As with any literary genre, sword and sorcery has great variability not only in quality and structure, but in author voice. Some authors strike a greater chord with any individual reader than others do. There are some famed names in sword and sorcery whose work has no appeal to me; there are other authors whose works I have publicly defended who many routinely dismiss. We can celebrate sword and sorcery and its related genres just for themselves, but each of us shouldn't expect to embrace everything that comes under its umbrella, any more than we should expect to equally prize every Sherlock Holmes mystery, or every Shakespeare play. Even if they are all touched with something magical, some stories or writers will always appeal to readers more than others.

Lin Carter is one of those authors often disparaged by sword and sorcery connoisseurs. Certainly he is not in the same rank as Robert E. Howard and Fritz Leiber for many reasons, most notably because he never really developed his own voice or stamped his fiction with much originality. Carter's habit was to write stories and short novels in the style of his favorite authors: Edgar Rice Burroughs, A.E. Merritt, Robert E. Howard, Jack Vance, Leigh Brackett, Clark Ashton Smith, Lord Dunsany, H.P. Lovecraft, and others besides. For all that they were derivative, however, some of his tales read well: his Thongor short stories, certain of his standalone novels, a few of his Dunsany-inspired Simrana stories, and a handful of others. There's enough good material for a one or two volume set that would belong on the shelves of most sword and sorcery readers, and I plan to discuss those works in a future article at SwordandSorcery.org.

I mention Lin today not because of his writing but because of his editorial vision. Regardless of what you may think of his fiction or his involvement in the Conan pastiche creation, I would hope you'll agree that he is one of those rare few--an editor to whom we should give accolades. In the early 70s, along with Betty and Ian Ballantine, Lin Carter masterminded the release of a whole series of forgotten, neglected, and impossible-to-find fantasy stories. This was the Ballantine Adult Fantasy line (named because in those days, not so very long ago, many thought fantasy was only for children--the word Adult was not intended to suggest erotic or pornographic content). Not only did Lin bring us Dunsany and Clark Ashton Smith and H. Rider Haggard and Cabell and many more, he introduced each book with thoughtful, knowledgeable introductions. His love of fantasy shone through every essay he penned for the series.

I was too young to appreciate these Lin Carter Ballantines when they were published, and so have tracked them down through used book search services, for they have long since gone out of print. After many years I have found nearly all of them, and it saddens me that soon there will be no "new" essays by Lin for me to read. I feel as though I am nearing the end of a correspondence course on the history of fantasy from a learned, kindly master, one for whom I have developed great affection and respect. As writer James Stoddard has pointed out, Lin's words had the quality of addressing the reader personally. His introductions are not eye-glazers, but friendly, instructive letters written from one fantasy lover to another.

After the Ballantine fantasy series ended Lin edited several fantasy anthologies. One of them was titled Flashing Swords. Its five-volume run featured short novellas of Fritz Leiber, Michael Moorcock, Tanith Lee, Poul Anderson, Andre Norton, Jack Vance and others before it abruptly ended.

I have no plans to abruptly halt this new Flashing Swords, but then Lin probably didn't plan to halt his either. What I do plan is to search out the finest fiction I can lay hands on and present it to you. I cannot claim to have Lin's vision or depth of knowledge, but I do share his love of the genre.

Unlike Lin I've had to do very little hunting to produce the fine stories found in issue 1. Several authors were kind enough to send me reprints highly deserving of a wider audience. Other excellent stories arrived through my e-mail, and more continue to appear in my mailbox nearly every day. Indeed, if quality continues to run this high I will have a difficult time selecting what to feature--I have only so much room! (Imagine your delight if the first thing you pulled out of the mail for your new magazine was Warhammer novelist William King's piece!)

I'd like to take a moment to thank Web master Dave Felts for finding time in his crazed schedule to set up and post all this material, and to Bruce Wesley for his fine cover artwork.

Before I close, let me point you toward Pitch-Black's own anthology of heroic fiction, Lords of Swords. It is a fine volume, aswim with sword-clashing tales. Not only is it a great read, but a purchase of Lords of Swords helps fuel this e-zine!

And now, the fiction. I hope you enjoy it as much as I.

Howard Andrew Jones
December, 2004