''The Thief of Forthe and Other Stories'' is a
collection
Collection or Collections may refer to:
* Cash collection, the function of an accounts receivable department
* Collection (church), money donated by the congregation during a church service
* Collection agency, agency to collect cash
* Collectio ...
of
sword and sorcery
Sword and sorcery (S&S) is a subgenre of fantasy characterized by sword-wielding heroes engaged in exciting and violent adventures. Elements of romance, magic, and the supernatural are also often present. Unlike works of high fantasy, the tale ...
and other
fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...
short stories by American writer
Clifford Ball
Clifford Nankivell Ball (January 24, 1908 – January 1947) was an American fantasy writer whose primary distinction was having been one of the earliest post-Howard writers in the sword and sorcery subgenre of fantasy. He wrote as Clifford Ball.
...
. It was first published in paperback and ebook by
DMR Books
DMR Books is a Chicago-based small publisher active since 2015. The press was founded by D. M. Ritzlin. It is primarily a paperback and ebook publisher specializing in "fantasy, horror, and adventure fiction in the traditions of Robert E. Howard ...
in March 2018.
Summary
The book collects four novelettes and two short stories by the author, together with an introduction by the publisher, D. M. Ritzlin.
It gathers together all of Ball's published fiction, originally published in the 1930s and 1940s in ''
Weird Tales'', for the first time. The first story, featuring the barbarian adventurer Duar, and the second and third, featuring Rald the thief, were among the earliest sword and sorcery stories published after the pioneering work of
Robert E. Howard
Robert Ervin Howard (January 22, 1906June 11, 1936) was an American writer. He wrote pulp fiction in a diverse range of genres. He is well known for his character Conan the Barbarian and is regarded as the father of the sword and sorcery subge ...
, and were written in homage to him. The pieces following feature a modern-day quest for the legendary
island
An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...
of
Circe
Circe (; grc, , ) is an Magician (paranormal), enchantress and a minor goddess in ancient Greek mythology and Ancient Greek religion, religion. She is either a daughter of the Titans, Titan Helios and the Oceanid nymph Perse (mythology), Perse ...
, a fantastic detective yarn, and a traditional horror story.
Contents
*"Introduction" (D. M. Ritzlin)
*"Duar the Accursed" (from ''Weird Tales'' v. 29, no. 5, May 1937)
*"The Thief of Forthe" (from ''Weird Tales'' v. 30, no. 1, Jul. 1937)
*"The Goddess Awakes" (from ''Weird Tales'' v. 31, no. 2, Feb. 1938)
*"The Swine of Ææa" (from ''Weird Tales'' v. 33, no. 3, Mar. 1939)
*"The Little Man" (from ''Weird Tales'' v. 34, no. 2, Aug. 1939)
*"The Werewolf Howls" (from ''Weird Tales'' v. 36, no. 2, Nov. 1941)
Reception
Fletcher Vredenburgh, reviewing the collection on blackgate.com, writes "Ball was one of the earliest authors to show that S&S wasn't just something a few specific authors wrote, but an actual genre that anyone else with a heart for it could do." "Ball's stories." he notes, "are the works of someone still finding his feet. They aren't as polished as those of his model, Robert E. Howard
ut show hecould have been a solid talent had he continued writing." Vredenburgh finds the Duar story "not-great, but ... pretty darn good with some nice, weird bits," and notes "a lunkheadedness to Rald I found fun." "There's a creative exuberance to these stories that make me wish Ball had carried on," he observes, concluding "Dave Ritzlin has done a tremendous service in getting this book into print."
[Vredenburgh, Fletcher]
In the Beginning: ''The Thief of Forthe and Other Stories'' by Clifford Ball, edited by D.M. Ritzlin
(review). on blackgate.com, Sep. 25, 2018.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thief of Forthe, The
2018 short story collections
Fantasy short story collections
DMR Books books