Jirel of Joiry (Illustrated)

Jirel of Joiry by C.L. Moore The complete tales of Jirel of Joiry, flame haired warrior maid of medieval France. Jirel is the proud, tough, beautiful, flame haired, warrior ruler of Joiry — located somewhere in medieval France about 1500. Her adventures pit her against witches, sorcerers and supernatural beings, as well as much more easily dispatched men. The Black God’s Kiss (1934) – A gripping story of a warrior maid who went down into a land of unthinkable evil in search of a strange weapon Black God’s Shadow (1934) – Another fascinating story about Jirel of Joiry, who went down into a terrible place of darkness to release a human soul from torment Jirel Meets Magic (1935) – The story of a warrior maid and the tremendous adventure that awaited her beyond the castle window The Dark Land (1936) – An amazing tale of a red-headed warrior maid, and a leprously white skull-faced woman, and a flame that was quenched Quest Of The Starstone (1937) (written with Henry Kuttner) – Across the far-flung centuries Jirel, the red-headed warrior-maid of old France, meets Northwest Smith, valiant rover of the spaceways, in a strange and thrilling adventure Hellsgarde (1939) – Dead men guarded the treasure in Hellsgarde Castle—a tale of Jirel of Joiry. A fantastic and blood-curdling story of the treasure in Hellsgarde Castle, and the dead men who stood guard over it—

Amazon.com Review

C. L. Moore created Jirel, ruler of Joiry, in reaction to the beefy total-testosterone blood-and-thunder tales of '30s pulp magazines, but Jirel is no anti-Conan. She's a good Catholic girl, stubbornly purposeful, relentless in pursuit of enemies or vengeance, hard-boiled and a little stupid, and cannot be distracted by mere physical attractiveness. Indeed, in Jirel's world, beauty = decadence = corruption. Were these stories written today, inevitably Jirel would have a lot of hot sex, but as they were first published in Weird Tales between 1934-1939, sexual attraction is mostly only vividly implied. No loss. Jirel's journeys through unnatural landscapes and her battles with supernatural opponents are still wonderful to read, and though newcomers Red Sonja and Xena are more famous now, Jirel rules as the archetypal, indomitable redheaded swordswoman in chain mail and greaves, swinging her "great two-edged sword."

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