Brain Leakage
  • Home
  • Books
    • The Queen's Adepts
  • Short Fiction
  • About Me
  • Contact
  • Newsletter
Picture

Review: Thune's Vision by Schuyler Hernstrom

8/22/2018

2 Comments

 
Picture
If you travel in pulp sword and sorcery circles long enough, sooner or later you're going to run into the name Schuyler Hernstrom. And with good reason. Few writers working today have grasped the pulp S&S aesthetic as throughly as Hernstrom. The stories in this collection deliver old-school action, weird fantasy, and hard-hitting heroes. 

Originally appearing in Heroic Fantasy Quarterly, "The Challenger's Garland" is the only reprint. The story follows Molok, a ringwraith-like servant of the Death God, on his journey to challenge yet another champion in his lord's name. The tale is short, and there aren't any real surprises here. Especially not after we're introduced to Lobon, the champion. Even so, Hernstrom's telling is immensely satisfying. Rather than feeling predictable, the linear nature of the story gives the events a sense of finality, and portrays the characters as slaves to an inescapable fate.

"Athan and the Priestess" is the story that gives this collection its title. Athan, warlord of the steppes, receives a vision from Thune, the tribe's dying wizard. Athan is tasked with crossing the magic wall separating the steppe from the lands to their ancient enemies, the Ullin. There, he is to lay with the Ullin High Priestess and father a mighty son. The following adventure is a fantasy in the classic Weird Tales mode, with strange sorcery, wicked goddesses, and ancient towers. 

"Movements of the Ige" is almost a science fantasy. The story details a ritualistic battle between the primitive, lizard-like denizens of an unnamed planet. The proceedings are interrupted when an otherworldly "egg" drops from the sky, bringing with it some alien explorers. Once again, there are few surprises here. But Hernstrom paints an exceptionally vivid and well-realized culture among the lizard-like Ige in this short tale. 

"The Ecology of the Unicorn" is more-or-less a Vance pastiche. While not explicitly set on Vance's Dying Earth, Hernstrom's work here recalls the earlier, loosely-linked shorts that made up the first Dying Earth collection, especially "Turjan of Miir" and "Mazirian the Magician." The plot is simple enough: the wizard Malathiksos seeks immortality, demanding the help of a captive fae creature named Rutu. The flourishes are what make this story stand out, and the flourishes are pure Vance. In other hands, this one would be a complete misfire, but Hernstrom pulls it off admirably. The ironic twist ending is a hat-tip the master himself would have probably enjoyed. 

The longest story in the collection, and probably my favorite, is "Adalwolf's Saga." In a pseudo-Norse/Germanic culture, Adalwolf must avenge his father's death against a rival warlord. The initial battle goes poorly, with only Adalwolf and his brother, Gasto, escaping the field. At first believing himself cursed, Adalwolf soon gains the favor of the All-Father. But his righteous quest for vengeance gradually twists into self-serving ambition, and Gasto questions whether or not the All-Father will be pleased.

It's incredibly rare for me to buy a single-author collection and enjoy every story. Thune's Vision was an exception. 

If you enjoy reading the pulp greats of yesteryear, particularly Robert E. Howard or Jack Vance, then I highly recommend this collection. It might not be up to the lofty standards of those two masters, but it scratches that old-school itch in a way that most modern fantasy doesn't.

Thune's Vision is available on Kindle for $2.99. There's also a paperback edition available for $5.00.  

2 Comments
Mike Mitchell
8/23/2018 08:28:13 pm

Thank you for taking the time to write.up such a detailed review. This is just the sort of book I've been looking for.

Reply
Daniel J. Davis
8/24/2018 12:10:32 pm

Glad it was helpful! As for the book, if you're a pulp fan, I can pretty much guarantee you won't be disappointed.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Picture

    About

    I'm an award-winning science fiction and fantasy writer based out of North Carolina. This is where I scream into the digital void. I like cookies.

    Archives

    November 2021
    October 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    March 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    October 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018

    Categories

    All
    Adam Lane Smith
    Apocalypse
    Basic Fantasy Roleplaying Game
    Book Excerpt
    Castlevania
    Criticism
    Culture
    Dungeons & Dragons
    Dying Earth
    Fiction
    Jack Vance
    Kitbashing D&D
    Lamentations Of The Flame Princess
    Mad Max
    Martial Arts
    Michael Moorcock
    Movies
    Myths And Legends
    OSR
    Pocky-clypse Now
    Post Apocalyptic
    Poul Anderson
    Pulp
    PulpRev
    Ravenloft
    Review
    Roleplaying
    Schuyler Hernstrom
    Science Fiction
    Short Story Book Club
    Space Opera
    Star Wars
    Steampunk
    Sword And Sorcery
    Westerns
    Writing

    RSS Feed

© COPYRIGHT 2020 DANIEL J. DAVIS
​ ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • Home
  • Books
    • The Queen's Adepts
  • Short Fiction
  • About Me
  • Contact
  • Newsletter