u/JohnPathfinder

I know this is bad since joining this subreddit my reading list has grown substantially, but there are stories that I regularly revisit. What are those for you and why?

For me, one I end up regularly rereading is Red Nails. It's a story that's sort of been the North Star for my personal writing, so every once and a while I like to reread it to either take notes or to understand what I want other people to think or feel.

I've recently noticed that many of my favorite sword and sorcery stories have the plot moved along by a compelling antagonist with a largely reactive protagonist. Do you think that a good antagonist is the key to a good sword and sorcery story or is it more complicated than that?

This is another movie that's questionable if it qualifies as sword and sorcery, but I see it on a lot of people's S&S recommendation lists, so I finally gave it a watch. Like Conan the Barbarian and Ladyhawke, this is an actually good sword and sorcery movie. I liked all the actors, the sets looked pretty good, and even though it has a long run time and very epic scope it does a good job at keeping you invested and following what's happening. Battle scenes are fun to watch even when they're visually busy and chaotic (battles often are so I'm told). Magic has the interesting theme of short term gain at the cost of long term loss. Like any good sword and sorcery story there's a healthy dosage of violence and sex. So overall, I think that even though I think that strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government, it was overall very good.

What do you think?

John Carter is not a sword and sorcery series and predates sword and sorcery by several years. However, John Carter and much of the sword and planet subgenre is enjoyed by sword and sorcery fans. What are some other pieces of media that aren't technically sword and sorcery but is still close enough to the subgenre you would recommend it to sword and sorcery fans?

Sword and sorcery has always had science fiction elements. The Shadow Kingdom, arguably the first S&S story, features shape shifting reptilian aliens as the antagonists. However, some are more eager to embrace sci fi than others, and how it's integrated can vary. What are some sword and sorcery stories you like that lean hard into sci fi territory?

For me, one would definitely be Bloodstone by Karl Edward Wagner. Not only does the plot revolve around ancient high technology and extraterrestrials, but it's integrated in such a way where those elements feel near indistinguishable from the magic and more supernatural creatures present in the book.