screams, "Harder, you brute!" (This is kind of a metaphor for the story.) I'm not taking it for granted that this stuff is easy to write. Willard Black is clearly a talent. But I want to be honest and say, I've read this story before. I'm glad it's still being written, but... How many times do we have to have chicken and biscuits, mom? 😂
I'll read more of Savage Realms Monthly. If it was cheaper, I'd own them all, but $300 for them all is a huge ask.
The first story, "In the Cove of the Apostates," by B. Harlan Crawford, was my favorite. It is punchy, exciting, and has a compelling inciting incident: a woman discovers a cursed, drowned city at the bottom of a lake. Crawford is one of my favorite contemporary sword and sorcery writers. His work isn't deeply philosophical, but it is lyrical and writhes with extreme imagination. It hews to conventions but doesn't feel stale.
The second stort, "Titan's Thirst," by Alexander Karcher, was also good. It is about a tragic fight with an old lion. There was some superfluous worldbuilding in the opening, the typical barrage of fantasy neologism word salad (I'm guilty of this in my own writing). In essence, this was a heartfelt tale that worked for me. It made me feel something, i.e. it was successful as a work of literary art.
The last story, "Eye of the Serpent," by Willard Black, was probably the most well-written from a craft standpoint, but it was all tropes, tried and true and potentially worn out. It was almost like you knew the beats. Reading this story was like listening to someone Kareoke "Hey Jude," by the Beatles. The singer slurs and belts the first note... "Heeey...," and then the drunken crowd carries it along: "Jude...!" (henceforth, the song is sung, it's a crowd pleaser, moving on). There is nothing wrong with that, but it's a different reading experience, when you know who the characters are, what the conflict is, how it will be resolved, and can even anticipate some of the rhetorical forms (I loved Redgar's deflating banter with the guards). I mean, about 6 pages into the story you have a drunken barbarian wrestling an ape and then celebrating his victory by having relations with the dark priestess of a snake cult who screams, "Harder, you brute!" (This is kind of a metaphor for the story.) I'm not taking it for granted that this stuff is easy to write. Willard Black is clearly a talent. But I want to be honest and say, I've read this story before. I'm glad it's still being written, but... How many times do we have to have chicken and biscuits, mom? 😂
I'll read more of Savage Realms Monthly. If it was cheaper, I'd own them all, but $300 for them all is a huge ask.
April 13, 2021
3 stars on 1 tale
Willard Black carries the day with his contribution. It's actually a 4-5 star story on its own...lumped into this zine, it saves the otherwise 1 star issue.
I applaud the desire to publish more S&S. Badly written, badly edited, and badly packaged material absolutely harms the genre though. I'd read Black's story (and in fact I'll be seeking more of his work now), but I wouldn't read anything else.
Willard Black carries the day with his contribution. It's actually a 4-5 star story on its own...lumped into this zine, it saves the otherwise 1 star issue.
I applaud the desire to publish more S&S. Badly written, badly edited, and badly packaged material absolutely harms the genre though. I'd read Black's story (and in fact I'll be seeking more of his work now), but I wouldn't read anything else.
January 1, 2022
Literary Rebel returns with a new issue of Savage Realms featuring three new stories! The lineup this time includes: B. Harlan Crawford, Alexander S. Karcher, and the return of Willard Black.
The first story is In the Cove of the Apostates by B. Harlan Crawford. I am previous acquainted with Crawford's Sigyn of Asgard stories. This new story seems to be set within the same world as the Sigyn stories as the main character often swears by the name of Jullah-Julka, from the story Under the Sign of Jullah-Julka.
In the Cove of the Apostates is brief. It follows the famale protagonist, Seanai, as she stumbles upon a curse within flooded ruins. The ancient god Nuada seeks redress for ancient transgressions. Should have worn a life jacket...
Fans of Crawford should seek out his interview with Zerosum716 on YouTube.
The second story Titan's Thirst by Alexander S. Karcher. It is another very brief story. It concerns a single warrior battling the elements, gravity, and a giant man-eating lion. Mistaken identity.
The third and final story is Eye of the Serpent by Willard Black. Redgar and Natali return in this fun, traditional story. Redgar catches the eye of a beautiful stranger. She in turn catches his attention and gains his aid in recovering a priceless gem. Events run apace and Redgar finds himself caught between two factions both seeking the gem which places Natali in mortal danger.
Snippets of Natali's importance are hinted about within the story. Everyone seems to know except Redgar. And Natali refuses to talk about it.
With each new issue I look forward to the new Willard Black story the most. Onward to the March 21 issue!
The first story is In the Cove of the Apostates by B. Harlan Crawford. I am previous acquainted with Crawford's Sigyn of Asgard stories. This new story seems to be set within the same world as the Sigyn stories as the main character often swears by the name of Jullah-Julka, from the story Under the Sign of Jullah-Julka.
In the Cove of the Apostates is brief. It follows the famale protagonist, Seanai, as she stumbles upon a curse within flooded ruins. The ancient god Nuada seeks redress for ancient transgressions. Should have worn a life jacket...
Fans of Crawford should seek out his interview with Zerosum716 on YouTube.
The second story Titan's Thirst by Alexander S. Karcher. It is another very brief story. It concerns a single warrior battling the elements, gravity, and a giant man-eating lion. Mistaken identity.
The third and final story is Eye of the Serpent by Willard Black. Redgar and Natali return in this fun, traditional story. Redgar catches the eye of a beautiful stranger. She in turn catches his attention and gains his aid in recovering a priceless gem. Events run apace and Redgar finds himself caught between two factions both seeking the gem which places Natali in mortal danger.
Snippets of Natali's importance are hinted about within the story. Everyone seems to know except Redgar. And Natali refuses to talk about it.
With each new issue I look forward to the new Willard Black story the most. Onward to the March 21 issue!
January 29, 2022
Three new stories in the 2nd issue of this Sword and Sorcery Magazine.
IN THE COVE OF THE APOSTATES by B. Harlan Crawford - A wandering warrior finds himself upon an otherwise deserted beach but the arrival of a beautiful Amazon from out of the surf soon triggers a fight for their lives.
TITAN'S THIRST by Alexander S. Karcher - A hunter's tracking leads to a confrontation with a killer of men, but the battle may not be the one that he believes.
EYE OF THE SERPENT by Willard Black - As Redgar's and Natali's journey continues, they unwittingly become bound up in an ancient battle between a god and humanity.
Willard Black's story is the gem of this release with a solid continuation of his Redgar and Natali story. With 40 of the 69 pages, his was the majority of the release and brought the level of storytelling up to an acceptable level.
A few copyediting issues that should have been caught in a proofing read through were a little disconcerting but for the most part a solid issue.
IN THE COVE OF THE APOSTATES by B. Harlan Crawford - A wandering warrior finds himself upon an otherwise deserted beach but the arrival of a beautiful Amazon from out of the surf soon triggers a fight for their lives.
TITAN'S THIRST by Alexander S. Karcher - A hunter's tracking leads to a confrontation with a killer of men, but the battle may not be the one that he believes.
EYE OF THE SERPENT by Willard Black - As Redgar's and Natali's journey continues, they unwittingly become bound up in an ancient battle between a god and humanity.
Willard Black's story is the gem of this release with a solid continuation of his Redgar and Natali story. With 40 of the 69 pages, his was the majority of the release and brought the level of storytelling up to an acceptable level.
A few copyediting issues that should have been caught in a proofing read through were a little disconcerting but for the most part a solid issue.
June 7, 2023
I liked this issues Willard Black story better than the last
October 16, 2021
This is the second edition of Savage Realms Monthly, a sword and sorcery anthology novelette. If you enjoyed the first one chances are you’ll enjoy this one too. ‘In the Cove of the Apostate’ was well written with great imagery and two engaging, sinewy protagonists. The flow of the story flowed from amusing to eldritch adventure fairly quickly and culmination came quickly. While I doubt this story will go down in the log book of greatest stories ever it more than does the job of a good S&S tale leaving the reader with a sense of wry enduring perseverance in the face of an oft hostile, mysterious universe; and all the better for a strong female lead. There were a good number of grammar errors and typos that the editor missed, but so it goes sometimes, and the story was still great despite this. “Titans Thirst” presents more of a stone & sorcery tale which is always a delight as there aren’t enough of these. Here the main problem is that the story is fairly short-though the symbology flow blanketed by adventure lit by great imagery is a sure win. “Eye of the Serpent” is the continuation of Redgar and Natalia’s adventures. This one had me leaning one way or another for a while-it’s fairly raw with more of a heavy metal tone yet it hits so many iconic buttons so well that one must forgive what one doesn’t like and before you know it you are reading the tale with wonder. I also really liked that the story was continued and I hope this contemporary anthology collection continues to do that in a head nod and continuation to the traditions that the originating pulp magazines of yesteryear began so well.
April 19, 2021
The second issue of this new S&S magazine is here. How did it hold up compared to the first? I think it was good, and definitely worth the entry price. Nothing quite stood out to me as much as Steve Dilks story in the first issue, but if you like S&S and need to escape the banalities of everyday life for an hour or two look no further. Still has the wonderful author interviews and forward/afterward as the first issue did.
There are 3 stories in this issue. Thoughts on each below.
In the Cove of the Apostates - This one has a really cool setting, and story concept, but I think the execution is a little rough. Still decent. Great piece of art at the end too.
Titan’s Thirst - This one is really short, but I really liked it. It’s very well written and has this primal stone age spirituality to it.
Eye of the Serpent - This a follow up to Willard Black’s story in the first issue. Overall, I think it’s better. It was very much that pure escapist “days of high adventure” feel. It’s good, though flimsy, like Lin Carter at his best, but feel is even more heavy metal album cover than any Lin Carter story was.
There are 3 stories in this issue. Thoughts on each below.
In the Cove of the Apostates - This one has a really cool setting, and story concept, but I think the execution is a little rough. Still decent. Great piece of art at the end too.
Titan’s Thirst - This one is really short, but I really liked it. It’s very well written and has this primal stone age spirituality to it.
Eye of the Serpent - This a follow up to Willard Black’s story in the first issue. Overall, I think it’s better. It was very much that pure escapist “days of high adventure” feel. It’s good, though flimsy, like Lin Carter at his best, but feel is even more heavy metal album cover than any Lin Carter story was.
January 7, 2022
Savage Realms Monthly is a fun series of snappy sword and sorcery tales written in the thunderous, cutthroat style of the classics like Conan, Fafhrd, Kane and Elric. It's nice to read between long epic fantasy sagas that can take several weeks to read. These anthologies can easily be read in a single sitting. Good old fashioned fun.
January 20, 2024
Short Stories
Just like the previous issue, this is a collection of short stories, with a continuing adventure with Redgar and Natali. The stories are also open ended, so they can be added to, and the interviews with the authors are always interesting.
Recommended for people who enjoy short stories and sword and sorcery.
Just like the previous issue, this is a collection of short stories, with a continuing adventure with Redgar and Natali. The stories are also open ended, so they can be added to, and the interviews with the authors are always interesting.
Recommended for people who enjoy short stories and sword and sorcery.
April 18, 2025
savage Realms, Resurrecting Heroic Pulp Fantasy
This is an amazing publication if you love the stories from Robert E Howard, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Fritz Lieber, and their contemporaries. I love getting lost in these amazing tales. Great job Savage Realms. I will be back again and again.
This is an amazing publication if you love the stories from Robert E Howard, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Fritz Lieber, and their contemporaries. I love getting lost in these amazing tales. Great job Savage Realms. I will be back again and again.
February 8, 2023
Awesome sword and sorcery adventure!
I used to love Fantasy and Science Fiction magazine back in the late 70s. Savage realms brings me back yo those days. It's like reading A young Glenn Cook.
I used to love Fantasy and Science Fiction magazine back in the late 70s. Savage realms brings me back yo those days. It's like reading A young Glenn Cook.
November 25, 2021
"In the Cove of the Apostates" by B. Harlan Crawford 3/5
"Titan's Thirst" by Alexander S. Karcher 2/5
"Eye of the Serpent" by Willard Black 4/5
"Titan's Thirst" by Alexander S. Karcher 2/5
"Eye of the Serpent" by Willard Black 4/5
December 27, 2021
Still fun.
September 14, 2022
If you're looking for sword and sorcery, you've found it!
Some great stories that were really fun to read. Fast becoming my go-to when I need a fix. Fast reads that deliver.
Some great stories that were really fun to read. Fast becoming my go-to when I need a fix. Fast reads that deliver.
May 19, 2023
Another great issue
Savage Realms is quickly becoming a favorite read I'd forgotten how much I love the short story format for sword and Sorcery
Savage Realms is quickly becoming a favorite read I'd forgotten how much I love the short story format for sword and Sorcery
October 10, 2023
Solid Sword and Sorcery.
Really good stuff, action and brutality, as well as strange vistas and nasty sorcerers. What's not to enjoy! Check it out!
Really good stuff, action and brutality, as well as strange vistas and nasty sorcerers. What's not to enjoy! Check it out!
June 22, 2025
Summer time means sword&sorcery! Good stories,
March 18, 2024
Book 1 - Book 2 - Book 3 - Book 4 - Book 5 - Book 6
I found all three stories to be told well leaving me with wanting to experience each environment and characters more, especially Redgar and Natali's plight.
IN THE COVE OF THE APOSTATES by B. Harlan Crawford - Cave-dwelling hermit Hafgan guards the beach to warn people away from the cursed The city situation reminds me of Ezekiel 7 but the god does not remind me of God.
TITAN'S THIRST by Alexander S. Karcher - Thedwyr the Hunter, of tribe Cathal, seeks a murderous
EYE OF THE SERPENT by Willard Black - Fresh off the expedition that saved the raven-haired Natali (Keeper of the Sacred Flame) from
I found all three stories to be told well leaving me with wanting to experience each environment and characters more, especially Redgar and Natali's plight.
IN THE COVE OF THE APOSTATES by B. Harlan Crawford - Cave-dwelling hermit Hafgan guards the beach to warn people away from the cursed The city situation reminds me of Ezekiel 7 but the god does not remind me of God.
TITAN'S THIRST by Alexander S. Karcher - Thedwyr the Hunter, of tribe Cathal, seeks a murderous
EYE OF THE SERPENT by Willard Black - Fresh off the expedition that saved the raven-haired Natali (Keeper of the Sacred Flame) from
May 23, 2023
The main story in this magazine / book is so very much like Conan, movie 1, that I'd be surprised there isn't / hasn't been an infringement action.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews