Weird Tales of Modernity: A Very Personal Retrospective

In July of 2019, I published an academic book titled Weird Tales of Modernity: The Ephemerality of the Ordinary in the Stories of Robert E. Howard, Clark Ashton Smith, and H.P. Lovecraft. Academic books typically don't attract a large readership, with sales of 100 to 200 copies considered successful in the humanities. However, the true measure of an academic book's success lies in its influence, often gauged by reviews in academic journals.

My book received two significant reviews. The first, in The Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts, a leading journal for literary studies scholars who focus on fantasy, stated: "Carney’s book is a valuable addition to the literature on its topic. It deserves a wide readership, and a prominent place in the scholarship of American fantastic literature in the early twentieth century." This recognition was encouraging, affirming my book's contribution to 20th-century fantastic literature scholarship. The second review, from American Literature, a flagship journal in literary studies, noted that my book "plac[es] pulp fiction in a broader historical and literary context." This suggested that my work could help traditional American literature scholars link interwar pulp fiction with the broader saga of American literary tradition.

2019 was shaping up to be a promising year, especially as I anticipated the academic year 2019-2020. Publishing an academic book in the summer typically leads to opportunities to share work, respond to rebuttals, and clarify contributions at academic conferences. I was looking forward to attending events like the National Conference of the Popular Culture Association and the International Conference of the Society for the Study of the Fantastic in the Arts, expecting to disseminate my unique perspective on pulp fiction.

However, the unforeseen events of March 2020, just 8 months post-publication, disrupted these plans. The pandemic led to the cancellation of most academic conferences. The shift to online classes consumed my focus, leaving little room to consider the potential impact on my book's influence.

Nearly three years later, I realize the unfortunate timing of my book's release. It's disappointing because I believe my study is important. Traditionally, scholars have separated the histories of canonical literature and genre fiction. My book aimed to bridge this gap, illustrating how both must be understood in response to the same social, economic, and aesthetic developments.

Despite the setbacks, my book did begin to make waves in the academic world, with positive reviews in The Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts and American Literature. Additionally, genre fiction enthusiasts also reviewed it. Dave C. Smith, a celebrated sword and sorcery writer, wrote a thoughtful review for Black Gate. Bobby Derie, a Lovecraft scholar, also reviewed it positively but noted its challenging appeal: Would scholars find its focus on pulp fiction (i.e. noncanonical literature) a barrier? Would genre fiction fans find it too theoretical, dense, and granular? Derie concluded, "Weird Tales of Modernity sits comfortably on a shelf next to The Unique Legacy of Weird Tales (2015), Conan Meets the Academy (2013), and New Critical Essays on Lovecraft (2013). Whether it will find an audience only the future can tell, but it certainly deserves one."

Reflecting on the years spent working on the book and its modest impact thus far, I feel a tinge of sadness. But academic books are often slow burns. I remain hopeful that in time, people will discover it and engage with my ideas.

Book Review: Lord of Ruin: A Tale of Malus Darkblade by Dan Abnett and Mike Lee

Lord of Ruin is a captivating Warhammer Fantasy novel that delves into the world of the Dark Elves, known as the Druchii. It is the fifth installment in a larger story arc centered around Malus Darkblade, a Dark Elf noble possessed by a demon. Malus isn't completely consumed by the demon; instead, the demon occasionally exerts its will, overriding Malus's own desires. However, for the most part, Malus is driven forward on a quest by the demon through threats of punishment, which manifest as what others perceive as his schizophrenic tendency to converse with himself.

The novel boasts extensive worldbuilding, not limited to the rich Warhammer Fantasy lore. Authors Abnett and Lee provide an immersive experience, unveiling intriguing and unexpected details that draw you viscerally into this captivating world. A standout moment occurs during a protracted sequence depicting the Chaos horde's siege of the Black Tower of Ghrond, the primary military outpost safeguarding the Dark Elf realm of Naggaroth from the Chaos Wastes. Throughout this segment, the authors' descriptions transported me right into the heart of the action.

However, the novel's plot, like its predecessors in the Malus series, suffers from an episodic and scattered structure. It often feels like each chapter presents a new crisis, with these individual crises serving as stops along a ride filled with spectacular events.

Overall, Lord of Ruin stands as my favorite installment in the Malus series. While it's possible to enjoy this book as a standalone, I recommend reading the preceding four novels. Doing so will imbue the story with a deeper resonance, as you'll appreciate the numerous callbacks and connections that become more meaningful when you follow the entire narrative.

One intriguing aspect towards the novel's conclusion is the development of Malus's conscience. At times, he exhibits behavior akin to that of a good person, which raises questions about its alignment with Warhammer Fantasy lore. Dark Elves are described as irredeemably corrupted by generations of hatred.

Conversation Starter: Plato and the Social Function of Literature

Ancient and classical literary criticism finds its origins in Plato's work, particularly in key passages of his dialogue The Republic. In this dialogue, Plato's protagonist, Socrates, engages in a debate with students about the nature of poetry and its impact on the ideal Republic, specifically its effect on its citizens.

Socrates, essentially Plato's voice, argues that poetic representation can wield significant influence over society, both positive and negative. For instance, he contends that poetry describing the afterlife as a bleak, joyless realm where souls wander aimlessly can be detrimental to the morale of soldiers. In a militaristic society, courage and aggression are vital qualities in its soldiers, and such a bleak portrayal of the afterlife can undermine these qualities.

Plato also discusses the representation of gods in poetry. He criticizes the practice of depicting gods behaving immorally, viewing it as highly dangerous. This representation of gods behaving poorly can negatively shape the moral values of society.

The Republic delves into various other aspects of poetry and literature. One such element is Plato's theory of representation, which is intertwined with his theory of forms. According to Plato, reality is a distorted reflection of a deeper reality, as exemplified in the famous "Allegory of the Cave" enumerated in the dialog. This allegory asserts that sensory perception offers only a limited understanding of reality, while a truer reality exists beyond our senses, composed of immortal and eternal ideal forms.

Plato's perspective on representation influences his perception of poetry, leading him to regard it as a lesser and potentially dangerous form of representation. For instance, he would consider a poetic description of a beautiful horse as less significantly valuable than an actual concrete horse, which, in turn, is less valuable than the ideal concept of "horseness" existing in some immaterial realm.

Despite his reservations about poetry, Plato does allow for its presence in his ideal Republic, provided it serves a specific pro-social purpose. This lays the foundation for understanding the role of a literary critic. According to Plato, the critic of literature should evaluate works based not on their aesthetic qualities but on their impact on society--whether they promote pro-social or anti-social effects.

This perspective raises thought-provoking questions for literary critics:

• Should works of art be assessed primarily based on their societal effects?
• Is it valid to evaluate works of art solely on their aesthetic qualities?
• What role does art play in shaping society?

In summary, key passages of The Republic by Plato raise enduring questions that continue to be relevant for literary critics. They offers valuable insights into the nature of literature and the role of critics in evaluating its societal impact, making them passages worthy of closer examination and analysis.

The Glut of New Sword and Sorcery

Sword and sorcery is not just a literary form. It can appear in video games, tabletop roleplaying games, miniature wargames, traditional art, comics, and film. Nevertheless, at its core, it is a form of storytelling, mostly in written prose, and often in shorter prose forms: the short story and novella (or short novel).

Over the past few years, more and more people have been reading and writing sword and sorcery, both classic S&S and new iterations. Readers and writers are not alone; analysis is also happening. Scholars and fans are writing about S&S as well. Brian Murphy's Flame and Crimson consolidated the history of sword and sorcery in one well-wrought monograph, beginning with its creation by Robert E. Howard and ending with DMR Books. Several well-written forewords of new anthologies, such as Jason M Waltz's foreword to Tule Frog Press's Swords and Heroes, attempt to bridge the classics of sword and sorcery with new indie iterations of the genre by discussing a historically unspecific sword and sorcery "attitude." And let's not forget the Goodman Games' Tales from the Magicians' Skull blog, which continues to publish excellent, often award-winning articles. Academia has also taken notice: my own academic book, Weird Tales of Modernity: The Ephemerality of the Ordinary in the Stories of H.P. Lovecraft, Clark Ashton Smith, and Robert E. Howard (McFarland 2019), devotes several chapters to the modernity of sword and sorcery. New indie sword and sorcery is going strong, and it is sophisticated in its awareness of its past and the potential of its future.

But something different seems to be happening. There has been a notable development around the beginning of this year: the drip and trickle of new sword and sorcery has become a steady stream. More new material is being published than any individual can read (and maybe purchase). Several diehard S&S fans in the Whetstone Discord have challenged themselves to read as many of the new anthologies and magazines as possible, but it increasingly feels like a fool's errand because more comes out before the previous reading has ended. For example, very personally speaking, I am behind on several excellent series: Tales from the Magician's Skull (Goodman Games), Savage Realms Monthly (Literary Rebel), Swords and Sorceries: Tales of Heroic Fantasy (Parallel Universe Publications), and many more. Additionally, more material is on the way, e.g., New Edge Sword and Sorcery launched a successful Kickstarter, Rogue Blades Entertainment has teased a new anthology, Neither Beg nor Yield, and The Rogues in the House Podcast recently published Volume II of A Book of Blades. And, of course, Whetstone: Amateur Magazine of Sword and Sorcery continues to publish new and emerging authors.

In a word, there is potentially a glut of new sword and sorcery literary material, and not only in the indie realm. Howard Andrew Jones' Lord of a Shattered Land is being released by Baen Books. Scott Oden has finished his excellent Grimnir series for now (the third book, The Doom of Odin, has been released recently). Outland Productions and Weird Tales Magazine have both released new sword and sorcery anthologies featuring big-name, professional writers. And if you're a fan of Games Workshop's "Black Library," the sword and sorcery and sword and sorcery-adjacent works of their grimdark worlds continue to be printed.

The question isn't just a matter of attention span, i.e. limited bandwidth. Due to the glut of new sword and sorcery, I find myself less patient with uninspired, cookie-cutter sword and sorcery tropes—plots, characters, settings—being deployed by writers without any unique spin or stylistic delivery. I can't point to any specific trope that has become worn out. However, this past year, I must admit that as I read some new S&S, I find myself thinking, "I've read this so many times." Conversely, when I come across something fresh, something brand new but still S&S—not only in terms of plot or character but also in terms of style—I feel refreshed and re-energized, excited about the genre. Howard Andrew Jones's yet-to-be-released Lord of a Shattered Land, for example, acknowledges and surprisingly inverts several S&S tropes. And it left me inspired and ready for more.

Another interesting development: because of the glut of new sword and sorcery, I find myself buying new books with a wistful sense of "One day I'll find time to read this." Am I alone? In other words, when I get a new indie S&S book, it's a predetermined fact that this purchase or Kickstarter won't be read any time soon because of a long and growing backlog. As I gaze longingly at my teetering pile of unread new S&S, I am starting to feel more like a sword and sorcery book collector than a reader, even though I always have one, two (or even three) indie S&S books with a bookmark lingering in my office.

I am in no way suggesting that indie S&S authors or publishers should pump the brakes. I don't think the glut of new sword and sorcery literature is a problem. But I do think this acknowledging this new phase in indie S&S might be helpful for writers, readers, and publishers. The pragmatist in me thinks that this new glut doesn't matter at all. The best stories will rise to the surface, and a natural process of selection will hopefully keep new stuff coming. I don't know if there are any "solutions" because I don't know if what I'm describing is unique to me or is even a problem that merits a solution. I would love for new sword and sorcery to continue to be published, read, and discussed. The issue is: how might this new phase change or influence the types of S&S being written, published, and sold? Do we need a top 10 list? A designated review site? Something to help others navigate what is increasingly feeling like a claustrophobic, crowded field?

Book Review: Soul Wars by Josh Reynolds

This is a fun Age of Sigmar novel that is a little thin in parts of the story. It focuses on the city of Glymmsforge in the realm of Shyish and concerns the efforts of the Stormcast Eternals to defend the city from Nagash, who desires the network of tombs beneath the city, known as the Ten Thousand Tombs. It also focuses on Phraus Thaum, a Lord-Castellant, and his demise after the Necroquake (a storm of death summoned by Nagash) and how he is transformed into a Knight of Shrouds to lead an army of the dead against the city he once protected.

The story isn't anything new. The trope of the paladin becoming a reverse paladin is familiar to fans of fantasy literature and fantasy gaming (e.g., Arthas Menethil and the Lich King in Warcraft). The strength of the novel is probably in its dialogue. The characters are somewhat two-dimensional, but they speak in a vibrant, stylized way that is very appropriate to the setting. The writing style is polished, but there are so many pages of battle that these scenes all start to blur together, and the stakes are lost. For example, I read about Stormcast Eternals smashing Chainrasps and Gravewalkers more than enough by the middle of the novel, but there was way more to come.

There was one scene with a Celestor-Prime, Helios, who faces down Pharus Thaum, and Helios is very arrogant and somewhat mischievous. I don't want to spoil this scene, but it will stick with me. I also really enjoyed being able to see the Anvil of Apotheosis in the Sigmarabulum. As far as I can recall, this was the first novel to include a scene in that hallowed location.

The Lord Arcanum, Balthus Arum, was a cool character, but he was so motivated and focused on the task at hand that it was hard to relate to him. He was basically a steamroller of indignation. Elya, the orphan child, was a great addition to the cast of characters, as she provided a bit of change from the predominantly good and evil characters. However, she was used more as a MacGuffin for the good guys to protect than anything else.

I enjoy Josh Reynolds' Age of Sigmar novels and will read more, but this one felt like thin gruel for much of its 400 pages. Like a lot of Black Library novels, it was sufficiently entertaining and a lot of fun to read for relaxation and distraction, but it occasionally tested my patience. I found myself ready for the book to end with about 50 pages remaining, but the final pages pulled me back in and enthralled me with the intriguing conclusion.