Kyrik Fights the Demon World

Kyrik #2

by Gardner Francis Fox

When Kyrik—warlock warrior—finds a dying man and a bloody parchment map, he is drawn into a whirlwind of evil in which demon lords contend for all Terra. With Myrnis, his gypsy sweetheart, and the aid of the thief pack, he brings five ancient magical gifts to the land of Surrillione—where he meets betrayal by the very demon lord he has been forced to serve.

DEMON WORLD
Out of the darker shadows in a corner of the crypt came a many-fanged horror. Kyrik leaped and swung up his cloaked arm as fangs tore into the scarlet cloth, shredding it. The great reptile uncoiled its length and swung a whipping tail toward Kyrik.
'Illis aid me,' he breathed and his sword came up.
He swung with all the fury of muscles developed in a thousand battles. The snake hissed in pain and fury.

Genres: Fantasy, Sword and Sorcery

159 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1975

About the author

Gardner Francis Cooper Fox was an American writer known best for creating numerous comic book characters for DC Comics. Comic book historians estimate that he wrote more than 4,000 comics stories, including 1,500 for DC Comics.
Fox is known as the co-creator of DC Comics heroes the Flash, Hawkman, Doctor Fate and the original Sandman, and was the writer who first teamed those and other heroes as the Justice Society of America. Fox introduced the concept of the Multiverse to DC Comics in the 1961 story "Flash of Two Worlds!"

Pseudonyms: Gardner F. Fox, Jefferson Cooper, Bart Sommers, Paul Dean, Ray Gardner, Lynna Cooper, Rod Gray, Larry Dean, Robert Starr, Don Blake, Ed Blake, Warner Blake, Michael Blake, Tex Blane, Willis Blane, Ed Carlisle, Edgar Weston, Tex Slade, Eddie Duane, Simon Majors, James Kendricks, Troy Conway, Kevin Matthews, Glen Chase

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the second of four swords & sorcery books that Fox, who is of course best remembered for his prolific comics work at DC, had published in 1975 - '76 featuring the titular protagonist. They're unashamed, proud pastiches of Howard's Conan. They're quite similar to his earlier five book Kothar series from 1969-'70, too. This second book is a quest tale, and, Kyrik has spent a thousand years imprisoned in a small statue, has to gather the five magical thingamabobs in order to save the world. He gets help from his Gypsy girlfriend, Myrnis, who used to be possessed by a love goddess and is still feeling the after-effects. Kyrik always seemed more concerned with sorcery and history, though in many ways he lacked some of Kothar's subtlety. (Yes, !) This one has another aggressively sword & sorcery Ken Barr cover, which shows him attacking an axe-wielding giant while Myrnis dangles overhead in the foul clutches of a pterodactyl while a large lizard is thinking about taking a bite out of his ankle. (Kyrik's, not the giant's.) It's a silly yet fun and unpretentious story, certainly not great literature but better written than many similar titles of the time. Would've probably been a good comic...

[Derek · Rating 2 out of 5]

I started this book over a week ago, and between then and now I've spent several days on holiday that included a brain-mushing Josh Groban concert not my idea, contracted a debilitating cold, sold my house, and moved the contents of a four-bedroom home to a short-term rental obtained in a frightful hurry due to a house purchase falling apart at the last minute. To nobody's surprise, during all this the adventures of Whats-His-Name dropped completely out of my mind.

Yet, last night, after figuring out which box contained the bag with my reading material it was in with the towels, I picked up the story from where it was and knocked off the last 30 pages without a problem. And I suspect that I could have started reading the book from that point with equal success.

"Oh, they're being chased by demon lords and need the Five Magic Whatsits? With you so far. And he fights with a sword? Got it. And her clothes just fell off? Makes sense. Then an evil city gets rebuilt by demon magic across time-and-space to imprison them all in an eternity of hell on Earth? ...I'll take it as a given."

[B M · Rating 3 out of 5]

Il ritmo incalzante del primo libro, qui cede inesorabilmente. Le forze magiche sostituiscono per gran parte del racconto la forza bruta di Kyrik, ma comunque un libro godibile e ben fatto.

[Éric Kasprak · Rating 3 out of 5]

I still prefer the Kothar stories to the Kyrik stories that I read so far. Nonetheless Kyrik is a fun character and his adventures are good / classic Sword & Sorcery romps. Gardner F. Fox keeps everything simple with clean and simple prose, classic tropes and evil shenanigans aplenty. I really like this kind of stuff, and Kyrik more than deliver them to me. M. Fox weaves his story with a strong focus on the sorcery part of S&S genre with demons, sorcerers, pentagrams and magic cursed/enchanted items. The action is fast, the women are scantily clad, the demons are demoniac and the story is fast paced. Perfect!

[James T · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought the first Kyrik book was probably the worst S&S book I’ve ever read. It had a heck of an opening chapter but everything after that was downhill.

In the second entry to the series I thought there were some redeeming qualities. It’s got a fun cast of characters and I thought the first 1/2 was pretty enjoyable. Good sense of adventure to it. It gave me that paperback guilty pleasure feeling.

The rest not so much. It’s flimsy and the plot is extremely contrived. Overall, I thought it was a step up from the first but still very mediocre.

[Jim Ordolis · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.7/5 A fun read if you are familiar with sword and sorcery, it's tropes and what inspired the creation of Dungeon & Dragons. Only recommend if you have already read, Robert E. Howard, Clark Ashton Smith, Fritz Lieber, Michael Moorcock, Karl Edward Wagner, DeCamp and Lin Carter. Gardner Fox is well known as one of the architects of DC Comics in the golden and silver age as well as a writer of some good historical fiction books. A pulp writer who wrote in many genres and contributed a lot to sword & sorcery.

[Ralph Nissley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Who says you can't go back?

I remember it like it was yesterday. I was maybe 16 and I couldn't get enough of Kyrik, Conan or John Carter.

[Charles · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent, not great. Didn't live up to the promise of the first one. The character started out more interesting than your standard Conan clone but then kind of reverted back to that as the series progressed.

[Jeff Wyonch · Rating 3 out of 5]

KYRIK! A manly man with a manly sword, manly killing everything that gets in his manly way. A Conan pastiche, but no less entertaining as such. The second book in a 5-book series, this one slows the pace, introduces an extended cast, and adds depth to Kyrik's world.

[Brett]

Fantasy

[Gwen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book when I was in middle school. It was awesome. After re-reading as an adult, I have to say that it is not as awesome as I remember. Still, it was fun to re-read.

[Little Timmy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very good last book of the series. A nice Conan like character full of adventure and mayhem. Quick and easy read. Recommended