“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
- 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