Black Gods Kiss (Planet Stories Library)
by C. L. Moore
List Price:
Our Price: $7.96
You Save: $5.03 (39%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $3.99 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: C. L. MooreBrand: Planet
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2007-11-13
ISBN: 1601250452
Number of pages: 222
Publisher: Paizo Publishing, LLC.
Book Reviews of Black Gods Kiss (Planet Stories Library)
Book Review: Following Jirel into Hell and Stranger Lands...
Summary: 5 Stars
Reading Black God's Kiss made me realize what have I lost at not knowing Catherine Lucille Moore. The five histories (and the crossover with her husband's character) appearing in Black God's Kiss (which is both the first story's name in the volume and the one which marks Jiriel of Joiry as an extraordinaire and quite human character) let me taste something of what Moore really is.
There is no other way to begin talking about Black god's Kiss and C. L. Moore than analizing Jirel of Joiry, which can be defined with one word: Fire. Jirel is nothing if not passionate; rage and passion and love (in a sort of way) rule her live, more than once this deep rage, this lust for life is what lets her survive the ordeals she confronts; from dark gods, to evil men, to dark wizards and men from the future. But Jirel is not only fire in essence, but also in body, from her long red hair, her lion yellow eyes, to the passion present on the feminine curves of her body, to her expression of eternal defiance or her burly celebration after victory. That is what defines Jirel of Joiry, such passion that forces us, as it does to her men, follow her into battle and sometimes into the abyss and stranger lands.
Yet still, Jirel is quite human herself. She is pasional, courageous and sometimes barbaric... yet she is also honorable, naïve, superstitious, and human in her desires. More than once she has found herself vulnerable and afraid, but most of the time her fury gives her the upper hand... other times she is as much afraid as any other girl... but in the hells she has taken to visit, who would not be afraid.
From the first story to the last France, from where she reigns Joiry, is nothing but a background to give us a frame of reference to understand Jirel. As some say, "Jirel comes from a naiver era". From this background we rarely see something more than the walls of her castle and those of her enemies, we learn that she has a cousin with a fortress close to her land, an allies and enemies too, yet we heard nothing of her parents or suitors. She is a catholic and has god in high regard, yet she wouldn't think twice in damn her soul or leave the protection of the cross if that is what she needs to destroy her enemies.
That is France... but the true stories always take... well... elsewhere. From outlandish worlds what when seen in the plain light of day will take your sanity away, fiendish and esoteric worlds that can only be understood under the veil of illusions, fae-like worlds with doors to worlds unimagined by mortal minds, esoteric places between the worlds of reality and fantasy. They all are populated by strange versions of ourselves, or bizarre creatures we hardly imagined in our weirdest dreams, where Jiriel usually travels alone, moving between alien creatures, some of which from human, only have the appearance... and usually it's never the true one.
Reading Dark God's Kiss and many of Jirel's stories is like reading an story of a female medieval Conan crossing in between worlds that H.P. Lovecraft would have imagined. An interesting and dangerous mixture, where she understand the impossibility of what she lives, but only has her senses to guide her and her rage to impulse her to win against, sometimes, impossible odds. But as always, her rage is a two bladed sword, as much times saving her, as making imperiling her, or destroying what she loves... more than once taking her to death's door if not for outside forces.
So, what can I said about C. L. Moore and Dark God's Kiss? Simply, I enjoyed deeply her stories and fall deeply in love with Jiriel, so much that the last stories I drank them like sweet wine, unable to stop and taking myself a day to savor the aftertaste this story left me before beginning with something else.
If you have the chance... don't doubt it, and give Jiriel an opportunity, I am sure she will bewitch you as she did with me.
Summary of Black Gods Kiss (Planet Stories Library)
First published in the pages of Weird Tales in 1934, C.L. Moore's Jirel of Joiry is the first significant female sword and sorcery protagonist and one of the most exciting and evocative characters the genre has ever known. Published alongside seminal works by H.P. Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard, the five classic fantasy tales included in this volume easily stand the test of time and often overshadow the storytelling power and emotional impact of stories by Moore's more famous contemporaries. A seminal work from one of fantasy's most important authors, Black God's Kiss is an essential addition to any fantasy library.Comics & Graphic Novels Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Comics & Graphic Novels Books
'Tis the Season to Be Crabby (Festive Peanuts)by Charles M. Schulz
HarperEntertainment; Published: 1996-10-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $2.00
Price in other shops:
You Can Count on Me (Peanuts Wisdom)by Charles M. Schulz
Harpercollins; Published: 1996-10; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $2.99
Price in other shops:
Somebody Loves You (Passionate Peanuts)by Charles M. Schulz
HarperEntertainment; Published: 1996-10-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $1.80
Price in other shops:
The Exile: An Outlander Graphic Novelby Diana Gabaldon
Del Rey; Published: 2010-09-21; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $13.21
Price in other shops:
Garfield Eats His Heart Out (Garfield Classics)by Jim Davis
Ballantine Books; Published: 2003-12-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.62
Price in other shops:
Garfield Eats His Heart Out (Garfield (Numbered Paperback))by Jim Davis
Ballantine Books; Published: 1984-08-12; Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.73
Price in other shops:
X-Men: A Novelizationby Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Dean Wesley Smith, Ed Solomon, Christopher McQuarrie
Del Rey; Published: 2000-06-06; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.71
Price in other shops:
Spice and Wolf, Vol. 1 (manga)by Keito Koume
Yen Press; Published: 2010-04-20; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.97
Price in other shops:
Ghost Worldby Daniel Clowes
Vintage/Ebury (a Division of Random; Published: 2007-05; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.66
Price in other shops:
Doonesbury's Greatest Hitsby G. B. Trudeau, Garry B. Trudeau
Holt Rinehart and Winston; Published: 1978-10; Paperback; Book
Best price: $94.71
Similar Books and other products
The Anubis Murders (Planet Stories Library)by Gary Gygax
Paizo Publishing, LLC.; Published: 2007-09-04; Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.07
Price in other shops:
The Bloody Crown of Conan (Conan of Cimmeria, Book 2)by Robert E. Howard
Del Rey; Published: 2004-11-23; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.00
Price in other shops:
Fantasy: The Liberation of Imagination (Genres in Context)by Richard Mathews
Routledge; Published: 2002-01-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $28.61
Price in other shops:
Sword Woman and Other Historical Adventuresby Robert E. Howard
Del Rey; Published: 2011-01-25; Paperback; Book
Best price: $11.49
Price in other shops:
A Short History of Fantasy (Popular culture)by Farah Mendlesohn
Libri Publishing; Published: 2009-01-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $17.93
Price in other shops:
Elak of Atlantis (Planet Stories)by Henry Kuttner
Paizo Publishing, LLC.; Published: 2008-02-05; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.12
Price in other shops:
The Dark World (Planet Stories)by Henry Kuttner
Paizo Publishing, LLC.; Published: 2009-01-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.00
Price in other shops:
Northwest of Earth: The Complete Northwest Smith (Planet Stories Library)by C. L. Moore, C. J. Cherryh
Paizo Publishing, LLC.; Published: 2008-04-08; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.45
Price in other shops:
Who Fears the Devil (Planet Stories (Paizo Publishing))by Manly Wade Wellman, Mike Resnick, Karl Edward Wagner
Paizo Publishing; Paizo Publishing, LLC.; Published: 2010-04-20; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.38
Price in other shops:
Robots Have No Tails (Planet Stories)by Henry Kuttner
Paizo Publishing, LLC.; Published: 2009-07-07; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.17
Price in other shops: