Sword & Sorcery: "An earthier sort of fantasy" discussion

There has been some praise offered throughout the discussions here for the author Steve Goble and his Masked Sons tales. While such praise is not undeserved, I'm here to say that those demon-hunting boys are but the tip of Steve's S&S writing prowess.

I speak of Calthus - quite possibly the modern S&S character most akin to Conan and Kane - and his action-packed adventures!

I've had the privilege of not only reading Steve's published Calthus tales, but of publishing and reading them in draft form as well! I highly recommend pursuit of these tales - none will be found lacking!

The first three are:
"The Redemption of Calthus"
"The Gray Mother"
"The Gods-Forsaken World"

Rogue Blades wrote: "There has been some praise offered throughout the discussions here for the author Steve Goble and his Masked Sons tales. While such praise is not undeserved, I'm here to say that those demon-huntin..."

From what I understand, there may be a collection of Calthus tales in the works. But for details, we will have to rely on Steve Goble to reveal.

Under the MY FICTION tab on his BLOG, you can find out where those tales were originally published:
Steve Gobles Swords Against Boredom blog

Thank you RBE for starting this thread and thank you Seth for sharing Steve Goble's blog. As I'm slowly burning up with fever I could only focus on his excellent flash-fiction piece, INVINCIBLE. Fingers crossed for a collection of his stories to be published, soon...

Periklis wrote: "...I could only focus on his excellent flash-fiction piece, INVINCIBLE. Fi..."

"Invincible" is an engaging super-mini-story. Cripes, it was published in 2008! I miss so much. Anyway, thx Periklis for sharing. It reinforces my appreciation for his work. Steve's style + undead = awesome.

I would definitely welcome a Calthus collection as well.

You guys are making me blush ...

I do hope a Calthus collection comes to be, because I don't think ANY of those are still available online anywhere.

http://www.electricspec.com/archivesi...

That link goes to a story of mine called "The First Casualty." Not Calthus, but it has a sword-and-sorcery vibe.

http://swordsandsorcerymagazine.com/1...

... and this link goes to a sword-and-sorcery rom-com recently published at Sword and Sorcery Magazine. Those stories, plus a few flash pieces at Every Day Fiction, represent all of my stuff that remains online. I had a bunch of stuff in print, but I don't know how much is still available (and it isn't all sword - and- sorcery ...). But if you are interested, my goodreads profile includes a "My Stories" shelf and you might have some luck on some of it.

In the meantime, I have some stuff to brush off and submit to a couple of places, including a new Faceless Sons story related to the one in "Return of the Sword." I will keep you posted, and thanks for reviving a writer's spirit.

Put me down for a Calthus collection, too...

A while back I stumbled on a few of Steve's stories on "Every Day Fiction" and was blown away. I'm definitely a fan and was fortunate enough to catch a couple of Calthus stories before they were unavailable to read. Great stuff.

I actually discovered this Goodreads group trying to track down if he'd done anything new lately.

Bring on the Calthus collection!

Thank you very much, Paul!

"The Mask Oath" being one of my personal favorites in Return of the Sword, I was wondering if there are more Faceless Sons tales (apart from Gram's Gift), planned or published.

Thanks. I have one I plan to submit to an ezine this week, actually, and another mostly written but in need of some editing. I will let you know if the editor likes the one I send enough to buy it.

Oh, and thanks for linking to "Gram's Gift," too, Periklis. I had forgotten that was still available online.

I just returned a contract to publish "Demons, Within and Without," a new Faceless Sons sword -and- sorcery tale, in Swords and Sorcery ezine. Link should go live soon, and I will share here when it does. Thanks for encouraging me to submit his, y'all.

Steve wrote: "I just returned a contract to publish "Demons, Within and Without," a new Faceless Sons sword -and- sorcery tale, in Swords and Sorcery ezine. Link should go live soon, and I will share here when i..."

Looking forward to reading this... and hoping a "Faceless Sons" collection is in the works, too!

Thanks! Collection is unlikely soon; I am working on a historical novel for now.

Congratulations, Steve. I look forward to reading it.

My Faceless Sons story, "Demons, Within and Without," is now live at Swords and Sorcery Magazine.

http://www.swordsandsorcerymagazine.c...

Thanks for sharing the good news!

So, so far there are three "Faceless Sons" stories:

The Mask Oath
Gram's Gift, and
Demons, Within and Without.

Is this a closed cycle of stories (perhaps 5 stories-long?) and should we hope for any new stories this year?

I have another in progress and one plotted beyond that. If somebody will publish them, you can read them.

These three Faceless Sons stories have me hooked. Had to take a break from Lankhmar #2 Swords against death ...Which I am enjoying ... But was lured more toward these. I'll go back to Leiber now. Steve, you really do have a high caliber series brewing. Can hardly wait for #4.

Thanks, S.E. Your enthusiasm ( and the enthusiasm of others, too ) makes my day!

Good tale Steve. I enjoyed the full circle return to having 3 Sons...though I also enjoyed the suspense you held me in wondering if you would pull an unthinkable and have a Son renege on his oath! Glad to read another of your stories my friend!

Thanks, Jason! I do try to keep readers guessing a little.

Thanks for that link to Invicible. That was a sweet little read.

http://www.amazon.com/Azieran-Adventu...

That's a link to an antho that has a new, bloody, ripper of a Calthus story in it, plus other good stuff by other good people. E-book, multiple formats. Enjoy!

Just got a chance to check out your story in the new anthology. Another good one, man. Well done.

Ok, where do I get these books, I am in the uk?

Thank you, Paul!

Mark: I have no idea if these are available in the UK or not. They are all small press operations. If you contact the individual publishers, they may be able to help. No promises, though. Sorry I don't know more about it.

I will do so today.

Yes they're available on amazon uk.

Hi, all. Long time since I posted anything over here, but I thought some of you might be interested to know this:

I have a two-book deal with Seventh Street Books. My debut novel, "The Bloody Black Flag," is scheduled for release in Fall 2017.

It is not sword-and-sorcery, but it IS a murder mystery on a pirate ship, so it has plenty of action and at times reads a bit like my swords-and-sorcery stuff.

Anyway, thanks for your support over the years!

Steve, congrats! That sounds like a fun read. I'm still hooked on the Faceless Sons and was hoping you had more :).

not to mention a certain oversized old dude swings a mean blade...

Congratulations, Steve. You are an excellent writer and I hope this helps expand your readership immensely. Well done. (Now, get back to that Calthus tale:))

I am considering a collection of sword-and-sorcery, including some previously unpublished Calthus and Faceless Sons material, but it is on a back burner. I have a guy who will help me get that stuff together once dust settles around here.

Hello all. My murder mystery/pirate adventure will release in September from Seventh Street Books, a Prometheus imprint. You can pre-order now, if you wish. The book features pirates, mystery, spies, action and a genuine mystery to solve. I hope you enjoy it. -- Steve

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01...

My pirate murder mystery, is not sword and sorcery, but I think people here who like my sword and sorcery stuff might dig it. It has a good deal of piratical sword action. Anyway, it hit stores this week, so I hope you all don't mind me plugging it here.

Thanks!

Ok, I have had a lot of good reviews for the pirate novel, but some people in this group might be familiar with The Brazen Bull, a pop culture review site. They posted a great review, so I thought I would share a link here. Hope no one minds. — Steve

http://thebrazenbull.com/books/book-r...

Steve, I live in Cincinnati but was unable to attend Books on the Banks, so I missed meeting you. One of these days I will. Glad to hear your Pirate novel is well received.

I plan to do Books by the Banks again next year, and may have other signings in Cincy before then. Would love to meet you!