I wrote a couple of months ago after receiving this issue that I thought it contained some of the stories from the open call for submissions. I was wrong. Of course those submissions would not have been processed and evaluated before issue #6’s deadline. I should have cracked the cover before making such bold pronouncements. You know, basic research.
As it turns out, this issue has authors who have been published in the magazine before, plus the new Fafhrd and Gray Mouser tale commissioned by the editor and publisher.
Let’s dig into the contents! For those new here, I try to be spoiler-free so you can go read and enjoy the stories without knowing their ending. Anything that I feel compelled to mention that rises to the level of spoiler (I place in parentheses like this).
The cover is done by an artist who does illustrations for Goodman Games (the magazine’s publisher) and features Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. The Mouser is drawn very awkwardly and his sword Scalpel is drawn with an impossible hilt – the back end of the guard curves back into his hand, which would make it impossible to wield. This stiff style of art is done by Goodman to intentionally invoke the art from the early days of gaming, as they are a gaming publisher primarily, but it is not very good to my eye.
First up is my pal Benhus. I think there’s been a tale of John C. Hocking’s mage in every issue so far. This one is called Calicask’s Woman, and is a pretty good story like all of the Benhus stories have been. It centers around some new characters and the drama between them, and how Benhus is drawn into it. A lot of interesting people have been introduced in these stories and we never get to see them again, which is kinda unfortunate as I think it would add a little more depth. Nonetheless, this tale is well told and brilliantly paced, and we see a cool use of Chekhov’s Gun. Benhus uses his super dagger again, but the story is not reliant upon it. The only thing that stuck out to me was how the citizens just noticed things as a house was burning down (but they did not happen to notice the thick wall of demons surrounding it for 15 minutes or so before). Minor quibble on a solid story.
Next we have another Hanuvar tale, The Feathered Shroud, written by the editor Howard Andrew Jones. I have been pretty consistent in my praise of Jones’ writing, and Hanuvar in particular. While I like this story, it is my least favorite so far in the series. Don’t get me wrong, it is well-written with some strong doses of mystic fantasy and decent action. But it feels like Hanuvar is more of a passenger in this tale; it’s not really his. In a way, it reminds me of “A Witch Shall be Born,” REH’s tale where Conan shares the focus of the story, but here Hanuvar has even less to do with the outcome than Conan did in that tale. The outcome is a bit of a letdown, for the reason I just mentioned, but it is written very beautifully. Not sure who the playwright or sage accompanying Hanuvar in the beginning and end is; that must be explained in a tale I haven’t seen, or have rather embarrassingly forgotten. I was confused on how and why breaking feathers grant wishes – is this an in-world fable, or is it a legend on our own world that has escaped my attention? I would have appreciated some explanation on that. This story does relate some more background on the world without being an infodump. There were a half-dozen typos in this story alone, from words ending in “ing” instead of “ed” to capitalization and punctuation errors. These stood out because there were only a few others in the whole issue.
Following this the new Fafhrd and Gray Mouser story. This one is tough; I’m going to do it last, so see below.
Shadows of a Forgotten Queen by Greg Mele is next. This is a very good story with an exotic setting, with shades of Central/South American cultures and a sprinkling (to my eye) of Egyptian, as well. The social structure has an authentic ring to it, as do the main character and his master. Political maneuverings and potential rebellion mix with an ancient evil rather foolishly reborn. This story had a perfect mix of intrigue and action, in a solid world with background told at the right pace – no infodumps. A good resolution to the story, though I do question the interest the (now-widowed) noblewoman shows in the main character at the end, given the difference in their social status, which is implied to be pretty rigid. Another minor quibble that does not detract at all from the tale.
Cold in Blood follows this, another story of Morlock by James Enge. Morlock is a fascinating character, and like Benhus I think he’s been in every story so far. He is harder to get a grip on, as I still haven’t read the novel(s) that set up his background and world, and the stories that have been published in this magazine, with the exception of a couple, seem to take place in no particular order. Despite the character’s moral indifference to those around him, taking an almost alien fascination in their struggles and deaths, I like the character. This is a tale told on a new year’s eve of a vampire. Really good pacing and atmosphere. The ending is a bit deus ex, but given the detachment that Morlock has it feels natural. I like this one, and someday I will track down the novel and see what the hell is really happening.
Isle of Fog by Violette Malan is next, another story of her duo of Dhulyn and Parno. I really wanted to like this one, as I have been down on her other stories of the duo that frequently appear in the magazine. I did not like it. Without going into detail, let me just say that the plodding pace of the story had no tension, the plot was bog standard, the locale was not interesting, some of the situations made no sense (they get turned to stone, but can still move around at night? Supposedly this is from the mystic bond that they share that even the mercenary organization they belong to does not understand – it’s magic! And when they drew their swords when they were stoned – were the swords stone, too?), some grievous technical errors (they “come about into the wind” to make the sailboat move – no, this makes our sails flog and all forward motion ceases; you have to be off the wind to move. This is all the more embarrassing because the Mary Sue character Dhulyn was supposed to have been a long time at sea and “There wasn’t much about the sea she didn’t know.” Every sailor knows you don’t point your boat into the wind), and I am letting my criticisms run away before I even tackle the boring enemies and their unexplained penchant for stoning people and the utter lack of action. I want to like these stories, and I think Malan has a genuine affection for Sword and Sorcery (I remember her essay in the Kickstarter about Leiber changing her perspective – though there she called the story “Thieves’ Guild” multiple times rather than its actual title of “Thieves’ House.”). She evidently has had success with several series under a different name. But these characters and plots do not resonate with me. These stories have all been Tell Don’t Show.
And now we come to Guilty Creatures by Nathan Long, the first of at least three (if my understanding of the editorial is correct) new tales the magazine has commissioned of Fafhrd and the Mouser. I have stated my apprehension already so let’s lay it on the table. I…liked it. Not crazy about it, and there were a few sour notes, but overall, it was pretty good. The characterization of the Twain and the others was solid, and the overall situation had the absurdity that Leiber frequently employed with his Lankhmar stories. It is a tale of revenge enacted during a play, so there’s the whole play-within-a-play thing that is pulled off well. The reader sees what is about to occur, and to a lesser extent so does Fafrhd. The Mouser should, but his vanity has been engaged so he misses the obvious (true to character). I’m not sure the play’s audience would have been so completely fooled, even though their leader’s fondness for theater was highlighted. But it was an entertaining tale with some Leiberesque flourishes. I’m not sure whether I wanted to like it or not before I read it, and I’m not sure I want to see the other two that are forthcoming. But I did like this one, and I will give the other two equal chance. One nice thing is that in the editorial, editor Jones quotes Long as saying he doesn’t consider the story to be canon, so maybe that eased my mind a bit before reading it and allowed me to appreciate it on its own merits.
And that’s pretty much issue 6 of TftMS. Another strong issue. I’m glad I backed the most recent Kickstarter for 9 more issues. I did back off on the “Last to be Immolated” level – $50 to get your name on a list is silly, particularly after it was done for everyone in the first issue. But hey, the first hit is free, eh?
I have an earlier issue in electronic form that I still need to read. So much to read, so little time.