Crossbones and Crosses
Jason M Waltz, ed.
Rogue Blades Entertainment
trade paper $17.00
ebook $5.00

Jason M. Waltz, publisher of Rogue Blades Entertainment, has just published a new anthology, and it’s one you’re going to want to get.  The hardcopy has been available for a few days now, and the electronic version has just gone live in time for Howard Days.  Crossbones and Crosses harkens back to the days of Raphael Sabatini, Talbot Mundy, Robert E. Howard, and Harold Lamb. These are the adventure stories we’ve needed. When too many anthologies are full of message fiction, RBE has given us something different. Adventure, Excitement, and most importantly, fun.  Make that Fun with a capital “F”.

In this anthology you’ll find 22 (if I counted correctly, I’m not fully caffeinated yet) items, mostly fiction with a few poems thrown in.  Crossbones and Crosses is a little different in that there are usually one or two stories in any anthology that just don’t work for me.  Not so here.  To my delight and surprise, I liked every  single one.  I’m not going to list my favorites in this review because I’m not sure I can.

There will be some familiar names on the table of contents, such as Keith Taylor and C. L. Werner.  There will also be some items by people you’ve probably never heard of.  That’s because Mr. Waltz has taken the time and effort to find stories and poems published in  the late 1800’s and early 1900’s.  These items more than hold their own beside the stories written for this volume and fit the theme perfectly.

Crossbones and Crosses is divided into either two or three sections, depending on how you squint. The first part of the book concerns pirates, and the final part of the book consists of tales from the Crusades.  What I consider to be the third portion of the anthology are a handful of stories bridging the two sections that involve both pirates and the Crusades.  (Is that awesome, or what?)

The stories all move at a good pace, have strong characters, plenty of action, and held my attention.  These days that last part is a trick.  On top of that, this book made me want to learn more about the Crusades, a topic that sadly was not addressed in any school I attended growing up.  My knowledge of that time period is sketchy at best, but I’m going to be doing some studying this summer.

With Crossbones and Crosses, Jason has set himself a high bar for future projects.  I’m looking forward to what he does next.