|
|
Post by thedarkman on Nov 2, 2016 17:50:26 GMT -5
Ordered Imaro II: The Quest for Cush a few days ago, should be here soon. I am getting the NS reprint, and I hope there aren't too many typos, as I had heard about some other NS books.
I cannot believe I have not collected all four of these books a long time ago...
|
|
|
|
Post by deuce on Nov 3, 2016 22:33:57 GMT -5
Just finished "Turkhana Knives". Man that was good stuff. I thought it was interesting how Saunders focused on just how valuable the Ilyassai held a single cow. It makes sense, given the milk and beef each one can provide. This is clearly a well researched series. The Maasai, the culture the Ilyassai are based on, herd cattle on foot and hunt lions in manhood rituals. Sound familiar? Imaro's mother was an Ilyassai, but not his father. His father's people are ethnically disinct. Imaro looks more like his father.  |
|
|
|
Post by Jason Aiken on Dec 23, 2016 3:02:53 GMT -5
Finished the first Imaro collection from Nightshade...from what I can tell this and the original DAW collection are quite different.
They have some stories in common (The Prologue, Turkhana Knives, The Place of Stones,and Horror in the Black Hills), but the Nightshade collection replaces not one, but TWO stories from the DAW collection.
I mentioned "The Afua" from the Nightshade collection being inferior to "Slaves of the Giant Kings" from the DAW collection but can't vouch for which of the final stories is best, "Betrayal in Blood" from the Nightshade collection or "The City of Madness" from the original DAW collection.
I've heard mixing and matching DAWS and Nightshade collections is a nightmare, as Imaro meets different people and has different adventures depending on what version you read. I can attest to that first hand now, just from reading this first collection. I wish I'd just read the original DAWS at this point but since I'm already into the Nightshade continuity, I'll keep trucking and go back and read the DAWS later maybe.
|
|
|
|
Post by deuce on Jun 27, 2017 9:17:35 GMT -5
Mr. Saunders has been going through some rough times. Things are looking up, though: Hello, everybody. This is to let you know I have returned from something of a personal Phantom Zone. I apologize to everyone with whom I've fallen out of contact over the past few years. I will be getting back in touch with each of you soon. In the meantime, my friend Milton Davis has just released my latest book, Nyumbani Tales, a collection of some of the first of my African-based fantasy stories -- stories I wrote while also writing my Imaro and Dossouye novels. You'll find a review and image of the cover below.
-- Charles R. Saunderswww.blackgate.com/2017/05/30/stories-from-a-ss-griot-nyumbani-tales-by-charles-r-saunders/ |
|
|
|
Post by deuce on Nov 16, 2017 2:38:40 GMT -5
|
|
|
|
Post by deuce on Dec 30, 2017 22:41:20 GMT -5
|
|
|
|
Post by Jason Aiken on Sept 3, 2020 20:55:35 GMT -5
Evidently Mr. Saunders passed away back in May of natural causes. No other information to include why people are just now hearing about this, but it's just started making the rounds on Facebook. One post I saw quoted Milton Davis with the above information, so the source is fairly reliable. This is a real shame and a real loss. Rest in peace, sir.
|
|
|
|
Post by moonlightshadow on Feb 10, 2021 15:40:06 GMT -5
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2021 1:27:25 GMT -5
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 24, 2022 7:43:31 GMT -5
Nice intro to Sword & Soul fantasy by Milton Davis: A Sword and Soul Primer Charles SaundersWhat is Sword and Soul? A good question deserving a good answer. Sword and Soul is Sword and Sorcery and epic fantasy based on African history, culture and traditions. It finds its inspiration and its reason for being in the stories of Robert E. Howard, particularly those of his most well known hero, Conan. For the next few weeks I'll be discussing Sword and Soul and highlighting specific books that are 'required reading' for anyone interested in the subgenre.
So how did Sword and Soul begin? The concept has probably gestated in the minds of many writers, but it finally came to fruition in the mind of Charles R. Saunders. Charles was a fan of Howard's Conan, but as an enlightened Black man of the seventies he was disappointed with Howard's handling of Black people in his works. So he decided to put his skills to use to create a character that in his own words 'could kick Conan's ass.' The result was Imaro, an Illyasai warrior who roamed the world of Nyumbani battling various foes as he sought his true identity. The short stories were published in various magazines before Imaro's adventures were finally published as novels, the first released in 1981. I won't go into details about the novels here; I'm saving that for later blogs. After the initial release, Charles left the fiction writing world for a time, frustrated with publishers and how they handled his groundbreaking character. However, Imaro continued to thrive among Sword and Sorcery diehards due to the quality of Charles's prose and the uniqueness of his iconic character.  Original Imaro seriesSword and Soul languished for a time while Charles applied his talents to journalistic pursuits. But in 2005, Charles returned to fiction with the re-issue of his Imaro series by Nightshade Publishing. The revival turned out to be short-lived; Nightshade dropped the series after the release of the second book of the series.
 Imaro novels by NightshadeBut all was not lost. Richard Tyler, a.k.a. Uraeus, reached out to Charles and offered to publish the remaining Imaro novels. He also introduced Charles to a fairly young man who had begun to take the same journey as Charles in creating African based Sword and Sorcery for the same reasons albeit twenty years later, Milton Davis. Charles and I have worked together ever since, determined to continue to tell Sword and Soul stories and encourage other writers of the African Diaspora to do the same.
So what are the must read books of Sword and Soul? Ten years after our meeting, the number of writers producing African based fantasy is still small. However, with the recent release and success of Children of Blood and Bones by Toni Adeyemi and Black Leopard/Red Wolf by Marlon James, such stories have stepped into the limelight. My list reaches back to Sword and Soul books released over the past forty plus years, most written by Charles and I and each contributing a significant perspective to the genre.
1. Imaro - Charles Saunders
2. Dossouye - Charles Saunders
3. Meji - Milton Davis
4. Griots - Edited by Milton Davis and Charles Saunders
5. Griots: Sisters of the Spear - Edited by Charles Saunders and Milton Davis
6. Once Upon A Time In Afrika - Balogun Ojetade
7. The Constant Tower - Carole McDonnell
8. Changa's Safari - Milton Davis
9. Abengoni: First Calling - Charles Saunders
10. Songs of The Sunya: Tales From The Sands of Time - Mansa Myrie
11. When Night Falls - Gerald L. Coleman
As I mentioned at the beginning of this blog, over the next few weeks I will be writing about each of these books, explaining their significance to the genre and sharing the authors' inspirations. Stay tuned.
Here's a link if you wanna check out the blog: www.miltonjdavis.com/blog |
|
|
|
Post by karasuthecrow on Apr 24, 2022 22:55:05 GMT -5
I discovered "Imaro" a couple of years ago, unfortunately none of Saunders books have ever been translated into Spanish but I just found an audibook on YT, hopefully I will have a better understanding of the genere in the new future.
|
|
