Summer of Sword and Sorcery Week 10

"The Price of Pain-Ease" by Fritz Leiber.  Fafhrd and the Mouser steal a house, but find themselves haunted by the literal ghosts of their deceased lovers.  Ridding themselves of these ghosts means putting themselves in the service of Sheelba of the Eyeless Face and Ningauble of the Seven Eyes, and a trip to the Shadowlands, to steal the mask of Death (him?)self.  One of the funniest of the F/M stories and as usual up to Leiber's high standards.

"Bazaar of the Bizarre" by Fritz Leiber. F & M are tasked to thwart the plans of The Devourers, extraterrestrial merchants who use illusions to make worthless junk look like prized goods and their plan to get Trump re-elected decimate the world of Nehwon.  Funny, as usual, with an exciting battle with The Devourers automaton guard, and again as usual for Leiber, witty and well-written.

"Caravan of Forgotten Dreams" aka "The Flame Bringer" by Michael Moorcock.  Elric, now happily married and settled down to the life of an idle fruit, is summoned back action, and his old ways, when a Genghis Khan like barbarian horde threatens the Young Kingdoms.  Sraightforward pulp sword and sorcery action, with Moorcock's usual solid writing.

"Black God's Kiss" by C.L. Moore.  The first of the "Jirel" stories.  In this one, Joiry having been taken by Guillaume, bad-guy extraordinaire, Jirel journeys into a dark underworld to find a weapon terrifying enough to not only take out her foe, but let him damn well know he's been taken out.  She finds it - but the use of it comes at a terrible cost.  Pretty excellent stuff.

"Goddess" by David Drake. Drake, before he became known for his military sci-fi, was a horror writer with a particularly hardboiled, bare-knuckled approach.  His sword and sorcery was equally tuff, and it shows here as "hero" Samlor hil Samt explores the underground tunnels beneath a temple, which serve as the capstone to a much darker gods' demesne.  Strong stuff.   

"Hellsgarde" by C.L. Moore.  The last of the "Jirel" stories, and one that I remembered made a strong impression.  It still does, as Jirel is drawn to a crumbling, haunted castle and its sinister inhabitants, and finds herself dealing both with malevolent ghosts, and something else that may be far worse.  That and an evil (hehehe) ending.  A small classic, this.

"The Phoenix on the Sword" by Robert E. Howard.  The first "Conan" story, and proof of what I've long held - that it isn't Conan himself but the settings, atmosphere, and Howard's powerful writing that makes these stories shine.  Conan is barely even a character here - we learn more about Cimmeria than we do about him.  But the tale is steeped in the supernatural, as Conas receives aid from a ghost to fight off a demon - barely described, and yet palpably chilling in its presence.  That's the reason this caught on.

"Mirage" by Karl Edward Wagner. On the run again, Kane stumbles into the ruins of a ghoul-haunted, burned-out fortress, and then into a hallucinatory sojourn among the less-than-alive.  Not exactly full of surprises per se, but in no way predictable - particularly in the denouement.  I think this is the least compelling of the Kane stories I've read this summer, but that only means its excellent instead of awesome.