ORON Paperback – August 1, 1980

This was one of my all time favorites. It arrived in no time. The only problem that I have is being able to put it down.

I'm a huge fan of Sword & Sorcery fantasy so it's a little surprising to me that it took me so long to discover David C. Smith's writing. Perhaps I was a bit too young to read the genre at its height during the late 70's and early 80's. In any case that didn't stop me from growing up with a love for the genre whether it was through movies, dungeons and dragons or books. "Oron" is a pretty standard Conan-esque story. It's clear that Smith relied heavily on Robert E. Howard's inspiration when creating Oron. Oron is a barbarian, exiled from his mountainous tribe in the Nevga River Valley on the island of Attluma (think Atlantis). After travelling to the nearby land of Salasal, Oron joins the local militia there who are quelling rebellious local Lords against the King. Oron is under the command of Amrik "The Bull" who is the General of the King's Army. After an unpleasant falling out Oron and Amrik goes their separate ways. Wounded and power hungry Amrik allies himself with the ancient demi-demon, Kossuth. Kossuth, who can only take physical form on the material plane once every 1,000 years, uses Amrik's wanton lust for power and revenge to his advantage. As Oron continues to travel across Attluma he attracts followers and conquers various lands. Amrik of course resents Oron's growing fame and military success and vows to destroy him. Here are my thoughts on David C. Smith's "Oron;"Pros+ Plenty of action, swordplay, sorcery, blood and gore. Everything a novel of this genre needs.+ Cover art and interior illustrations drawn by famed D&D artist Clyde Caldwell.+ Contained a nice a relatively detailed map of the land of Attluma. Much of the map wasn't even mentioned in the novel but it was nice to get a sense of the overall land.Cons <Contains SPOILERS>- Smaller towns and locations mentioned in the story are not detailed on the world map.- Oron's relationship with Desdira happened almost instantly and was difficult to believe, destiny or not.- Oron is a bit too civilized, lawful and noble at times to be completely portrayed as a barbarian.- A few typographical errors that the editors missed.All in all Oron was a satisfying read that left me wanting to learn more about Oron's past. Luckily the author wrote several more books detailing just that, Oron's younger years. I've since purchased nearly all of David C. Smith's books including those involving Oron, as well as his six works involving Red Sonja and finally his Fall of the First World trilogy. The Sword and Sorcery genre is one of my favorite genres of fantasy and it's disheartening that it has fallen into obscurity. Luckily we still have past works by authors such as Smith and others we can turn to for that fix. Here's hoping that Smith and his fellow S&S authors will return to their roots some day or perhaps new talent of the genre will emerge. While he may not be as well-known or revered as Conan, I'll happily say, long live the adventures of Oron!

This novel is easily one of my top ten favorite sword and sorcery books. It is must for anyone who enjoys Wagner, Howard, and many others of the greats. I keep hoping someone puts these books in ebook form.