SPITTLEDRUM, the Four-eyed Demon, has scoured the internet for new eyes: four sword-and-sorcery gems! Illustration provided by Mustafa Bekir.
"The Familiar's Four Gems will be posted every week. It is a curated list of old and new digital resources for amateur sword and sorcery writers and readers; it will occasionally provide short reviews where appropriate. If you have something you would like to include, contact us. -JRC
Blog Post: The Silvery Key: Masculinity in S&S: It's Complicated. "Make no mistake: I love this stuff. I was drawn to it as a kid, and inspired to pick up weights to try to look like my heroes of the comics and silver screen. Today I continue to champion and defend it. I push back, hard, against censorious critics who want this type of fiction memory-holed. You can pry my sword-and-sorcery from my cold, dead fingers."
Blog Aggregate: The DMRtian Chronicles, 9/6/202. This is DMR Books weekly aggregate of sword and sorcery and pulp-related and blog posts and news articles.
Academic Blog: The Pavilion Blog: Conan the Barbarian and the Collapse of Civil Discourse. "Make no mistake: this is still a very fun movie and its classic soundtrack works with its visuals and campy, committed performances to create a shockingly thrilling experience. But what I want to focus on here is how the film’s politics map so neatly upon our own in 2020."
Goodreads Review: Howard Andrew Jones, The Desert of Souls, reviewed by Jason Ray Carney. "If my descriptions give the impression that this is an over-artful/overwrought novel, let me conclude by assuring you... it is not: to the contrary, it is an enthralling and joyful tale of mystery, daring, wonder, and adventure."
