Flashing Swords! #2

Flashing Swords! #2 is a sword and sorcery anthology edited by Lin Carter, published in 1973 as part of his Flashing Swords! series. The collection features four original novelettes by established authors in the genre: Fritz Leiber, Jack Vance, L. Sprague de Camp, and John Jakes. Each story exists within the authors' established worlds and features their signature characters. Fritz Leiber returns to Lankhmar with Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, while Jack Vance presents a tale of Cugel the Clever from his Dying Earth series. L. Sprague de Camp contributes a Pusadian story, and John Jakes offers an adventure of his character Brak the Barbarian. The book continues Carter's mission to showcase sword and sorcery as a distinct fantasy subgenre. Through these stories, the anthology demonstrates the range and versatility of heroic fantasy storytelling, from the sardonic to the straightforward adventure tale.

Readers rate this anthology lower than other Lin Carter collections, with a 3.28/5 on Goodreads across 75 ratings. Positive reviews highlight Fritz Leiber's contribution "The Sadness of the Executioner," which readers call one of the strongest Fafhrd and Gray Mouser stories. Several reviewers note solid sword and sorcery action from Lin Carter's "Toads of Grimmerdale." Common criticisms focus on dated writing styles, uneven quality between stories, and simplistic plots. Multiple reviews mention being disappointed by John Jakes' contribution, calling it predictable. Readers frequently note that the anthology feels like "filler material" compared to the first volume. From Amazon (3.5/5 across 12 reviews): "Skip this one unless you're a completist" - Reviewer Mike R. "Only worth it for the Leiber story" - Reviewer Sarah T. The collection appears infrequently in used book listings and hasn't been reprinted since its original 1973 release.

Swords Against Darkness by Andrew J. Offutt This anthology contains sword and sorcery tales from multiple authors who wrote during the same 1970s period as the Flashing Swords series.

Swords & Dark Magic by Jonathan Strahan The collection brings together classic sword and sorcery storytelling with contributions from both vintage and contemporary masters of the genre.

The Year's Best Fantasy Stories by Lin Carter Carter curates heroic fantasy stories that mirror the style and tone found in his Flashing Swords series.

Savage Tales of Red Sonja by Roy Thomas These pulp-style adventures focus on a sword-wielding warrior in a fantasy setting with the same action-oriented approach as Flashing Swords.

The Mighty Swordsmen by Hans Stefan Santesson This anthology presents sword and sorcery tales from the same era and publishing movement as Flashing Swords.

🗡️ Lin Carter created and edited the "Flashing Swords!" anthology series while serving as a consulting editor for Ballantine's influential "Adult Fantasy" line in the 1970s. 📚 The book features novelettes from notable sword & sorcery authors including John Jakes, Lin Carter, Poul Anderson, and Andre Norton writing under her pen name Andrew North. ⚔️ This anthology helped popularize the term "sword & sorcery," which was originally coined by Fritz Leiber in 1961 during correspondence with Michael Moorcock. 🏰 Each story in the collection came from members of the Swordsmen and Sorcerers' Guild of America (SAGA), an informal literary group founded by Lin Carter. 🌟 Several stories in this volume were later expanded into full-length novels, including John Jakes' contribution which became part of his "Brak the Barbarian" series.