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its_justine's review
4.0
I’ve always found anthologies to be something akin to one of those icebreaker sessions on the first day of school, where everyone gathers ‘round and introduces who they are and shares something interesting about themselves. You get the most minuscule idea of the person as a whole, but hey, they seem pretty cool, that’s my new best friend. Lost Lore: A Fantasy Anthology, superbly written and curated by fifteen indie authors who all participated in SPFBO, with an introduction by Mark Lawrence, is one of those anthologies that contains some precious gems hidden within its pages. While some of the short stories may not have completely resonated with me, I was easily able to find something enjoyable in each and every one of them. Each story is as unique as its author - finding something to pique your interest won’t be difficult whatsoever!
This book was my first real journey into the wonderful world of self-published fantasy, and it introduced me to some truly remarkable authors, whose other works were instantly put on my to-read list. Allowing people to get a taste of their writing styles in short story form is, in my opinion, absolutely brilliant - staring down at fifteen full-length books to pick and choose from can be quite intimidating! Oh, did I mention it’s free?! No excuses, go read it!
This book was my first real journey into the wonderful world of self-published fantasy, and it introduced me to some truly remarkable authors, whose other works were instantly put on my to-read list. Allowing people to get a taste of their writing styles in short story form is, in my opinion, absolutely brilliant - staring down at fifteen full-length books to pick and choose from can be quite intimidating! Oh, did I mention it’s free?! No excuses, go read it!
eyed's review
4.0
This was a pretty awesome collection of stories. I was familiar a few of the authors going in but based on the list I had very high hopes. I was not at all disappointed. There were of course some stories I didn't like as much as others and some that I thought were completely amazing. Pretty standard for anthologies though.
My favorite was I, Kane by Laura M Hughes. It started as an interrogation but took such a cool turn. It was fantastically well written and I loved everything about it. I have read Danse Macabre and loved it so I am looking forward to anything new from this author.
Another of my favorites was And They Were Never Heard From Again by Benedict Patrick. It was a fantastic tale about the power of stories and I enjoyed it a lot. I have added They Mostly Come Out at Night to my to read list and am looking forward to reading it soon.
Making a Killing by David Benem was another awesome story. It was a dark tale of murder for hire. A very quick read with some really cool characters that I hope to read more about in the future.
Black Barge by J.P. Ashman was a nice glimpse int to the world of Black Powder Wars which i have had for a while but haven't gotten around to reading yet. This has added some motivation to move it up my list though.
The First Thread by Alec Hutson was a little odd for me. I am really interested in the world it took place in but I was not really a fan of any of the characters that were in this story. I would definitely read some more of his work to figure out how I feel about it.
The Light in the Jungle by Jefferey Hall. I didn't particularly care for this story. there was nothing wrong with it really it just wasn't for me.
Palesword by T.L. Greylock. A very well written Norse themed story about a priestess. I enjoyed the characters and I want to read more about them.
A Simple Thing by Bryce O’Connor. This is a pretty dope story about an assassins first job. It was a very quick and fun read. Added some of Mr. O’Connors books to my need to read list
The Prisoner by Phil Tucker. I am a big fan if the Chronicles of the Black Gate. I am always interested in more from the world. This was a nice little glimpse of the beginning of how Enderl became the Savage he was.
The Huntress by Michael R. Miller. I enjoyed this story right until the end. I found it kind of unrealistic how easily Elsie gave up her child. That is just my opinion, beyond that it was a good story and I will read more of this world at some point.
Paternus: Deluge by Dyrk Ashton. A very interesting version of the flood. A little slown for me but a nice introduction to some characters from Paternus which I really enjoyed. Definitely looking forward to the new book in the series.
Into the Woods by Timandra Whitecastle. This story was fantastically written. It kept me extremely interested the whole way through. I would really have liked this one to be longer. I will definitely be reading more form this author.
No More Fairy Tales by Ben Galley. A very interesting read. The characters were very well defined and I have a lot of interest in reading more about this world. The Written has been added to my to read list for sure.
Barrowlands by Mike Shel. While I really enjoyed the story itself, the characters for me were a little lacking but still a good read. I will be checking out Aching God.
A Tree Called Sightless by Steven Kelliher. This was another story that while nothing wrong with it just wasn't for me.
This was a really good read. I would recommend it to anyone that is a fan of fantasy, especially if you are in the market for some new favorite authors.
Also it is free! It is great and free, you can't really beat that.
My favorite was I, Kane by Laura M Hughes. It started as an interrogation but took such a cool turn. It was fantastically well written and I loved everything about it. I have read Danse Macabre and loved it so I am looking forward to anything new from this author.
Another of my favorites was And They Were Never Heard From Again by Benedict Patrick. It was a fantastic tale about the power of stories and I enjoyed it a lot. I have added They Mostly Come Out at Night to my to read list and am looking forward to reading it soon.
Making a Killing by David Benem was another awesome story. It was a dark tale of murder for hire. A very quick read with some really cool characters that I hope to read more about in the future.
Black Barge by J.P. Ashman was a nice glimpse int to the world of Black Powder Wars which i have had for a while but haven't gotten around to reading yet. This has added some motivation to move it up my list though.
The First Thread by Alec Hutson was a little odd for me. I am really interested in the world it took place in but I was not really a fan of any of the characters that were in this story. I would definitely read some more of his work to figure out how I feel about it.
The Light in the Jungle by Jefferey Hall. I didn't particularly care for this story. there was nothing wrong with it really it just wasn't for me.
Palesword by T.L. Greylock. A very well written Norse themed story about a priestess. I enjoyed the characters and I want to read more about them.
A Simple Thing by Bryce O’Connor. This is a pretty dope story about an assassins first job. It was a very quick and fun read. Added some of Mr. O’Connors books to my need to read list
The Prisoner by Phil Tucker. I am a big fan if the Chronicles of the Black Gate. I am always interested in more from the world. This was a nice little glimpse of the beginning of how Enderl became the Savage he was.
The Huntress by Michael R. Miller. I enjoyed this story right until the end. I found it kind of unrealistic how easily Elsie gave up her child. That is just my opinion, beyond that it was a good story and I will read more of this world at some point.
Paternus: Deluge by Dyrk Ashton. A very interesting version of the flood. A little slown for me but a nice introduction to some characters from Paternus which I really enjoyed. Definitely looking forward to the new book in the series.
Into the Woods by Timandra Whitecastle. This story was fantastically written. It kept me extremely interested the whole way through. I would really have liked this one to be longer. I will definitely be reading more form this author.
No More Fairy Tales by Ben Galley. A very interesting read. The characters were very well defined and I have a lot of interest in reading more about this world. The Written has been added to my to read list for sure.
Barrowlands by Mike Shel. While I really enjoyed the story itself, the characters for me were a little lacking but still a good read. I will be checking out Aching God.
A Tree Called Sightless by Steven Kelliher. This was another story that while nothing wrong with it just wasn't for me.
This was a really good read. I would recommend it to anyone that is a fan of fantasy, especially if you are in the market for some new favorite authors.
Also it is free! It is great and free, you can't really beat that.
swiff's review
4.0
An eclectic mix of short stories from some of my favorite independent authors. A must-read for fans of the genre.
tomunro's review
4.0
My fondness for anthologies dates back to my early reading days when first “The Ten Tales of Shellover” and then a translation of the Dutch classic “King of The Copper Mountains” kept me enthralled from one night’s reading to the next. In Lost Lore we have an eclectic mix of very different tales by very different writers, that still kept me devouring stories at a more rapid rate than the one a night of my childhood.
Lost Lore kept me entertained and frantically noting many lines that charmed, or shocked or amused me. The windows into so many different worlds, through the lenses of so many varied imaginations are too individual for a collective commentary so each gets their own mini-review.
With so many quality stories it is difficult to pick a favourite, but I would say that Bryce O’Connor’s “A Simple Thing” is my primus inter pares.
No Fairytale by Ben Galley,
“Not everybody can have their name roared at roof-beams over the clash of tankards.” But a girl can dream and a girl can play games to fire her imagination and toy with new discovered talents, but fifteen year old Hereni’s life and that of her family is about to take a sharp turn in a new direction.
Galley takes a familiar theme of farm girl awakening to latent powers, but denies his heroine that prophetic primacy that so many stories pursue. While Hereni may be “one” she is not “the one” still less “the chosen/only one.” Through a rapid sequence of trials and experiences, Hereni must come to terms with her place in the challenges ahead and decide who she will stand with and for.
And They Were Never Heard from Again by Benedict Patrick
Felton is on a mission and has lured his little brother Tad along to cover his true intent. The adolescent Fenton actions are driven not so much by the head as by the heart, or perhaps a somewhat lower organ! But the journey through the forest is fraught with danger, for little boys were not meant to be out after dark – the night belongs to other things.
Patrick’s story has an inventive take on the theme of belief and stories. It reminded me of Terry Pratchett’s Small Gods or the Dr Who episode where Martha Jones spent a year telling the world about the Doctor. In both cases stories beget belief and belief begets faith, so too it is Patrick’s world. A story can be a dangerous thing, taken up by others and twisted in a game of Chinese whispers until the hive-imagination of a frightened people imbue a story with its own power. At the end Patrick’s doughty brothers have to find a way to change the story in order to save themselves.
A Tree Called Sightless by Steven Kelliher
Kelliher throws you into the head of a boy called Maro facing a challenge that reminded me a bit of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. That is in so far as there are children competing for a prize in a maze-like environment. However, unlike Harry, Maro is really not a nice person. His intention, indeed his desire, is to kill all the competitors in pursuit of the ultimate prize – and he doesn’t plan on stopping the killing spree there.
The story grew on me in the telling and there were several lines that particularly caught my eye. Like this one “…the Willows… with their prophecies and gathered truths that were only a goat’s intestine away from being the same as the Blood Seers of the west; these were beings worthy of hate. If Maro could find the time for it, he thought he might give them his.”
Barrowlands by Mike Shel
A young warrior, Hesk, leads two desperate rogues in a foolish and indeed illegal attempt to raid the tombs and the treasures of the lost nation of the Djao. When a blood-stained stranger and his truncated companion wander into their camp, their plan changes and then changes again as the land begins to divulge its secrets. Not since Howard Carter opened Tutankhamun’s tomb has grave desecration encountered such potential for disaster.
This well written piece is full of striking descriptions, such as a cavern of skeletons – “… clothing and flesh had rotted away long ago. Now they were intertwined in morbid intimacy.” Throughout there is a louring sense of doom as Hesk tries to balance the cheerfully murderous intent of his larcenous associates and the cryptic mutterings of their driven new companion.
Into the Woods by Timandra Whitecastle
Jelena is a girl coming into womanhood, sent out – with a red shawl about her head – to run an errand to grandma. Whitecastle swiftly turns any perception of a Red Riding Hood style adventure, not so much on its head as inside out – and the tale is not the only thing that experiences some surprising inversions.
Whitecastle’s world has Jelena being scion of a seafaring race now landbound living in timber lodges, near the stone ruins of a race of wights they once traded with. The wights might, in another story have been termed elves, for they do not appear to have been the conventional undead of D&D fame, but then there are enough elves in stories - not all lost races should rely on pointy ears for their mystery. Again I found lines to savour. “Winds coming down from the mountains had met winds on the water, and together they danced their storm dances, whipping the trees into curious shapes.” or “… lichen like old men’s beards hung limply from the intertwined branches overhead.”
The spine of the story is a tale told by Grandma to the young girl. The banter between child and adult is convincing though – when Grandma’s story reaches its bloody denouement I did wonder at a sudden shift in her language. I’m sure my grandmother never used such terms in conversation with me or my sister, but then the sheer brutality of the event – a twist that totally surprised me – swept me swiftly along and away from any quibbles of an old woman’s terminology.
Paternus: Deluge by Dyrk Ashton
For those familiar with Ashton’s sprawling epic, Paternus, Deluge is splattered with familiar motifs of demigods like the firstborn – part animal part human appearing in the lives of many different peoples. Ashton’s encylopedic mastery of the range of human myths enable him to weave a thread that joins Egyptian gods and Irish myth, Celtic fables and Biblical deluge. Ashton is the master at seeing and creating patterns, and in this re-imagining of the deluge he rationalises the world-wide prevalence of flood myths in diverse and disconnected peoples.
It’s a topic that interests me from a different angle – so please forgive a little digression. My daughter is a quaternary scientist whose studies covered the end of the last ice age – a mere 10,000 years ago – within the reach of tribal memories handed down from generation to generation. When so much water was locked up in glaciers squatting on land masses, sea-levels were far lower than today. Great Britain was not an island, the English Channel was a wide river basin along which the extended Rhine flowed all the way to the Atlantic. The Dogger Bank was not a shallow patch of the North Sea, but a patch of highland in a broad plain that stretched from mountains that became the Orkney Islands to the Scheldt. The sea level rise that came with a different kind of global warming was not a gradual affair. The sudden collapse of unstable icesheets triggered tsunamis that washed away entire communities, imprinting a sense of waterborne disaster on collective memories. This then for me, seems the likeliest origin of the universality of flood myths within human consciousness.
That digression aside, Ashton spins an entertaining tale that blends archeology and myth in a telling that reads like one might an imagine a skald regaling a norse lord in his feasting hall, or a bard singing in a celtic tavern.
I, Kane – by Laura M. Hughes
I’d just read this twitter thread https://twitter.com/kurteichenwald/status/948606138706251776 about the danger of Donald Trump before I picked up Lost Lore story 8 and read the protagonist pronounce “the imminent fall of the world you call ‘Earth’” The one known as Kane goes on “My tale is one of fatal hubris (aren’t they all) and tells how mankind worked to bring about its own declension through pursuit of an absurd conviction: namely, that one has the right to impose one’s ideology upon others using fear, fire and lead.” I have to that hope real life and the story do not follow too closely on from this startling opening.
In Kind Hearts and Coronets, the framing scenes feature a protagonist on the eve of his execution reflecting on Johnson’s saying that imminent death “concentrates his mind wonderfully.” The same is true of Hughes eponymous hero, the mysterious but radiantly powerful creature known as Kane. In some subterranean cavern on one of the most inauspicious dates in human history, the chained Kane delivers his final testimony to an interrogator and a dutiful scribe – determined to be as precise as any court stenographer. The tale is presented as the scribed record of every word and utterance of the mighty Kane down to the last sigh.
As such this is a powerful and entertaining first-person story carried by the mellifluous voice of Kane. Hughes creates a convincing and humorous persona for her strange hero, at once charming yet, pompous, courteous yet overbearing and delightfully ingenuously oblivious of the effect he is having on the two attendants in his last hours. A fascinating story that sweeps the reader along so well they would have stayed in that underground prison just to hear Kane roll out more lines like this as he describe one hapless human “It appears my earlier suspicions were correct: naught but jelly beneath a shallow crust of courtesy.”
The Huntress by Michael R Miller
Miller’s tale is of Elsie and her personal and professional struggles in a land of humans invaded by dragons - or at least dragons in human form. It is a motif - almost a sub-genre that I was aware of but have not read widely in. In The Huntress we do not see any dragons in full winged Smaug glory and I am not sure if that is how Miller’s dragons operate. Instead dragon becomes a cypher for a race of super-powered arrogant graceful humanoids. Not quite indestructible - but almost so, and determined to subjugate the puny humans they invaded.
In The Huntress, more so than in the other stories in Lost Lore, we have explicit world building and link to Miller’s main trilogy – to which this short forms part prequel, part back story to the main event that occurs seven centuries later.
We meet Elsie – eponymous heroine - returning to the hunt after a nine-month lay off. Cu-sih, the fearsome howling hounds of her homeland, are the least of her worries as circumstances conspire to test her powers of love, of command, and of compassion. Even the threat of the soon-to-be- legendary Dragon Prince Dronithir, pales as in the end Elsie is forced to make her own “Sophie’s choice.”
The Prisoner by Phil Tucker
Although one of the shorter tales in the anthology, there is a visceral heat to Tucker’s story that grabs the reader. The challenge of leadership, of inspiring a disparate and desperate group of individuals transcends genres. Tucker’s antagonist, young lordling Enderl, embraces his first opportunity to lead his father’s company of brutal soldiers – the Black Wolves – in battle. Whether his enthusiasm lasts, or is even shared by the men, is for the reader to discover. But, in the course of a few hours of action, Tucker skilfully depicts Enderl’s transition as he tries to meld his idealism with the brutal pragmatism of battle.
Tucker writes well with several lines to catch the eye – and this one appealed particularly. “The portcullis was rising like the skirt of a withered hag grimly intent on displaying her goods.”
A Simple Thing by Bryce O’Connor
The difference between writing in the first person point of view or third person point of view, for me is like the difference between acting and directing. First person stories are carried by the quality of the protagonist’s voice which must be distinct from an author’s voice. O’Connor manages this superbly in a tale of an assassin reflecting on his first kill. Not since I read Polansky’s Low Town series have I finished reading a story before realising I did not know the protagonist’s name, neither heard it nor needed to, so convincing is the voice that carried me rapidly through a meticulously planned contract.
Written as the opening entry in a hopefully soon to be available full journal, the anonymous assassin’s tale not only gripped me with the sense of foreboding that only truly meticulous plans can instil, but also had me stopping to note lines of particular delight.
“It is only the assassin, however, who can slip a blade up the shield-bearer’s ass and convince him he swallowed it.”
“My walker was … a creature of habit. Such men are a rare and ripe fruit in my profession.”
“There is a moment in most men’s lives where they come to accept what it is they are, wherever it is the adventure of life has led them.”
For me that is an impressive hit rate of memorable lines for a novel, let alone a short story.
Palesword by T.L.Greylock
I was acquainted with Greylock’s world of fjords and Norse Gods through having read Raef Skallagrim’s oddessy in Blood Tainted Winter. This lost lore short story explores the back story to one significant relic that coloured Skallagrim’s tale – the palesword.
Greylock’s protagonist - Eyja - fisherman’s daughter and would be priestess, is a feisty individual who we glimpse at different stages in her search to achieve and to belong within her strained community. It is always refreshing to see female characters like Eyja and Gunnlief the shield maiden leading the story to its denouement with agency and independence.
Some of the men do not acquit themselves so well in the face of Eyja’s fierce determination – as captured in this couple of lines.
“Help me, Kolli, or watch. I care not. But do not think to tell me what is best for me.”
“Eyja saw Kolli in the crowd, saw the cowardice in his eyes.”
The Light in the Jungle by Jeffrey Hall
The opening of Jeffrey Hall’s taut short story is pure dungeons and dragons. An ill-sorted party of adventurers stand on the threshold of an epic ruin determined to plunder the treasures of a lost people. There is even a scene later on in the story which put me very much in mind of the cover of my original player’s handbook.
However, Hall’s world is sharply different from anything Gary Gygax imagined. The five different characters quickly and naturally reveal their individualities of personality, of power, of race. Hall does not ram their otherness down the reader’s throats with lengthy descriptions. Instead we glean that from references to whiskers and tusks and tongues that deviate from normal human experience. I liked Laughs, the character who can talk to plants far more persuasively than he talks to women (insert your own Prince Charles joke here).
The character’s motivations are as diverse as their natures, each seeking something different from the flawed ruins of Hathis. The leader, Scrap, is prepared to gamble anything in seeking the priceless treasures of his lost family.
Hall conveys effectively some distinctive features of an imaginative other world – systems of magic and denizens of evil that may tempt many a reader into exploring more of his writing.
Black Barge – by J.P.Ashman
John Wayne first rode to cinematic glory as the Ringo Kid in the film Stagecoach – an eclectic collection of characters journeying in peril across an old fashioned wild wild west (a milieu now powerfully re-imagined in the brilliant Hostiles – but that’s another review).
Ashman’s antagonist Tips doesn’t walk quite as tall as Big John, on account of being a gnome, and rather than a stagecoach Tips and her small family ride a steam powered barge down a canal. But even a journey along a leisurely waterway can encounter hostile intent and even a small barge can hide some big secrets. Ashman writes lively action sequences spinning a nice turn of phrase. “The well-kept engine did what the unkept cleaver had not and finished its victim.”
References to the main work creep in as ties between the boat crew and one of Black Cross’s key characters slowly emerge from within the barge’s capacious hold.
Making a Killing – by David Benem
The Dead Messenger is a strange name for a strange Inn and, at one point set me in mind of the dead letter boxes that were such a feature of John Le Carre spy thrillers. Fencress Fallcrow is stepping up in the world, or down depending on your moral perspective, and teams up with the redoubtable Karnag Mak Ragg to take on the next stage in her career – to pursue the dark rewards of dark work. But as the innkeeper observes “The dark work always bloodies more hands than those doing it.”
Fencress is a resourceful young woman and – in this engaging little short – displays her subtle skills and inventiveness while she considers whether she has the resolve for the work ahead. One wonders which will put up more of a struggle, the target or her conscience.
The First Thread - by Alec Hutson
Jhenna is a consort of the Emperor and Prince Ma is his son raised in a tradition that believes whatever doesn’t kill you makes you strong – so Prince Ma must be pretty strong.
Superstition and court politics intermingle in a story flavoured with the orient. Disasterous portents call for extreme measures and Jhenna – silent witness to both natural tragedies and the imperial response is haunted by what she sees. Prince Ma, unlike his father, is determined to change not just how things are done, but to change things that have been done.
The world building is convincing. I like the logic to the four warlocks of Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter, appointed for life like American Supreme Court judges, but promoted in turn. Hutson writes well, fluid prose carrying the reader along – but, in First Thread, as in all good stories, things are never quite as they appear. Those who pull at a loose thread risk unravelling an entire jumper.
Lost Lore kept me entertained and frantically noting many lines that charmed, or shocked or amused me. The windows into so many different worlds, through the lenses of so many varied imaginations are too individual for a collective commentary so each gets their own mini-review.
With so many quality stories it is difficult to pick a favourite, but I would say that Bryce O’Connor’s “A Simple Thing” is my primus inter pares.
No Fairytale by Ben Galley,
“Not everybody can have their name roared at roof-beams over the clash of tankards.” But a girl can dream and a girl can play games to fire her imagination and toy with new discovered talents, but fifteen year old Hereni’s life and that of her family is about to take a sharp turn in a new direction.
Galley takes a familiar theme of farm girl awakening to latent powers, but denies his heroine that prophetic primacy that so many stories pursue. While Hereni may be “one” she is not “the one” still less “the chosen/only one.” Through a rapid sequence of trials and experiences, Hereni must come to terms with her place in the challenges ahead and decide who she will stand with and for.
And They Were Never Heard from Again by Benedict Patrick
Felton is on a mission and has lured his little brother Tad along to cover his true intent. The adolescent Fenton actions are driven not so much by the head as by the heart, or perhaps a somewhat lower organ! But the journey through the forest is fraught with danger, for little boys were not meant to be out after dark – the night belongs to other things.
Patrick’s story has an inventive take on the theme of belief and stories. It reminded me of Terry Pratchett’s Small Gods or the Dr Who episode where Martha Jones spent a year telling the world about the Doctor. In both cases stories beget belief and belief begets faith, so too it is Patrick’s world. A story can be a dangerous thing, taken up by others and twisted in a game of Chinese whispers until the hive-imagination of a frightened people imbue a story with its own power. At the end Patrick’s doughty brothers have to find a way to change the story in order to save themselves.
A Tree Called Sightless by Steven Kelliher
Kelliher throws you into the head of a boy called Maro facing a challenge that reminded me a bit of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. That is in so far as there are children competing for a prize in a maze-like environment. However, unlike Harry, Maro is really not a nice person. His intention, indeed his desire, is to kill all the competitors in pursuit of the ultimate prize – and he doesn’t plan on stopping the killing spree there.
The story grew on me in the telling and there were several lines that particularly caught my eye. Like this one “…the Willows… with their prophecies and gathered truths that were only a goat’s intestine away from being the same as the Blood Seers of the west; these were beings worthy of hate. If Maro could find the time for it, he thought he might give them his.”
Barrowlands by Mike Shel
A young warrior, Hesk, leads two desperate rogues in a foolish and indeed illegal attempt to raid the tombs and the treasures of the lost nation of the Djao. When a blood-stained stranger and his truncated companion wander into their camp, their plan changes and then changes again as the land begins to divulge its secrets. Not since Howard Carter opened Tutankhamun’s tomb has grave desecration encountered such potential for disaster.
This well written piece is full of striking descriptions, such as a cavern of skeletons – “… clothing and flesh had rotted away long ago. Now they were intertwined in morbid intimacy.” Throughout there is a louring sense of doom as Hesk tries to balance the cheerfully murderous intent of his larcenous associates and the cryptic mutterings of their driven new companion.
Into the Woods by Timandra Whitecastle
Jelena is a girl coming into womanhood, sent out – with a red shawl about her head – to run an errand to grandma. Whitecastle swiftly turns any perception of a Red Riding Hood style adventure, not so much on its head as inside out – and the tale is not the only thing that experiences some surprising inversions.
Whitecastle’s world has Jelena being scion of a seafaring race now landbound living in timber lodges, near the stone ruins of a race of wights they once traded with. The wights might, in another story have been termed elves, for they do not appear to have been the conventional undead of D&D fame, but then there are enough elves in stories - not all lost races should rely on pointy ears for their mystery. Again I found lines to savour. “Winds coming down from the mountains had met winds on the water, and together they danced their storm dances, whipping the trees into curious shapes.” or “… lichen like old men’s beards hung limply from the intertwined branches overhead.”
The spine of the story is a tale told by Grandma to the young girl. The banter between child and adult is convincing though – when Grandma’s story reaches its bloody denouement I did wonder at a sudden shift in her language. I’m sure my grandmother never used such terms in conversation with me or my sister, but then the sheer brutality of the event – a twist that totally surprised me – swept me swiftly along and away from any quibbles of an old woman’s terminology.
Paternus: Deluge by Dyrk Ashton
For those familiar with Ashton’s sprawling epic, Paternus, Deluge is splattered with familiar motifs of demigods like the firstborn – part animal part human appearing in the lives of many different peoples. Ashton’s encylopedic mastery of the range of human myths enable him to weave a thread that joins Egyptian gods and Irish myth, Celtic fables and Biblical deluge. Ashton is the master at seeing and creating patterns, and in this re-imagining of the deluge he rationalises the world-wide prevalence of flood myths in diverse and disconnected peoples.
It’s a topic that interests me from a different angle – so please forgive a little digression. My daughter is a quaternary scientist whose studies covered the end of the last ice age – a mere 10,000 years ago – within the reach of tribal memories handed down from generation to generation. When so much water was locked up in glaciers squatting on land masses, sea-levels were far lower than today. Great Britain was not an island, the English Channel was a wide river basin along which the extended Rhine flowed all the way to the Atlantic. The Dogger Bank was not a shallow patch of the North Sea, but a patch of highland in a broad plain that stretched from mountains that became the Orkney Islands to the Scheldt. The sea level rise that came with a different kind of global warming was not a gradual affair. The sudden collapse of unstable icesheets triggered tsunamis that washed away entire communities, imprinting a sense of waterborne disaster on collective memories. This then for me, seems the likeliest origin of the universality of flood myths within human consciousness.
That digression aside, Ashton spins an entertaining tale that blends archeology and myth in a telling that reads like one might an imagine a skald regaling a norse lord in his feasting hall, or a bard singing in a celtic tavern.
I, Kane – by Laura M. Hughes
I’d just read this twitter thread https://twitter.com/kurteichenwald/status/948606138706251776 about the danger of Donald Trump before I picked up Lost Lore story 8 and read the protagonist pronounce “the imminent fall of the world you call ‘Earth’” The one known as Kane goes on “My tale is one of fatal hubris (aren’t they all) and tells how mankind worked to bring about its own declension through pursuit of an absurd conviction: namely, that one has the right to impose one’s ideology upon others using fear, fire and lead.” I have to that hope real life and the story do not follow too closely on from this startling opening.
In Kind Hearts and Coronets, the framing scenes feature a protagonist on the eve of his execution reflecting on Johnson’s saying that imminent death “concentrates his mind wonderfully.” The same is true of Hughes eponymous hero, the mysterious but radiantly powerful creature known as Kane. In some subterranean cavern on one of the most inauspicious dates in human history, the chained Kane delivers his final testimony to an interrogator and a dutiful scribe – determined to be as precise as any court stenographer. The tale is presented as the scribed record of every word and utterance of the mighty Kane down to the last sigh.
As such this is a powerful and entertaining first-person story carried by the mellifluous voice of Kane. Hughes creates a convincing and humorous persona for her strange hero, at once charming yet, pompous, courteous yet overbearing and delightfully ingenuously oblivious of the effect he is having on the two attendants in his last hours. A fascinating story that sweeps the reader along so well they would have stayed in that underground prison just to hear Kane roll out more lines like this as he describe one hapless human “It appears my earlier suspicions were correct: naught but jelly beneath a shallow crust of courtesy.”
The Huntress by Michael R Miller
Miller’s tale is of Elsie and her personal and professional struggles in a land of humans invaded by dragons - or at least dragons in human form. It is a motif - almost a sub-genre that I was aware of but have not read widely in. In The Huntress we do not see any dragons in full winged Smaug glory and I am not sure if that is how Miller’s dragons operate. Instead dragon becomes a cypher for a race of super-powered arrogant graceful humanoids. Not quite indestructible - but almost so, and determined to subjugate the puny humans they invaded.
In The Huntress, more so than in the other stories in Lost Lore, we have explicit world building and link to Miller’s main trilogy – to which this short forms part prequel, part back story to the main event that occurs seven centuries later.
We meet Elsie – eponymous heroine - returning to the hunt after a nine-month lay off. Cu-sih, the fearsome howling hounds of her homeland, are the least of her worries as circumstances conspire to test her powers of love, of command, and of compassion. Even the threat of the soon-to-be- legendary Dragon Prince Dronithir, pales as in the end Elsie is forced to make her own “Sophie’s choice.”
The Prisoner by Phil Tucker
Although one of the shorter tales in the anthology, there is a visceral heat to Tucker’s story that grabs the reader. The challenge of leadership, of inspiring a disparate and desperate group of individuals transcends genres. Tucker’s antagonist, young lordling Enderl, embraces his first opportunity to lead his father’s company of brutal soldiers – the Black Wolves – in battle. Whether his enthusiasm lasts, or is even shared by the men, is for the reader to discover. But, in the course of a few hours of action, Tucker skilfully depicts Enderl’s transition as he tries to meld his idealism with the brutal pragmatism of battle.
Tucker writes well with several lines to catch the eye – and this one appealed particularly. “The portcullis was rising like the skirt of a withered hag grimly intent on displaying her goods.”
A Simple Thing by Bryce O’Connor
The difference between writing in the first person point of view or third person point of view, for me is like the difference between acting and directing. First person stories are carried by the quality of the protagonist’s voice which must be distinct from an author’s voice. O’Connor manages this superbly in a tale of an assassin reflecting on his first kill. Not since I read Polansky’s Low Town series have I finished reading a story before realising I did not know the protagonist’s name, neither heard it nor needed to, so convincing is the voice that carried me rapidly through a meticulously planned contract.
Written as the opening entry in a hopefully soon to be available full journal, the anonymous assassin’s tale not only gripped me with the sense of foreboding that only truly meticulous plans can instil, but also had me stopping to note lines of particular delight.
“It is only the assassin, however, who can slip a blade up the shield-bearer’s ass and convince him he swallowed it.”
“My walker was … a creature of habit. Such men are a rare and ripe fruit in my profession.”
“There is a moment in most men’s lives where they come to accept what it is they are, wherever it is the adventure of life has led them.”
For me that is an impressive hit rate of memorable lines for a novel, let alone a short story.
Palesword by T.L.Greylock
I was acquainted with Greylock’s world of fjords and Norse Gods through having read Raef Skallagrim’s oddessy in Blood Tainted Winter. This lost lore short story explores the back story to one significant relic that coloured Skallagrim’s tale – the palesword.
Greylock’s protagonist - Eyja - fisherman’s daughter and would be priestess, is a feisty individual who we glimpse at different stages in her search to achieve and to belong within her strained community. It is always refreshing to see female characters like Eyja and Gunnlief the shield maiden leading the story to its denouement with agency and independence.
Some of the men do not acquit themselves so well in the face of Eyja’s fierce determination – as captured in this couple of lines.
“Help me, Kolli, or watch. I care not. But do not think to tell me what is best for me.”
“Eyja saw Kolli in the crowd, saw the cowardice in his eyes.”
The Light in the Jungle by Jeffrey Hall
The opening of Jeffrey Hall’s taut short story is pure dungeons and dragons. An ill-sorted party of adventurers stand on the threshold of an epic ruin determined to plunder the treasures of a lost people. There is even a scene later on in the story which put me very much in mind of the cover of my original player’s handbook.
However, Hall’s world is sharply different from anything Gary Gygax imagined. The five different characters quickly and naturally reveal their individualities of personality, of power, of race. Hall does not ram their otherness down the reader’s throats with lengthy descriptions. Instead we glean that from references to whiskers and tusks and tongues that deviate from normal human experience. I liked Laughs, the character who can talk to plants far more persuasively than he talks to women (insert your own Prince Charles joke here).
The character’s motivations are as diverse as their natures, each seeking something different from the flawed ruins of Hathis. The leader, Scrap, is prepared to gamble anything in seeking the priceless treasures of his lost family.
Hall conveys effectively some distinctive features of an imaginative other world – systems of magic and denizens of evil that may tempt many a reader into exploring more of his writing.
Black Barge – by J.P.Ashman
John Wayne first rode to cinematic glory as the Ringo Kid in the film Stagecoach – an eclectic collection of characters journeying in peril across an old fashioned wild wild west (a milieu now powerfully re-imagined in the brilliant Hostiles – but that’s another review).
Ashman’s antagonist Tips doesn’t walk quite as tall as Big John, on account of being a gnome, and rather than a stagecoach Tips and her small family ride a steam powered barge down a canal. But even a journey along a leisurely waterway can encounter hostile intent and even a small barge can hide some big secrets. Ashman writes lively action sequences spinning a nice turn of phrase. “The well-kept engine did what the unkept cleaver had not and finished its victim.”
References to the main work creep in as ties between the boat crew and one of Black Cross’s key characters slowly emerge from within the barge’s capacious hold.
Making a Killing – by David Benem
The Dead Messenger is a strange name for a strange Inn and, at one point set me in mind of the dead letter boxes that were such a feature of John Le Carre spy thrillers. Fencress Fallcrow is stepping up in the world, or down depending on your moral perspective, and teams up with the redoubtable Karnag Mak Ragg to take on the next stage in her career – to pursue the dark rewards of dark work. But as the innkeeper observes “The dark work always bloodies more hands than those doing it.”
Fencress is a resourceful young woman and – in this engaging little short – displays her subtle skills and inventiveness while she considers whether she has the resolve for the work ahead. One wonders which will put up more of a struggle, the target or her conscience.
The First Thread - by Alec Hutson
Jhenna is a consort of the Emperor and Prince Ma is his son raised in a tradition that believes whatever doesn’t kill you makes you strong – so Prince Ma must be pretty strong.
Superstition and court politics intermingle in a story flavoured with the orient. Disasterous portents call for extreme measures and Jhenna – silent witness to both natural tragedies and the imperial response is haunted by what she sees. Prince Ma, unlike his father, is determined to change not just how things are done, but to change things that have been done.
The world building is convincing. I like the logic to the four warlocks of Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter, appointed for life like American Supreme Court judges, but promoted in turn. Hutson writes well, fluid prose carrying the reader along – but, in First Thread, as in all good stories, things are never quite as they appear. Those who pull at a loose thread risk unravelling an entire jumper.
stevethomas's review
I'll be adding to this review as I read through the stories. Since each of these stories is meant to introduce the author's world, I'll be focusing on how how effective they are are getting me interested in that world.
"And They Were Never Heard From Again" by Benedict Patrick: This one grew on me as I reflected on it. The bulk of the story is set-up. It's hinting at the magic system while justifying why the characters would do something very clearly stupid. The Halfwen stuff didn't quite work for me and needlessly put Felton in a very bad light. There may have been a faster and more graceful way to achieve the setup, but the payoff was good. Once it really started to showcase the world and magic system, I became very intrigued. Ultimately, I liked it and it was a good pitch for "They Mostly Come Out at Night."
"Barrowlands" by Mike Shel: This one didn't do much for me. Hesk and a pair of ruffians are on a dungeoneering/grave-robbing adventure and meet a mysterious stranger. Decent setup. The whole time, I felt like I was missing a greater context that would lend some significance to the goings-on, and that missing piece made the story fall a little flat for me.
"Into The Woods" by Timandra Whitecastle: This one was weird. Really weird. It's kind of a mash-up of fairy tales, where a girl is visiting her grandmother, who tells her a messed up story and leaves her to reflect on her coming of age, or something. There was some body horror imagery that I had a hard time following, and I won't say I totally get it, but I liked it. I think.
"I, Kane" by Laura M. Hughes. This one was a stand-out. Diabolos Kane is a condescending, egotistical, and strangely attentive dragon bonding with the man who is taking dictation during his interrogation. The entire story is one long rant, and it was just a joy to read. Very amusing. I'd love to see more from this world.
"Palesword" by T.L. Greylock: This one follows a priestess and her lifelong clash with a problematic priest. The setting is basically alternate history Scandinavia with a lot of Norse mythology. The story read like the origin story of a villain or side-character, and I'm pretty curious if I'm right about that.
To be continued...
"And They Were Never Heard From Again" by Benedict Patrick: This one grew on me as I reflected on it. The bulk of the story is set-up. It's hinting at the magic system while justifying why the characters would do something very clearly stupid. The Halfwen stuff didn't quite work for me and needlessly put Felton in a very bad light. There may have been a faster and more graceful way to achieve the setup, but the payoff was good. Once it really started to showcase the world and magic system, I became very intrigued. Ultimately, I liked it and it was a good pitch for "They Mostly Come Out at Night."
"Barrowlands" by Mike Shel: This one didn't do much for me. Hesk and a pair of ruffians are on a dungeoneering/grave-robbing adventure and meet a mysterious stranger. Decent setup. The whole time, I felt like I was missing a greater context that would lend some significance to the goings-on, and that missing piece made the story fall a little flat for me.
"Into The Woods" by Timandra Whitecastle: This one was weird. Really weird. It's kind of a mash-up of fairy tales, where a girl is visiting her grandmother, who tells her a messed up story and leaves her to reflect on her coming of age, or something. There was some body horror imagery that I had a hard time following, and I won't say I totally get it, but I liked it. I think.
"I, Kane" by Laura M. Hughes. This one was a stand-out. Diabolos Kane is a condescending, egotistical, and strangely attentive dragon bonding with the man who is taking dictation during his interrogation. The entire story is one long rant, and it was just a joy to read. Very amusing. I'd love to see more from this world.
"Palesword" by T.L. Greylock: This one follows a priestess and her lifelong clash with a problematic priest. The setting is basically alternate history Scandinavia with a lot of Norse mythology. The story read like the origin story of a villain or side-character, and I'm pretty curious if I'm right about that.
To be continued...
pete_rg's review
5.0
Loved this brilliant anthology. I hadn't finished a multi-author anthology before this one, but all the stories here kept my interest and then some. Particularly memorable stories for me were by Benedict Patrick, Laura M. Hughes, Bryce O'Connor and J P Ashman. This will give you lots of new folk to read!
tctippens's review
4.0
Instead of writing a single review for the anthology or writing a short review of all 15 stories, I’ll leave you with my thoughts on my five favorites from the anthology:
I, Kane by Laura M. Hughes
Just…wow. Written in the form of a one sided-rant as a powerful dragon addresses a human scribe, this was a blast to read. Kane completely steals the show in his own story, full of personality and sarcasm.
If that’s not a compelling display of character and sign of an entertaining story, I don’t know what is.
A Simple Thing by Bryce O’Connor
Killing a man is a simple thing. At least, it is if you’re a highly skilled assassin.
The story begins with an assassin writing down the tale of how he made his first kill. O’Connor’s writing grips you early and doesn’t let go, making this a difficult story to put down. Most of the short story follows the assassin’s methodical planning in the weeks leading up to his first kill, rather than the kill itself, which was a refreshing approach.
I think my favorite part of the story was that the main character is completely unapologetic about becoming an assassin. There’s no moral crisis, no going through with things due to fear of an evil master. He knew what he was getting into and did so willingly.
And They Were Never Heard From Again by Benedict Patrick
I’ve been a fan of Benedict Patrick since I read They Mostly Come Out At Night last year. His books weave myth and legend into the core of the story, characters, and world, often taking the form of short stories in between chapters.
These stories are always fun to read, resembling real-world folktales by teaching moral lessons, explaining how things came to be, etc. When I picked up this, I was expecting more of the same.
Suffice it to say I was blown away by this story. Two boys are caught out in the woods at night, a time when any sensible person is barricaded in their cellars to hide from the monsters in the forest. Both boys are sympathetic characters that have you rooting for them, heart and soul.
The First Thread by Alec Hutson
Two things set this story apart in my mind: the Asian-inspired world and the gripping prose. The majority of the story isn’t full of fast-paced action, but I was hooked from the start.
A young concubine of the emperor forms an unlikely friendship with the emperor’s son, leading to her invitation to witness a secret ceremony. The worldbuilding is unique and enjoyable, with my favorite aspect being the warlocks of Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter.
Into the Woods by Timandra Whitecastle
This is a story within a story, which was an interesting surprise for a story with an already-limited wordcount. Both the frame story and the dark tale within are powerfully written.
The morning of her first bleeding, a young girl is sent to visit her grandmother to be told what it means to be a woman. When the girl arrives, her grandmother tells her a rather…interesting story. It’s a bit of dark fairy tale.
There aren’t many stories that can make me audibly swear, hold my e-reader at arm’s length, and stare in horror at the words within. This is one of that can, and does so brilliantly.
I, Kane by Laura M. Hughes
Just…wow. Written in the form of a one sided-rant as a powerful dragon addresses a human scribe, this was a blast to read. Kane completely steals the show in his own story, full of personality and sarcasm.
For the record, ’tis evening—about teatime, in fact—the eighth full moon of the Year of the Flaming Maw, etcetera, etceter— No, don’t actually write ‘etcetera’, fool!
If that’s not a compelling display of character and sign of an entertaining story, I don’t know what is.
A Simple Thing by Bryce O’Connor
Killing a man is a simple thing. At least, it is if you’re a highly skilled assassin.
The story begins with an assassin writing down the tale of how he made his first kill. O’Connor’s writing grips you early and doesn’t let go, making this a difficult story to put down. Most of the short story follows the assassin’s methodical planning in the weeks leading up to his first kill, rather than the kill itself, which was a refreshing approach.
I think my favorite part of the story was that the main character is completely unapologetic about becoming an assassin. There’s no moral crisis, no going through with things due to fear of an evil master. He knew what he was getting into and did so willingly.
And They Were Never Heard From Again by Benedict Patrick
I’ve been a fan of Benedict Patrick since I read They Mostly Come Out At Night last year. His books weave myth and legend into the core of the story, characters, and world, often taking the form of short stories in between chapters.
These stories are always fun to read, resembling real-world folktales by teaching moral lessons, explaining how things came to be, etc. When I picked up this, I was expecting more of the same.
Suffice it to say I was blown away by this story. Two boys are caught out in the woods at night, a time when any sensible person is barricaded in their cellars to hide from the monsters in the forest. Both boys are sympathetic characters that have you rooting for them, heart and soul.
The First Thread by Alec Hutson
Two things set this story apart in my mind: the Asian-inspired world and the gripping prose. The majority of the story isn’t full of fast-paced action, but I was hooked from the start.
A young concubine of the emperor forms an unlikely friendship with the emperor’s son, leading to her invitation to witness a secret ceremony. The worldbuilding is unique and enjoyable, with my favorite aspect being the warlocks of Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter.
Into the Woods by Timandra Whitecastle
This is a story within a story, which was an interesting surprise for a story with an already-limited wordcount. Both the frame story and the dark tale within are powerfully written.
The morning of her first bleeding, a young girl is sent to visit her grandmother to be told what it means to be a woman. When the girl arrives, her grandmother tells her a rather…interesting story. It’s a bit of dark fairy tale.
There aren’t many stories that can make me audibly swear, hold my e-reader at arm’s length, and stare in horror at the words within. This is one of that can, and does so brilliantly.
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