Jesse’s Reviews > Sword Woman and Other Historical Adventures > Status Update
Jesse
is on page 295 of 576
“A Thousand Years Ago”
This Howard poem seems more like yearning for a time when a man could prove himself in mortal conflict, referencing the Chagatai people that Howard clearly had some affinity for as the narrator of “The Road of Azrael” counted himself among their tribe.
— Jan 20, 2026 10:16AM
This Howard poem seems more like yearning for a time when a man could prove himself in mortal conflict, referencing the Chagatai people that Howard clearly had some affinity for as the narrator of “The Road of Azrael” counted himself among their tribe.
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Jesse’s Previous Updates
Jesse
is on page 477 of 576
“Untitled Synopsis (The Slave-Princess)”
This would have been a Cormac Fitzgeoffrey story that makes him out to be even more contemptible, rescuing a dancing girl and then plotting with his buddy Amory to pass her off as the daughter of the Sheikh, Anastasia-style. But, wait! It turns out she really IS the daughter of the sheikh, Anastasia-style!! Fitzgeoffrey is gloomy, Fitzgeoffrey is bleak…
— 2 hours, 2 min ago
This would have been a Cormac Fitzgeoffrey story that makes him out to be even more contemptible, rescuing a dancing girl and then plotting with his buddy Amory to pass her off as the daughter of the Sheikh, Anastasia-style. But, wait! It turns out she really IS the daughter of the sheikh, Anastasia-style!! Fitzgeoffrey is gloomy, Fitzgeoffrey is bleak…
Jesse
is on page 475 of 576
“Untitled Fragment (The Track of Bohemund)”
Like “Blades for France”, this story has someone kill a villain and then discover a secret plot in a case of mistaken identity. Unlike most of Howard’s fragments that I’ve seen, we can actually guess how this story pans out as it adds political intrigue to the Battle of Dorylareum in 1097, during the First Crusade.
— 2 hours, 15 min ago
Like “Blades for France”, this story has someone kill a villain and then discover a secret plot in a case of mistaken identity. Unlike most of Howard’s fragments that I’ve seen, we can actually guess how this story pans out as it adds political intrigue to the Battle of Dorylareum in 1097, during the First Crusade.
Jesse
is on page 459 of 576
“The Road of the Eagles”
More middle-east intrigue, this time the heroic force composed of Cossacks attempting to avenge the death of their leader against a Corsair. Kurds, Armenians, Turks, uh, and a Persian dancing girl with ARYAN ANCESTRAL BLOOD :flex:
This story’s philosophical focus is an ethnic essentialism that ascribes Muslims a certain fatality that hinders them from nigh-impossible aspirations.
— 3 hours, 7 min ago
More middle-east intrigue, this time the heroic force composed of Cossacks attempting to avenge the death of their leader against a Corsair. Kurds, Armenians, Turks, uh, and a Persian dancing girl with ARYAN ANCESTRAL BLOOD :flex:
This story’s philosophical focus is an ethnic essentialism that ascribes Muslims a certain fatality that hinders them from nigh-impossible aspirations.
Jesse
is on page 423 of 576
“The Shadow of the Vulture”
This story is mostly about the Ottoman siege of Vienna in the early 1500s. BUT, we have two main characters: a himbo lush named Gottfried who fought the Sultan a year before and who had his eternal enmity, and the discovered RED SONJA who is a madcap woman warrior who, like Agnes, has no time for anyone’s bullshit but watches out for Gottfried.
— 4 hours, 23 min ago
This story is mostly about the Ottoman siege of Vienna in the early 1500s. BUT, we have two main characters: a himbo lush named Gottfried who fought the Sultan a year before and who had his eternal enmity, and the discovered RED SONJA who is a madcap woman warrior who, like Agnes, has no time for anyone’s bullshit but watches out for Gottfried.
Jesse
is on page 387 of 576
“Blades For France”
The second and last complete Dark Agnes story has her caught up in some political intrigue surrounding the Duke of Bourbon, I think Charles III, foiling a kidnapping plot that she just happens to stumble upon after slaying one of the principal members in an indignant rage and taking his sweet-ass cloak. She’s still pretty awesome but I wish she had gotten to kill de Valence!
— 22 hours, 52 min ago
The second and last complete Dark Agnes story has her caught up in some political intrigue surrounding the Duke of Bourbon, I think Charles III, foiling a kidnapping plot that she just happens to stumble upon after slaying one of the principal members in an indignant rage and taking his sweet-ass cloak. She’s still pretty awesome but I wish she had gotten to kill de Valence!
Jesse
is on page 365 of 576
“Sword Woman”
Agnes du Chastillon is going to be forced to marry a rich pig to ease her father’s waning years. Her sister gives her a dagger, implying that she kill herself rather than marry and let marriage beat her down. In a moment of wild impulse, she murders her groom at the altar and then runs off, getting herself into quite a few scrapes and shootouts. Agnes is BAD. ASS.
— Jan 21, 2026 12:32PM
Agnes du Chastillon is going to be forced to marry a rich pig to ease her father’s waning years. Her sister gives her a dagger, implying that she kill herself rather than marry and let marriage beat her down. In a moment of wild impulse, she murders her groom at the altar and then runs off, getting herself into quite a few scrapes and shootouts. Agnes is BAD. ASS.
Jesse
is on page 331 of 576
“Timur-Lang”
Howard MAY have picked Timour for “Samarkand” because of a poem written by Edgar Allan Poe that he quotes at the header of a few of the story’s chapter. Here he has his own poem, reckoning on the ephemerality of even a brutal conqueror such as Timour’s own mark on history.
— Jan 21, 2026 11:42AM
Howard MAY have picked Timour for “Samarkand” because of a poem written by Edgar Allan Poe that he quotes at the header of a few of the story’s chapter. Here he has his own poem, reckoning on the ephemerality of even a brutal conqueror such as Timour’s own mark on history.
Jesse
is on page 329 of 576
“Lord of Samarcand”
REH historical fiction template
1) find significant figures from the Middle East
2) invent a Celtic or Viking blood dude and who plays a significant role in the history
3) write badass, bloody pageantry with tons of gory deaths
In this case it’s the last great Mongol conqueror, Timour, who acquires the services of an exiled Scotsman who is as barbaric as they come.
— Jan 21, 2026 11:27AM
REH historical fiction template
1) find significant figures from the Middle East
2) invent a Celtic or Viking blood dude and who plays a significant role in the history
3) write badass, bloody pageantry with tons of gory deaths
In this case it’s the last great Mongol conqueror, Timour, who acquires the services of an exiled Scotsman who is as barbaric as they come.
Jesse
is on page 293 of 576
“The Skull in the Clouds”
One of Howard’s poems as character sketches where an Irishman had been sent to assassinate the “Black Prince” (I assume England’s Prince Edward of the 1300s), sort of gains immense respect for him, and is sent away by the prince when he figures out what the dude’s original mission was.
— Jan 20, 2026 10:12AM
One of Howard’s poems as character sketches where an Irishman had been sent to assassinate the “Black Prince” (I assume England’s Prince Edward of the 1300s), sort of gains immense respect for him, and is sent away by the prince when he figures out what the dude’s original mission was.
Jesse
is on page 291 of 576
“The Sowers of the Thunder”
A longer-form tale of a would-be Irish king during the final act of Outremer. Cahal is a chivalrous character and does the best that he can in doomed circumstances. This story has a predictable plot twist with the “slim knight” who you can guess through the economy of character. This cycle of stories pits Christian and Muslim together against “pagan” Turks.
— Jan 20, 2026 09:58AM
A longer-form tale of a would-be Irish king during the final act of Outremer. Cahal is a chivalrous character and does the best that he can in doomed circumstances. This story has a predictable plot twist with the “slim knight” who you can guess through the economy of character. This cycle of stories pits Christian and Muslim together against “pagan” Turks.
