Justin Marriott [ed.] - Men Of Violence #11

[dem bones]

Justin Marriott [ed.] - Men Of Violence #11 (Nov. 2018)

Cover painting Rik Rawling

Includes:

Guest Editorial Richard Toogood

Justin Marriott - Forgotten Cover Artists: Jack Hayes

Morgan Holmes - The Swordsman: The historical novels of Gardner T. Fox
Paul Bishop - Talbot Mundy: Mystic Adventurer
Justin Marriott - Song of Africa: Stuart Cloete
Richard Toogood - Family of Fighting Eagles: Rosemary Sutcliffe's Aquila
Justin Marriott - Casca The Immortal
Jim O'Brien - The Viking Paperback Bloke: Henry Treece

Now this looks bloody interesting. A massive departure from previous MOV's, in that its an Historical Fiction special. Features at least two novels this reader has not only heard of but actually read! More details ASAP.


Out now via Am*z*n. UK

[helrunar]

Nice to see somebody taking an interest in Talbot Mundy. I'd have thought his work too camp for the butch stylings of this publication. 

Rosemary Sutcliff was an extraordinary writer, and Sword at Sunset is a candidate for the most emotionally compelling novel ever to see light in the vast library of Arthuriana. Rosemary may have been the first to attempt to imagine what the life of the post-Roman exodus war leader who has been postulated to have been the human being behind all the myths might have been like, and she achieved this with great depth and plausibility. In an interview, she spoke of writing the novel over a period of months and in a state of sustained trance.  I also like the Lantern Bearers and other books that I presume are the topic of the article in this mag.

I know the name Henry Treece but have amnesia at the moment as to how or why.

Good post!

cheers, H.

[dem bones]

Historical fiction special! Vikings! Roman soldiers! Pirates! Swash-buckling soldiers of fortune! 68 pages, all colour, packed with reproductions of rare and unusual paperbacks. Articles, reviews, interviews and features on Casca, Gardner Fox, Henry Treece, Talbot Mundy, Rosemary Sutcliff, Rafael Sabatini and forgotten cover artists.

Not sure if that should read '68' or '76' pages, but anyway, here's the USA/ROW link.

MOV#11 Amazon.co

As yet, have only the pages included in 'look inside' feature to go by, but on such scanty evidence, a slightly different MOV than we've become accustomed for sure. An inspired idea, considerably widens the scope, and with it provides opportunity to run an abundance breathtakingly beautiful cover artwork. Issue dedicated to one of our own, who, I gather, was very much the driving force - very well done, Crom!

[cromagnonman]

I think "technical advisor" would be a term I'd be happier in accepting Dem. This is still very much Justin's magazine and I wouldn't want to encourage any conflicting impression. History fiction has been an enthusiasm of mine for as long as I can remember and I'm deeply grateful to Justin for this opportunity to share some of my thoughts and ideas concerning it with a wider audience.

I think its fair to say that we are both delighted with the way in which the issue has turned out. It's an experiment to be sure, but we are confident that the audience that buys the title habitually will find its expectations catered for by the extensive coverage afforded to the violent and visceral Casca series. The other articles open a window onto a different literary landscape from Sadler's certainly but still one which we hope people will find interesting and will be encouraged to explore for themselves. Personally I find it very hard to imagine that anyone moved to investigate the work of Henry Treece or Rafael Sabatini would come away disappointed at having done so.

[cromagnonman]

Nov 13, 2018 4:12:40 GMT helrunar said:

Nice to see somebody taking an interest in Talbot Mundy. I'd have thought his work too camp for the butch stylings of this publication. 

Rosemary Sutcliff was an extraordinary writer, and Sword at Sunset is a candidate for the most emotionally compelling novel ever to see light in the vast library of Arthuriana. Rosemary may have been the first to attempt to imagine what the life of the post-Roman exodus war leader who has been postulated to have been the human being behind all the myths might have been like, and she achieved this with great depth and plausibility. In an interview, she spoke of writing the novel over a period of months and in a state of sustained trance.  I also like the Lantern Bearers and other books that I presume are the topic of the article in this mag.

I know the name Henry Treece but have amnesia at the moment as to how or why.

Good post!

cheers, H.

Could not agree with you more Steve. Rosemary Sutcliff was an extraordinary writer. Technically she wasn't the first to imagine Arthur as a contemporary Dark Ages figure; Henry Treece's THE GREAT CAPTAINS (which you can read about in Jim's excellent feature) and Edward Frankland's THE BEAR OF BRITAIN both preceeded SWORD AT SUNSET. But Sutcliff's was by far the most convincing and successful version and, in its promulgation of the idea of Arthur as a cavalry leader, the most influential.  

[Dr Strange]

Nov 13, 2018 4:12:40 GMT helrunar said:

I know the name Henry Treece but have amnesia at the moment as to how or why.

Quite a famous children's author in days gone by - I read Viking Dawn at primary school (growing up in the far north of Scotland, which has a very strong Viking history).

[helrunar]

Those are gorgeous scans. Captain Blood always brings a smile due to some anecdotes about the filming of the movie adaptation I read about in an outrageously gossipy biography of Star Errol Flynn, a volume published under the title Satan's Angel.

Gardner F. Fox's Iron Lover--I'm always in favor of the exploits of the fabulous Englishman down the street or aloft on the high seas. Especially one who can work a cape with that degree of aplomb while rescuing his girlfriend from being burnt at the stake.

Congratulations to Cromagnonman and all! The book looks quite beautiful.

cheers, H.

[helrunar]

Hi Crom, thanks for the notes about the Treece book and Edward Frankland's. I couldn't find any page about Frankland's work via google, I suppose because his name is the same as his father (?) who was a famous research scientist.  But I did find a nice notice of the late 1990s reprint of the Arthur Bear of Britain novel.

cheers, H.

[cromagnonman]

Nov 13, 2018 16:02:17 GMT helrunar said:

Hi Crom, thanks for the notes about the Treece book and Edward Frankland's. I couldn't find any page about Frankland's work via google, I suppose because his name is the same as his father (?) who was a famous research scientist.  But I did find a nice notice of the late 1990s reprint of the Arthur Bear of Britain novel.

cheers, H.

Frankland the writer was actually Sir Edward's grandson Steve, though his father was an eminent chemist also (as was his mother). He wrote some wonderful novels of Saxons and Vikings, mostly set in the wild Westmoreland where he lived. Sadly most of them are very difficult to find now but a few are more accessible. Probably the easiest to find is a terrific story called THE HALF BROTHERS. The reason being that it is one of the only novels I know of that was issued under four different titles. Originally published under the above title in 1947 it went into its American edition as THE FOSTER BROTHERS before going into US paperback as THE LONG SWORDS before ending up being reprinted back in Britain as THE INVADERS. 

[andydecker]

Nov 13, 2018 9:25:56 GMT cromagnonman said:

Nov 13, 2018 4:12:40 GMT helrunar said:

Could not agree with you more Steve. Rosemary Sutcliff was an extraordinary writer. Technically she wasn't the first to imagine Arthur as a contemporary Dark Ages figure; Henry Treece's THE GREAT CAPTAINS (which you can read about in Jim's excellent feature) and Edward Frankland's THE BEAR OF BRITAIN both preceeded SWORD AT SUNSET. But Sutcliff's was by far the most convincing and successful version and, in its promulgation of the idea of Arthur as a cavalry leader, the most influential.  

Looking forward to this. I have a low opinion on Arthuriana. At the dawn of the century I had to read half a dozen or so of Arthurian novels and it kind of killed my interest. I thought this sad as I used to like the topic.