ashleylm's review against another edition
3.0
Echoing what some others have said: I found the descriptions worked well, Jirel herself not terribly interesting, and the plots godawful dull. The climax was almost always some variation of Jirel thinks/endures/waits/focuses/looks/imagines/stands/concentrates, which is about a dull a climax as you can wish for. The author appears not to care for multiple characters and/or dialogue very much, and eschews them as much as possible. It's mostly Jirel standing somewhere, with description of what she sees.
She also has an apparent obsession with blackness (story 1: the black god, story 2: the black god again, story 3: black stones, black stump, black hair, black-robed wizard, black sky (despite it being daytime), black mountains, black blob at the doorway, story 4: entire black dimension, black villain with black beard, black mountains, black ocean, black black black black black etc. ...
If she had written some variant of William Hope Hodgson's The Night Land it might have been amazing. But as far as sword and sorcery goes, yowzer, this is tiresome meat. So 5 stars for description, 1 star for plot/character, kind of a low 3.
(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s). I feel a lot of readers automatically render any book they enjoy 5, but I grade on a curve!
She also has an apparent obsession with blackness (story 1: the black god, story 2: the black god again, story 3: black stones, black stump, black hair, black-robed wizard, black sky (despite it being daytime), black mountains, black blob at the doorway, story 4: entire black dimension, black villain with black beard, black mountains, black ocean, black black black black black etc. ...
If she had written some variant of William Hope Hodgson's The Night Land it might have been amazing. But as far as sword and sorcery goes, yowzer, this is tiresome meat. So 5 stars for description, 1 star for plot/character, kind of a low 3.
(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s). I feel a lot of readers automatically render any book they enjoy 5, but I grade on a curve!
books_and_keys's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
eggp's review against another edition
2.0
Statuesque ginger
so horned up she can't think straight
murderous hotpants.
so horned up she can't think straight
murderous hotpants.
alexiachantel's review against another edition
5.0
This compilation of short stories is stunning. Black God's Kiss is eerie and by far my favorite. Jirel's vibrancy and the alienness of the landscape that is hell are wonderfully written. There is so much writing inspiration within these stories.
arthurbdd's review against another edition
5.0
Some of the best dark, raw, brutal, and libidinous sword and sorcery to come out of the pulp eras; puts Robert E. Howard to shame. Full review: https://fakegeekboy.wordpress.com/2021/06/06/planetary-peril-and-seductive-sorcery/
gorillotaur's review against another edition
2.0
Podcast review (swedish) http://lashart.podbean.com/e/cl-moore-jirel-of-joiry/
lleullawgyffes's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
codalion's review against another edition
3.0
A weird, fun cross between trashy narmy oldschool sword & sorcery (*how* many men want to tame the unconquerable Jirel already?) and HPL-ish weird fiction. I liked "Black God's Kiss" and "Hellsgarde" the most; "The Black Land" wasn't bad either; "Black God's Shadow" was a tad repetitive, and "Jirel Meets Magic" bizarre and meandering but kind of fun (and gay). Definitely read it for the imaginative imagery and weirdness, not depth of plot.
alexanderpaez's review against another edition
4.0
A sabiendas de que son relatos escritos en la década de los años 30, que son relatos pulp, y que están gestados en una época concreta, no he podido quitarme de encima la sensación de que las aventuras se hacían algo repetitivas y que me faltaba contexto y visión de conjunto. Da la sensación de meterte en un capítulo cualquiera de una novela, y no en una historia por primera vez. Pasado ese bautismo de fuego inicial son relatos muy disfrutables e interesantes a nivel histórico. Voy a repetir con Moore, seguramente con Judgement Night.