“The term sword-and-sorcery itself is phrase of Fritz Leiber’s, agreed upon in 1961 by the members of a loose association of writers of this fiction to identify this manner of story. Michael Moorcock desired a name to identify the sort of fiction written by Robert E. Howard, and he and Leiber both ‘were united in a desire to distance themselves from The Lord of the Rings‘… The matter was settled in correspondence published in the fanzine Amra.” (p. 11)

Way back in the 1960s, I discovered Sword-and-Sorcery paperbacks. I read Robert E. Howard’s Conan tales. I was transfixed by Michael Moorcock’s incredible Lancer paperbacks featuring Elric of Melnibone’s magic sword. Fritz Leiber’s “Bazaar of the Bizarre” in Fantastic–featuring The Gray Mouser and Fafhrd–triggered a hunger for more of their adventures.

Arcane Arts and Cold Steel: Writing Sword-and-Sorcery Fiction (2025) isn’t just another writing manual. David C. Smith has published sword-and-sorcery novels. And a quick look at Smith’s Recommended Reading and Bibliography sections is clear proof he knows what he’s writing about. Not only does Arcane Arts and Cold Steel: Writing Sword-and-Sorcery Fiction give you a history of sword-and-sorcery fiction, but Smith gives detailed analysis of over a dozen major writers of the genre.

If you have any interest in sword-and-sorcery fiction, Arcane Arts and Cold Steel: Writing Sword-and-Sorcery Fiction will enhance your reading experience. Highly recommended! Are you a sword-and-sorcery fan? GRADE: A

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Forward By John O’Neill

1. Sword-and -Sorcry Fiction: What It is and What It Is Not –1

Robert E. Howard –11

After Howard — 13

Fritz Leiber — 21

Mid-Century Authors — 24

The 1970s and After — 36

Sword-and-Sorcery Fiction and Heroic Fantasy Fiction — 43

World Building — 50

The Mythic Dimension — 61

2. Story Structure –73

Character and Setting — 73

Must a Protagonist Even Be Human? — 108

Flat and Round Characters — 119

Plot and Scenes — 121

Style, Voice, and Tone — 161

Theme — 184

3. The New Edge: Current Sword-and-Sorcery Fiction — 187

4. Some Final Words — 229

AppendixI: Writing Sword-and-Sorcery Fiction — 231

Appendix II: Recommended Reading — 253

Interview with the Author — 257

Bibliography — 267

About the Author — 281

Index — 283