Undertowers Podcast

Episode 14: The Hero Battle Brackett

Hear ye! Hear ye! It is time for the Battle Bracket! We work through a violent thought-experiment asking the question, “who would be the victor in a combat tournament between sixteen selected heroes from the Sword & Sorcery / Heroic Fantasy series we’ve read over the past year?” The challengers are: Sir Able - Gene Wolfe’s Wizard Knight Conan - Robert E Howard’s titular muscle-bound barbarian Corban - John Gwynne’s The Faithful & The Fallen Druss - David Gemmell’s Legend Elric - Michael Moorcock’s albino sorcerer from The Elric Saga Fafhrd - Fritz Leiber’s barbarian from his many Lankhmar tales Geralt - Andrzej Sapkowski’s The Witcher The Grey Mouser - Fritz Leiber’s mischievous thief from his many Lankhmar tales Karnak - David Gemmell’s Waylander Sir Leort - Gene Wolfe’s Wizard Knight Maquin - John Gwynne’s The Faithful & The Fallen Skafloc - Poul Anderson’s The Broken Sword Tarzan - Edgar Rice Burroughs Tarzan stories Tenaka Khan - David Gemmell’s The King Beyond The Gate Veradis - John Gwynne’s The Faithful & The Fallen Waylander - David Gemmell’s Waylander Matches were selected at random. Fighters assumed to be at the height of their powers with signature arms available to them. We have a lot of fun in this one and hope you will enjoy it. The music you heard was Greener Pastures by Hole Dweller from the record Crossroads.
 
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Episode 13: Rings of Power Season 2 Official Trailer, The First Sword & Sorcery Story: Lord Dunsany’s “The Fortress Unvanquishable, Save for Sacnoth”

Episode 13: Rings of Power Season 2 Official Trailer, The First Sword & Sorcery Story: Lord Dunsany’s “The Fortress Unvanquishable, Save for Sacnoth”
 
In this episode we react to the new “official” trailer for Rings of Power season 2. Then we do a full breakdown and deep dive into Lord Dunsany’s short story The Fortress Unvanquishable, Save for Sacnoth which is believed by many to be the first Sword & Sorcery Story (the other contenders are The Shadow Kingdom which is the first King Kull story by Robert E Howard but Howard’s first published Sword & Sorcery story would be Red Shadows a Soloman Kane story which although it was written after The Shadow Kingdom was published by weird tales first). We discuss whether Dunsany’s fairy tale fits the definition of a Sword & Sorcery story (spoiler warning, we do!) and run through our overall enjoyment and delight in reading the story. 
 
You can read Lord Dunsany’s story here:
http://www.digital-eel.com/blog/library/The_Fortress_Unvanquishable_Save_For_Sacnoth.htm
 
The tale can also be found in Lord Dunsany’s short story collection The Sword of Welleran and Other Stories. 

Episode 12: Robert Downey Jr Returns & Schuyler Hernstrom's The Gift of the Ob-men

While Sam is unfortunately absent from this episode, Steven and Daniel met at Smoker’s Abbey in East Nashville to discuss Robert Downey Jr’s return to the MCU as Doctor Doom and then do a deep dive into Schuyler Hernstrom’s magnificent short story The Gift of the Ob-men, originally published in 2016 in Cirsova magazine and later collected in Hernstrom’s novel The Eye of Sounnu, being released in 2020. Sky’s writing is a gift to all lover’s of Sword & Sorcery and a breath of fresh air for those worried the genre was dead. His storytelling evokes fantasy giants such as Robert E Howard and Jack Vance and his work is no slouch alongside these titans. We have a great discussion and look forward to sharing Hernstrom’s work with you. You can read The Gift of the Ob-men online right here. The music you heard was Greener Pastures by Hole Dweller from his Crossroads EP.
 
 
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Episode 11: JB Jackson & Shagduk

Episode 11: JB Jackson & Shagduk
 
In this episode we interview JB Jackson, the author of Shagduk and the upcoming Ursula of Ulm, the second installment in the ongoing five book De re Dordica saga. We discuss his writing style and inspiration for Shagduk. Shagduk is an epistolary novel being written as a journal or diary and we dive deep into what writing in this style entails. We discuss some key touchpoints in Diary of a Nobody by Weedon Grossmith and George Grossmith and Satan Wants Me by Robert Irwin. We talk through his admiration for fantasy giants like JRR Tolkien and Jack Vance and how JB read a years worth of newspapers from 1977 to make sure that the places, dates, weather, events, and ways people were thinking and talking back in that time were accurate and true to life. We dive into all this and much much more. We hope you enjoy this conversation as much as we did. You can buy Shagduk here directly from Pilum Press. It is also available on Amazon. Look for Ursula of Ulm to be released any day now. You can follow JB on x/twitter at @deredordica. The music you heard was Greener Pastures by Hole Dweller from his EP Crossroads.
 
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Episdoe 10: Underrated/Underread Authors & Build a D&D group

In this episode we discuss authors that we love that we feel either aren't as respected or aren't as widely read as they should be. Steven gets us kicked off with Lloyd Alexander and especially his Chronicles of Prydain series. Steven later talks about his admiration for Glen Cook and the Chronicles of the Black Company and Christopher Buehlman with his horror fantasy Between Two Fires in sharp focus as well as The Blacktongue Thief. Daniel brings the group his admiration for Jack Vance and especially his Lyonesse Trilogy as well as the late 60s novella The Dragon Masters. Vance’s most well known work is Tales of the Dying Earth. Daniel then shares his love for Robert Holdstock’s book Mythago Wood and it’s highly unique take on fantasy and also John M. Ford’s The Dragon Waiting, an alternate history fantasy novel. Sam begins his offerings with his love for Kurt Vonnegut and especially his novel Sirens of Titan. We also briefly discuss again the delight that was Galapagos even though it is seen as a “lesser” Vonnegut. Sam then talks about Fritz Leiber, the forgotten Sword & Sorcery master. His Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser stories are as exciting and inventive as they are hilarious. Lastly, he discusses Poul Anderson, especially through the lens of his masterwork, The Broken Sword. Released the same year as the Fellowship of the Ring, it is really interesting to see both the differences and similarities between Anderson’s wonderful novel and Tolkien’s Middle Earth. 
 
Then, we build a D&D group starting with a Patron who set them on a quest before selecting a Fighter, Wizard, Rogue, Cleric, and then a Wild Card. 
 
As always, thanks to Hole Dweller. You can find his song Greener Pastures from Crossroads on his bandcamp and all major streaming services.

Episode 9: an interview with Scott Christian Sava

In this episode we interview Scott Christian Sava and delve into his history with art, design, and scifi/fantasy works, especially in comics. We talk about his affinity for Spider-man and Conan the Barbarian especially and his years spent seeking work at the early Comicons. We cover his work animating video games for the Sega Genesis and Atari arcade machines and later work in the Casper films. He would later go on to direct Animal Crackers and create the animated graphic novel series The Dreamland Chronicles. We talk about his current artwork and development and the Hobbit hole he works in currently. We talk about his desire to see more hope and heroism in current works of fiction. 
 
A big thank you to our sponsor, Black Sword Coffee Company. Black Sword Coffee Company’s views are their own and do not reflect the views, standards, or platform of the Undertowers Podcast. We just want their money. 
 
The music you heard was Greener Pastures by Hole Dweller from the album Crossroads.

Episode 8: World Building and 5 items for a Hobbit adventure

World building is a foundational aspect of fantasy and science fiction and in truth, all fiction. We discuss our preferences in the world, especially examining Tolkien in Lord of the Rings and the Silmarillion, Gene Wolfe in the Book of the New Sun and Wizard Knight, Robert E Howard’s Conan series set in the Hyborian Age, Glen Cook’s The Black Company, Red Rising by Pierce Brown, John Gwynne’s Faithful and the Fallen, and JB Jackon’s Shagduk. We talk about how world building is key even in non-fantastical settings but is paramount in worlds real or imagined. 
 
Then we select five items, three that we remembered to grab, and two that Gandalf brings that we forgot before embarking on the adventure to the Lonely Mountain. 
 
The episode starts with Takes from Dragonstone Island and a first installment of thoughts about House of the Dragon and Fire & Blood. Are dragons nukes?
 
The song you heard on was Greener Pastures by Hole Dweller from his great Crossroads EP.

Episode 7: Pages vs Pacing & Sword & Sorcery Draft-a-Fellowship

Can books be too short or long? Or is pacing more important than pages? In this episode we discuss the importance and our preference for story length and focus. Is there a right answer? Listen to find out. 
 
Then, we draft a Lord of the Rings-style Fellowship, using a maximum of two characters from the Sword & Sorcery–Heroic Fantasy series that we are currently completing consisting of: Conan, Elric, Fafhrd & Gray Mouser, Broken Sword, Drenai Saga, Witcher, Wizard Knights, and the Faithful & the Fallen. We are selecting a party using a modified template from the Brothers Gwynne selecting a Ringbearer, Champion, Swordsman, Axeman, Mage, Counselor, Archer, Animal Companion, and Wild Card. We will post our selections on Instagram and X/Twitter where you can let us know which Fellowship was likeliest to succeed and also share your Fellowship with us. We’d love to hear from you. 
 
The song you heard was Greener Pastures by Hole Dweller from his album Crossroads. Check out Hole Dweller at his Bandcamp here. 
 
We are currently reading Shagduk by JB Jackson in anticipation of his upcoming sequel Urusula of Ulm releasing in the near future.