by Mark Finn
(foreword to Rage of the Behemoth)

Mock sword and sorcery at your own peril.

Oh, we all know the clichés, for they haunt us on late-night movie channels: overly-muscled bodybuilders in furry diapers, wielding thick swords with even thicker accents, trading ham-fisted dialogue with Italian women in metal bikinis…it seems like a parody, really. In fact, it’s exactly that.

I’m not sure who thought it was a brilliant idea to compartmentalize popular fiction into all of the various ‘styles’ that we have now, but I’ve always thought it was a huge mistake. After all, if you have a historical character in a historical setting fighting fantastic creatures, is it fantasy or is it historical fiction? Consider that people in the Middle Ages actually believed in monsters before you make your choice. I’d argue that a dragon slayer book has just as much right to be considered historical fiction, if indeed the author did the research necessary to ground the tale in a believable setting. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

Why does sword and sorcery get such a bad rap? I’ll suggest that it’s because all anyone ever looks at is the parodies listed above, and in doing so thinks that all they have to do is copy the high points, and Viola! You’re the next Robert E. Howard.

Well, as anyone who’s ever tried to write sword and sorcery knows, Robert E. Howard was a genius, and writing sword and sorcery is particularly difficult to do. In the twentieth century, there have existed only a handful of real masters of the genre: Robert E. Howard, Fritz Lieber, C.L. Moore, Michael Moorcock, Karl Edward Wagner, David Gemmell, Charles Saunders and several others perhaps less well known but equally celebrated. What they all brought to the banquet of sword and sorcery writing was a unique point-of-view. That’s what really shapes and defines sword and sorcery fiction – it’s not always the world, but the worldview (and what you do with it) that matters the most.

In Rage of the Behemoth, you’ll find a number of different points-of-view; some political, some fantastic, and all offered up through a myriad of cultures and time periods. Notice, too, that the heroes of these stories aren’t invincible. They aren’t all imbued with destiny, or the trappings of magic, or even entitlement to greatness. They are usually people in a hard situation, doing what they can to overcome and survive.

Each of these stories, all carefully crafted and lovingly presented, will give you a glimpse into new realms, bristling with steel and intrigue. Of magic, you will find an abundance (and the crafty folks who trade in it). For action, look no further. Swords flash and fists crash with regularity. You’re in for an exciting ride!

I appreciate the dedication and effort that went into the making of this collection. With sword and sorcery still on the ropes, having lost so many of its forefathers, it’s nice to see another generation of authors willing to step up and get in the ring and fight for the genre that they hold so dear. Keep it up, fellas. We’ll beat ‘em yet. And then maybe we can – finally – get rid of the furry diapers, too.