Flashing Swords! #1

This book is part of a series that I had not heard of before coming across #2 in a used book store. "Flashing Swords! #1" was published in hardcover by Nelson Doubleday in 1973. There is also a paperback version published by Dell. The book was edited by Lin Carter and contains an introduction and 4 stories:

"Of Swordsmen and Sorcerers" by Lin Carter (Introduction)
"The Sadness of the Executioner" by Fritz Leiber
"Morreion" by Jack Vance
"The Merman's Children" by Poul Anderson
"The Higher Heresies of Oolimar" by Lin Carter

All of these stories had not been printed yet at the time this book was published so this is their first time in print. The hardcover also has a great Frank Frazetta cover (pictured to the right).
I am planning to have a subsequent post containing the full text of "Of Swordsmen and Sorcerers" (the intro) so I won't say anything about that here.
"The Sadness of the Executioner" by Fritz Leiber is another installment in the Fafhrd and Gray Mouser saga. It is basically about Death (although a minor Death, the Death of the World of Nehwon) planning out the taking of 200 human lives in the next 24 heartbeats. His plan is to take out 160 peasants and savages, 20 nomads, 10 warriors, 2 beggars, 1 whore, 1 merchant, 1 priest, 1 aristocrat, 1 craftsman, 1 king and 2 heroes. I'm sure you can guess who the 2 heroes turn out to be. In the end however, our 2 heroes prevail and Death is forced to take 2 others in their stead. As always, finding how this happens and how Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser survive is a story you won't be able to put down.
"Morreion" by Jack Vance is another Dying Earth story. Chronologically, it takes place after the stories in the two books "The Dying Earth" and "The Eyes of the Overworld". It is a story of the rescue of the magician Morreion who went missing many years earlier after being sent on a quest for IOUN stones. Of course, the other magicians of Earth are more interested in finding the stones than Morreion. After much bickering and debate, the magicians board a flying palace and travel to the end of the universe in search of Morreion. If you like Vance's other Dying Earth stories, you will definitely want to read this one.
"The Merman's Children" by Poul Anderson is the story of 7 children born of a merman and a human mother. A port town decides to emit a tone into the water that only the merfolk can hear in order to drive them away. It works except the children mentioned are half human so the tone doesn't affect them. The rest of the merfolk leave while some of the half-human children are away. The remaining children decide that they youngest should not travel with them to find their brethren because they fear she is not strong enough to make the trip. They leave her with a priest who subsequently converts her to Christianity and causes her to be sickened by the mere thought of her siblings. The priest also decides to send her away to a convent. The remainder of the story tells of her siblings' attempt to give her a better life as a human. They hire a boat that happens to be run by some corrupt men in order to collect gold long lost in a merfolk city. Along the way comes lies, deceit and treachery. Some of what happens between the shipmates and the merfolk is actually quite brutal but the best part is the fight between the siblings and a kraken over the lost city. This was definitely one of the best Poul Anderson stories I've read so far.
"The Higher Heresies of Oolimar" by Lin Carter is the first story of Amalric the man god of Thoorana and his magician sidekick, Ubonidus. I have read plenty of introductions and books edited by Carter but up until now have not actually read one of his stories. I have many of his books in paperback form but have not had time to read them yet. What I had heard from others was that her stories were mediocre tales that tended to copy the style of Robert E. Howard and others. While his style may be very similar at times, I thoroughly enjoyed this story. It piqued my interest enough that I plan to push some of his other books up higher in my queue. This story definitely had elements of Conan or Kull but Carter adds some very "gonzo" themes and creatures that make it different. I particularly enjoyed the hlagocyte, a sort of giant bee that can be ridden by two people upon a saddle. If you've been steered away from Carter in the past, I suggest you start with this story. You may decide you love his writing.