Walk on the Wild Side: The Best Horror Stories of Karl Edward Wagner, Volume Two

The Best Horror Stories #2

by Karl Edward Wagner, Peter Straub (Foreword), David Drake (Afterword)

To most modern readers, Karl Edward Wagner is best known as the author of a series of brutal yet intelligent heroic fantasy novels and stories about Kane, The Mystic Swordsman. However, he was also a master of the horror story, with an almost encyclopaedic knowledge of the genre that was reflected in his many articles on the subject, along with his editorship of the seminal Year's Best Horror Stories series for DAW Books.

Having trained as a psychiatrist, Wagner's horror fiction often dealt with themes of paranoia and bizarre eroticism, while also drawing upon ancient folklore and the pulp magazine tradition to create a body of work that has rarely been surpassed among practitioners of contemporary terror tales.

Now Centipede Press has brought together all of Karl Edward Wagner's horror and dark fantasy novellas and short stories into two handsome collections compiled by his friend and colleague Stephen Jones.

Within these volumes you will discover such classic tales as 'More Sinned Against', 'Lacunae', and 'Into Whose Hands', along with personal and often controversial insights into the writer and his often troubled personal life by those who knew him.

With the publication of these two retrospective collections of his work, Karl Edward Wagner's place as one of America's finest authors of regional horror and twisted dark fantasy is assured for many generations to come.

This standard hardcover edition of the stories of Karl Edward Wagner, the second of two volumes, collects the following stories:
'The Last Wolf'.
'Into Whose Hands'.
'More Sinned Against'.
'Shrapnel'.
'Silted In'.
'Lost Exits'.
'Endless Night'.
'An Awareness of Angels'.
'But You’ll Never Follow Me'.
'Cedar Lane'.
'The Kind Men Like'.
'The Slug'.
'Did They Get You to Trade?'.
'Little Lessons in Gardening'.
'A Walk on the Wild Side'.
'Passages'.
'In the Middle of a Snow Dream'.
'Gremlin'.
'Prince of the Punks'.
'The Picture of Jonathan Collins'.
'Locked Away'.
'I’ve Come to Talk with You Again'.
'Final Cut'.
'Brushed Away'.
'Old Loves'.
'Lacunae'.

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Fiction

360 pages, Hardcover

First published March 13, 2012

About the author

Karl Edward Wagner (12 December 1945 – 13 October 1994) was an American writer, editor and publisher of horror, science fiction, and heroic fantasy, who was born in Knoxville, Tennessee and originally trained as a psychiatrist. His disillusionment with the medical profession can be seen in the stories "The Fourth Seal" and "Into Whose Hands". He described his world view as nihilistic, anarchistic and absurdist, and claimed, not entirely seriously, to be related to "an opera composer named Richard". Wagner also admired the cinema of Sam Peckinpah, stating "I worship the film The Wild Bunch".

Reviews

[Bill Kerwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t know what to think of this book, probably because I don’t know what to think about Karl Edward Wagner. Walk on the Wild Side, the second and last volume of his selected stories, contains not even one tale which is the equal of my favorite half-dozen in the first volume, Where the Summer Ends (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...), and yet, although it is clear that he is an artist in decline, the way Wagner the writer copes with his personal demons and frequent dry periods reveals a stubborn courage, an almost heroic self-awareness—that makes me admire him more and more.

Of all his demons, the most obvious was alcohol: it cost him his marriage, it cost him his health, and it may have cost him his inspiration. And whenever that inspiration failed to manifest, he would summon it aggressively: through booze, through anger (at his ex-wife, his friends, the medical profession, himself), and through lust (increasingly violent S&M fantasies).

Because of this, his stories are often unpleasant, fueled by misogyny, self-loathing, petty grievances, and dreams of sexual torture. Yet, in the kingdom of the imagination, it is sometimes “the violent who bear it away,” for Wagner’s stories—at least those included here—all manage to succeed on some level. They are interesting, often shocking, filled with merciful pockets of humor and self-awareness, and communicated to the reader through an unfailingly intelligent, muscular prose.

Wagner is at his best when he tells an ironic tale of an innocent or imprudent protagonist led by degrees into unfamiliar—and increasingly menacing—territory. Wagner makes us feel the coming horror before his hero does, and although we may pity the hero, Wagner compels our gaze and forces us to not look away. Many of such tales are explicitly sexual and violent (“The Kind Men Like,” “A Walk on the Wild Side,” “The Picture of Jonathan Collins,” “Locked Away,” “Brushed Away”), but others are not: “Shrapnel” (a junkyard dispenses odd justice), “Did They Get You to Trade?” (a painter encounters a has-been punk rocker), and “Old Loves” (a fanboy meets his favorite 60’s TV spy, who bears some resemblance to Mrs. Peel).

Some of my favorites in this collection are “The Picture of Jonathan Collins” (a Dorian Gray variation involving a Victorian era photograph), “More Sinned Against” (a starlet brutalized by her actor lover exacts an unusual revenge), “Little Lessons in Gardening” (a man retaliates against his intrusive, litigious neighbor), and “In the Middle of a Snow Dream" (an experimental therapy session for those with near-death experiences yields some surprising results).

But some of the best—and most touching—tales deal with the artist in decline. In the aforementioned “Did They Get You to Trade,” has-been rocker Nemo Skagg, whose audience has vanished, finds an ingenious way of giving concerts for the dead, and in the haunting dreamscape of “Endless Night,” a gladiator/magician in a post-apocalyptic world is compelled to perform in an empty stadium, incinerating with hatred people summoned from his past, random objects of petty annoyance and dislike.

I think the most moving story of all, though, is the first in the collection, “The Last Wolf.” In it, ‘the last writer,” meaning the last writer of real books—obsolete in a world of sitcoms and soap operas—is visited by a host of half-formed wraiths, characters of stories only dreamed by their creators, of novels half-written and abandoned: a “bleary-eyed lawyer” neglected by William Faulkner, a “long-legged mountain girl” ignored by Thomas Wolfe, Cromach the barbarian whom Robert E. Howard would have created...if only he had not taken his own life.

”Why are you here?” the writer demanded. “Did you think that I, too, was dead?”

The sad-eyed heroine of his present novel touched his arm. “You are the last writer. This new age of man has forgotten you. Come join us instead in this limbo of unrealized creation. Let this ugly world that has grown about you sink into the dull mire of its machine imagination. Come with us into our world of lost dreams.”

The writer gazed at the phantom myriads, at the spectral cities and forests and seas. He remembered the dismal reality of the faceless, plastic world he had grown old in. No one would mark his passing…

“No.” He shook his head and politely disengaged her hand. “No, I’m not quite ready for limbo. Not now. Not ever.”

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

The front cover would be perfect for "The River of Night’s Dreaming", a story in the first volume. Who cares? It's awesome & I like the picture of the corridor on the back cover even better.

The introduction by Peter Straub was depressing & not worth much time. He also did the introduction to In a Lonely Place & recaps it here along with some other well known facts. Straub mentions that there are some authors & subjects that he just can't read, which amused me since I've never been able to get into any of his books. Worse, he said he never tried to read any of the Kane stories because he had read Conan. Seriously? In the last page or so, he wrote about how devastating it was to see Wagner drinking himself to death, but mostly he gushed.

I don't understand Straub's comment about misunderstanding one of the stories he liked best in In a Lonely Place, though. Of the 3 stories he likes best, only ".220 Swift" has a male protagonist & I don't recall Brandon seeing himself in a window. Does anyone else know?

Each story has a wonderful full page picture preceding it. They are shorter than the ones in the other book, though. Darker & weirder, too. The stories are arranged in published order.

"The Last Wolf" was an interesting commentary on where the art of writing is going. Too depressing & true to be horror, if that makes any sense. Just morbid. Not my favorite.

"Into Whose Hands" is perfect. I remembered it well from a previous read & still chuckled at the end. What a twist!

"More Sinned Against" is a wonderful tale & comes to a fitting conclusion.

"Shrapnel" has the B&W version of the back cover of the first volume of this collection for some reason. It's perfect for this story, though. And what a story. If only karma really worked like this.

"Silted In" is copyrighted in 1985, earlier than I thought it would be given KEW's personal life. It is a descent into the worst kind of horror, too real & morbid.

"Lost Exits" stretches reality out of shape into a bewildering & horrible look at what might be.

"Endless Night" I don't get at all. Weird.

"An Awareness of Angels" is a different take on Jack the Ripper & his legacy.

**** To this point, I'm not enjoying most of the stories quite as much as those in the first volume. They're much shorter, weirder, & pretty good, but I think KEW did better when he more time to set the mood.

"But You’ll Never Follow Me" (1991) started off with a lot of potential, but the last few paragraphs pretty much turned it into a train wreck. First, a big deal has been made out him not liking to kill, even when he shot the security guard, but he left 4 lbs of C4 in the building? WTF?!!! Dead is dead, whether by a bullet to the brain or an explosion that destroys the entire building & for what? Second, because I would have liked a little more info on what he was or am I just dense? He lived through the war & bullets didn't seem to harm him, but he's graying & getting a beer belly, obvious signs of aging, so he's not immortal. It's mentioned that he has no choices, just keeps trying to hold down a job & do his 'duty'. A word that is never used, just implied. Just what was or is he supposed to be?

"Cedar Lane" is much like "Lost Exits", but better, IMO. Kind of a reverse haunting.

"The Kind Men Like" was over the top & pretty obvious.

"The Slug" was pretty good, especially the end. The afterword wasn't necessary, but was fun.

"Did They Get You to Trade?" was OK, but I didn't care for the way it ended. It would have been more horrible without the supernatural element or maybe ending a bit more like "The Slug".

"Little Lessons in Gardening" was great! Perfect! I've known people like that & wish I could have found such a perfect solution.

"A Walk on the Wild Side" is somewhat inspired by Lou Reed. Very surprising ending.

"Passages" has the picture of the corridor from the back cover. It's actually 3 old friends at their 25th class reunion catching up. Wow. The ending is great.

"In the Middle of a Snow Dream" not bad, but the girl-girl relationship & sex gratuitous.

KEW died in October of 1994. All the stories from here on were published after his death.

"Gremlin" was just fun. A new take on an old tale.

"Prince of the Punks" a new take on Dracula. Cool ending.

"The Picture of Jonathan Collins" not bad, but the sex was again gratuitous nor was the ending any surprise. Dorian Gray reprised.

"Locked Away" used sex as the vehicle again. Pretty gross stuff, with a surprise ending. The narrator was very unreliable, so what we at first think of as a supernatural element turns out to actually be madness. It was very effective & well done.

"I’ve Come to Talk with You Again" was very eerie. Kind of a Lovecraftian vampire tale. Excellent.

"Final Cut" makes me wonder how much of the author's own experience is in the story. Again, excellent.

"Brushed Away" again descends into madness in an understandable way. Our sympathies are shifted until the horror of the end seems quite appropriate. Super.

"Old Loves" was a fun horror spoof on The Avengers TV show of the 60's. Reality & the supernatural are well blended.

"Lacunae" is a Kane story. He really is a cold-hearted, evil bastard. So why do I still like & root for him?

Afterword by David Drake is a very raw account of KEW that seems closer to the truth than many of the other biographical stories I've read. I never knew KEW, but I've known a lot of alcoholics & Drake's account makes far more sense than those of the apologists. It's a damn shame, but instructive & well worth reading.

Overall, this book's stories didn't impress me as much as the first book. If you're not a real KEW fan, it might not be worth it to you. If you are, it's a must-read. I think it gives a great picture of the real man & the way his mind worked. There is no doubt he was a genius in the field of horror & very influential.

[Jon Recluse · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredible collection of Wagner's later works, bearing witness to the pain that would cut short his career and his life. These stories all bear the scars of the battle between his personal demons and his muse, including several which are painfully autobiographical, giving the reader an unflinching view into the psyche of a man at his breaking point. Featuring an introduction and an afterword by friends remembering the last times they saw him, this volume is a fitting memorial to one of the true masters of his generation. Highly recommended.

Just wanted to add that Laird Barron did not write the afterword in this volume. David Drake did.
Laird wrote the afterword in Where the Summer Ends: The Best Horror Stories of Karl Edward Wagner, Volume 1

[Graham P · Rating 4 out of 5]

While volume one highlighted Wagner's more expansive work, this 2nd collection goes for the throat, or should I say, it kicks a steel-tipped boot deep below the belt. This is not high fantasy, or literary horror with a wide scope. Most of these stories are reclusive, depressing, grotesque, violent and unrelentingly sadomasochistic. It's as if Wagner is no longer channeling the pulp-era icons of Weird Tales but going into the same desperate, raw-knuckled universe that Hubert Selby Jr. wrote about. Whether a prostitute or a drug-addled actress, his characters here get lost in their own addictions, and the brutal sex in some of them comes across so lurid, you'll either laugh in shock, or gag in nauseous reflex. There is no comfort or desire in the sexual act here. 'The Kind Men Like' is a tale of a succubus-type Bettie Page where the bondage goes beyond titillation into brass-knuckled territory; 'The Picture of Jonathan Collins' is a sordid take on 'Picture of Dorian Gray' and features turn-of-the-century porn with none other than a sadistic and cruel, Oliver Wilde starring as the villain; and 'Brushed Away' introduces us to a beaten-down man who grew up fantasizing about the air-brushed anatomies of early pin-up models, only to turn into a psychopath with hopes of recreating the human body in accordance with his own desires (quite predictably sick ending in this one, but still entertaining).

There's some other stories that are quite eloquent, sad and well-envisioned. High school reunions are lined with darkness and regret in 'Passages'. 'Into Whose Hands' shows the ragged and depressing life of a round-the-clock psychiatrist who knows a thing or two about death and how easy it is to control. 'Lost Exits' takes the fragmented story lines of a budding relationship, and meshes the good and the bad versions with a razor-blade tenacity, one in which rivals the climax to Jim Thompson's phenomenal 'A Hell of a Woman'.

An important collection despite its excess. Coupled with memories and eulogies written by Wagner's friends and peers, the stories show the unhappiness, fear and abuse that Wagner inflicted upon himself in his later years. And with that, it feels as though we are reading a crypto-biography, a demise told by the author's own short stories.

The last story, 'Lacunae' brings the return of his titular anti-hero, the immortal Kane. But no longer is he high up on the chain; now he's just a scumbag drug dealer, and with that, a hero who has clearly fallen wayside with the passing of time. And that was perhaps what Wagner realized when writing this story, in that he too couldn't rise to the top again, so he simply wallowed in the bottom until the end. Wagner was a brilliant writer and editor, and understood the genre top to bottom, and it's a shame he didn't stick around a bit longer.

[Hugo · Rating 3 out of 5]

A far more mixed bag than the stone-cold classic novellas from volume one, indicating that Wagner might well have been stronger in the longer form. Adding to that, many of the stories here are from the author's later decline, heartbroken and taking solace in the bottle, so far too many stories of nihilism and despair, with authorial self-insert protagonists, and with a tendency to the sexually explicit. What's good here is very, very good; what's bad is simply tragic.

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collects Wagner's later horror stories, and while many are still quite decent, they pale next to the stories in Volume One.

[Blake · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mix of erotic and the horrific, Karl uses a unique technique of painting a portrait of a character, and using their very lives as a pretext for the horrible. At the same time, he seems to gravitate to the old maxim, "Write what you know," populating his tales with leads that are very often doctors and psychologists.

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

nice.