Impure Lichigan
Sword and Sorcery from the Great Lakes Realm, by Connor Coyne.
“If you seek a perilous peninsula, peep about you!”
The fortunes of the Great Lakes Realm have risen and fallen many times, and many are the tales the chroniclers have composed of the valiant and the villainous. In dark days of the recent past the UnDead wizard Cannos, known to his followers as “the Lich,” ascended the throne of the Bittle Citadel, seized the powers of the guilds and magistrates, cut off support to the struggling cities, and renamed his realm “Lichigan.”
But impure Lichigan is not without its heroes, flawed though they may be, their closets rattling with the sound of the skeletons therein. As the hand of the Lich falls heavy upon the land, a corn desheather with a suspiciously capable sword arm named Shalm, and a bitterly mischievous scrollmaster named Jayn meet one fateful night in the frustrated city of Firestone.
True, the light of guttering torches flares far behind these two courageous women. They may peer warily into the darkness ahead. This means only that their shadows fall long across the wicked plots of one rough Lich.
Some more about this malicious Midwestern magery
Robert Howard. C.L. Moore. Charles Saunders. Michael Moorcock. Fritz Leiber.
For generations of thirsty readers, these sword and sorcery pioneers have brought us grim and gripping stories of stalwart warriors, cunning rogues, and wicked wizards in worlds fraught with decay and corruption. You will find no saving the earth from overpowering evil in these tales; the heroes’ flaws are too glaring, the moral geography too muddled, and the temptations too … tempting.
Impure Lichigan is written in this same spirit. Inspired by the pulp fantasy authors he loves, and galvanized by trouble in beloved home of Flint, Michigan, author Connor Coyne has embarked upon a new journey into sword and sorcery. The journey of Impure Lichigan!
Sword-and-Sorcery from the Great Lakes Realm
Please consider purchasing your books from your local independent bookstore.
Lichigan 1: “Don’t Drink the Water in Firestone”
Available Now
Lichigan 2: “Something’s Rotten in Nasty Hatchet”
Available Now
Lichigan 3: “Fae and Gloaming in Dire Straits”
Autumn 2023
Praise
“This is a fantastic hat tip to the old fashioned, fast-paced, sword and sorcery pulp that has traded the oblivious escapism for some wickedly clever satire.
If you’re a fan of Pratchett, Beagle, or Gaiman, to give a taste, you’re likely to live this quick adventure through the nighttime dangers of Firestone. I legit stayed up reading until my eyes dried out.”
— Amazon review
“Anyone familiar with Flint, Michigan will easily recognize the cast of characters, particularly the enemies, and the story itself is based on the ongoing Flint Water Crisis, which Coyne has been vocal about in several publications since early 2016. However, through this sword and sorcery prose, Coyne delivers an unique take on a politically charged, man-made health crisis.”
— Amazon review
“Coyne delivers scathing commentary on the real life politics of austerity and the greed, laziness and cowardous of its adherents; couched in one woman’s quest for mead.”
— Amazon review
TALE #1: DON’T DRINK THE WATER IN FIRESTONE
“On a spell-bitten night, at the waning of the year, when the mums were in bloom and rotting apples spiced the air, Shalm set out to fetch a flagon of mead from the Lantern.” So begins a great adventure, and a great friendship as well: Shalm, a sullen hay baler / corn desheather / warrior, fleeing deadly secrets from her past seeks a mysterious penance: a single drink of mead. It will be harder than she imagines. The Lich of Lichigan and his servants have forced the city of Firestone to drink poisoned waters. Now, the desperate residents have consumed every potable drop of cider, wine, beer, and yes, mead. In her honey-driven quest, Shalm stumbles upon Jayn, a mischievous scrollmaster who speaks of a legend: a silver sieve that can purify the most polluted waters. This is a treasure that could be traded for the finest mead in the realm (and maybe help the poor people of Firestone along the way); but the Sieve has been lost, and Firestone is full of enemies, from jealous magistrates to murderous managers to vast terrors without name and beyond time. Shalm and Jayn have but one night to seize the Sieve and claim their reward… but much may happen before dawn.
TALE #2: SOMETHING’S ROTTEN IN NASTY HATCHET
“In the realm of Lichigan, near the village of Nasty Hatchet, in deep woods there rests a rock.”
Shalm has little affection for the remote frontier village of Nasty Hatchet, but it has become her sanctuary in need. Ever since she arrived, hungry and in the company of a young boy named Alders, the suspicious town has been a haven for the reclusive warrior. Beyond the villagers’ prying, her concerns include securing enough food to last the winter and dissuading Alders from hunting expeditions with their charismatic landlord.
That all changes when a monster breaches the walls of the town by daylight, ravaging livestock and threatening the villagers. Some local youth have gone missing, and an enchanted rock deep in the forest may be part of the mystery as well. Plied with promises of safety and prosperity, Shalm reluctantly sends her seeming son off to safety, and joins the local sorcerer on a quest to discover what is rotten in Nasty Hatchet.
TALE #3: FAE AND GLOAMING IN DIRE STRAITS
Coming soon!