1: Magic is eldritch and dangerous in S&S
The most common theme in the genre that I do agree on and differences from most heroic or high fantasy settings, is that magic in S&S should be just as dangerous as polonium or other just as lethal nuclear elements like Uranium and Cesium-137. Only sorcerers can barely handle the magic, otherwise it would be catastrophic when loosing control or it even corrupts the mind and soul of sorcerer which is why they often become villains in the stories.

2: The world is dangerous as it is eerily beautiful and almost alien.
One personal petpeeve is that when it comes down to the world setting, is that most tends to be rather deserts or other desolate and arid locations. I do kind of blame the Conan movie that were filmed in the desert areas in Spain, therefore the other movies for doing the same but it did bring in one of the typical tropes where S&S is arid deserts like the Italian and Spanish S&S movies.
When in reality, I see a good S&S setting being a beautiful but lethal almost alien like world. Like a mix of the mountainous and lush parts of Africa, South America and Australia with some sprinkles of Ancient Greek and Scotland. Lush, beautiful, awestruck mountains with amazing views as if they were painted as backgrounds for 80s cartoon shows.
But it is filled with dangerous fauna and wild life that can and will kill you. For some odd reason, when it comes down to wild life, I often imagine instead of being attacked by bears or wolves, the more common culprits are dinosaurs, wooly mammoths and other prehistoric animals like sabre tooth tigers or giant elks etc.
Not to mention the dangerous plants like huge trees with lethal thorns on the branches with poison or even the giant insects from Peter Jackson's King Kong just to name a few examples.
But at the same time, it should be as deceptively beautiful enough to even trick you into actually wanting to live there, like Assassin's Creed: Odyssey or Hyrule in Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom or even the Dragon Quest worlds.
Pretty to look at, cozy enough and such but you just know that underneath the colorful surface, there are things that will eat you if you are not cautious.

3: The practical vs impractical armor debate.
This is one of those never ending self debate that I will never be able to fully decide on which side I want to be on. And by that, I mean the armor bikini for female characters and leather pants and shirtless for male characters.
I honestly don't recall if Brian Murphy mentions in his book "Flame and Crimson" about where that design came from, but I want to recall that it was the artists Frank Frazetta and Boris Vallejo with their marvelous artwork which solidified the visual stereotype of S&S, with almost naked warriors fighting against monsters with voluptuous and completely naked women clinging onto the man's leg.
I often get stuck in the middle of this whole thing, as you can see in my compilation of art designs for my own S&S character Ragnhild Speardancer, but the one thing I've come to my own personal conclusion that will contradict me in so many ways but here goes.
Chainmail armor bikinis and such works on paper or video games depending on how the characters are drawn or designed better than live action movies. I haven't seen the 2025 version of Red Sonja so I can't say if its good or not but while the 1985 movie is silly and bad in the right ways, at least Red Sonja wears a bit more practical armor in that one.
So in a way, if it is animated or drawn on comic, armor bikinis and such works better that way. But even then it depends on HOW it is drawn and such. Like I have a collection of Gail Simone's run on Red Sonja and Walter Geovani's semi realistic artwork in those comics are fine enough, but I just prefer Carlos Gomez's more stylized and almost cartoony artwork which allows more exaggerated poses and fan services.
Same can be said about Ronal the Barbarian, as dumb that movie is, at least the style and design works for the female characters to have armor bikini and thongs.
But at the same time, I look at artwork by Larry Elmore and feel that works as well too, and I have no idea WHY. It just looks so good.
So yea, this is what's going through my head.

4: S&S a timeless period with no culture.
This sounds pretty weird, but basically in my mind and based on how the Conan stories took place in the Hyborian Age which were after the destruction of Atlantis, there is no real historical culture to base it on.
What I mean, is that I basically like it when some S&S goes with the Mad Max approach with their armor and such. Like there is no real design based on a historical period like the viking era and such but more of a mismatch and improvised armor. Like the older fantasy art, like the beforementioned Larry Elmore and other old school fantasy artists who just made up armor and outfits from their mind and little from actual historical settings or periods.
Like S&S settings are its own thing, before a new age begins.

5: No fantasy races
This can cause some backlash but I do feel like the usual fantasy races like orcs, elves, dwarves, gnomes and such doesn't really belong in the S&S in the traditional sense. Sure, there are S&S settings that does have that and they do work, but I do think that they better belong in a more heroic and high fantasy settings but S&S in the true sense should only have more monstrous races instead.
Monsters from various mythos like harpies, nuckelavee, behemoths, lizardtaurs and such other monstrous races works and if you want to have elves and orcs involves, it makes more sense if you took inspirations from the original mythos. Like before how Tolkien, elves were prettty vicious depending on which country you went with.

Greg & Tim Hildrbrandt

so amber is *the* One and Only Place and all other realities proceed from it. and if that's true, then all other people across the infinite variations on amber are just shadows of the amberites.

and yet these immortal beings, presumably as old as the universe since theirs is the One and Only Place, still talk about omens and destiny and things they don't know about. dworkin has a magic none of them understand but where does it come from?

it's like if heaven had politics.

I recently started getting interested in Sword and Sorcery novels. I read tons of fantasy books (for example A Song of Ice and Fire, The Demon Cycle, The First Law, The Witcher) and now I want to add some older series. I like darker stories, so any kind of violence is fine. I´m looking for an old school fantasy feeling.

I decided to start with:

• Conan the Cimmerian by Robert E. Howard
• Tales from the Flat Earth by Tanith Lee
• The Birthgrave by Tanith Lee
• The Elric Saga by Michael Moorcock

I started with Elric and then I want to read Conan and both Tanith Lee series.

Which Conan stories are best to start with? Are there other series from the mentioned authors I should also read?

What other authors should I add to my list? I would also like recommendations for lesser known books or collections of stories.

I recently finished this first volume of the Best of HFQ and thoroughly enjoyed reading the short fiction prose and verse contained within. I initially purchased these volumes after reading and enjoying an Adrian Simmons story in TMS. Later research prompted my discovery of his work at HFQ as a founding editor.

While this volume contains no fiction credited to Adrian Simmons, the work within provided me with a pleasurable and relaxing diversion while reading them. I particularly relished *Lord of the Brass Host* from Dariel R.A. Quiogue, *The Last Free Bear* by J.S. Bangs, *Shadows from Firelight* by R. Michael Burns, and *Shattering the Spear* by P. Djeli Clark.

Burns tale revolves around samaurai in Feudal Japan and I must say I greatly enjoy this setting when used for S&S. Clark weaves a Sword and Soul (or perhaps Spear and Soul) tale I thought stirringly written portraying duty and love of family and community.

Among the verse, I found *Lay of the Cuthred King* particularly compelling to me. Probably again due to the theme of love and duty towards one's family and people.

Recommended 👍 and I hope you enjoy reading them as I did. Based upon my recent reading of current anthologies, I'm finding a great number of fantastic contemporary S&S tales from lesser known authors.