Review: Swords of the Crags - Fred Blosser

After reading Fred Blosser’s sword and sorcery novella SWORDS OF PLUNDER recently, I was in the mood to dive back into more of his work. I picked his collection SWORDS OF THE CRAGS.

This volume collects six stories that might have been the sort of thing Robert E. Howard wrote for the Spicy pulps in the mid-Thirties. The title story, “Swords of the Crags”, is set in Peshawar, India, and in the Khyber Hills. The protagonist is Pike Braxton, an American adventurer and former gunfighter from Texas who functions as a sort of unofficial secret agent for the British. When a beautiful young American heiress gets caught up in the schemes of a sinister Russian agent, Pike has to rescue her and recover some vital information. Seems fairly straightforward, if dangerous, but then Pike and the beautiful blonde find themselves confronting an otherworldly menace. This fast-moving tale is like placing Howard’s El Borak in a SPICY ADVENTURE STORIES plot, with a dash of Lovecraft thrown in. It’s well-written, works very well, and races along to a satisfactory conclusion. I really enjoyed it. (And it puts me in mind of Howard’s comments in a letter to Lovecraft where he suggested that Lovecraft should try to crack the Spicy market. He could use a pseudonym, Howard says, and just write up a fictionalization of one of his own “sex adventures”. Just the thought of Lovecraft’s reaction when he read that suggestion always makes me chuckle.)

In “Alleys of Terror”, the scene shifts to Shanghai and the protagonist is Ridge Braxton, Pike’s younger brother who’s just as fast with his guns and fists. The beautiful Eurasian pirate and smuggler Olga Zukor is framed for murder. The victim held the key to a deadly conspiracy Ridge is investigating, so he and Olga have to team up to untangle the mess even though they dislike and distrust each other at first.

Ridge Braxton returns to his West Texas stomping grounds in “Witch of Snakebit Creek”, a creepy contemporary Western that reminds me a bit of Howard’s “Old Garfield’s Heart” and “For the Love of Barbara Allen” although it turns out to be a very different kind of story. This is actually more of a mystery yarn with a nice late twist.

“The Girl From Hell’s Half Acre” finds another two-fisted, fast-shooting Texan adventurer, Esau Reynolds (a very Howardian name) turning detective as he tries to find a wealthy man’s missing daughter, who’s a beautiful blonde, of course. The trail leads Reynolds to the waterfront area of an unnamed city, where he clashes with—and beds—the beautiful queenpin of the area’s criminal underworld. This story, reminiscent of some of Howard’s Steve Harrison yarns, moves like the proverbial wind and is very entertaining.

“Sin’s Sanctuary” is another El Borak-like tale, with a heaping helping of Talbot Mundy influence, as an American adventurer infiltrates a hidden monastery in Tibet in search of a missing Englishman. He’s helped by a beautiful woman, of course, and they encounter unexpected danger inside the walls of the monastery. This is a really well-written and exciting story.

“Scarlet Lust” is a direct sequel to SWORDS OF PLUNDER and finds Cronn, the northern barbarian, out to steal a fabulous gem which he hopes will help him win the throne of one of the countries in his world. He gets some help, of course, from a beautiful woman. These are Conan pastiches, in a way, there’s no denying that, and they’re also better than most of the official Conan pastiches that have been published in the past few years. Like John C. Hocking, Scott Oden, and Chuck Dixon, Blosser understands the character and the setting. I don’t know if there are more of these Cronn stories, but if there are, I definitely want to read them. And if there aren’t, well, maybe Blosser will write some.

Blosser rounds out this collection with five articles about Howard’s efforts to crack the Spicy and Weird Menace markets, the spicier Conan yarns, and the influence of Harold Lamb and Talbot Mundy on Howard’s work. As always with Blosser’s work, these essays are informative, entertaining, and well worth a Howard fan’s time.

Overall, SWORDS OF THE CRAGS is an excellent volume and a lot of fun to read. While it’s true that the main influence on these stories is Robert E.Howard, I found them reminiscent of E. Hoffmann Price, Edgar Rice Burroughs, and Talbot Mundy, as well. Also, in Blosser’s stories the spicy bits are considerably spicier than what authors could get away with in the Thirties. They’re not overly graphic, but those scenes don’t fade out as quickly as the ones in the pulps did. So while they’re definitely Howardian, don’t mistake these tales for pale imitations. They stand on their own, and they’re well worth reading. SWORDS OF THE CRAGS is available on Amazon in a paperback edition, and an e-book edition containing the first three stories and the first two articles is available as well.

Review: Swords of Plunder - Fred Blosser

Fred Blosser is one of my favorite scholars of Robert E. Howard’s life and work. I’ve been enjoying his informative and entertaining articles about REH for decades. As it turns out, when it comes to writing fiction, he’s pretty darned good at spinning yarns himself. The latest thing I’ve read by him is a sword and sorcery novella called SWORDS OF PLUNDER, which is available on Amazon in paperback and e-book editions.

This story finds a barbarian warrior from the north, who’s in command of a pirate ship, coming across two old rivals, a beautiful blond female pirate and a red-bearded brigand who has come close to crossing swords with our hero several times in the past. The barbarian pulls the two of them from the sea, where they’re clinging to some wreckage from a sunken ship. They have an intriguing tale to tell, too, about a fabulous treasure hidden on a lost island, and only the blonde knows how to get there. So the three of them form an uneasy partnership to go after the loot, but of course, when they reach their destination they find more danger waiting for them than they expected.

The barbarian’s name is Cronn, by the way, and I know what you’re thinking. I would have been, too, if I hadn’t happened to know that SWORDS OF PLUNDER is based on unused parts of an outline Blosser wrote for THE SAVAGE SWORD OF CONAN many years ago, during the era in which I first encountered his work. As he explains in a very entertaining and informative afterword to this story, he was writing articles about Robert E. Howard for SSOC when editor Roy Thomas asked him to plot some of the new stories featuring the Cimmerian. This story grew out of one of those outlines, with the serial numbers filed off, as they say.

And it’s a really good yarn, too, no matter what the protagonist is called. Well-written, fast-moving, with plenty of action and some genuinely creepy scenes where our heroes have to face deadly perils in a cave on a lost island. This is pure pulp done the way I like it. I give SWORDS OF PLUNDER a high recommendation and plan to read more by Fred Blosser very soon.

Review: Sixgun Vixens of the Terror Trail - Fred Blosser

I’m not sure how I missed this one when it came out last fall. Fred Blosser is an old friend, a fan and scholar of Robert E. Howard, and a fine writer. And that title! Well, that’s just pure pulp goodness and I am always the target audience for that.

Howard’s novella “The Vultures of Wahpeton” is one of my top three favorite stories by him. (The other two are “Beyond the Black River” and “Wild Water”, in case anyone is interested.) The protagonist of “The Vultures of Wahpeton” is gunfighting Texan Steve Corcoran. The protagonist of “Sixgun Vixens of the Terror Trail” is gunfighting Texan Steve Cochran. At least one of the characters in this story believes them to be one and the same, that Cochran is simply the notorious Steve Corcoran going by another name. Blosser doesn’t resolve that one way or the other, but I’d say the evidence is pretty strong that Cochran is really Corcoran.

But it doesn’t really matter. Cochran and a companion, a Papago Indian, set out into the harsh landscape of Arizona in search of a fortune in silver that’s supposed to be hidden in a lost and abandoned mission where a massacre took place a couple of hundred years earlier. They run into trouble almost right away, an ambush that proves deadly. Then things are complicated by the arrival of two beautiful young women who hate each other but are attracted to Cochran—or maybe they just want to get their hands on that silver, too.

Pursued by Apaches and bandits, Cochran finally arrives at the so-called Black Mission, only to discover another surprise waiting for him there, and this is the most dangerous and strangest of all. It’s fitting that a story written mostly in homage to Robert E. Howard would have a little H.P. Lovecraft influence, too.

Blosser really nails the pulpish tone of this story with its fast pace, frequent gritty action, and a few spicy scenes with the so-called sixgun vixens. It’s just great fun from start to finish. Then, as a bonus for REH fans, Blosser wraps things up with an entertaining essay about Howard’s Western fiction. If you’re a Howard fan or just enjoy a fine Western adventure yarn, I give “Sixgun Vixens of the Terror Trail” a high recommendation. It’s available on Amazon in e-book and trade paperback editions.

The Annotated Guide to Robert E. Howard's Weird Fantasy - Fred Blosser

I'll read anything Fred Blosser wants to write about Robert E. Howard and his work. Since I started reading Blosser's articles and essays in THE SAVAGE SWORD OF CONAN more than forty years ago, I think it's safe to say I've been reading him longer than any of the other REH scholars, and I always enjoy what he has to say.

His latest book is THE ANNOTATED GUIDE TO ROBERT E. HOWARD'S WEIRD FANTASY. Blosser breaks down Howard's fantasy stories into several different categories, including Cthulhu Mythos, The Little People, Gaelic Fear, Ghosts, Science Fiction, Texas Terrors, Swampland Shadows, Skull-Face, De Montour, Jungle Horrors, Faring Town, Psychic Investigators, and Shudder Stories. For each story, he discusses the plot, fills in the background of how Howard came to write it, and places it in the context of Howard's other work. As Blosser mentions in his introduction, this volume is aimed more at newer Howard readers, but even though I've been reading Howard for more than fifty years and have read some of these stories multiple times, I still always get something from Blosser's insights into them.

I'll admit, my favorite sections are the ones on Texas Terrors, since I've always loved Howard's Weird Westerns, and his Weird Menace yarns, since that's one of my favorite genres in recent years. But all the areas of discussion are interesting, informative, and entertaining. Blosser does include the endings of the stories in his plot summaries, so those who haven't yet read the stories themselves might be wise to steer clear of those. But for those who have, THE ANNOTATED GUIDE TO ROBERT E. HOWARD'S WEIRD FANTASY gets my highest recommendation. You'll probably learn a few things, and I guarantee you'll have a good time.

 

Terror of the Crimson Talons - Fred Blosser

Fred Blosser is best known for his non-fiction about the work of Robert E. Howard and other subjects related to popular culture. But he’s also a fine author of fiction himself, as I know because I published his excellent historical adventure novel THE SAVAGE PACK a few years ago. His latest fictional offering is TERROR OF THE CRIMSON TALONS, a novelette inspired by Howard’s stories about two-fisted detective Steve Harrison.

Blosser’s version is called Kirby Brill, two names familiar to readers of Howard’s yarns. Brill is a retired police detective who’s now a private investigator in a nameless city where the shadows are thick and the streets are always damp. In a very nice twist, Blosser has moved the action up from the Thirties to the Fifties, so the world is a little coarser and filled with new dangers such as the atom bomb. Brill’s methods haven’t changed from the old days, however. When he gets in trouble, he’s still inclined to slug or shoot his way out, although he’s actually a pretty clever thinker, too.

In TERROR OF THE CRIMSON TALONS, Brill get a call for help from the beautiful daughter of a famous explorer and archeologist. She was given Brill’s name by a friend of her father’s, who also happens to be one of Brill’s friends. Before the case can barely get started, though, Brill is almost seduced by an exotic Oriental beauty and attacked by Mongolian bandits. He’s also targeted by hatchet men working for a Chinese tong leader who carries an old grudge against him. Throw in an Afghan sidekick who’s a great character, some shadowy figures whose true allegiance is unknown, some torture and whipping scenes straight out of a Weird Menace yarn, abundant nudity, and a vicious catfight, and you’ve got a nonstop action yarn that’s incredibly entertaining. Blosser really knows the territory he’s working and does a superb job of it.

As a bonus, there are two short articles about Howard’s Steve Harrison stories included with this novelette, and they’re informative and enjoyable as well. I just had a great time reading TERROR OF THE CRIMSON TALONS, and I was glad to see that Blosser left an opening for Kirby Brill to return. To that possibility, I say an emphatic yes. I’m ready to read more of Kirby Brill’s adventures right now.

Sons of Ringo: The Great Spaghetti Western Heroes - Fred Blosser

I’m not sure which Spaghetti Western was the first one I ever watched, but I think it may have been A PISTOL FOR RINGO, which came out in 1964 and starred “Montgomery Wood”, actually Italian actor Guiliano Gemma. I remember watching it on TV at my sister’s house in 1969 or ’70. But whether that was the first one or not, I’ve seen plenty of ’em since then and nearly always enjoyed them. Sure, they’re not at all realistic, but neither are the American B-Westerns that I love so dearly. The Spaghetti Westerns have different but interesting sensibilities and traditions.

You won’t find a better examination of the genre than Fred Blosser’s new book SONS OF RINGO: THE GREAT SPAGHETTI WESTERN HEROES. Blosser knows these movies very well and probably has seen more of them than anyone else I know, and he writes about them extremely well, discussing the actors, writers, and directors who made them and tracing the evolution of the genre over the years of its popularity. What you get is a very readable volume that’s both informative and entertaining. This book makes me realize there are still a lot of Spaghetti Westerns out there that I haven’t seen yet and really makes me want to watch them. I suspect I’ll be doing so soon. In the meantime, if you’re a fan of these movies, you can’t go wrong with SONS OF RINGO. I give it a high recommendation.

Western Weirdness and Voodoo Vengeance: An Informal Guide to Robert E. Howard's American Horrors - Fred Blosser

Fred Blosser has been writing excellent articles, essays, and books about Robert E. Howard for decades now, and he adds to that distinguished body of work with his latest volume, WESTERN WEIRDNESS AND VOODOO VENGEANCE: AN INFORMAL GUIDE TO ROBERT E. HOWARD’S AMERICAN HORRORS. This book takes a detailed look at Howard’s Weird Westerns (prehistoric, historical, and modern) and his contemporary Westerns such as the great “Wild Water” (one of my personal favorite Howard yarns) and the stories in which detective Steve Harrison’s cases bring him to Texas; as well as horror and Weird Menace stories set in the swamplands and the backwoods. Blosser provides plot summaries for more than two dozen Howard stories and discusses each of them, relating them to Howard’s own life, the region where he lived and worked, and other influences.

One of Blosser’s greatest strengths, along with his deep knowledge of Howard and his work, has always been his clear, concise prose, and that’s demonstrated again in this book. Blosser makes his points without ever getting bogged down in the sort of over-analysis you sometimes find in critical studies. As a result, WESTERN WEIRDNESS AND VOODOO VENGEANCE is always fast-paced and entertaining to read, as well as being packed with information and some connections that casual readers of Howard’s work might not be aware of.

Fred Blosser is in the top rank of Howard scholars, and that reputation is well-deserved. Some of my favorite Howard stories, the ones that I’ve read over and over, are discussed in this book and I thoroughly enjoyed learning more about them. In the case of the ones I haven’t read multiple times, this volume made me want to read many of them again. I may have to do that. In the meantime, if you’re a Howard fan new or old, I give WESTERN WEIRDNESS AND VOODOO VENGEANCE my highest recommendation.

Now Available: Pulp Slam - Fred Blosser

In thirteen take-no-prisoners pulp yarns, Robert E. Howard scholar Fred Blosser caroms from the Old West to the noirish streets of urban America, and then beneath the earth itself, into a primitive world of savagery, to slam you silly with the best in pulp fiction.

By bullet and sword, fist and fortune, Blosser's square-jawed yet often brutal heroes face down the worst that evil has to offer:

Ringo and Horn blow away bootleggers, outlaws, Mafia thugs and assassins, and other lowlifes, from the backstreets to the backwoods.

Commander Manta and Agent Gila battle the hallucinogenic horrors of a would-be world conqueror in Washington, D.C.

Dax the Go-Run struggles to survive in the savage, subterranean world of Kaal-Dur, as he goes in quest of a captive princess.

All this, and hitmen vs Cthulhu, too. You can't go wrong with hitmen vs Cthulhu.

Plus, Blosser serves up a quintology of non-fiction analyses of such pulp topics as Dashiell Hammett's "Nightmare Town" and the Mafia novels of Richard Posner.

Savage Scrolls: Scholarship From the Hyborian Age, Volume One - Fred Blosser

Back in the Seventies, when I was reading Marvel's black-and-white magazine THE SAVAGE SWORD OF CONAN and the color CONAN THE BARBARIAN comic book, I always enjoyed Fred Blosser's articles and essays about various aspects of Robert E. Howard's life and work. These pieces popped up from time to time and were favorites of mine. I had no idea who Fred Blosser was, but the guy knew his stuff.

Well, forty years or so have passed and Fred Blosser is a friend of mine and also a top-notch novelist I've been pleased to publish, and when it comes to Robert E. Howard . . . the guy still knows his stuff.

SAVAGE SCROLLS: SCHOLARSHIP FROM THE HYBORIAN AGE, VOLUME ONE features revised and expanded versions of some of those essays from the Seventies, along with a great deal of new material. In an earlier book, Blosser tackled REH's Lovecraftian fiction. About half of this one is devoted to Howard's best-known creation, Conan the Cimmerian, and the Hyborian Age in which he lives. It's an in-depth look at the characters and settings to be found in the stories, and if you want to know anything about Hyborian geography, weapons, government and legal systems, flora and fauna, etc., it's here, presented in a lively, informative, and entertaining style.

The rest of this volume takes the same approach to Howard's other series characters and his ventures into genres other than sword-and-sorcery. Blosser doesn't cover Howard's comedy Westerns, his boxing stories, and most of his horror stories. I assume they'll be the subjects of future volumes.

This is a wonderful book, very enjoyable, and the only bad part about it is that it makes me want to reread a bunch of Robert E. Howard stories. Of course, now that I think about it, maybe that's not such a bad thing . . . 

AR-I-E'CH AND THE SPELL OF CTHULHU: AN INFORMAL GUIDE TO R.E. HOWARD'S LOVECRAFTIAN FICTION - Fred Blosser

I first encountered the work of Fred Blosser in the pages of Marvel's black-and-white magazine THE SAVAGE SWORD OF CONAN when I was reading it regularly back in the Seventies. Blosser wrote a fine series of articles and essays about Robert E. Howard's stories and characters for that magazine. Later I read more of his articles in other journals devoted to Howard scholarship and met Blosser one year in Cross Plains during the annual Robert E. Howard Days get-together. And then I wound up publishing his great historical adventure novel THE SAVAGE PACK as part of my Rough Edges Press line.

AR-I-E'CH AND THE SPELL OF CTHULHU: AN INFORMAL GUIDE TO R.E. HOWARD'S LOVECRAFTIAN FICTION is Blosser's latest publication. This book-length study of all of Howard's stories that are part of, either directly or indirectly, or influenced by H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos, is both entertaining and informative reading for Howard fans. In my case, I haven't read a lot of Lovecraft's work and am about as far from a Lovecraft scholar as anybody could get. But Blosser's clear prose, meticulous research, and enthusiasm for his subject made it easy even for me to learn things and get a better grasp on the relationship between Howard and Lovecraft and the connections between their work. Over the years I've already read all the stories Blosser discusses, but this volume makes me want to read them again, this time with a greater understanding of them. One word of warning: Blosser discusses the plots in detail, so anyone who hasn't read the stories might want to do that first.

Blosser has more guides to other areas of Howard's fiction planned, and I'm very much looking forward to reading them. In the meantime, if you're a Howard fan, don't miss this one.

Now Available: The Savage Pack - Fred Blosser

The North Carolina wilderness is a dangerous place in 1714. Trappers and traders Axtel Fannin and Jesse Driggs rescue a beautiful young woman and her brother from kidnappers, only to find themselves entangled in a scheme that may cost them their lives. They and their friends will need every bit of their skill as woodsmen and fighters to survive a savage pack of killers driven by vengeance and greed.

In the tradition of such classic authors of historical adventure as James Fenimore Cooper, Robert E. Howard, and Hugh Pendexter, Fred Blosser spins a colorful, action-packed tale of passion and danger on the early American frontier. THE SAVAGE PACK is excitement from beginning to end!

(I published it so I'm hardly unbiased, but I think this is a great adventure novel, one of the best books I've read this year.)