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                   Caveat Sherlock Holmes is in the public domain, as are the works of H.P. Lovecraft and Alexander Dumas. However, freshly-created, original fiction is the copyright of the author. Note that my work adresses adult themes, and is therefore not recommended for YA or children. Copyright All textual material on this website is copyright by Mike Adamson. All artwork with the exception of the book and magazine covers is copyright by Jen Downes. |
After science fiction, and leaving Sherlock Holmes aside, Mike's next most active area over the years has probably been fantasy. With series taking place in multiple fantasy worlds, Mike has written some dozens of pieces spanning pure fantasy and the historical form, with strong inspirations from the "Big Three" of the 1930s. Fantasy was an early interest, some experimental writing in the genre falling in his early teens, guided by an enthusiasm for comics and a love of fantasy films, such as Ray Harryhausen's Sinbad movies. Below, you'll find an essay on Mike's fantasy worlds, a complete listing of his fantasy series and the individual stories, and links to publications containing them. by Mike Adamson Fantasy can be, ostensibly, anything you want it to be, though the genre as a whole operates within certain rules. There have been many commentaries on what constitutes genre and the constantly evolving subgenres within the wider groupings, but fantasy, by and large, means — to me — an ancient or historical context in which the door is open to magic, monsters and mayhem. This can take the form of heroic action or the darker styles, the physical and psychological terrors which form a bridge to the horror genre. As a child I associated fantasy with the fairy tale Medieval context, with all its stock in trade, of knights and damsels, dragons and witches; the traditional Arabian Nights canon also seemed to fall in this group. I was in my early teens when I first encountered the work of Robert E. Howard and realised that fantasy could be much more — worlds that never were, filled with every permutation of action, adventure, horror and heroism. This threw a new light on the tales of Edgar Rice Burroughs, and I found myself enjoying a more varied and entertaining field than I had ever guessed existed. The classic Marvel comics of the day fed my craving for adventure when the original stories were hard to come by and I fell upon the Sphere Books edition of the Conan anthologies in the late 1970s with glee. About ten years later I stumbled onto the works of Clarke Ashton Smith, and, although the language in which he wrote was rather beyond me at the time, I was seduced by his luxurious images and stark strangeness. I still have the Panther/Grenada editions of the 1980s, with covers by Bruce Pennington, and love to return to those "Lost Worlds" to taste again not just the elixir of his prose, but also the sense of discovery that accompanied my first exposure. I have other volumes now, of course, but those editions remain special to me. Finally, I discovered the work of H P Lovecraft much later in time, and devoured the canon in a "complete works" volume from Project Guttenberg, before receiving a mammoth hardback edition for Christmas some years ago. This completed the "Big Three," the trio of towering talents that were the backbone and mainstay of Weird Tales in the 1930s. One might say it is not wise to submerge oneself in the thoughts and expressions of a hundred years ago, and there is wisdom in this. But Smith is credited with inventing the contiguous world cycle of stories in which different characters come and go against a common backdrop, and I wanted to use this formula for my own fantasy adventures. Thus emerged several series. Back in the 1990s I tried my hand at fantasy with a couple of experimental pieces, and though they were not published at the time they spun off many further outings. These were the “Avestium” and “Conalore” cycles, the former of which has been the most successful—eight stories to date, with six published. "Avestium" is a country within a wider fantasy world, of approximately Classical to Medieval level, with the full compliment of magicians, strange beasts, gods and heroes, wars and disasters. The first story, "The Fall of the Dark God," had its first outing in Lovecraftiana, and I was lucky enough to find homes for other stories against the same backdrop. "Conalore" has been less successful, with just two pieces published. This cycle looks at the world in latest Ice Age times, following the fall of the Atlantean Empire. The colonies of the old empire are fighting for survival against raw, younger people filled with warrior fury, who will eventually tear down and eradicate the leftovers of antiquity, thus ensuring that the memory of Atlantis is all but lost to us. On a similar theme, around 2014 I began to write adventures of lost Lemuria, the "Atlantis of the Indian Ocean." My "Lemuria" tales have again not been so spectacular a success, with just one published to date. I'm not sure why this is — perhaps my allegory of the rising sea of those times as a thematic mirror for sea level change today is too heavy-handed a metaphor, or the spiritual/magical content is not pleasing first readers. Whatever, I'll persevere in submission, and have many more stories to write if and when I feel there's a market awaiting them. A further cycle is "Derros of Malovar," which falls under the "Sword and Planet" banner, a subgenre of fantasy epitomised by Burroughs' John Carter of Mars. Malovar is a ringed planet of exotic wastes, populated by fabulous beasts, and home to a Classical-level civilisation. I have two stories to date, both published by Heroic Fantasy Quarterly, and more to come. Then there are my "Zamalek" stories, once more two outings to date, both published. Zamalek is a fantasy world based on Ancient Egypt, in which all manner of fantastical things can play out, from dreams of immortality to visions of catastrophe. I look forward to writing more in this group. A list of my fantasy stories appears below, and you'll find links to the various publications which have picked up these pieces. Avestium Fall of the Dark God Lovecraftiana Omnibus 2 Shelter of Daylight July 2023 Magus 4 Star Stories, #22, 6/2020 The Headsman of Garth Mythic #16, Spring 2021 FR The Black Cult of Tarantium Swords & Sorcery Mag. 6/2023 FR The Cursed Throne Kferrin.com FR The Demonologist of Kraith Fall Into Fantasy, 2019 Upon a Sunless Sea The Gift Conalore The Titan Witch-Woman and the Tiger-Man The Lorelei Signal, 7/2023 FR The Dreamer in the Dark Strange Wars The Siege The Forbidden Land Lemuria Lord of All Seas NewMyths #53 FR The Tale of Annand and Harusha At the Edge of the World Epiphany The Pearl Fisher's Daughter The Last Prophecy Zamalek Zamalek, by the Evening Light Mythaxis #26, 7/2021 FR Zamalek, the Dream Dim Shores Presents #2, 7/2020 Derros of Malovar Crown of Azt'nyr Heroic Fantasy Quarterly #53 FR Tymass by Ring-Light Heroic Fantasy Quarterly #39 FR Others The Dark Castle On submission Ieyasu and the Shadow Tales of the Sunrise Lands Forthcoming in Once Were Warriors Devotions Centropic Oracle, 3/2018 (site gone) Tale of Black Knight & White Princess Grim Fairy Tales Coming soon in Dragon Gems By the Moons of Grolph Sword and Planet The Silver Light of Forever Heroic Fantasy Quarterly #47 FR Pilgrim in the Ruins The Mage of Castle Thunder Sword & Sorcery #116, 9/2021 FR The Tower of Dreams Lovecraftiana Omnibus Vol. 5 Pilgrim to the City of the Dawn Whigmaleeries and Wivestales Hubris in Retrograde Pride 
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