Flashing Swords!

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Flashing Swords! was a series of fantasy anthologies published by Dell Books from 1973 to 1981 under the editorship of Lin Carter. It showcased the heroic fantasy work of the members of the Swordsmen and Sorcerers' Guild of America (SAGA), a somewhat informal literary group active from the 1960s to the 1980s, of which Carter was the guiding force. Most of the important sword and sorcery writers at the time of the group’s founding were members; later, membership was extended to other fantasy authors. Thus, the Flashing Swords! series provides a cross-section of the heroic fantasy of the period. Carter and SAGA also sponsored The Gandalf Award from 1974-1981. With the collapse of Carter’s health in the 1980s the anthology series, the Gandalf award, and likely SAGA itself all went into abeyance.

[edit] The series

Flashing Swords #1 (ed. .Lin Carter, Dell 2640, July 1973, 266 pp.)

Contents:

1. Introduction: Of Swordsmen and Sorcerers by Lin Carter
2. The Sadness of the Executioner (Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser) by Fritz Leiber
3. Morreion (Dying Earth) by Jack Vance
4. The Merman's Children by Poul Anderson
5. The Higher Heresies of Oolimar (Amalric the Mangod) by Lin Carter

Flashing Swords! #2 (ed. Lin Carter, Dell 3123, February 1974, 268 pp.

Contents:

1. Introduction: Flashing Swords and Black Magicians by Lin Carter
2. The Rug and the Bull (Pusad) by L. Sprague de Camp
3. The Jade Man’s Eyes (Elric of Melniboné) by Michael Moorcock
4. Toads of Grimmerdale (Witch World) by Andre Norton
5. Ghoul’s Garden (Brak the Barbarian) by John Jakes

Flashing Swords! #3: Warriors and Wizards (ed. Lin Carter, Dell 2579, August 1976, 272 pp.)

Contents:

1. Introduction: Warriors and Wizards by Lin Carter
2. Two Yards of Dragon (Eudoric Dambertson) by L. Sprague de Camp
3. The Frost Monstreme (Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser) by Fritz Leiber
4. Spider Silk (Witch World) by Andre Norton
5. The Curious Custom of the Turjan Seraad (Amalrik the Mangod) by Lin Carter
6. Caravan to Illiel by Avram Davidson

Flashing Swords! #4: Barbarians and Black Magicians (ed. Lin Carter, Dell 0-440-12627-4, November 1977, 272 pp.)

Contents:

1. Introduction: Of Warriors and Wizards by Lin Carter
2. The Bagful of Dreams (Dying Earth) by Jack Vance
3. The Tupilak by Poul Anderson
4. Storm in a Bottle (Brak the Barbarian) by John Jakes
5. Swords Against the Marluk (Deryni) by Katherine Kurtz
6. The Lands Beyond the World (Elric of Melniboné) by Michael Moorcock

Flashing Swords! #5: Demons and Daggers (ed. Lin Carter, Dell 0-440-12590-1, December 1981, 250 pp.)

Contents:

1. Introduction: Where Magic Reigns by Lin Carter
2. Tower of Ice (Dilvish) by Roger Zelazny
3. A Thief in Korianth by C. J. Cherryh
4. Parting Gifts by Diane Duane
5. A Dealing with Demons (Ebenezum) by Craig Shaw Gardner
6. The Dry Season by Tanith Lee