Spooky season is approaching fast, but as fall eases in we need to head out on some classic adventures.
This month, here are some random old school fantasy and gritty western picks for the simple joy of reading:
Solomon Kane tales by Robert E. Howard
My husband has been compiling a detailed journal of all the works of Conan the Barbarian creator Robert E. Howard, but his other creation, Solomon Kane, has always been more my speed. Set during the late 16th century and early 17th century, Soloman Kane was the hunter and destroyer of the ungodly evils and seeker of justice, yet he wasn’t with out his own haunting inner demons. Howard himself described him as a “man born out of his time — a strange blending of Puritan and Cavalier…a knight errant in the sober clothes of a fanatic.” There are plenty of different paperback story collections haunting used and new book stores, and you can enjoy any story no matter where you start. This is a perfect September tale, because it works with will the end-of-summer escapes to the coming-of-October scary stories.
The Ox-Bow Incident by Walter Van Tilburg Clark
Many might have seen the classic Western film adaptation with Henry Ford and Anthony Quinn, which was such a griping tale mob justice, many people thought it was based on a real incident. I would think many lover of western tales know this story, but if you haven’t, It isn’t spaghetti western Good Guys vs. Bad Guys. This is more like the dark, rash times days in the late 1800s where the outcomes are more in the nature of Deadwood than Bonanza. It’s a dark and tough read, but it’s a solid story. Don’t expect any riding off into the sunset. When the angry frenzy of vigilante justice gets out-of-hand, it isn’t good for anyone. Not all angry mobs bear torches and pitchforks. Some come with pistols and nooses.
The Dragon and the George by Gordon R. Dickson
This 1976 novel is a longer version from an 1950s short story in a fantasy magazine. This is a fanciful world-jumping jaunt that doesn’t take itself too seriously. That doesn’t mean it ins’t a great fantasy adventure. It starts in modern day where Jim, a medieval history assistant professor finds himself caught in a quest to find his fiancee, Angie, after she disappears helping with an astral projection experiment. He gets whisked into a fantasy world..and into the body of a Dragon named Gorbash. Angie has been captured by evil dragons, and Jim not only has to rescue her but convince her he isn’t a real dragon. As such he has to team up with a “george” or what the dragons of the world call humans. There’s everything in this book from ogres to brave knights, magic makers and talking wolf creatures. Think Dungeons & Dragons meets Army of Darkness meets Dragon’s Lair. Here there be dragons, and they are good fun!
If you need to escape before the frenzy of October to December celebrations, some adventures, light or chilling, never grow old. Just like a the stories from a good book.