Timeline of the Reese Unlimited Universe – Updated 2/17/2023

Major Events specific to certain stories and novels are included in brackets. Some of this information contains SPOILERS for The Peregrine, Lazarus Gray, Gravedigger and other stories. 

~ 800 – Viking warrior Grimarr dies of disease but is resurrected as the Sword of Hel. He adventures for some time as Hel’s agent on Earth. [The Sword of Hel]. 

~ 1620 – Gwydion fab Dôn is captured by the witch Rhianna in France. She punishes him by binding his spirit to a bundle of rags. [“Gwydion,” The Adventures of the Straw-Man Volume One]

1748 – Johann Adam Weishaupt is born. 

1750 – Guan-Yin embarks on a quest to find her lost father, which takes her to Skull Island [Guan-Yin and the Horrors of Skull Island]. 

1774 – On June 23, 1774, General Benjamin Grove led the British forces through the air en route to Sovereign. What he did not know was that several local militia groups lay in wait for him. The resulting battle had been ferocious and deadly for both sides — in the end, only two men were left, one representing each side of the conflict: General Grove himself and a local youth by the name of Emmett Hain. [“The Choice,” The Adventures of the Straw-Man Volume One]

1776 – Johann Adam Weishaupt forms The Illuminati. He adopts the guise of the original Lazarus Gray in group meetings, reflecting his “rebirth” and the “moral ambiguity” of the group. In Sovereign City, a Hessian soldier dies in battle, his spirit resurrected as a headless warrior. 

1782 – The man that would eventually be known as Gideon Black is born. [The Second Book of Babylon] 

1793 – Mortimer Quinn comes to Sovereign City, investigating the tales of a Headless Horseman [Gravedigger Volume One] 

1802 – Gideon Black’s son is born and the chain of events that leads to Gideon being bonded with a suit of armor forged in Hell begins. Gideon is transformed into Babylon, a force for cosmic retribution. [The Second Book of Babylon] 

1835 – Lucy Hale goes to work at Mendicott Hall. She meets Byron Mendicott and Lilith. [The Chronicles of Lilith] 

Continue reading Timeline of the Reese Unlimited Universe – Updated 2/17/2023

Timeline of the Reese Unlimited Universe – Updated 12/23/2022

Major Events specific to certain stories and novels are included in brackets. Some of this information contains SPOILERS for The Peregrine, Lazarus Gray, Gravedigger and other stories. 

~ 800 – Viking warrior Grimarr dies of disease but is resurrected as the Sword of Hel. He adventures for some time as Hel’s agent on Earth. [The Sword of Hel]. 

~ 1620 – Gwydion fab Dôn is captured by the witch Rhianna in France. She punishes him by binding his spirit to a bundle of rags. [“Gwydion,” The Adventures of the Straw-Man Volume One]

1748 – Johann Adam Weishaupt is born. 

Continue reading Timeline of the Reese Unlimited Universe – Updated 12/23/2022

Timeline of the Reese Unlimited Universe – Updated 11/12/2022

Major Events specific to certain stories and novels are included in brackets. Some of this information contains SPOILERS for The Peregrine, Lazarus Gray, Gravedigger and other stories. 

~ 800 – Viking warrior Grimarr dies of disease but is resurrected as the Sword of Hel. He adventures for some time as Hel’s agent on Earth. [The Sword of Hel]. 

~ 1620 – Gwydion fab Dôn is captured by the witch Rhianna in France. She punishes him by binding his spirit to a bundle of rags. [“Gwydion,” The Adventures of the Straw-Man Volume One]

1748 – Johann Adam Weishaupt is born. 

Continue reading Timeline of the Reese Unlimited Universe – Updated 11/12/2022

The Sword of Hel Gets A New Review

Over at Amazon, a reader by the name of Charles Gramlich posted a review of The Sword of Hel. He gave the book 4 stars and said the following:

“This is a short collection of five sword and sorcery stories by Barry Reese, who is described as one of the “New Pulp” writers. He’s also written for Marvel Comics and Moonstone Books. This is the first item I’ve read from him. These are definitely sword and sorcery tales rather than high fantasy. They involve an individual hero with generally small term goals for each tale. The character is Grimarr, a Viking, which gives him a semi-historical background, but the world he moves in is largely an invented, semi-European setting. Grimarr dies a non-heroic death and goes to the afterworld where he is recruited by the Goddess Hel to do her bidding on Earth. These adventures typical feature a battle with some kind of sorcerer, and there is generally a nubile young woman involved somewhere along the line. These are classic characteristics of sword and sorcery.

I picked up a lot of hidden references or nods to the Robert E. Howard Conan stories, but the overall character of the tales reminds me more of the Brak tales by John Jakes or the Kothar stories of Gardner Fox. The writing is crisp and good and the stories hold your interest. I might nitpick that some of the endings seem to come a little too quickly. This is a pretty short book and some of the tales might have been fleshed out more to great effect. There’s also a kind of compendium that represents a timeline for Reese’s shared universe stories. Not having any familiarity with any of the other tales or Reese’s other work, this didn’t mean much to me. Fans of Reese might certainly appreciate it.

The package from Pro Se Publications is attractive, with a cool cover by Larry Nadolsky. I’m going to give the work four stars, which means I’ll be interested in seeing more in this vein from Reese.”

Thanks for the kind words, Charles. I have read the Kothar stories but I’ve never read Brak tales – I need to rectify that. I’m glad that you enjoyed the book and I hope you’ll be intrigued enough to look into some of the other parts of the shared universe!

Timeline of the Reese Unlimited Universe (Updated 9/13/2022)

Major Events specific to certain stories and novels are included in brackets. Some of this information contains SPOILERS for The Peregrine, Lazarus Gray, Gravedigger and other stories. 

~ 800 – Viking warrior Grimarr dies of disease but is resurrected as the Sword of Hel. He adventures for some time as Hel’s agent on Earth. [The Sword of Hel]. 

~ 1620 – Gwydion fab Dôn is captured by the witch Rhianna in France. She punishes him by binding his spirit to a bundle of rags. [“Gwydion,” The Adventures of the Straw-Man Volume One]

1748 – Johann Adam Weishaupt is born. 

Continue reading Timeline of the Reese Unlimited Universe (Updated 9/13/2022)

A Trio of Reviews

We have three small reviews that have been posted recently on Amazon. Let’s look at them in the order they were posted, shall we?

First up, is one by a user named Green Dragon. He reviewed Restless: An Anthology of Mummy Horror and gave the book five stars. Here’s what he said: “A great collection of new stories! I enjoyed every one of them!”

Next up was a review by thefuntony of The Sword of Hel. He gave it 5 stars and said: “Loved this and really would like to see a few follow up stories with these characters. Had been putting off reading as I am not a huge fan of Viking stories but loved this! Hoping we see much more of the Sword of Hel!”

Finally, Tony posted another review a few days later, this time of The Adventures of Lazarus Gray Volume Nine. It was another 5 star review: “So very happy to see more books in the LG timeline. I had to go back and catch up so it was a bit of a wait to get to 9 but definitely worth it. Starting 10 now and the fun continues. No spoilers for you but I will say he throws in so many plot twists and turns, it was fun to get to the end to see how it all worked out. Even with the new characters and newer characters he keeps you on the edge of your seat with all the action. Can’t wait to get thru the next few.”

Thanks for the reviews, guys!

Reese Unlimited Timeline (Updated 6/1/2022)

Major Events specific to certain stories and novels are included in brackets. Some of this information contains SPOILERS for The Peregrine, Lazarus Gray, Gravedigger and other stories. 

~ 800 – Viking warrior Grimarr dies of disease but is resurrected as the Sword of Hel. He adventures for some time as Hel’s agent on Earth. [The Sword of Hel]. 

~ 1620 – Gwydion fab Dôn is captured by the witch Rhianna in France. She punishes him by binding his spirit to a bundle of rags. [“Gwydion,” The Adventures of the Straw-Man Volume One]

1748 – Johann Adam Weishaupt is born. 

Continue reading Reese Unlimited Timeline (Updated 6/1/2022)

A Review from Hel

A new review of The Sword of Hel has hit Amazon.com, this time courtesy of Scott Rowland. He gave the book 5 stars and titled his review “Some twists on the sword and sorcery genre”. Here’s his full comments:

“I have liked all of Barry Reese’s books I have read and this is no exception. This is different from the new pulp adventures of Lazarus Gray, but has the same sort of excitement. The book grew on me as I read, with the Ragnil character, in particular, bringing a huge smile to my face. While true to the conventions of S&S heroines, Ragnil has a more compelling “origin” and that plays interestingly with Grimarr’s own. Grimarr himself has a unique backstory that gives him a sometimes melancholy air, and an actual reason to wander away from the new friends he makes. A worthy addition to Mr. Reese’s impressive body of work, and I will pick up any future appearances.”

Thanks, Scott! Glad you enjoyed the book. It’s been somewhat divisive amongst readers with some really liking it and others being left pretty cold. I’m happy you’re among the former!

Grimarr Gets Reviewed

Dale Russell posted a 5-star review of Sword of Hel on Goodreads. This is what he had to say:

The reward for a true Norse warrior is to die in glorious battle and be swept from the battlefield by Odin’s own Valkyries. On winged horses they will fly the warrior’s soul to waiting Valhalla to… battle… die… and reawake the next morning to repeat until the call for their swords and might of arms in RAGNAROK – the last battle.

This is the hope and dream of Grimarr, one of the mightiest warriors to ever lift a sword. But those dreams are torn away soon after Grimarr and his band find a mysterious glowing blue gem. While sailing back to their home, a deadly wasting disease takes each and every one and casts them — as warriors who die a cowardly death — onto the cold rocky plains of Hel. Faced with an eternity of cold and desolation Grimarr is confronted with new possibilities as the queen of the afterlife — Hel, the demi-goddess — offers him a singular opportunity. Become her champion and her weapon and he will be returned to Midgard to roam its lands, pursuing and eliminating the powers and people that offend the sensibilities of Hel, herself. But there’s a catch…those who meet him…those who know him…will never be able to abide his presence for long. For the touch of the world of the dead is upon him and even his wife and children will be unable to accept him and Grimarr will be forced to wander the Midgard realm forever alone.

With THE SWORD OF HEL, author Barry Reese delivers another entry to expand upon the diverse universe that has been dubbed the REESE UNLIMITED TIMELINE. Warriors… Pirates… Heroes… and Villains are born and grow across the long centuries of the history of the world. Grimarr is the earliest, timewise, of his creations as his battles begin in the year 800 CE and continue forward through time. Grimarr was one of Reese’s earliest creations with the first two of these stories appearing in the TALES OF THE NORSE GODS previously published by Wild Cat Books and lost in the mists of time (or 2009 for those of you who have lost your mists-of-time calendar).

The stories themselves range run the gamut of tales of battles against evils human and supernatural…

The reward for a true Norse warrior is to die in glorious battle and be swept from the battlefield by Odin’s own Valkyries. On winged horses they will fly the warrior’s soul to waiting Valhalla to… battle… die… and reawake the next morning to repeat until the call for their swords and might of arms in RAGNAROK – the last battle.

This is the hope and dream of Grimarr, one of the mightiest warriors to ever lift a sword. But those dreams are torn away soon after Grimarr and his band find a mysterious glowing blue gem. While sailing back to their home, a deadly wasting disease takes each and every one and casts them — as warriors who die a cowardly death — onto the cold rocky plains of Hel. Faced with an eternity of cold and desolation Grimarr is confronted with new possibilities as the queen of the afterlife — Hel, the demi-goddess — offers him a singular opportunity. Become her champion and her weapon and he will be returned to Midgard to roam its lands, pursuing and eliminating the powers and people that offend the sensibilities of Hel, herself. But there’s a catch…those who meet him…those who know him…will never be able to abide his presence for long. For the touch of the world of the dead is upon him and even his wife and children will be unable to accept him and Grimarr will be forced to wander the Midgard realm forever alone.

With THE SWORD OF HEL, author Barry Reese delivers another entry to expand upon the diverse universe that has been dubbed the REESE UNLIMITED TIMELINE. Warriors… Pirates… Heroes… and Villains are born and grow across the long centuries of the history of the world. Grimarr is the earliest, timewise, of his creations as his battles begin in the year 800 CE and continue forward through time. Grimarr was one of Reese’s earliest creations with the first two of these stories appearing in the TALES OF THE NORSE GODS previously published by Wild Cat Books and lost in the mists of time (or 2009 for those of you who have lost your mists-of-time calendar).

The stories themselves range run the gamut of tales of battles against evils human and supernatural…

DOGS OF WAR – Grimarr must find and return a gift to the goddess Hel, herself
IN THE NAME OF HEL – Must end the ravages of evil and send them to the pits of Hel
IT RISES FROM SHADOW – Protect a princess and liberate a king
THE FROZEN FURY – Battle against creatures of the snow to prevent the return of an old god
HEAVEN’S FIRE – Track and destroy the fire before it burns the world to ash

Barry has always been one of my favorite authors from his time working in the comic field to his explosion of writing in the past decade with the creation of such great heroes as Lazarus Gray, The Gravedigger, The Peregrine, and now Grimarr. His stories are some of the best in the genre of New Pulp and hopefully will continue for many stories to come.

DOGS OF WAR – Grimarr must find and return a gift to the goddess Hel, herself
IN THE NAME OF HEL – Must end the ravages of evil and send them to the pits of Hel
IT RISES FROM SHADOW – Protect a princess and liberate a king
THE FROZEN FURY – Battle against creatures of the snow to prevent the return of an old god
HEAVEN’S FIRE – Track and destroy the fire before it burns the world to ash

Barry has always been one of my favorite authors from his time working in the comic field to his explosion of writing in the past decade with the creation of such great heroes as Lazarus Gray, The Gravedigger, The Peregrine, and now Grimarr. His stories are some of the best in the genre of New Pulp and hopefully will continue for many stories to come.

Thank you, Dale, for taking the time to write your review! I’m glad that you found Grimarr to be a great addition to the universe. I’d like to do more stories with in the future, if there’s enough interest from readers!

Lazarus Gray & Nightveil

A few years ago I got the honor of writing a novel featuring AC’s Nightveil character. The book, The Quiet Girls, turned out really well and I’m still extremely proud of it. Nightveil’s creator, Bill Black, mentioned to me that he would like to see some of his characters meet some of mine… and that sparked the idea that eventually turned into a novel pairing Lazarus Gray and Nightveil (and Gravedigger!). We deal with dopplegangers between characters in each universe, get to see one of Gray’s arch-enemies team up with one of Nightveil’s… and a whole lot more. I’m bringing it up because the novel has finally made it through the approval process and entered the formatting phase. Hopefully it’ll be released in the next couple of months!

Today you get to see a sneak preview of the cover of said novel, by my old partner, George Sellas. If that doesn’t get you excited for this, I don’t know what will!