A Return to Bal-Sagoth
Revisiting The Gods of Bal-Sagoth : A Forgotten Gem of Sword-and-Sorcery. Thirty years. That’s how long it’s been since I last read Robert E. Howard’s The Gods of Bal-Sagoth. I was a teenager back then, devouring pulp fantasy like it was oxygen, and Howard’s tales were my gateway to a world of barbaric heroes, crumbling civilizations, and dark gods. But this particular story? It had faded into the recesses of my memory, overshadowed by the towering presence of Conan and Kull. Recently, I decided to revisit it—and let me tell you, it hit me in ways I wasn’t expecting. The Story: A Quick Recap For those unfamiliar, The Gods of Bal-Sagoth is a novella first published in *Weird Tales* in 1931. It follows Turlogh O’Brien, an Irish outlaw, and Athelstane, a Saxon warrior-turned-Viking, as they survive a shipwreck and find themselves on an ancient island ruled by the decadent city-state of Bal-Sagoth. The city is steeped in superstition and ruled by Gothan, a sinister priest who serves the da...