The tiger-men were many in number, but those very numbers appeared to hamper them. They could not throw their combined weight against the six, for the alleyway was narrow; they could only come in twos and threes, and Bluefang and Lalery's long dagger and Porthis' horn-handled battle-axe flew to meet them."Cat beings from Ulxnar," Myrnis whispered once, and was silent, though Kyrik's bellowings might well have drowned other words. For the warlock-warrior was in his element here, fighting flesh and blood enemies into whose meat he could bury Bluefang, tear its blade free to swing and cleave again. No reptilian horror from Moforgon's realms, these tiger-men, but semi-human beings that could die writhing and screeching on a sword-point.
Once more into the breach, once more, you merry mother grabbers! It's time for another bout of swords and sorcery with the mighty Kyrik, and thankfully our warlock-warrior fares much better here than in his last adventure against the Wizard's Sword. Those skinflints at Leisure Books keep things tight enough on their end - I only caught one typo, misspelling poor Kyrik's name at one point, and no blatant continuity problems like last time. Indeed, Kyrik Fights the Demon World is a slick little narrative, structured almost like a classic DnD game! Our hero and his Gypsy love Myrnis (she's truly Romany in this fantasy world, for what it's worth) fall in with a band of thieves who were tasked to retrieve five magical artifacts for the demon lord Moforgon, only to find that, of course, his dark majesty has even darker designs on our realm, and the artifacts are his key to total dominion over Terra! Moforgon is locked in a rivalry with fellow demon Eldrak, and our mortal heroes will have to navigate these demonic power politics if they're to survive ... Kyrik's love Myrnis has a secret ally though, in the love goddess Illis, who's temporarily possessed her!
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| More smokes! |
Author Fox delivers some classic sword and sorcery action right from the start in this one, with Kyrik gifted a treasure map from a dying thief in an alleyway. Before you know it he's fighting a giant snake to retrieve the Bells of Salmalinda from the bowels of a ruined temple in the Doomday Swamps - and if that kind of cheerful nonsense perks you up, this is the story for you. Fox's worldbuilding is a mite goofier than Robert E. Howard's classic Hyperborea, but he succeeds in transporting us to his dark fantasy world with strong, professional prose, even if we can see the story guardrails guiding our heroes through to their epic showdown with Moforgon. It all culminates in a hellish fight through a demonic fortress projecting into our realm, with skeletal wraiths tearing through the walls and floors, bedevilments to resist, and evil priests to slay. The thieve's band is whittled down, with the gorgeous platinum haired (and purple eyed!) Lalery the obvious survivor - and rival to Myrnis for Kyrik's love-lust! Fox handles his characters with some subtlety despite their circumstances, which is appreciated. True to his title as warlock-warrior, Kyrik is more comfortable with dark magics than your average barbarian, so wizards had better beware.
The atmospheric cover art is by Ken Barr, and it does well enough for not having much to do with the story. Kyrik Fights the Demon World is available to read for free and to purchase as an ebook at the Gardner Francis Fox Library. This Kyrik adventure earns a muscular 3/4 rating for good, strong barbarian thrills!
Leisure Books, 1975
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