Swords of the North
Robert E. Howard
The Robert E. Howard Foundation Press
$50 nonmember, $45 members

Robert E. Howard was enamored of the Celts, so I thought I would look at a pair of stories featuring his Irish pirate, Cormac Mac Art.  Cormac is an Irishman who has been banished from the Emerald Isle.  He’s thrown his lot in with a group of Vikings led by Wulfhere, a giant of a man.  Cormac resembles a Conan prototype in the way he is described.  He’s got the haircut, and whereas the rest of the Norsemen are bearded, or at least mustached, Cormac is clean shaven.

These two stories are straight historical fiction without any fantastic elements.  They’re still solid pieces of writing, full of battle and carnage, with a few twists thrown in. Continue reading →