Gardner Fox, Appendix N. Resurrected Post
Today I���m turning my attention once again to Appendix N. The writer in the spotlight this time is Gardner Fox. Not exactly a household name, not even among aficionados of sword-and-sorcery fiction. He���s probably better known to comic book fans as a prolific comics scripter, writing from the 1930s into the 1980s. His claim to Appendix N membership is predicated on his��Kothar��sword-and-sorcery novels.
It is hard to evaluate Kothar without appearing to damn Fox with faint praise. That���s unfortunate, since the truth is that I like Kothar. The novels are entertaining, and that���s the entire point of a sword and sorcery tale. Fox succeeded. He brought to life this fellow:
���a giant youth���leading a grey horse. He wore a mail shirt that glittered as if newly polished, there was a leather kilt about his loins, and a great sword with a red gem set into its hilt bobbed at his side. A yellow mane of uncut hair hung down to his shoulders���
If you read that description and it imparts a sensation akin to homecoming, if reading that makes you want to settle in for a satisfying S&S yarn, then Kothar is exactly the book for you. Gardner Fox ticks all the barbarian boxes.��All��the boxes. And therein lies the issue.
With Kothar, Fox has constructed the barbarians��� barbarian. Kothar is, in a sense, the generic S&S barbarian. He���s the benchmark against which all other sword-swinging, loin-cloth-and-sandal clad heroes measure themselves. If Conan is the��ur��barbarian, then Kothar is the barbarian after being thoroughly market-tested and vetted by every department at Corporate.
Like I said, damning with faint praise. But the reason Kothar sailed through Corporate and won over the test audiences during market research, is that he works. He���s entertaining. Kothar novels provide the goods: a mighty-thewed hero, diabolical wizards, demons, monsters, magical swords, buxom wenches, barroom brawls, exotic locals, chases, clanging sword fights. A Kothar novel might not remain lodged in your memory, but damnit, you had fun reading it. And what���s wrong with that? Gardner Fox earned his spot in Appendix N.
