I only recently learned of the existence of Imaro by the late Charles R. Saunders through the dissident literary circles in which I often spectate, but seldom participate. I immediately sought out the two books pictured above, which as of writing, are the only two easily available. It brought me joy as I had discovered a genuinely talented pulp author, with a unique take on the genre popularised by authors such as Edgar Rice Burroughs, Robert E. Howard and Fritz Leiber. This joy was accompanied by a twofold sorrow as the author passed away in May of 2020, largely unremarked and had I only discovered him a few years earlier, I could have not only purchased all his books directly but perhaps even sent him a message of thanks and appreciation. His passing was at least covered by Morgan Holmes on the Castalia House blog (who also corresponded with him), and he was even given a more fitting headstone with the help of a Kickstarter project a few years ago. It is unfortunate that something else he will no doubt share with Robert E. Howard (and indeed many great authors), is having others profit from his creations long after his death.
Before proceeding to the review of the two books above, it is worth giving a bit of background to the publishing history which consistent with a lot of pulp works, takes a little more mental energy than the norm to keep track of. The first of his Imaro stories were published in a fanzine called Dark Fantasy most (if not all), were collected together in his first Imaro novel published in 1981 by DAW Books. This was followed by The Quest for Cush (1984) and The Trail of Bohu (1985). The sales were not good enough to continue the series and these original books are now very expensive on the used market; unless you get lucky at a garage sale or a book store that doesn’t check online prices. The series was brought back (due partly to the enthusiasm of an Australian fan who discovered the old paperbacks), which led to the first two books being republished in 2006 and 2007 by Night Shade Books. A similar story with poor sales meant that the third book was not re-published and the already written fourth and final book was not either. These two books from Night Shade are the two I have though there were a number of changes made to these editions including one of the original stories being replaced with a new one due to its eerie similarity with the Rwandan Genocide in 1994. Outside of scarcity, these differences are part of the reason the original DAW publications (and I’m sure the Dark Fantasy magazines), remain collector’s items.
Saunders finally began Sword & Soul Media through Lulu.com to republish the third book in 2009 and also the final book called The Naama War, the same year. He also published other fantasy works including Dossouye (2008) and Dossouye: The Dancers of Mulukau (2012) and finally a short story collection set in Imaro’s world called Nyumbani Tales in 2017: all through the same online storefront. Unfortunately, I’m a few years too late to be able to buy these and they are all now unavailable. Who now owns the rights to Saunders’ oeuvre is unknown as of writing but I, for one, would certainly jump at the opportunity of reading more after getting a taste of Imaro’s world in the first two books.
Although not well-known, there are quite a few articles about Charles Saunders’ work, including many through Castalia House Blog’s Sensor Sweep. Searching the linked site, or any search engine will bring you much of the information above but I offer (I hope), a unique though still very positive perspective below.
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Starquest: Space Pirates Of Andromeda by John C. Wright, Tuscany Bay Books, October 8th, 2024
