Welcome to my new series of post I am doing here on Mighty Thor JRS, Definitive Sword and Sorcery. At least what is definitive in my opinion. I will spotlight some of the best authors and books fantasy has ever known. I can’t wait to share these amazing books, authors, and the amazing cover art and artist. For my fourth post I am going to go with C. L. Moore and her Jirel of Joiry stories.

In her character Jirel of Joiry, C.L. Moore created a proud, tough, arrogant and beautiful ruler of her own domain (an imagined version of medieval France), often her stories involve her in dangerous brushes with the supernatural. These stories are some of the first to show the influence of Robert E. Howard on Sword and Sorcery. This series also introduced a female protagonist to the genre. First published as a series of stories in the pulp/horror/fantasy magazine Weird Tales in the 1930’s they have gone on to inspire authors ever since.

As I become more and more disenchanted with modern fantasy and modern fantasy authors, I find myself going back to the books and authors that got me into fantasy in the first place. So I decided to shed some light on these books and authors. I am going to try and do this on a weekly/monthly basis but we will see how it goes.

If you have some comments, suggestions, recommendations, let me know!

Are you are a modern author that writes books/stories like the ones I will spotlight here? Get in touch. I want to work with you and spread the word. There has to be something new out that I can read and love. Short stories, collections, magazines, whatever! Let me know what you got and are working on.

Thanks,

James – Mighty Thor JRS

(mightythorjrs@gmail.com)

Check out my other Definitive Sword and Sorcery post:

Definitive Sword and Sorcery: Kane by Karl Edward Wagner

Definitive Sword and Sorcery: Elric by Michael Moorcock

Definitive Sword and Sorcery: Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser by Fritz Leiber

Definitive Sword and Sorcery: Bran Mak Morn by Robert E. Howard

Definitive Sword and Sorcery: Kull by Robert E. Howard

Definitive Sword and Sorcery: Conan by Robert E. Howard

Calling all Sword and Sorcery fans!

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Definitive Weird Fiction: Clark Ashton Smith

Definitive Weird Fiction: H.P. Lovecraft

Definitive Heroic Fantasy: The Broken Sword by Poul Anderson

Definitive: The John Carter/Martian/Barsoom tales of Edgar Rice Burroughs

Jirel of Joiry

by C. L. Moore

The 1930’s heralded the arrival of C.L. Moore, one of the pioneering women writers of speculative fiction, and the appearance of fantasy’s landmark female hero: Jirel of Joiry.

With her red hair flowing, her yellow eyes glinting like embers, and her face streaked with blood, Jirel is strong, fearless, and driven by honor. Her legendary debut, BLACK GOD’S KISS, begins as her castle, Joiry, is overrun by invaders, but knowing that this is one battle she cannot fight, she summons her courage and cunning and descends into the castle’s hidden reaches, where she crosses through a doorway into Hell itself…

JIREL OF JOIRY collects the classic tales of blood and vengeance that secured C.L. Moore’s place among legendary authors of sword and sorcery like Robert E. Howard and Edgar Rice Burroughs. Originally published in the magazine Weird Tales, Moore’s fantastic tales of warriors, gods, and magic are defined by a fierce, romantic vision that helped define the genre, earning her the title of Grand Master for lifetime achievement by the World Fantasy Convention.

Includes BLACK GOD’S KISS, BLACK GOD’S SHADOW, JIREL MEETS MAGIC, THE DARK LAND, and HELLSGARDE.

Cover of Weird Tales, October 1934, featuring “The Black God’s Kiss” by Moore (painting by Margaret Brundage)

Catherine Lucille Moore (January 24, 1911 – April 4, 1987) was an American science fiction and fantasy writer, as C. L. Moore. She was one of the first women to write in the genre, and paved the way for many other female writers in speculative fiction.

Moore met Henry Kuttner, also a science fiction writer, in 1936 when he wrote her a fan letter (mistakenly thinking that “C. L. Moore” was a man), and they married in 1940.

Afterwards, almost all of their stories were written in collaboration under various pseudonyms, most commonly Lewis Padgett (another pseudonym, one Moore often employed for works that involved little or no collaboration, was Lawrence O’Donnell.