Sword and Sorcery usually focuses on one or a few gritty heroes who are driven by survival, greed, revenge or desire. The world is dangerous, the magic is sinister, and the plot is often morally grey.
Sword and Sorcery stories are typically shorter, pulpy and may be novelettes, novellas or short novels.
Examples include Conan the Barbarian, Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, Imaro, Elric of Melnibone, and Wulfric the Wanderer.
Heroic Fantasy focuses on multiple characters who are often driven by their morality, honor and sometimes destiny to save the princess, save the kingdom, and save the world. Magic is powerful and sometimes useful.
Heroic Fantasy stories are typically longer, more epic, and may be a trilogy or a long series.
Examples include the Lord of the Rings, The Wheel of Time, the Dragonlance Chronicles, The Sword of Shannara, and The Adventures of Wrathgar.
Some authors don't exclusively write one style of fantasy, but may write different subgenres of fantasy. Charles Moffat, for example, writes both Sword & Sorcery and Heroic Fantasy.
Did you know that Boxing Week is one of the best weeks of the year to buy books?
Many authors, especially indie authors, put their books on sale between December 26th and January 1st.
It is also the best week to get Freebies (usually short fiction or the first book in a series).
Case in point:
Charles Moffat, the fantasy author, has many of his ebooks on sale currently and many of his short stories are currently free. Just visit the site below to browse which books are free and which ones are on sale. Especially if you love reading heroic fantasy books.
And you can browse other fantasy authors by visiting ArcaneTomes.Org to find indie fantasy authors, many of whom also likely have their books on sale and/or free during Boxing Week.
"All Sword and Sorcery is Heroic Fantasy, but not all Heroic Fantasy is Sword and Sorcery."
Sword & Sorcery and Heroic Fantasy are two distinct subgenres within the broader fantasy genre. While they both share common elements and themes, they have notable differences in terms of tone, protagonists, narrative focus, and worldbuilding. Let's compare and contrast the two:
Sword & Sorcery:
Tone: Sword & Sorcery tends to have a darker, grittier, and more morally ambiguous tone. It often explores themes of personal survival, individualism, and the use of power for personal gain.
Protagonists: The protagonists in Sword & Sorcery stories are often antiheroes or morally complex characters. They are typically loners or mercenaries driven by personal motives rather than a grand sense of duty or heroism.
Narrative Focus: Sword & Sorcery stories often focus on episodic adventures and self-contained narratives. They prioritize fast-paced action, thrilling combat, and intense encounters, with a focus on the exploits of the main character.
Magic and Sorcery: Magic in Sword & Sorcery is usually depicted as dangerous, unpredictable, and often linked to dark forces. Sorcery and supernatural elements play a significant role, often presenting a corrupting influence on those who wield it.
Worldbuilding: Sword & Sorcery settings are often portrayed as harsh and unforgiving, with a focus on smaller-scale conflicts and settings. The worldbuilding tends to be less extensive compared to Heroic Fantasy, with more emphasis on immediate surroundings rather than sprawling civilizations or grand quests.
Heroic Fantasy:
Tone: Heroic Fantasy generally has a more optimistic and epic tone, emphasizing heroic deeds, noble virtues, and the triumph of good over evil. It often explores themes of heroism, destiny, and the battle between light and darkness.
Protagonists: Heroic Fantasy typically features noble heroes driven by a sense of duty, honor, and the desire to save the world or protect the innocent. They often embark on grand quests and demonstrate self-sacrifice and unwavering courage.
Narrative Focus: Heroic Fantasy tends to have a more overarching narrative structure, with a focus on the larger conflicts and the fate of entire worlds or civilizations. The stories may involve the gathering of allies, the fulfillment of prophecies, and the ultimate confrontation with a great evil.
Magic and Sorcery: Magic in Heroic Fantasy is often portrayed as a mystical and awe-inspiring force. It can be used for both good and evil purposes, with powerful wizards or sorcerers playing significant roles in the story. Magic systems may be more detailed and intricately defined.
Worldbuilding: Heroic Fantasy often involves extensive worldbuilding, creating vast and immersive settings with detailed histories, diverse cultures, and intricate political landscapes. The focus extends beyond individual characters, encompassing entire civilizations, mythical creatures, and complex social structures.
While Sword & Sorcery and Heroic Fantasy share common elements such as swords, magic, and fantastical creatures, their differing tones, protagonists, narrative focuses, and worldbuilding approaches distinguish them. Both subgenres offer unique experiences and cater to different storytelling preferences within the fantasy genre.
Heroes (and anti-heroes) make up the pages of Heroic Fantasy. It is defining quality of the subgenre set in worlds where magic and monsters exist, modern technology may or may not exist, and where heroes usually save the day.
The classic example of this is the Sword & Sorcery hero "Conan the Barbarian", but therein lies some interesting arguments because some people argue that Conan is actually an anti-hero because he doesn't exactly fit the description of a flawless hero.
Yes, Conan is strong, usually honourable, but he is also a thief, a pirate, a mercenary and a freebooter.
The defining characteristic of Heroic Fantasy therefore is the central hero (or heroes) as part of the plot.
The Sword & Sorcery subgenre however does differ somewhat in definition, because a Sword & Sorcery book doesn't necessarily need to have a hero. It could have a villain as the main character. Sword & Sorcery really just needs a swashbuckling-type protagonist, who could be a hero, anti-hero or villain, and various obstacles to be overcome - one of which is usually magic or dark magic.
Heroic Fantasy differs because it doesn't need the magic element. It could have monsters instead, or perhaps horror elements, but no magic. Magic isn't a necessity for it to be Heroic Fantasy. It does however require a Hero or Heroes (or Anti-Hero[es]). That part is at least mandatory.
Heroic Fantasy, as implied, also means that good needs to triumph over evil... Unlike dark fantasy where evil sometimes wins. Sometimes, not always.
SPOILER ALERT
A good example of this is the Michael Moorcock series of Elric of Melnibone books (Stormbringer, etc) in which Elric often tries to do good, but the intelligent sword Stormbringer is doing evil during the process and often winning in the long run.
Thus that particular series is a good example of Sword & Sorcery and Dark Fantasy, and Elric himself is an anti-hero, so it technically also qualifies as Heroic Fantasy even though the sword is usually winning in the long run of things.
Bram Stoker's Dracula technically falls into the category of Heroic Fantasy. The heroes win. Dracula loses. It is a Dark Fantasy / Heroic Fantasy story.
Multiple Subgenres often peacefully co-exist. Hence why Sword & Sorcery books are often also Heroic Fantasy.
Eg. High Fantasy just means that there is a lot of magic, monsters, etc in the story. Harry Potter for example is definitely High Fantasy. But it is also Heroic Fantasy, Urban Fantasy and Contemporary Fantasy. Some of the books even qualify to be Dark Fantasy due to the theme of evil winning in that book and/or an abundance of undead / dark fantasy themes.
Heroic Fantasy often focuses on characters who come from humble beginnings. The farmhand who becomes the Dread Pirate Roberts and saves a princess from being married to an evil prince. The moisture farm boy who goes off to fight the evil empire and becomes a Jedi Knight. The swordsmith's apprentice who ends up going on a high seas adventure fighting undead pirates.
Yep, The Princess Bride, Star Wars, and the Pirates of the Caribbean are all technically Heroic Fantasy.
Shrek? Heroic Fantasy. Definitely an anti-hero.
Many heroes from fairy tales, fables and myths are also playing a role in Heroic Fantasy stories. Jack and the Beanstalk.
Sometimes the hero will be of royal stock but not know it. Or perhaps they are simply really short and are farmers. Or gardeners.
Bilbo? Frodo? Samwise? Yep, the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings are also Heroic Fantasy (in addition to being Epic Fantasy).
Basically if it has a hero in the story and it is a fantasy story (due to magic, monsters, etc) then it is Heroic Fantasy.
The film "Avatar" is arguably a Heroic Fantasy because of the "magic" abilities of the trees and animals of that world. So are Smurfs. He-Man. Hercules. Xena. Avatar: The Last Airbender.
The term "Heroic Fantasy" was coined by author/editor L. Sprague de Camp. Below is his definition of the hallmarks of the subgenre.
"Heroic fantasy" is the name I have given to a subgenre of fantasy,
otherwise called the "sword-and-sorcery" story. It is a story of action
and adventure laid in a more or less imaginary world, where magic works
and where modern science and technology have not yet been discovered.
The setting may (as in the Conan stories) be this Earth as it is
conceived to have been long ago, or as it will be in the remote future,
or it may be another planet or another dimension.
Such a story combines the color and dash of the historical
costume romance with the atavistic supernatural thrills of the weird,
occult, or ghost story. When well done, it provides the purest fun
of fiction of any kind. It is escape fiction wherein one escapes clear
out of the real world into one where all men are strong, all women
beautiful, all life adventurous, and all problems simple, and nobody
even mentions the income tax or the dropout problem or socialized
medicine.
— L. Sprague de Camp, introduction to the 1967 Ace edition of Conan (Robert E. Howard), p. 13.
Escapism.
Yes, that is another important aspect of Heroic Fantasy. Escapism is wonderful. We live in a world which is entirely too realistic sometimes and it is really nice to escape to a world where heroes usually save the day.
A character riding a giant raven while carrying an arming sword
By Charles Moffat
Historical realism.
I am one of those people who gets upset when a movie or a book portrays a historical weapon in a false manner.
And while I don't start foaming at the mouth and shouting obscenities when it happens, it still bothers me and I know other authors / readers who feel the same way.
Thus when I am writing a book or a short story my preference is to portray weapons accurately to their historical counterparts... And keep in mind I am an archery instructor, and we are known to be perfectionists.
Thus I spend a good amount of time writing historically accurate combat scenes for archery, but also for swords, axes, and other weapons.
Today I want to talk about the type of swords which appear in my Korovia books. Namely:
Short Sword
Sabre
Arming Sword
Bastard Sword
Longsword
The Grosseklinge (Greatsword)
The Short Sword
Sometimes spelled shortsword, this is a sword with a double-edged blade measuring typically 14 to 24 inches long. The handle is meant to be used by one hand only. Some shortswords are so small they could possibly be considered to be daggers.
The Sabre
A sword with a curved blade, with the single edged blade length being roughly 32 to 35 inches long. The handle is meant to be used by one hand only, and sometimes has a basket hilt or a handguard to protect the user's hands.
Note - There are also similar weapons like the cutlass, the scimitar, and the falchion. The falchion for example was roughly 38 inches long, and could be considered to be something similar to the bastard sword further below.
The Arming Sword
A standard sized sword (mistakenly called a "Longsword" in Dungeons & Dragons) with a straight double-edged blade about 28 to 38 inches long that tapers towards the end. Obviously there is a lot of variability in blade length with the arming sword, with the length of blade varying by as much as ten inches. It was possible to wield an arming sword with two hands (by gripping the pommel), but doing so meant the swordsman didn't really have proper leverage when swinging it.
Note - Historically there was no strict length of specific swords, so a lot of swords of varying lengths are classified as being arming swords. Most swords that appear in my Korovia stories, unless otherwise stated, are arming swords. So for example the elf Gyburn from "The Demon's Sacrifice" wields an arming sword called "Bonecleaver".
The Bastard Sword
A longer sword with a straight double-edged blade (sometimes called a 'hand-and-a-half sword') with a blade 40 to 48 inches long, but with a larger handle that typically measures 10 to 15 inches. The extra large handle means there is space for a second hand on the handle, and enough space that swinging the sword allowed to put extra force into the swing using leverage.
Note - So what happens if you find a sword that has a blade 39 inches long? Well, is it an arming sword or a bastard sword? Honestly, it depends on the handle. Does it have an arming sword handle, or a bastard sword handle? Not everything is perfectly cut and dried when it comes to swords, their lengths and their classifications.
The Longsword
This is the classic two-handed sword, similar to a claymore, with a straight double-edged blade about 49 to 65 inches long. The handle was meant for two-handed use, typically being 15 to 20 inches long, with the longer handle allowing the swordsman to put a lot more leverage into their swings.
Note - Like the arming sword there is a lot of variability in how long the blade can be and still count as a longsword. In Dungeons & Dragons this type of sword is often mistakenly called a "Greatsword", but this is inaccurate. The proper term is Longsword, and as you can see further below they should not be confused.
The Grosseklinge / Greatsword
This is the biggest of all swords (ignoring those wielded by ogres or giants, etc) available in Korovia, and historically. With an average blade length of 6 feet (72 inches), these swords had blades anywhere from 66 inches long to possibly 7 feet (84 inches). They were also so big that normal men couldn't wield them properly, requiring the swordsman to usually be at least six feet tall just to wield the smallest of Greatswords. Anyone too short would be prone to scraping or bumping the sword against the ground, damaging it.
Note - The hero Wrathgar (from my novel series The Adventures of Wrathgar) wields a traditional Grosseklinge sword from his tribe, the Baarstammderstark. He wields the sword in addition to a bearded axe and a longbow in the following books:
I have orcs in some of my fantasy worlds, but not all of them. Furthermore, I don't like using orcs except in very specific circumstances where I portray them in a certain way (similar to how orcs are portrayed in Skyrim is my preference, spliced with Tolkien-esque orcs).
Writers and artists in the 21st century, in my opinion, have a responsibility to avoid using racist stereotypes - especially when portraying fantasy races like orcs. Or if they do use a stereotype, they also have an obligation to subvert it so that the meaning is changed.
J. R. R. Tolkien popularized orcs in fantasy fiction, but he was using them as a metaphor to represent the Nazis and to be representational of the horrors of war.
Since then however many critics of Tolkien's work have pushed the idea that his orcs represent people of colour or so-called "primitive cultures". This portrayal of orcs as something loaded with racism and cultural superiority is something I actively want to avoid, and thus even in my settings where orcs do exist (eg. Korovia) they primarily live in Loqland, in the city of Molloch (which is itself a reference to the film "Metropolis").
Thus my orcs are essentially a mixture of the workers of Metropolis who serve their evil overlords, the warfare themed orcs of Tolkien, and also like the orcs of Skyrim, where they are more technologically advanced and intelligent. So smart orcs, still brimming with the thirst for war, but serving their evil overlords in the factory city of Molloch... But not necessarily evil themselves and some of them do break away or flee from Molloch. (But that is another story...)
So yes, they exist, but I am deliberately avoiding using them except in the right circumstances. Eg. There are some time traveling orcs that appear in one short story: "A Hound Named Hunter", which I admit doesn't sound like a time travel story, but you have to read it to understand.
The other problem with orcs is that they are so tied to Tolkien's work that if you use them too much then it draws comparisons to his books.
But if I use a different kind of humanoid race, like minotaurs, then I don't really have that same problem. This is why when I create Korovia in 1999 I made minotaurs to be one of major races of the region. (That and I really like minotaurs, having previously used minotaurs in 3 novels I wrote during the 1990s.)
And again, my minotaurs are an intelligent and technologically advanced race... Plus in Korovia they're usually vegans, pacifists, spiritual and practice martial arts. Eg. Check out the four minotaurs that appear in my novel "The Coven's Wolves".
Are all minotaurs in Korovia pacifists and vegans? Nope. There are those who 'break from tradition', so to speak, like one such minotaur in my upcoming book "The Exorcist's Dagger" who forsakes his vows as an Ironskin and becomes a prizefighter.
How we portray races in our books is important. Even the races we normally wouldn't think about as being potentially racist.
Eg. Elves and halflings.
In my book "The Demon's Sacrifice" the elf Gyburn and the halfling Kaeto don't get along, with both characters being racist against the other. What happens to the two characters during the novel is meaningful in my opinion. No spoilers here. You will have to buy the book to see what happens.
Civilization versus 'perceived barbarism' is an ongoing theme within the Adventures of Wrathgar, wherein the main character is a so-called barbarian from the Snowfell Mountains and he is traveling through the civilized regions of Korovia looking for his missing father. People often see him as a dumb barbarian and treat him as such, despite his intelligence and skills. Wrathgar, to his credit, doesn't lose his temper when dealing with such people. Despite his name, he rarely ever loses his temper. (But when he does it is spectacular...)
As a writer I feel my work has meaning, and while I use fantasy as the method to convey that meaning, I could just as easily be writing science fiction or westerns to convey the same meaning. The setting doesn't matter so much as the message I am trying to get across to the reader.
Writers and artists in the 21st century, in my opinion, have a
responsibility to avoid using racist stereotypes - especially when
portraying fantasy races like orcs.
If you want to learn more about my books I recommend visiting the following sites:
One of the great things about our crazy Amazon-driven book world is
that book length matters less than it used to. In the world of the
1790s, books had to be triple decker novels. During the Age of the
Storytellers (as Mike Ashley calls it), for A. Conan Doyle and the crowd
of story writers that filled the new magazines, 6-9000 words was the
target. Pulps, paperbacks, and now online publishing, have all dictated
to the length of works. It is only now, when an ebook is a file, no
different than any other file, that we seem to be free from these
constraints.
Art by John Buscema and Alfred Alcala
I think we can all agree, first
off, any story needs to be as long as it needs to be to be told well. As Ben
Peek, author of Black Sheep says, “Honestly, I don’t
really think there is an ideal length. Depends on the work, on the ideas behind
it, and how long and short that all is.” John R.
Fultz, author of Seven Princes, agrees: “I’d say there is no ideal
length–it’s whatever the story will support–and whatever the author feels
comfortable writing. Or David Bain with: “the one that
tells the story.” The nature of any story should
determine its length.” Despite this, I still think there is a sweet spot
for Sword & Sorcery. It might not be the same as Space Opera or a Western
or even a novel of manners.
Perhaps the father of Sword & Sorcery can help. Robert E. Howard
is the acknowledged creator of all-things Conan and Kull. His Fantasy
fiction ranged from shorter pieces to one full-length novel, Hour of the Dragon (1935) at 73,000 words. All the original Weird Tales
Conan stories are either novelettes (7500 to 17500) or novellas
(17500-40,000). The original Conan saga averages out at 18,500 words a
story.
In 1973, Lin Carter edited the
first of five volumes in the Flashing Swords (1973-1981) series. These
anthologies of original novellas featured (usually) four stories of 15,000
words each. As Carter put it: “A charming editrix, Gail Morrison of Dell Books,
liked the idea and requested an original 15,000 worder from each of us, that
being, in the opinion of many writers, just about the best length for a good
story.”
I had very much in mind Carter’s
format when I created the Swords of Fire anthology, which features four
15,000-ish tales from David A. Hardy, C. J. Burch, Jack Mackenzie and myself.
One of these days, there will be a Swords of Fire 2, and hopefully 3 and
4…. because I have such a love for Sword & Sorcery novellas. But maybe I’m
wrong. Maybe I need to think differently about this for the next one.
I’ve asked a host of writers of
heroic fantasy writers (I think “host’ is the right term here, you know, like a
murder of crows) what they prefer.
The Really Short Story
Marcie
Tentchoff: I’ll always have a fondness for flash fiction, even in heroic
fantasy. And heroic fantasy novels often end up becoming a series, which makes
word count less important.
Short Story
Robin Wayne Bailey, author of the Frost trilogy and Swords Against the Shadowland:
“For novels or stories, the complexity of the story always dictates the
length. I don’t think you can declare a specific word-limit “ideal.”
For marketing purposes, most anthologies require around 6,000 words or
less. Much more than that should probably be discussed with the editor.
I’ve written s&s stories as short as (roughly) 4,000 word and as
long as 10,000 words.”
Lillian
Csernica: I like 8k. Depends on the story, of course.
Michael Ehart, author of The
Servant of the Manythcore: “I have always enjoyed reading
and writing in the 5000 word range for short stories. The pulp flavor is lost
in a longer piece. There are important exceptions, of course.”
Howard Andrew Jones: At least 5 or 6k. I think it CAN be done at shorter length, but
I think many of my faves come in at 8k or longer. Of course, as editor 8k is
about my max, so I therefore like to say 5 to 8k.
Warren Lapine, most recently
editor of Fantastic Stories says:
“3k on the Internet. At Fantastic Stories we
found that far fewer people read the longer stories and articles. That said, if
it takes more it takes more, and year end stuff can be different.”
James Lecky, frequent contributor to Beneath Ceaseless Skies and Black Gate,
says: “To use an old fallback, I’d say it depends on the story in
question. But, on a more personal level, I like a short that runs to 4
or 5 thousand, which gives scope for both character and action. When it
comes to novels I prefer the ‘classic’ model – most of Moorcock’s novels
were fairly short by modern standards (about 50,000 words at a guess)
and I reckon that’s about right when the primary purpose is colorful
adventure rather than soul-searching drama.”
Darrell
Schweitzer, Fantasy author and editor: “There are
very few short-shorts, but it can be anything from a short story to a
multi-volume epic. I certainly have written sword & sorcery stories under
3000 words. Robert Jordan represents the other end of the spectrum. There is no
one answer. Any story should be as long as it needs to be.”
Jason M.
Waltz, author of Writing Fantasy Heroes: “Good question to which I don’t
have a straight answer. I don’t think it lends itself to novel length – I think
S&S can be in novels, can even infuse a novel, but I don’t think it can be
effectively sustained through the novel length. I think great S&S can be
carried through the novella and novelette and I would not be adverse to reading
such works by anyone claiming to have done so. So that leaves the short story;
I’ve read great S&S at 2,000 words and at 9,000, but I’m going to say I
personally prefer the 5-7k range. Does that make it the ideal? How about for
me, yes.”
Novella
Seth Lindberg, author of the
Dyscrasia series: “Short story to novella (5 to 20k words) I
really like the novella or short novel length for sword and sorcery. Generally
a novel should be no longer than 65,000 to 70,000 words. For novella’s, 20,000
to 35,000. I like S&S short stories a lot too. Great lengths are 6,000 to
10,000.”
John O’Neil, editor of Black Gate: “Well, I love novellas. I’d have to say 10,000-20,000 words.”
Joshua Reynolds, Warhammer novelist: “I think anywhere from 5 – 10,000
is a good solid length, that allows for character development,
atmosphere and action. Most of my S&S fiction tends to fall into the
6,000 range, which is the sweet spot for me.”
Best-selling
author, Michael A. Stackpole: “Don’t want to sound flip, but whatever
length the story demands. For me, right now, I like working in the
novella range 7K+ words. Give me room for character development and a
strong plot.”
C. L. Werner,
another Warhammer novelist: “I think for a short
story, you should be shooting for between 5,000 words and 10,000. That said,
Howard himself used to make longer-form pieces that moved just as fast as any
shorter narrative.”
Davidy Hardy: I am partial to the 10K novella. It’s a pretty neglected form
these days, though electronic publishing gives you more freedom. Back to my
point, novellas give you room to develop the setting, while maintaining focus
on the action. It was an optimum for Howard, Leiber, Moorcock and others who
helped create Heroic Fantasy. They worked in the pulps where tight restrictions
on length were common. REH, Leiber & Moorcock were also strong enough to
swing headline spots with a more generous word count. Clark Ashton Smith created some real gems with fewer words, and
of course Tolkein famously wrote a trilogy. But I find very few who can match
their unique talents in those forms.
Short Novel
Valerie Frankel: “I love big 600 pagers.”
Scottish Horror and Fantasy author, Willie Meikle: “Around the 50-60K mark for me, like all those Moorcock ones.”
Peter Welmerink,
co-author of Bedlam Unleashed: “For “lengthy” piece I’d say
anywhere from 45 to 90k words. That’s just me. I like reading shorter pieces,
but writing…I can’t do Robert Jordan-sized scrawls…plus I’d lose interest, I
think, if reading such a volume. I have always been a fan of short fantasy
tales. They have to hit on all cylinders throughout the entire piece to be
good.”
E. P. Berglund: The ideal length for heroic fantasy . . . hm. As a
writer I would have to say it depends on the plot; as a reader I would
say between short story and novelette length. Some of the Conan in the
60s and 70s were kind of hard to get through. I don’t really read heroic
fantasy much anymore.
Jack Mackenzie, author of “The Green Beast” says: “Sword and Sorcery
tales need to move fast. They’re lean tales that don’t have a lot of
space for interpersonal transactions or political minutiae. Something
like Game of Thrones ( if you want to consider it Sword and
Sorcery) is obviously an outlier. For me I go by Robert E. Howard. His
longest Conan tales are around 75,000 words. That’s about the longest I
would go, personally. Any more and you risk boring your reader, which is
something that S&S should never do.”
Full Novel
CJ Cherryh: I’d say a ‘direct’ plot, few subplots, and no more than
100,000 words. Readers want to get to the un-tangle with little baggage
and have a main character who’s a rogue with a sense of honor, or at
least honest determination.
David Farland: “I kind of like longish books in fantasy–225,000 words feels good to me Any shorter, and I want more.”
James A. Moore,
Fantasy and Horror novelist: “That’s a tough call. I normally average right at
100,000 words per novel, but mostly I write series, so, you know, 400,000 and
300,000 respectively if you add the series together, But mostly I aim at 100,00
because much longer gets unwieldy.”
Robert E. Vardeman, author of many excellent heroic fantasy novels in the 1990s, and more recently the novelization of God of War: “The 75k length works for me. Long enough to get things done without getting boring and destroying yet another forest.”
Angeline Hawkes: I think it’s hard to have an extremely short story
in the heroic fiction genre — because most plots are quest-driven.
Unless the story is entirely earth-based, there also has to be some
world building or at least character development so the story doesn’t
seem cookie-cutter. So, I would say a good length for a short story
would be 6-10k, and a novel would be a minimum of 80k. I know “back in
the day” a lot of writers cranked out 40k “novels”, but I think the
20-40k range now falls mostly into novella lengths. I also think that
most heroic fantasy works tend to be action-driven so the work (if
written well) reads fast, if you know what I mean. So what might seem
longish and, perhaps, more tedious to read in a longer length in another
genre, seems over much too soon in heroic fantasy.
Charles Gramlich, author of the Talera Cycle and editor of The Dark Man: The Journal of Robert E, Howard Studies:
“I really like the novella or short novel length for sword and sorcery.
Generally a novel should be no longer that 65,000 to 70,000 words. For
novellas, 20,000 to 35,000. I like S & S short stories a lot too.
Great lengths are 6,000 to 10,000.”
Perhaps we are
all like Angeline and Charles. We like them all, as long as they are awesome
tales of heroes and monsters and fantastic worlds. Whatever
your favorite length is, remember to support your favorite authors.
From March 4th to 8th 2020 the heroic fantasy book "The Assassin's Trail" by Charles Moffat will be free in ebook format on Amazon Kindle. (Trade Paperback is $7.99.)
The free promo is in order to promote Moffat's new book from the same series: "The Blizzard's Daughter", which goes on sale March 1st 2020.
The books feature the titular character Wrathgar, a woodsman from the Snowfell Mountains of Korovia. To learn more about Korovia visit http://fiction.charlesmoffat.com/korovia/.
Update! The Demon's Sacrifice has been added to the list of books that are temporarily free.
'Blizzards' are wizards who specialize in ice magic (cryomancy) and have undergone a transformation that turns their skin blue. They become immune to the cold, but vulnerable to fire, and their cryomancy magic is enhanced dramatically. They are also very rare as only the toughest wizards can survive the magical transformation without dying...
The hunter and tracker Wrathgar knows little of wizards and their ways, but when an elderly Blizzard approaches him and asks him to track down his missing daughter and bring her home he agrees to the task knowing little of what lies ahead. What he doesn't know is that there is a prophecy about "a child of a Blizzard" and people seeking to stop the prophecy from happening have set their sights on the Blizzard's Daughter. If they can kill her maybe they can stop the prophecy from happening.
Wulfric the Wanderer has defeated the dark wizards inhabiting the Ivory Tower of Iztark, but upon exiting a strange old man approaches him with the promise of riches if he can assassinate the dark wizard known as Merchant-Lord Phrax Al-Amun.
But Phrax's palace and harem full of women is guarded by more than mere mortal guards and the wandering barbarian-turned-assassin will have to battle his way through all manner of dangers and distractions.
Both books are set in the fictional kingdom/world created by Charles Moffat: Korovia.
