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Far Away & Never
Ramsey Campbell, best known for his many works of horror and dark suspense, now invites the reader to yet another milieu, Far Away & Never. Through these eight tales of swords and sorcery—four of which feature the inexhaustible swordsman Ryre—the reader is taken on a ride through different times and unlike worlds, all filled with the fantastic creatures and thrilling action one would expect to come from Campbell’s imagination while writing in this realm. Anyone who has read Campbell’s completions of Robert E. Howard’s Solomon Kane stories recognize that he is very capable in this genre, and this collection only lends further evidence to his case.
Twenty-five years after its original publication, Far Away & Never is now back in print, with one additional story, “A Madness from the Vaults,” included. All told, there’s many a treat for the reader here—be they a fan of Ramsey Campbell or heroic fantasy in general.
Stories
“The Sustenance of Hoak”
“The Changer of Names”
“The Pit of Wings”
“The Mouths of Light”
“The Stages of the God”
“The Song at the Hub of the Garden”
“The Ways of Chaos”
“A Madness from the Vaults”
Twenty-five years after its original publication, Far Away & Never is now back in print, with one additional story, “A Madness from the Vaults,” included. All told, there’s many a treat for the reader here—be they a fan of Ramsey Campbell or heroic fantasy in general.
Stories
“The Sustenance of Hoak”
“The Changer of Names”
“The Pit of Wings”
“The Mouths of Light”
“The Stages of the God”
“The Song at the Hub of the Garden”
“The Ways of Chaos”
“A Madness from the Vaults”
137 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1996
25 people are currently reading
342 people want to read
About the author
Ramsey Campbell
858 books1,594 followersRamsey Campbell is a British writer considered by a number of critics to be one of the great masters of horror fiction. T. E. D. Klein has written that "Campbell reigns supreme in the field today," while S. T. Joshi has said that "future generations will regard him as the leading horror writer of our generation, every bit the equal of Lovecraft or Blackwood."
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
October 9, 2021
I enjoyed the first four tales in this sword & sorcery collection from renowned horror author Ramsey Campbell quite a lot. The Changer of Names and The Pit of Wings were particular standouts. They proved exceedingly dark and chilling tales, following the exploits of Ryre, an utterly joyless, taciturn and perpetually harried warrior. Ryre has the poor luck to wander into one menacing situation after another, facing a slew of horrendous and quite devious monstrosities and generally gloomy and unwelcoming townsfolk. Ryre's abhorrence of injustice and easily aroused fury lead him to quick action and some bloody confrontations with seemingly overwhelming odds of defeat. Campbell's terrifying depictions of Ryre's revoltingly monstrous foes are blood curdling and particularly vivid.
A recurring theme in these stories is the power of language to shape identity, making it possible to appropriate a part of persons's (or even many people) past by speaking aloud things they have said. It seems that Ryre himself has taken parts (perhaps all?) of his storied history and identity from others, though he's done so nobly through combat. It's a fascinating extension of the oft used fantasy trope whereby power over someone or something can be wielded through knowledge of it's true name. It's a shame Campbell never wrote more than just these four Ryre stories.
The remainder of the stories I found less engaging, more mythic tales than S&S and more atmospheric and weird in a Clark Ashton Smith like way. They tended to get muddled a bit beneath the murk of too much obscurity and too many veiled abstractions.
A recurring theme in these stories is the power of language to shape identity, making it possible to appropriate a part of persons's (or even many people) past by speaking aloud things they have said. It seems that Ryre himself has taken parts (perhaps all?) of his storied history and identity from others, though he's done so nobly through combat. It's a fascinating extension of the oft used fantasy trope whereby power over someone or something can be wielded through knowledge of it's true name. It's a shame Campbell never wrote more than just these four Ryre stories.
The remainder of the stories I found less engaging, more mythic tales than S&S and more atmospheric and weird in a Clark Ashton Smith like way. They tended to get muddled a bit beneath the murk of too much obscurity and too many veiled abstractions.
November 15, 2021
In a way you have to look at this collection in reverse. It leads with the more mature, formed stories of the mercenary Ryre and progresses earlier in the author's writing to the formative "A Madness from the Vaults" with its early conception of the planet Tond and all its unhinged weirdnesses.
The theme that carries through is the essential power of words. Ryre defends his name and his deeds, and one can steal a person's strength by taking ownership of the name behind it, whether by theft or by outright combat, and "The Song at the Hub of the Garden" demonstrates the principle exactly. It's a bit of a shame that the strange planet Tond apparently hasn't had additions since 1979 or so.
The non-Tond oddball, "The Ways of Chaos", as a section of a round-robin story of some immense number of authors, is a hideous dogs-breakfast where each previous author brought his own weird obsession and addition to the table. The story that Campbell inherited had a caveman-esque Ghor with a mechanical arm, magic sword, and lycanthropy trying to retake his love from an evil something by borrowing an army of Chaos-inflicted mutants. Campbell prefaces the story with lengthy explanation, thankfully, but that really doesn't improve the hilarious hodgepodge of nonsense. You don't read this thing, you gape at it.
The theme that carries through is the essential power of words. Ryre defends his name and his deeds, and one can steal a person's strength by taking ownership of the name behind it, whether by theft or by outright combat, and "The Song at the Hub of the Garden" demonstrates the principle exactly. It's a bit of a shame that the strange planet Tond apparently hasn't had additions since 1979 or so.
The non-Tond oddball, "The Ways of Chaos", as a section of a round-robin story of some immense number of authors, is a hideous dogs-breakfast where each previous author brought his own weird obsession and addition to the table. The story that Campbell inherited had a caveman-esque Ghor with a mechanical arm, magic sword, and lycanthropy trying to retake his love from an evil something by borrowing an army of Chaos-inflicted mutants. Campbell prefaces the story with lengthy explanation, thankfully, but that really doesn't improve the hilarious hodgepodge of nonsense. You don't read this thing, you gape at it.
October 24, 2022
A collection of Ramsey Campbell's early sword & sorcery stories, which remind me of nothing so much as H.R. Giger paintings -- disturbing, organic, ... glistening; repellant but poisonously fascinating.
October 28, 2021
This is a re-issued anthology of sword and sorcery tales Campbell published in various fiction periodicals from 1966 to 1996 (most of them were published in the 1970s). Except, perhaps, for the second to last story--which was part of the eclectic sword and sorcery round robin, *Ghor, Kinslayer*--these are all self-contained and cohesive and demonstrate a literary craftsman at work. The first four are unified by a shared protagonist, the unlucky Ryre, a stubborn swordsman. The first of these Ryre tales, "The Sustenance of Hoak," is a sword and sorcery classic. It is about how an entire town's population has become the victim of something very intriguing and Ryre's attempt to free them from it. The non-Ryre stories (except the Ghor one) are not standard sword and sorcery fare and read to me as self-consciously literary. There are several lyrical passages and glowing montages of psychedelic imagery. "The Madness of the Vaults," the last story, reminds me of Clark Ashton Smith's overripe Hyperborean tales and Jack Vance's early Dying Earth tales. I'm really happy that DMR was able to make this available. The other edition is collectible and rare. It's wonderful to have an affordable version. This is an eclectic anthology, an uncompromising vision of sword and sorcery; and yet--there is enough familiarity and novelty to please most S&S fans.
October 26, 2021
This isn’t a book for everyone. This is a book for fans of Sword & Sorcery and fans of Campbell.
Some of these stories I have encountered in Andrew Offut’s Swords Against Darkness series, which are long out of print and no longer readily available like leaves on the grass at used book stores.
It’s not difficult to find RC’s Mythos stories in various collections, but finding his (few) S&S stories, and COMPLETE (!) for the first time is a great service to fans.
Admittedly, this is an uneven collection, but if you have rose colored nostalgic glasses such as my own, you need/want this book.
Shout out to DMR books: they bring old-school (often hard to find) books such as this and showcase new talent. If you are a fan of Sword & Sorcery, Sword & Planet, and great adventure stories, seek them out!
Some of these stories I have encountered in Andrew Offut’s Swords Against Darkness series, which are long out of print and no longer readily available like leaves on the grass at used book stores.
It’s not difficult to find RC’s Mythos stories in various collections, but finding his (few) S&S stories, and COMPLETE (!) for the first time is a great service to fans.
Admittedly, this is an uneven collection, but if you have rose colored nostalgic glasses such as my own, you need/want this book.
Shout out to DMR books: they bring old-school (often hard to find) books such as this and showcase new talent. If you are a fan of Sword & Sorcery, Sword & Planet, and great adventure stories, seek them out!
March 23, 2013
Far Away & Never: Pulp Fantasy for the Horror Fan. This is Dark heroic fantasy--stuff that Clark Ashton Smith and Lovecraft, Howard Phillips fans will devour.
Almost a “Tond Cycle” Anthology: Far Away & Never only has 7 tales (not 8 like the backcover claims). The first 4 all star the warrior Ryre, which were all published first in Andrew Offutt's Sword Against Darkness series. Numbers 5-6 are also in Ryre's world Tond (without him) and were weird and dark, akin to Clark Ashton Smith’s style. Number-7 is similar in tone and style, but is not part of Tond. The introduction by Campbell mentions another Tond tale called "A Madness From the Vaults" which debuted the "Tond" world...but this reference is not in this collection.
Table of Contents (and first-published list): Here are the tales from Far Away & Never (copied from the inside cover credits):
1- The Sustenance of Hoak: first published 1977 in Swords Against Darkness
2- The Changer of Names: first published in 1977 Swords Against Darkness II
3- The Pit of Wings: first published in 1978 Swords Against Darkness III
4- The Mouths of Light: first published in 1979 Swords Against Darkness V
5- The Stages of the God: 1974, Vol 2 No 1 of Whispers
6- The Song at the Hub of the Garden: 1975 Savage Heroes
7- The Ways of Chaos: 1996 the only original tale for this series at the time of printing, but is a non-Ryre tale that ended up in another Necropress collection called Ghor, Kin Slayer: The Saga Of Genseric's Fifth Born Son.
Identity Crisis/Theft: "The Sustenance of Hoak" and "Changer of Names" both underscored the notion of losing one's identity (either through enslavement or the stealing of a name). For short stories, this theme is very impactful. It makes us inherently wonder: Who is Ryre? It seems Ryre was poised to evolve in to a continuing character. I was left hungry for more, but only 4 exist. At least two more occur in the land of Tond (sans Ryre): #5- The Stages of the God and #6- The Song at the Hub of the Garden are more weird than action packed; the latter really developed Campbell’s bizarre sense of magic/identity with the use of language/words. He essentially poses that one can steal another’s identity/history merely by declaration. I wish there were more tales to flesh that out, but it is clear that language and identity are magically linked in Tond.
#7 features the famous Hounds of Tindalos, the creatures having been introduced to the world in Frank Belknap Long’s famous weird work (Hounds of Tindalos). Campbell ties them to Conan creator, RE Howard’s warrior Ghor. This is fitting since Ghor was raised by canines (wolves) and Frank Belknap Long wrote in a preceding section of the collection from which this tale was taken. The publisher of Far Away and Never (Necropress) also published the collection Ghor, Kin Slayer: The Saga Of Genseric's Fifth Born Son, a round-robin sequence posthumously finishing REHoward’s Ghor story. Far Away & Never has Campbell’s contribution which stands alone well enough (if only it were in Tond, then it would be even more fitting!)
Groupread Motivation: Our 2013 Mar-April groupread for the Sword and Sorcery group on Goodreads.com was on Campbell's Ryre character. This led many of us on a book hunt. The Ryre tales are found in Far Away & Never, but also in four of the Swords Against Darkness anthologies.
Availability: This book is only being sold “new” from the publisher (as of 2013). Listings on Amazon are used books. Necropress has the best deal on its own collection on its website (<$10), but the response has been slow (for today’s instant gratification consumer anyway…expect a few week turnaround. Necropress is undergoing some transition but is still functioning and has managed to get books to Canada and the UK upon request).
Almost a “Tond Cycle” Anthology: Far Away & Never only has 7 tales (not 8 like the backcover claims). The first 4 all star the warrior Ryre, which were all published first in Andrew Offutt's Sword Against Darkness series. Numbers 5-6 are also in Ryre's world Tond (without him) and were weird and dark, akin to Clark Ashton Smith’s style. Number-7 is similar in tone and style, but is not part of Tond. The introduction by Campbell mentions another Tond tale called "A Madness From the Vaults" which debuted the "Tond" world...but this reference is not in this collection.
Table of Contents (and first-published list): Here are the tales from Far Away & Never (copied from the inside cover credits):
1- The Sustenance of Hoak: first published 1977 in Swords Against Darkness
2- The Changer of Names: first published in 1977 Swords Against Darkness II
3- The Pit of Wings: first published in 1978 Swords Against Darkness III
4- The Mouths of Light: first published in 1979 Swords Against Darkness V
5- The Stages of the God: 1974, Vol 2 No 1 of Whispers
6- The Song at the Hub of the Garden: 1975 Savage Heroes
7- The Ways of Chaos: 1996 the only original tale for this series at the time of printing, but is a non-Ryre tale that ended up in another Necropress collection called Ghor, Kin Slayer: The Saga Of Genseric's Fifth Born Son.
Identity Crisis/Theft: "The Sustenance of Hoak" and "Changer of Names" both underscored the notion of losing one's identity (either through enslavement or the stealing of a name). For short stories, this theme is very impactful. It makes us inherently wonder: Who is Ryre? It seems Ryre was poised to evolve in to a continuing character. I was left hungry for more, but only 4 exist. At least two more occur in the land of Tond (sans Ryre): #5- The Stages of the God and #6- The Song at the Hub of the Garden are more weird than action packed; the latter really developed Campbell’s bizarre sense of magic/identity with the use of language/words. He essentially poses that one can steal another’s identity/history merely by declaration. I wish there were more tales to flesh that out, but it is clear that language and identity are magically linked in Tond.
#7 features the famous Hounds of Tindalos, the creatures having been introduced to the world in Frank Belknap Long’s famous weird work (Hounds of Tindalos). Campbell ties them to Conan creator, RE Howard’s warrior Ghor. This is fitting since Ghor was raised by canines (wolves) and Frank Belknap Long wrote in a preceding section of the collection from which this tale was taken. The publisher of Far Away and Never (Necropress) also published the collection Ghor, Kin Slayer: The Saga Of Genseric's Fifth Born Son, a round-robin sequence posthumously finishing REHoward’s Ghor story. Far Away & Never has Campbell’s contribution which stands alone well enough (if only it were in Tond, then it would be even more fitting!)
Groupread Motivation: Our 2013 Mar-April groupread for the Sword and Sorcery group on Goodreads.com was on Campbell's Ryre character. This led many of us on a book hunt. The Ryre tales are found in Far Away & Never, but also in four of the Swords Against Darkness anthologies.
Availability: This book is only being sold “new” from the publisher (as of 2013). Listings on Amazon are used books. Necropress has the best deal on its own collection on its website (<$10), but the response has been slow (for today’s instant gratification consumer anyway…expect a few week turnaround. Necropress is undergoing some transition but is still functioning and has managed to get books to Canada and the UK upon request).
October 6, 2021
From the buzz on social media there are quite a few people excited about this release. Just in time for Halloween.
Campbell's name has always been synonymous with horror; I had no clue he had penned sword & sorcery. Appearing in the famous Swords Against Darkness anthologies no less. The first seven stories were originally collected in the first edition of this anthology published by Necronomicon Press back in 96. DMR has found another story of the world Tond and added it to this second edition. Keeping the original cover art by Stephen Fabian this makes an excellent addition to your personal library.
Reading the forward by Campbell I have been reminded that he also completed three of Howard's Solomon Kane stories at Glenn Lord's request. Yet another book to search for.
The stories are:
Sustenance of Hoak
Ryre is our hero and he is looking for treasure but discovers an alien being feeding on the village Hoak.
The story Antediluvia: Season of the World by Andrew Darlington also has creepy flora like Sustenance of Hoak. Darlington's story can be found in Swords and Sorceries Volume 2 edited by David A. Riley.
The Changer of Names
Identity theft! Ryre must confront Lith, Changer of Names. Ryre isn't the only one after him.
Words and names hold special power on the world of Tond.
The Pit of Wings
In Gaxanoi, Ryre gets gang pressed to be fed to man-eating moth-bat creatures.
The Mouths of Light
Escaping Gaxanoi, Ryre leaves through the caves in the mountains. Treasure hunters are seeking a lost treasure, but the treasure isn't the only thing being hunted.
The Stages of God
King abdicates his throne to save his city. Being hunted, he finds sanctuary in a shunned shrine. The events of the story are told as legend by the locals many years later.
The Song at the Hub of the Garden
Convoluted tale of Holoth and his search for Goam and wizards who are said to live there.
The Ways of Chaos
A fragment by Robert E. Howard was turned into a round robin style story by a who's who of fantastic authors. Ramsey's chapter didn't see print until the first edition of this anthology and then later in Ghor, Kinslayer.
A Madness from the Vaults
The final story of Tond. Despot ruler is out of control. His city is built upon catacombs of ancient origin. Something has awakened in the catacombs and is on the hunt. Divine advice shows how to contain this menace.
Eight stories of sword & sorcery with a large dose of horror mixed in. Even though this isn't my preferred flavor of sword and sorcery there was still quite a bit to enjoy. It's almost too bad that Campbell never revisited his Ryre stories. Campbell is especially hard on Ryre. Poor guy just cannot catch a break.
Campbell's name has always been synonymous with horror; I had no clue he had penned sword & sorcery. Appearing in the famous Swords Against Darkness anthologies no less. The first seven stories were originally collected in the first edition of this anthology published by Necronomicon Press back in 96. DMR has found another story of the world Tond and added it to this second edition. Keeping the original cover art by Stephen Fabian this makes an excellent addition to your personal library.
Reading the forward by Campbell I have been reminded that he also completed three of Howard's Solomon Kane stories at Glenn Lord's request. Yet another book to search for.
The stories are:
Sustenance of Hoak
Ryre is our hero and he is looking for treasure but discovers an alien being feeding on the village Hoak.
The story Antediluvia: Season of the World by Andrew Darlington also has creepy flora like Sustenance of Hoak. Darlington's story can be found in Swords and Sorceries Volume 2 edited by David A. Riley.
The Changer of Names
Identity theft! Ryre must confront Lith, Changer of Names. Ryre isn't the only one after him.
Words and names hold special power on the world of Tond.
The Pit of Wings
In Gaxanoi, Ryre gets gang pressed to be fed to man-eating moth-bat creatures.
The Mouths of Light
Escaping Gaxanoi, Ryre leaves through the caves in the mountains. Treasure hunters are seeking a lost treasure, but the treasure isn't the only thing being hunted.
The Stages of God
King abdicates his throne to save his city. Being hunted, he finds sanctuary in a shunned shrine. The events of the story are told as legend by the locals many years later.
The Song at the Hub of the Garden
Convoluted tale of Holoth and his search for Goam and wizards who are said to live there.
The Ways of Chaos
A fragment by Robert E. Howard was turned into a round robin style story by a who's who of fantastic authors. Ramsey's chapter didn't see print until the first edition of this anthology and then later in Ghor, Kinslayer.
A Madness from the Vaults
The final story of Tond. Despot ruler is out of control. His city is built upon catacombs of ancient origin. Something has awakened in the catacombs and is on the hunt. Divine advice shows how to contain this menace.
Eight stories of sword & sorcery with a large dose of horror mixed in. Even though this isn't my preferred flavor of sword and sorcery there was still quite a bit to enjoy. It's almost too bad that Campbell never revisited his Ryre stories. Campbell is especially hard on Ryre. Poor guy just cannot catch a break.
September 21, 2021
Another title that I've long wanted to read. Most of the stories were published in the Swords Against Darkness series edited by Andrew Offutt(which I own), but I specifically wanted this book. Searching online for it only turned up outrageously priced used copies. Recently a friend posted on FB that the book could still be purchased from the publisher for $8. Here is the link for interested parties: https://necropress.com/campbell-ramse... Don't overpay elsewhere.
Sustenance of Hoak - Ryre is our hero and he is looking for treasure but discovers an alien being feeding on the village Hoak. 3/5
The Changer of Names - Identity theft! Ryre must confront Lith, Changer of Names. Ryre isn't the only one after him. 4/5
The Pit of Wings - Ryre gets gang pressed, in Gaxanoi, to be fed to man eating moth-bat creatures. 4/5
The Mouths of Light - Escaping Gaxanoi, Ryre leaves through the caves in the mountains. Treasure hunters are seeking a lost treasure, but the treasure isn't only thing being hunted. 4/5
The Stages of God - King abdicates his throne to save his city. Being hunted, he finds sanctuary in shunned shrine. The events of the story are told as legend by the locals many years later. 3/5
The Song at the Hub of the Garden - Convoluted tale of Holoth and his search for Goam and wizards who are said to live there. 2/5
The Ways of Chaos - Part of round robin from R. E. Howard fragment. Never saw print until this collection and then Ghor kinslayer. Both are available through Necronomicon Press. 3/5
This book has a fantastic Stephen Fabian cover. This was also my first Ramsey Campbell book, and sadly, I wasn't all that impressed. The world was dark, with monsters at every turn hungry for sustenance. Many of which hunt men.
Recommended for Heroic fantasy fans like myself.
Sustenance of Hoak - Ryre is our hero and he is looking for treasure but discovers an alien being feeding on the village Hoak. 3/5
The Changer of Names - Identity theft! Ryre must confront Lith, Changer of Names. Ryre isn't the only one after him. 4/5
The Pit of Wings - Ryre gets gang pressed, in Gaxanoi, to be fed to man eating moth-bat creatures. 4/5
The Mouths of Light - Escaping Gaxanoi, Ryre leaves through the caves in the mountains. Treasure hunters are seeking a lost treasure, but the treasure isn't only thing being hunted. 4/5
The Stages of God - King abdicates his throne to save his city. Being hunted, he finds sanctuary in shunned shrine. The events of the story are told as legend by the locals many years later. 3/5
The Song at the Hub of the Garden - Convoluted tale of Holoth and his search for Goam and wizards who are said to live there. 2/5
The Ways of Chaos - Part of round robin from R. E. Howard fragment. Never saw print until this collection and then Ghor kinslayer. Both are available through Necronomicon Press. 3/5
This book has a fantastic Stephen Fabian cover. This was also my first Ramsey Campbell book, and sadly, I wasn't all that impressed. The world was dark, with monsters at every turn hungry for sustenance. Many of which hunt men.
Recommended for Heroic fantasy fans like myself.
March 16, 2024
Uno por uno, los relatos serían entretenidos (aunque no demasiado originales) pero en conjunto son repetitivos hasta el punto de que se hacen pesados.
March 17, 2024
Middling short story collection of sword and sorcery tales; it just didn't reach any high points for me eventhough I was entertained by the first story, the rest of the collection was passable and forgettable.
I had the distinct impression that Ramsey Campbell is more of a horror writer and rather inept at sword and sorcery. The stories fell flat, dull characters with only the most rudimentary of personality or verve. Ultimately I was unimpressed and glad this short collection was over when I finished.
I think in future rather than push through disappointing collections I will DNF and move on to the next thing in my TBR.
I had the distinct impression that Ramsey Campbell is more of a horror writer and rather inept at sword and sorcery. The stories fell flat, dull characters with only the most rudimentary of personality or verve. Ultimately I was unimpressed and glad this short collection was over when I finished.
I think in future rather than push through disappointing collections I will DNF and move on to the next thing in my TBR.
February 8, 2018
This collection of short stories offers four tales of Ryre, a swordsman who wanders into one horrific sword-and-sorcery adventure after another. These are good, gritty reads, and the reason I rated this so highly. The other tales are a pair set in Ryre's world, but leaning more on Lovecraftian "Dreamworld" ideas than on swordplay and dark magic, and a third story that is really a chapter from a group novel building on a character and notes left by Robert E. Howard. Reading the latter felt a bit like being plunked down at random in the middle of a story, which is kind of what it was.
July 11, 2022
This is a collection of sword and sorcery/fantasy stories by Ramsey Campbell, an author more well known for his horror stories. It was originally published by Necronomicon Press in 1996. It was then republished by DMR Books in 2021 with an additional story, “A Madness from the Vaults.”
My favorite stories are the first four sword and sorcery stories featuring a wandering swordsman named Ryre. In each story Ryre has to deal with something monstrous. The stories were creative and creepy. These stories first appeared in the Swords Against Darkness anthology series in the 70s.
One of the other stories, “The Ways of Chaos,” is actually Cambell’s chapter of Ghor Slayer: Genseri’s Fifth-Born Son, a round-robin novel based on a Robert E. Howard fragment. It didn’t do anything for me, probably because it’s part of a longer work.
The other three stories are fantasy stories in the vein of Clark Ashton Smith. I found them to be a little wordy and a little obscure.
After reading mixed reviews of the novel excerpt and the Clark Ashton Smith-like stories I decided to read those first and I saved the sword and sorcery stories for last. I’m glad I did as I enjoyed the Ryre stories much more than the others and was able to end on a high note.
The Sustenance of Hoak (5/5)
The Changer of Names (5/5)
The Pit of Wings (4/5)
The Mouths of Light (4/5)
The Stages of the God (3/5)
The Song at the Hub of the Garden (2.5/5)
The Ways of Chaos (no rating)
A Madness from the Vaults (3/5)
My favorite stories are the first four sword and sorcery stories featuring a wandering swordsman named Ryre. In each story Ryre has to deal with something monstrous. The stories were creative and creepy. These stories first appeared in the Swords Against Darkness anthology series in the 70s.
One of the other stories, “The Ways of Chaos,” is actually Cambell’s chapter of Ghor Slayer: Genseri’s Fifth-Born Son, a round-robin novel based on a Robert E. Howard fragment. It didn’t do anything for me, probably because it’s part of a longer work.
The other three stories are fantasy stories in the vein of Clark Ashton Smith. I found them to be a little wordy and a little obscure.
After reading mixed reviews of the novel excerpt and the Clark Ashton Smith-like stories I decided to read those first and I saved the sword and sorcery stories for last. I’m glad I did as I enjoyed the Ryre stories much more than the others and was able to end on a high note.
The Sustenance of Hoak (5/5)
The Changer of Names (5/5)
The Pit of Wings (4/5)
The Mouths of Light (4/5)
The Stages of the God (3/5)
The Song at the Hub of the Garden (2.5/5)
The Ways of Chaos (no rating)
A Madness from the Vaults (3/5)
February 7, 2022
3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 because the Ryre the swordsman tales are so good.
There are three other tales that round out the collection that are ostensibly set in the same world that are interesting if not essential reading.
There are three other tales that round out the collection that are ostensibly set in the same world that are interesting if not essential reading.
December 3, 2021
I had never before heard of Ramsey Campbell. understand he’s a big deal in horror. DMR republished this book, so naturally I picked it up and was pleasantly surprised.
First of all, “Far Away & Never” has got to be one of the best titles for a fantasy an anthology there is.
Most of this volume consists of the four Ryre sword and sorcery stories. I think these are among some of the best S&S stories out there. S&S is often called formulaic. However, I found the Ryre stories unlike anything else in the genre. First of all the prose is just different. Campbell writes like no one I can think of, maybe the closest would be Harry Piper (also DMR published) but that’s still a away’s off. His style is both very economic but also dense. It’s got this suffocating quality that just feels narrow and trapped in. It’s really unique, though I do find his repetitive word use a bit lacking, and sometimes its easy to get lost in his style. Even Ryre’s thought patterns are so different from a normal S&S protagonist. He’s just divergent, everything about these stories are. The Sustenance of Hoak and the Changer of Names are really unique stories. Real genre standouts for their feel and creativity. The Pit of Wings was my least favorite of the four, it felt a bit too much like it happened to Ryre, and Ryre had no agency and was just along for the ride. Still pretty good. Finally the Mouths of Light has such an excellent ending. I adored the tale, and it’s finally paragraph is a real treat. These stories are grim, without having the vulgarity of banality of contemporary grimdark fantasy. It’s dark fantasy but achieves it not by being edgy trash, but by playing on the genuine horror of human imagination.
It’s a pity we only got four stories, like many other great S&S characters we just never got a enough. But better wanting more than overstaying their welcome.
The collection has four more stories. The Stages of the God, I thought was really psychedelic and compelling. I really loved that too. The Song at the Hub of the Garden is also very psychedelically imaginative but I didn’t really like the story itself. It was hard to get invested, though Campbell’s conceptions of ‘words’ and the magic in them (a theme also in the Ryre stories) is really interesting. The Ways of Chaos is a chapter from a round robin novel that never came out. It’s kinda interesting but ultimately a fragment and a weird footnote. The last story is A Madness From the Vaults, it’s older in terms of when he wrote it by more than a decade and it shows. Though it has some similarities with Stages… and Song…in terms of themes and feel.
Outside of Stages of the God, I found these bonus stories superfluous and kinda a drag after the stunning Ryre stories.
Overall, I’d say this is a must for genre fans, and also horror fans, but like any collection some of the shorts are duds. But when it shines, oh man does it ever.
First of all, “Far Away & Never” has got to be one of the best titles for a fantasy an anthology there is.
Most of this volume consists of the four Ryre sword and sorcery stories. I think these are among some of the best S&S stories out there. S&S is often called formulaic. However, I found the Ryre stories unlike anything else in the genre. First of all the prose is just different. Campbell writes like no one I can think of, maybe the closest would be Harry Piper (also DMR published) but that’s still a away’s off. His style is both very economic but also dense. It’s got this suffocating quality that just feels narrow and trapped in. It’s really unique, though I do find his repetitive word use a bit lacking, and sometimes its easy to get lost in his style. Even Ryre’s thought patterns are so different from a normal S&S protagonist. He’s just divergent, everything about these stories are. The Sustenance of Hoak and the Changer of Names are really unique stories. Real genre standouts for their feel and creativity. The Pit of Wings was my least favorite of the four, it felt a bit too much like it happened to Ryre, and Ryre had no agency and was just along for the ride. Still pretty good. Finally the Mouths of Light has such an excellent ending. I adored the tale, and it’s finally paragraph is a real treat. These stories are grim, without having the vulgarity of banality of contemporary grimdark fantasy. It’s dark fantasy but achieves it not by being edgy trash, but by playing on the genuine horror of human imagination.
It’s a pity we only got four stories, like many other great S&S characters we just never got a enough. But better wanting more than overstaying their welcome.
The collection has four more stories. The Stages of the God, I thought was really psychedelic and compelling. I really loved that too. The Song at the Hub of the Garden is also very psychedelically imaginative but I didn’t really like the story itself. It was hard to get invested, though Campbell’s conceptions of ‘words’ and the magic in them (a theme also in the Ryre stories) is really interesting. The Ways of Chaos is a chapter from a round robin novel that never came out. It’s kinda interesting but ultimately a fragment and a weird footnote. The last story is A Madness From the Vaults, it’s older in terms of when he wrote it by more than a decade and it shows. Though it has some similarities with Stages… and Song…in terms of themes and feel.
Outside of Stages of the God, I found these bonus stories superfluous and kinda a drag after the stunning Ryre stories.
Overall, I’d say this is a must for genre fans, and also horror fans, but like any collection some of the shorts are duds. But when it shines, oh man does it ever.
February 25, 2023
The final story bumped it up to 4 stars. Really fun horror fantasy.
March 5, 2024
Devious horrors abound with these alien creatures, grotesque and macabre, menacing the pages with unknown bloodlust, but the environs that Ryre finds himself in hold lifeless humans that are either wheels in a cog, or catalysts to chaos. It's a dark atmosphere for Ryre and he seems to stay in a gruff mood, yearning for conflict and annoyed with everybody ... but after a few adventures, it's kind of understandable. The few non-Ryre tales speak in symbolic and musical prose, leaving the reader to ponder the atmosphere and what it means, with characters seemingly possessed with thoughtless entities yet thoughtful of unknown philosophies.
Story Reference:
The Sustenance of Hoak 3.75/5
The Changer of Names 3.75/5
The Pit of Wings 3.75/5
"The hilt was his last hold on life."
The forest to Gaxanoi is a canopied and seemingly endless
The Mouths of Light 4/5
The Stages of the God 3.25/5
"A king does not punish slavery!"
The Song at the Hub of the Garden 3.25/5
"He pursued his own vision of perfection, which was spiced with imperfection."
The Ways of Chaos 4/5
This is Campbell's chapter in a many-authored story ("Ghor, Kin-Slayer") that continues from one of Robert E. Howard's unfinished tales, "Genseric's Fifth-Born Son".
A Madness from the Vaults 3.25/5
Story Reference:
The Sustenance of Hoak 3.75/5
The Changer of Names 3.75/5
The Pit of Wings 3.75/5
"The hilt was his last hold on life."
The forest to Gaxanoi is a canopied and seemingly endless
The Mouths of Light 4/5
The Stages of the God 3.25/5
"A king does not punish slavery!"
The Song at the Hub of the Garden 3.25/5
"He pursued his own vision of perfection, which was spiced with imperfection."
The Ways of Chaos 4/5
This is Campbell's chapter in a many-authored story ("Ghor, Kin-Slayer") that continues from one of Robert E. Howard's unfinished tales, "Genseric's Fifth-Born Son".
A Madness from the Vaults 3.25/5
November 27, 2021
A highly enjoyable collection of Sword & Sorcery/Weird tales penned by the Grandmaster of horror Ramsey Campbell, a collection I never knew existed before the marauding publisher DMR Books unearthed this reprinting.
January 5, 2022
Heretical opinion incoming: I think I like Campbell's fantasy more than his horror.
February 14, 2020
A collection of Campbell's fantasy works that are sword & sorcery with a decided horror flourish -- just as the old 30s tales were. Four of the stories feature the same hero, Ryre, and are decidedly the best part of the collection.
What is interesting is how smoothly, as you read, you can see how Campbell's world was straddling sword & planet...first the green sun...then the realization that what he calls "steeds" may have hooves, but aren't necessarily horses. Later, noting that he describes armour plates as "leaves", it slowly becomes clear that this may be quite literal and there is an interesting comment at one point that "they had left his armour, for in trying to peel the leaves away they only clung tighter". There is also an incredibly vast arboreal forest and some pretty horrific fauna, that feels far more sword & planet than sword & sorcery. It would have been fascinating to see how the world would have developed over more time. (Although, MY GOD are the made-up name atrocious!)
The Sustenance of Hoak is the best tale by far, and truly disturbing, showing Campbell is a horror writer at heart. The Changer of Names could easily be modern horror, and the creature revealed at the end, and its nemesis, was both suitably awful and probably deserved a few more pages.
Overall a nice collection of forgotten tales, and a glimpse of a career and story arc that might-have-been, but no more.
What is interesting is how smoothly, as you read, you can see how Campbell's world was straddling sword & planet...first the green sun...then the realization that what he calls "steeds" may have hooves, but aren't necessarily horses. Later, noting that he describes armour plates as "leaves", it slowly becomes clear that this may be quite literal and there is an interesting comment at one point that "they had left his armour, for in trying to peel the leaves away they only clung tighter". There is also an incredibly vast arboreal forest and some pretty horrific fauna, that feels far more sword & planet than sword & sorcery. It would have been fascinating to see how the world would have developed over more time. (Although, MY GOD are the made-up name atrocious!)
The Sustenance of Hoak is the best tale by far, and truly disturbing, showing Campbell is a horror writer at heart. The Changer of Names could easily be modern horror, and the creature revealed at the end, and its nemesis, was both suitably awful and probably deserved a few more pages.
Overall a nice collection of forgotten tales, and a glimpse of a career and story arc that might-have-been, but no more.
July 24, 2024
I'm reviewing here the second edition of this book, from DMR, which has an additional story. it includes:
Introduction (Well worth reading)
The Sustenance of Hoak
The Changer of Names
The Pit of Wings
The Mouths of Light
The Stages of the God
The Song at the Hub of the Garden
The Ways of Chaos
A Madness From the Vaults (2nd edition only)
The first four of these are about the character Ryre, and are the jewels of this collection. They all originally appeared in the Swords Against Darkness anthology series. The Ways of Chaos appeared as a chapter in Ghor Kin-Slayer (Necronomicon Press, 1997, cover art by Robert H. Knox), an odd little work in which a bunch of well-known authors, including Campbell, Moorcock, Karl Wagner, Adrian Cole, andy offutt, and others wrote a round-robin story based upon a fragment that Robert E. Howard left behind. A Madness from the Vaults” was the most interesting non-Ryre tale to me because it gave a little background on the world, a place where words have great power. I kind of wish it had been printed before any of the other non-Ryre stories.
A very fine collection. A relatively short book.
Introduction (Well worth reading)
The Sustenance of Hoak
The Changer of Names
The Pit of Wings
The Mouths of Light
The Stages of the God
The Song at the Hub of the Garden
The Ways of Chaos
A Madness From the Vaults (2nd edition only)
The first four of these are about the character Ryre, and are the jewels of this collection. They all originally appeared in the Swords Against Darkness anthology series. The Ways of Chaos appeared as a chapter in Ghor Kin-Slayer (Necronomicon Press, 1997, cover art by Robert H. Knox), an odd little work in which a bunch of well-known authors, including Campbell, Moorcock, Karl Wagner, Adrian Cole, andy offutt, and others wrote a round-robin story based upon a fragment that Robert E. Howard left behind. A Madness from the Vaults” was the most interesting non-Ryre tale to me because it gave a little background on the world, a place where words have great power. I kind of wish it had been printed before any of the other non-Ryre stories.
A very fine collection. A relatively short book.
March 27, 2025
This is a hard one to rate and review. A friend recommended this to me and said I probably would like this collection. I actually did, but I'm not exactly raving about this.
Some of the stories felt a bit... bland? Like they had all the ingredients of a good, exciting story but they didn't quite deliver. Still, at least two of the blander stories had really good and actually heart-warming endings which made go "awwww!"
My favourite story was A Madness from the Vaults. I love weird horror shit happening in fantasy desert kingdoms. I also liked The Ways of Chaos for some reason. It was really a mishmash of things that may or may not fit together (because of the round robin), but it was crazy and epic like a scene from Bal-Sagoth lyrics! Gotta love that!
The excessive usage of the word steed was a bit annoying. I understand this makes it sound more like a fantasy story set in older times or whatever, but it really bugged me after a while.
Some quotes I liked:
"Now he was caged by a lingering clamour of rain." (The Pit of Wings)
"green heat was settling between the trunks like a still warm sea." (The Stages of the God)
Some of the stories felt a bit... bland? Like they had all the ingredients of a good, exciting story but they didn't quite deliver. Still, at least two of the blander stories had really good and actually heart-warming endings which made go "awwww!"
My favourite story was A Madness from the Vaults. I love weird horror shit happening in fantasy desert kingdoms. I also liked The Ways of Chaos for some reason. It was really a mishmash of things that may or may not fit together (because of the round robin), but it was crazy and epic like a scene from Bal-Sagoth lyrics! Gotta love that!
The excessive usage of the word steed was a bit annoying. I understand this makes it sound more like a fantasy story set in older times or whatever, but it really bugged me after a while.
Some quotes I liked:
"Now he was caged by a lingering clamour of rain." (The Pit of Wings)
"green heat was settling between the trunks like a still warm sea." (The Stages of the God)
November 22, 2022
While Ramsey Campbell is considered by a Grand Master of Horror, his works of fantasy— that too classifiable as Sword & Sorcery— were completely unknown to me. Thanks to the good people at DMR Books, those works became available in this beautiful paperback.
Following a witty 'Introduction' it contains~
1. The Sustenance of Hoak;
2. The Changer of Names;
3. The Pit of Wings;
4. The Mouths of Light;
5. The Stages of the God;
6. The Song at the Hub of the Garden;
7. The Ways of Chaos;
8. A Madness from the Vaults.
Four of these stories feature Ryre the mercenary as their protagonist. The remaining are separate stories. But all of them are unparelleled in their beauty, richness, and the sense of horror evoked by them.
One of the finest books that I have read in recent times, this one is highly recommended to all lovers of fantasy and horror.
Following a witty 'Introduction' it contains~
1. The Sustenance of Hoak;
2. The Changer of Names;
3. The Pit of Wings;
4. The Mouths of Light;
5. The Stages of the God;
6. The Song at the Hub of the Garden;
7. The Ways of Chaos;
8. A Madness from the Vaults.
Four of these stories feature Ryre the mercenary as their protagonist. The remaining are separate stories. But all of them are unparelleled in their beauty, richness, and the sense of horror evoked by them.
One of the finest books that I have read in recent times, this one is highly recommended to all lovers of fantasy and horror.
June 6, 2022
A collection of fairly competent sword and sorcery tales. I particularly enjoyed the first few which feature swordsman Ryre facing off against a number of weird horrors. They read like a kind of pastiche of REH, Leiber and Lovecraft. Campbell’s horror chops are on full display when he describes these otherworldly adversaries. The remainder of the stories are less successful.
September 16, 2025
Interesting early tales of dark fantasy
Fascinating stories of dark fantasy with echoes of HP Lovecraft and Robert E Howard l. It's clearly a selection of early writing from the author but nonetheless very enjoyable.
Fascinating stories of dark fantasy with echoes of HP Lovecraft and Robert E Howard l. It's clearly a selection of early writing from the author but nonetheless very enjoyable.
February 15, 2023
Very interesting to see Ramsey's version of a Sword & Sorcery universe, felt like a lower stakes version of what Laird Barron is building with his Antiquity tales.
January 3, 2024
5 stars for the Ryre stories, 3 or 4 stars for the rest.
February 3, 2025
Not Ramsey Campbell’s best work, or, like Brian Lumley, I am am agrowing tired of him!???!
September 22, 2025
not even mid
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