Welcome to what is my last Sword
& Sorcery Spotlight for 2024. As I had said in my post explaining this back
in March, as promised, here is my review of Neither
Beg Nor Yield, a fantastic, massive anthology edited by Jason M. Waltz. It
was published by Rogue Blades Entertainment on January 26th, 2024 in
print and on Kindle. It features a stellar cast of yesterday and today’s best S&S
authors.
It took me about four months to
go through all twenty stories, certainly not because it wasn’t a good read, but
due to a lot of outside factors. I moved out of town back in March and that was
time-consuming, there’s also the fact that due to my ever-declining eyesight,
aside from comic books, I seldom read books anymore (whether it be in print or
PDFs—audiobooks are the way for me, and I devour Audible content day in, day
out). I’m also focusing a lot more time on my own Sword & Sorcery fiction,
writing tales in my Amok saga which is close to completion—more on that in the
coming weeks and months. So, I read about a tale every week from Neither Beg Nor Yield, took notes, and
here we are now, 487 pages later (PDF version) and I can finally share my
review on the blog. When it comes to short stories, I’m very picky and
anthologies such as this usually hold a good number of average and subpar
tales. I was pleasantly surprised that this wasn’t the case with Neither Beg Nor Yield. So, without
further ado, here are my ratings out of five, along with a quick summary, and
my thoughts on each tale.
1. “Hunters and Prey” by C. L.
Werner – 5/5 – A samurai named Shintaro Oba embarks on a quest to slay a demon,
the Spider King, while being hunted by another samurai. This was a terrific
tale of revenge and deception.
2. “Prince of Dragons” by William
King – 3.5/5 – A child by the name of Kormak grows into a warrior on his quest
to slay the Prince of Dragons—a demon. To me, this tale written in the present tense
creates a false sense of urgency and lessens what is an otherwise excellent
story.
3. “Suspension in Silver” by Eric
Turowski – 5/5 – A tattoo parlor gets a visit from an unusual biker gang. A modern
take on the S&S genre that exceeded my expectations. Lots of fun.
4. “Soldier, Seeker, Slayer” by
John C. Hocking – 5/5 – Creon, a warrior whose daughter was stolen from him,
embarks on a path to seek answers but not all is what it seems. This one felt
like an old school S&S tale and is one of my favourites of the entire book.
5. “Harvest of the Blood-King” by
Steve Dilks – 4/5 – Bohun, a huge warrior, is hired to take part in a mission
to rescue a senator’s son. This was my third Bohun tale and he’s really growing
on me as a staple of modern S&S. This action-packed tale delivers plenty of
S&S thrills, but feels a tad long.
6. “The Stone from the Stars” by
Chuck Dixon – 5/5 – Two mercenaries, Hagen and Pilsner, are hired by a woman to
wage battle on a sorcerer’s familiar, a beast from a different plane. I’ve been
reading him since my teens and Chuck Dixon can do no wrong. This one was a ton
of fun with all the back and forth banter between the two leads.
7. “Evil World” by John R. Fultz –
5/5 – Gnori, a 12-year old boy, seeks to avenge his father who was killed by a
brute, the Giant King. He must wait until the age of 21 to rid the world of
Earth Giants and their pet demons. Lots of world-building for a short story and
done extremely well. Made me want to read more of Gnori’s adventures.
8. “Reckoning” by Keith J. Taylor
– 4/5 – A group of seamen joins pirates at sea to look for wrecked ships guided
by a woman with powers of clairvoyance. Mayhem ensues. A very enjoyable fantasy
tale with lots of S&S elements.
9. “Golden Devils of the Crypt”
by Phil Emery – 4/5 – Corlagh, a barbarian living in a post-apocalyptic world,
joins a thief, Norad, and they go through a demon city, encountering an
astromancer along the way, leading to a mysterious crypt. I’m usually not a fan
of post-apocalyptic stories but this one was a blast to read.
10. “The Void of Sul-Atet” by
David C. Smith – 5/5 – Engor, a warrior, along with his leader, Etain, lead
soldiers against a sorcerer named Kessek, having made a deal with a demon, Sul-Atet,
to vanquish him. A dark tale, very well written, and engaging from start to finish.
11. “The Shades of Nacross Hill”
by Frederick Tor – 4.5/5 – Kaimer, a tomb raider, encounters a sinister group
at a cemetery. Ghosts and sorcery are thrown in for good measure. This one’s a cool
blend of S&S and horror loaded with atmosphere.
12. “The Organ Grinder’s Monkey”
by Joe R. Lansdale – 2/5 – Bob and Olo, two buddies, go on a psychedelic adventure
in another dimension to hunt down a monkey. A fun premise but ultimately a tale
that didn’t deliver for me. It felt silly at times and I just never got into
it.
13. “Vengeance, by Wind and Tide”
by Eadwine Brown – 4/5 – A pirate tale about Azirah, a female captain and her
crew of corsairs, who seek a sorcerer and his tower. This story was great; it had
shades of Robert E. Howard’s classic Conan tale “Queen of the Black Coast”; classic
S&S.
14. “Isekai Sengokumonogatari” by
Glen Cook – 3/5 – A youth, Shinzutoro, escorts three orphaned children and
their guardian through a forest on the other side of the island. I’ve mixed
feelings about this one; some of it worked really well and other parts dragged.
A good but not great tale.
15. “Bona Na Croin” by Jeff
Stewart – 5/5 – Fergus, a wanderer, along with his loyal pony and a druid, join
King Conall to exact revenge on a rival king by the name of Morthesa. Superb fantasy
elements and a gripping story.
16. “Virgins for Khuul”- by Steve
Goble – 5/5 – Calthus, a warrior-king, seeks to rescue captives from the clutches
of the dark god Khuul, a terrible giant beast who will awaken and require a sacrifice
before going to sleep again for centuries. A Conan-type tale that is absolutely
fantastic and may very well be my favourite of this anthology.
17. “The Last Vandals on Earth”
by Steven Erikson – 3/5 – A tale of historical fantasy about a cook, Ulfilas,
and his wife, Respendial, with pretty much the whole world against them. I did
enjoy the story’s humoristic tone but overall, it felt like a convoluted tale
that never really landed for me.
18. “The Barbarian’s Lawyer” by
Lawrence A. Weinstein – 5/5 – A S&S courtroom drama with a lawyer, Cynric,
defending a barbarian, Blazgorn, accused of stealing from a corrupt lord. What
a unique story! Full of clever humour, this was a brilliant tale that, if not
my favourite of the book, is at least a close second.
19. “Reflection from a Tarnished
Mirror” by Howard Andrew Jones – 3.5/5 – A tale about a rebel by the name of
Hanuvar posing as Fabius in a secret war of liberation. Hanuvar wants to free
the Volani slaves. A false Hanuvar causes much interference throughout. This
was a clever story that outstayed its welcome in the end, in my humble opinion.
20. “Maiden Flight” by Adrian
Cole – 3.5/5 – Ulric, a warrior, fights alongside a Valkyrie as they face an
army in a tale of mythical proportions. A well-crafted, epic tale that is a
solid way to close out the anthology.
My overall rating of the book rounds
out to 4/5 stars which is above excellent for me. Neither Beg Nor Yield is an ambitious anthology that accomplishes
the rare feat of delivering an incredibly diverse selection of Sword and
Sorcery stories that embody the S&S attitude in every possible form. Drawing
inspiration from classic Conan tales as well as giving us more modern and edgy
takes on the genre, the tales all sit perfectly with one another. Jason M.
Waltz’s vision for this passion project was achieved magnificently and we can
all be thankful that this marvelous anthology exists.
Get your copy now!
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