THE RETURN OF RYRE THE SWORDSMAN!

I’d already been a huge fan of Ramsey Campbell’s horror tales long before I learned he’d written a series of sword and sorcery stories. I was thrilled when I finally got my hands on his collection which assembled them all together. The adventures Ramsey wrote involving his titular hero Ryre the Swordsman did not disappoint […]

ELEVEN TERRIFYING TALES FROM JO KAPLAN

I first encountered Jo Kaplan when she was publishing under her maiden name of Joanna Parypinski. I was lucky enough to have a story of mine appear alongside two of hers in the Indiana Science Fiction 2011 anthology. I’ve read a lot more by her since then. Her ability to craft some of the most […]

NINE DONALD WANDREI HORROR STORIES

Born in 1908, Donald Wandrei was an American writer, poet and editor. He went on to appear regularly in influential publications such as Weird Tales, Astounding Stories, Esquire and many more. He specialized in the science fiction, horror and fantasy genres. In 1939, he and August Derleth co-founded the small press publication Arkham House to […]

THE RESULTS OF THE FANTASY CREATURES POLL

The Fantasy Creatures Poll is now closed, and winning it all is… THE LIVING STATUE!!! As a result, I’ll attempt to write a fantasy tale featuring a living statue as the major antagonist. Additionally, since Skeleton Warriors came in just on the Living Statue’s heels, I’m planning to include them as well. An idea is […]

“DRAGONS’ TEETH” BY DAVID DRAKE REVIEW

Note: Different versions of this story have been published. I’m reviewing the one which appeared in the Swords Against Darkness anthology edited by Andrew J. Offutt (1977). The novelette “Dragons’ Teeth” (1975) by David Drake follows an expert archer and Roman Legate named Vettius who’s tasked with defending his province against an army of […]

FANTASY CREATURE POLL

FEBRUARY FANTASY MONTH I’ve toyed with the notion of writing a fantasy short story from time-to-time but as yet haven’t produced one. I’m curious what readers of this site would like to see my protagonist pitted against. I’m sidelining Dragons for this poll as they are already so well-represented in countless other tales. Below is […]

THE TOMB OF HORROR NOVEL BY KEITH FRANCIS STROHM REVIEW

FEBRUARY FANTASY MONTH I first discovered Dungeons and Dragons back in the early eighties when I received the Red Box Basic Rule Set. It instantly spurred my imagination with its infinite story crafting potential. Over the next several years I made friends who also played. We swiftly moved to using the more advanced 2nd Edition […]

FEBRUARY FANTASY MONTH RETURNS!

February Fantasy Month returns once again to Horror Delve. We’ll examine a selection of stories by the late, great Clark Ashton Smith, as well as celebrate the exciting return of our Ultimate Fantasy Lists. The previous two years have offered up both Ultimate Fantasy Weapons and Ultimate Fantasy Creatures lists. This year a new assembly […]

THE KIND FOLK BY RAMSEY CAMPBELL REVIEW

The Kind Folk is a novel of supernatural horror written by genre grandmaster Ramsey Campbell. It was published by both PS Publishing (2012) and TOR Books (2016). I’ve long been a huge fan of Ramsey’s work. Incarnate, The Grin of the Dark, Ancient Images, Midnight Sun, Hungry Moon and many other novels of his I […]

THE RESULTS ARE IN!!

And the winner of Horror Delve’s favorite Sword and Sorcery Movie is…. THE ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER CONAN FILMS! Up until about a day ago it had been embroiled in a three way tie with THE LORD OF THE RINGS TRILOGY and EXCALIBUR, but I was saved from having to cast a deciding vote when someone came […]