Quote from: rhialto on May 01, 2023, 09:40:27 AM
Not specifically all barbarians, but check out Swords of the Four Winds https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GXDJYAU/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1.

Fun; just added to my Amazon wishlist.

I also just ordered the recent re-issue of Jirel of Joiry so I should have that next week.

Karl Edward Wagner and his Kane stories for some super fun dark sword and sorcery. Listen to High on Fire at the same time for maximum effect (maybe Surrounded by Thieves or Snakes for the Devine). Sleep's Dopesmoker works too if you prefer something slower.

- Bloodstone
- Night Winds (short stories)
- Death Angel's Shadow (short stories)
- Dark Crusade
- Darkness Weaves

After that, maybe James Silke's Death Dealer stories for a guilty pleasure.

Quote from: Chainsaw on May 01, 2023, 05:46:55 PM
Karl Edward Wagner and his Kane stories for some super fun dark sword and sorcery. Listen to High on Fire at the same time for maximum effect (maybe Surrounded by Thieves or Snakes for the Devine). Sleep's Dopesmoker works too if you prefer something slower.

- Bloodstone
- Night Winds (short stories)
- Death Angel's Shadow (short stories)
- Dark Crusade
- Darkness Weaves

After that, maybe James Silke's Death Dealer stories for a guilty pleasure.

The issue with the Kane stories is that they're out of print from what I can tell and I don't do e-books.  But I'll keep looking.  At least the Dark and Lonely Place collection is available and I like horror too, so that works.

Quote from: Persimmon on May 01, 2023, 07:47:23 PM

Quote from: Chainsaw on May 01, 2023, 05:46:55 PM
Karl Edward Wagner and his Kane stories for some super fun dark sword and sorcery. Listen to High on Fire at the same time for maximum effect (maybe Surrounded by Thieves or Snakes for the Devine). Sleep's Dopesmoker works too if you prefer something slower.

- Bloodstone
- Night Winds (short stories)
- Death Angel's Shadow (short stories)
- Dark Crusade
- Darkness Weaves

After that, maybe James Silke's Death Dealer stories for a guilty pleasure.

The issue with the Kane stories is that they're out of print from what I can tell and I don't do e-books.  But I'll keep looking.  At least the Dark and Lonely Place collection is available and I like horror too, so that works.

Yeah, you will have to buy them used. If you're patient you can find decent buys on ebay.

Does television count?  If so...

KORGOTH OF BARBARIA!!!

It's fun to see Cohen the Barbarian getting so much love.

Nobody going to mention the original barbarian hero, Tarzan? Ok, technically Heracles is probably the original barbarian hero but still.... The first two Tarzan books are quite good if you don't mind a bit of schlocky romance. They go on a bit of a quality slide after that, though.   

No cartoons and no Tarzan.  I want S&S stuff, not Imperialists running around Africa.  That would be too much like my day job.

Quote from: Summon666 on May 01, 2023, 10:01:20 AM

Quote from: tenbones on May 01, 2023, 09:52:51 AMCnaiur Urs-Skiotha, Breaker of Men - One of the most complex, troubled, dark, characters I've ever read. Going into his history is pointless. But if you want to see "Chaotic Evil" in a real literary sense, a barbarian so contradictory to civilization in all its forms, including his own tribe - this is one dark motherfucking road to walk with this guy. He's from the "Prince of Nothing" series by R. Scott Bakker, one of the darkest, most well conceived modern fantasy series in the last twenty-years. Cnaiur is a barbarian other barbarian fear.

Prince of Nothing is the Dark Fantasy, grim-dark mic drop that sets a bar that very little even gets close to. It is brutal. The Broken Empire Trilogy by Mark Lawrence is another great series like this. Is Jorg Ancrath a barbarian? He is certainly barbaric.

I own Lawrence's books, I haven't read them yet. They're on my pile.

In terms of Prince of Nothing - yeah that bar is set so goddamn high, I don't think it will ever be surpassed, nor do I think writers should *try* since Bakker put so much thought into his world. It rivals anything out there with its philosophical underpinnings and cosmological conclusions it comes to for that world. Cnaiur is like a force of nature. Truly a barbarian not simply by implication, but he is the rejection of any and all forms of societal necessity. There are no barbarians of Conan's ilk, or in any other work of fiction that approaches this state, because they are all barbarians by circumstance. Cnaiur is that as a child, but because of his issues takes it to insane levels. He is pure in a way that others can only look at him as the monster he is. Terrifying and troubling in the most fucked up setting ever.

Quote from: Baron on May 01, 2023, 12:36:03 AM
How about Jirel of Joiry? That ought to fit the bill.

Although I'm a fan of Leiber's, so our taste may not be the same.

Given Jirel was a medieval landholder and her initial adventure was to reclaim her domain from a conqueror I don't think she qualifies as a barbarian.

But read all the Jirel stories anyway. She is the second Sword & Sorcery hero and well worth the time.

Quote from: Zalman on May 01, 2023, 08:40:09 AM
I've been reading Savage Realms, a monthly S&S rag. Some of the stories are excellent, with authors and characters recurring regularly a la the original pulps.

I second this. Some of the stories are duds, but that's going to happen.

There are some excellent stories and reoccurring characters including a wild America post-magic apocalypse series and a fun "Conan and Gabrielle" series. The latter has run in almost every issues and I have loved every story.

The Groo comics were amazing.

Definitely a different take on the barbarian, but well worth the time.

Quote from: Simon W on May 01, 2023, 05:20:00 AM
I assume if you've read Conan, you've also read the Cormac Mac Art and Bran Mak Morn series' by Robert E Howard?

Cormac's tales were continued by another author. The stories weren't bad. i think it was Andrew J. Offut.

Also I second the comments about Grow the Wanderer.

Quote from: Ruprecht on May 04, 2023, 03:16:09 PM
Also I second the comments about Groo the Wanderer.

Well, duh. We can see your portrait you know!

Quote from: Summon666 on May 01, 2023, 09:48:33 AM

Cabot of the infamous Gor books. Gor is infamous as it has very explicit sexual content about domination and ritual humiliation of women.

I really enjoyed the Gor books, I've re-read them more than once. I usually skip the explicit stuff which is easy enough in paperback (pretty much the same explicit stuff is repeated in each book so it really does get tedious). The Gore series is the only series I think I would have preferred an abridged version, but artistic integrity and all that comes first I guess.