Over on his Drums of Nyumbani blog, Charles R. Saunders has posted an entry entitled, “In Memoriam: Frank Frazetta.” Mr. Saunders reminisces about his discovery of Frazetta’s work, depictions of blacks in Frank’s art and also speculates about what a Frazetta cover for an Imaro novel might have looked like. CRS does an admirable job covering the latter two topics, but I have few more factoids and opinions to add. Feel free to click the link above, read the post and click back here.

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Author Milton Davis has a new blog, Wagadu, dedicated to his Sword-and-Soul literary creations. It should come as no surprise to TC readers that the Godfather of Sword-and-Soul, Charles R. Saunders, stopped by Wagadu to write about Davis’ upcoming novel, Changa’s Safari.

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It may have been noticed that no mention has yet been made of ancient America or ancient Africa, the South Seas, and Australia. That these areas may in fact be largely left out is due to a fact already stated: namely that the idea of monsters arises at a relatively late stage of cultural development. The ancient American civilizations do show some rudimentary–perhaps independent–composite forms, but these are for the most part ill-defined and it is often difficult to distinguish between monsters and human figures masked or disguised in animal skins. Ideas of magic, totemic customs, and animistic equation of different natural spheres may have led to some of the ideas underlying the shapes that interest us here. But it seems that these never brought about a true creation of new beings in a distinct visual form. For this reason, we shall have to leave out these areas of civilization if we want to keep to our subject, though in individual cases references will be made to possible connections. The observation that monsters were not created originally by the so-called ‘primitive’ peoples, as one might have expected, but are in fact to a large extent the product of highly developed civilizations is surprising enough.

Such are the views of Heinz Mode in Fabulous Beasts and Demons, a book on mythological and folkloric creatures. Even accounting for the state of the field at the time, it’s hard for me to imagine just how fundamentally mistaken Mode was. Since I was a lad, I was regaled with tales of monsters, beasts, demons and gods every bit as weird, terrifying, and imaginative as the denizens of classical mythology. Being no stranger to the subject, Charles R. Saunders has much to say on the things which haunt the Dark Continent.

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On SF Signal,  John DeNardo asked the questions below to ten science-fiction and fantasy writers and editors:

What are some of the best sword and sorcery stories? What makes them so good?

Martha Wells, Steven Brust, Mercedes Lackey, James Enge, Mary Robinette Kowal, Mark Chadbourn, P.C. Hodgell, Gail Z. Martin, Brandon Sanderson and Lou Anders have all replied. Unsurprisingly, tales by our favorite Texan author, Fritz Leiber and Michael Moorcock are among several authors’ favorites. Clark Ashton Smith, C.L. Moore and Leigh Brackett as well as TC‘s friend –and most excellent writer– Charles R. Saunders‘ stories are cited too.

As John O’Neill  put it over at the Black Gate blog, the list is well worth reading since “you’re sure to find more than a few good recommendations, whether you’re new to S&S or an old sword-brother.” That’s true, though one omission made me cringe: the ludicrous absence of the immense Karl Edward Wagner, who wasn’t listed by any writer and is only mentioned in the comments below the blog entry…

In welcome news, TC just learned that Charles R. Saunders has a fresh blog entry posted at Drums of Nyumbani, his website. The title of this post is “The First Ghana.” Much like his article, “The Epoch of Kush,” this piece by Saunders explores the rich history of sub-Saharan Africa. Another similarity betwixt the two is that both were written during the ’70s by CRS for one of the fantasy/S&S fanzines that proliferated during that decade. Fear not, Saunders’ scholarship still holds up.

Mr. Saunders reveals the history of the first Ghana (modern-day Ghana shares little but a name with its namesake). Called Aoukar by its own people, the kingdom was given its common name by Arab chroniclers, who derived it from one of the titles of the Ghanaian ruler (a situation similar to the one in which the “Inca” empire received its name from the Spanish). Reaching its height in the eleventh century AD, Ghana was a veritable sub-Saharan Klondike, exporting gold to Europe and Asia. Such riches invited envy and aggression. Eventually, Ghana succumbed.

Medieval Ghana was very likely the source of the name which REH bestowed upon the “Ghanatas” seen in the unfinished Conan yarn referred to as “The Tombalku Fragment.” Serious students of Conan the Cimmerian might also recall that he wielded a “Ghanata knife” when infiltrating black-walled Khemi in The Hour of the Dragon. Clues left by REH point to the Hyborian Age Ghanatas being a tribe situated somewhere betwixt Stygia and Tombalku, and that said tribe had notable iron-working skills. All things considered, that matches up fairly well with the Ghanatas’ (probable) historical inspiration.

I’ve been studying sub-Saharan Africa for more than twenty-five years and CRS’ post still taught me a few things. As I stated earlier, Saunders’ scholarship (like his fiction) has stood the test of time.

As for any inner meaning or ‘message,’ it has in the intention of the author none. It is neither allegorical nor topical… I cordially dislike allegory, and have done so since I grew old and wary enough to detect its presence… I much prefer history, true or feigned, with its varied applicability to the thought and experience of readers. I think that many confuse ‘applicability’ with ‘allegory’; but one resides in the freedom of the reader, and the other resides in the purposed domination of the author.

–J.R.R. Tolkien

Reading Saunders’ review of Leonard Carpenter’s Conan the Hero, namely the myriad thinly-veiled Vietnam allegory that makes the bulk of the plot, put me in mind of the above Tolkien quotation. Naturally, it made me also think of how Robert E. Howard is one of those authors whose every work is heaving with such applicability, and how much a disservice Carpenter does to Howard as a result.

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Lots of interesting news regarding our brothers in swords and souls recently. Along with fellow blogger Deuce, I’ve long maintained that exploration and appreciation of settings beyond the stale “Medieval Europe” standard for so many fantasy worlds is a great way to bring freshness and excitement to the fantasy genre, and the rich, exotic history and cultures of Africa makes for ideal inspiration. First-Spear of Sword-and-Soul Charles R. Saunders is preeminent among those authors who embraced this, and through his site, he names some others deserving of our attention.

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Innsmouth Free Press is a fun site, running stories of a mythos slant from a “metafictional” perspective, blurring the distinction between fact and fiction (much like a few British tabloids I could mention.)

This week, Charles R. Saunders strode into that little town of Essex County. There, the local press engaged the First-Spear of Sword & Soul in an interview. The interview is an illuminating read, particularly in regards to the Lovecraftian influence and inspiration in Saunders’ work, and his wider views on matters of diversity and imagination in fantasy fiction. Here’s a taster:

IFP: What are your thoughts on the future of sword-and-sorcery?

CS: The future of the genre is in good hands, particularly those of Joe Abercrombie, author of The First Law trilogy. Paul Kearney and the late David Gemmell kept the genre alive during the lull that followed the waning of the Howard boom of the 1960s, 70s and 80s. Also, the line between heroic fantasy and epic fantasy is blurring. The multi-volume series of writers like Scott Bakker and Steven Erickson are as epic in scope as the oeuvre of J.R.R. Tolkein and Robert Jordan. Yet, they’re packed with the kind of slam-bang action a sword-and-sorcery buff craves.

Go over to Innsmouth Free Press for the rest.

A couple of months back, I wrote a blog entry regarding Sword-and-Sorcery author, Milton Davis, and his current and forthcoming projects. I thought that TC readers might like an update.

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Friend of The Cimmerian Charles R. Saunders has a new blog entry detailing the writing and long-delayed publication of Imaro: The Naama War. It’s also a tribute to the important figures whose involvement made the book possible, including our own Steve Tompkins, whom Saunders considered “perhaps Imaro’s greatest champion.” The final words are most tantalizing… but you’ll have to go read it to find out what they are.

*Sketches of Imaro by mase0ne.