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Solomon Kane
Соломон Кейн. Клинок судьбы
Соломон Кейн — английский пуританин-авантюрист, великолепно владеющий шпагой. Куда бы ни забрасывала его судьба — в Европу или в Африку — везде он бросает вызов злу и несправедливости...
Мир, в котором жил Соломон Кейн, — это не какая-то неопределённая эпоха... наоборот, это тот богато насыщенный событиями период (1549-1606 гг.), когда мир большей частью был ещё не изведан...
Мир, в котором жил Соломон Кейн, — это не какая-то неопределённая эпоха... наоборот, это тот богато насыщенный событиями период (1549-1606 гг.), когда мир большей частью был ещё не изведан...
432 pages, Hardcover
First published June 29, 2004
508 people are currently reading
5711 people want to read
About the author
Robert E. Howard
2,977 books2,640 followersRobert Ervin Howard was an American pulp writer of fantasy, horror, historical adventure, boxing, western, and detective fiction. Howard wrote "over three-hundred stories and seven-hundred poems of raw power and unbridled emotion" and is especially noted for his memorable depictions of "a sombre universe of swashbuckling adventure and darkling horror."
He is well known for having created—in the pages of the legendary Depression-era pulp magazine Weird Tales—the character Conan the Cimmerian, a.k.a. Conan the Barbarian, a literary icon whose pop-culture imprint can only be compared to such icons as Tarzan of the Apes, Count Dracula, Sherlock Holmes, and James Bond.
—Wikipedia
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
He is well known for having created—in the pages of the legendary Depression-era pulp magazine Weird Tales—the character Conan the Cimmerian, a.k.a. Conan the Barbarian, a literary icon whose pop-culture imprint can only be compared to such icons as Tarzan of the Apes, Count Dracula, Sherlock Holmes, and James Bond.
—Wikipedia
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 451 reviews
February 28, 2015
The moon began to rise, lean and haggard, like a skull among the stars.
In the very first few pages of reading this, I was reminded again of just how electrifying a writer Howard was. I can’t help but wonder what a legacy he would have amassed by now, had circumstances been different. (Howard passed away at the age of 30; the first Solomon Kane story was published when he was around the age of 22)
What are mortals but food for the jaws of the black gods?
This is a fantastic collection and I can’t really imagine anybody not enjoying these stories (at least to an extent). They’re exciting, atmospheric, eerie and imaginative. I haven’t had this much fun since reading Who Fears The Devil by Manly Wade Wellman.
Two hideous eyes flamed at him – eyes which held all the stark horror which has been the heritage of man since the fearful dawn ages – eyes frightful and insane, with an insanity transcending earthly insanity.
Expect some delightfully descriptive prose as protagonist Solomon Kane goes up against all kinds of natural and otherworldly threats and explores all manner of lost cities and forgotten catacombs, across continents. The stories are larger than life and sometimes unrealistic in the extreme, but what pulpy fun! Some poetry rounds everything off nicely.
Howard pays quite a bit of tribute to Edgar Rice Burroughs in these tales, and specifically the Tarzan tales. I could draw some parallels with La of Opar, in particular, in one of the Africa sequences.
And terrible and hideous his laughter bellowed out until the noose broke it short and he hung black and silent in the red eye of the rising sun.
It’s pretty dark stuff for the most part. I actually shelved it as both Horror and Fantasy since it does straddle the line. Expect human sacrifices and dark elder gods, among other things. That should whet your appetite nicely?
The sun had gone down and night spread with amazing swiftness, as if great shadows came rushing down from unknown voids to cloak the world with hurrying darkness.
Some of Howard’s plotting reflects the political views of the time, but the story rarely stoops to being deliberately non-PC. If you are one of the under-privileged few who have not yet read his work, it’s time to get cracking, especially if you enjoy genre fiction. Howards was, after all, a pioneer.
”Let us hence. This place is pregnant with evil for the sons of men.”
And there it is. I've long been a fan but this was the first time I'd read the Solomon Kane stories. And that at my wife's recommendation.
He was a man born out of his time – a strange blending of Puritan and Cavalier, with a touch of the ancient philosopher, and more than a touch of the pagan, though the last assertion would have shocked him unspeakably. An atavist of the days of blind chivalry he was, a knight errant in the somber clothes of a fanatic. A hunger in his soul drove him on and on, an urge to right all wrongs, protect all weaker things, avenge all crimes against right and justice. Wayward and restless as the wind, he was consistent in only one respect – he was true to his ideals of justice and right. Such was Solomon Kane.
April 18, 2024
Robert E. Howard (1906 - 1936) decidió desde joven convertirse en escritor profesional, y a ese empeño se dedicó en cuerpo y alma a lo largo de su breve carrera, tratando siempre de colocar sus relatos en revistas pulp de la época, como Amazing Stories o la mítica Weird Tales.
Pletórico de ideas, escribió docenas de relatos de terror, del oeste, históricos, de aventura, de misterio, de piratas...
La serie de «Solomon Kane» puede considerarse una confluencia de géneros como el histórico, la aventura, la narrativa de piratas, el folletín y el terror.
Solomon Kane es un sombrío puritano de los tiempos de Isabel I de Inglaterra –justiciero misterioso, solitario y de métodos expeditivos–, y a lo largo de un puñado de cuentos vive sus tenebrosas aventuras por Europa y África (un continente inexplorado, lleno de ciudades perdidas, caníbales, y horrores sin cuento).
Lo sobrenatural –desde espectros a razas vampíricas– no sólo está presente en estos relatos, sino que a menudo forma parte fundamental de sus tramas. Las extrañas aventuras de Solomon Kane reúne los ocho únicos relatos de este personaje publicados, en vida de Howard, por la revista Weird Tales, respetando su escritura original y lejos de los «arreglos» que sufrieron en ediciones posteriores.
La edición se completa con La sombra del buitre, protagonizado por «Sonia la Roja», que se desarrolla en Viena, durante el sitio de Soliman el Magnífico.
Seguir las aventuras de este ermitaño puritano en su descarga ferviente de ira contra el mal y la injusticia sea humana o sobrenatural ha sido de lo más satisfactorio.
Desde piratas, otros espadachines, brujos, zombies, vampiros y seres primigenios o magia de distinta clase se baten en duelo con este maestro espadachín llamado Solomon Kane.
Un camino solitario para alcanzar la redención de un hombre maldito tan frío como el hielo..✍️⚔️🎩
Pletórico de ideas, escribió docenas de relatos de terror, del oeste, históricos, de aventura, de misterio, de piratas...
La serie de «Solomon Kane» puede considerarse una confluencia de géneros como el histórico, la aventura, la narrativa de piratas, el folletín y el terror.
Solomon Kane es un sombrío puritano de los tiempos de Isabel I de Inglaterra –justiciero misterioso, solitario y de métodos expeditivos–, y a lo largo de un puñado de cuentos vive sus tenebrosas aventuras por Europa y África (un continente inexplorado, lleno de ciudades perdidas, caníbales, y horrores sin cuento).
Lo sobrenatural –desde espectros a razas vampíricas– no sólo está presente en estos relatos, sino que a menudo forma parte fundamental de sus tramas. Las extrañas aventuras de Solomon Kane reúne los ocho únicos relatos de este personaje publicados, en vida de Howard, por la revista Weird Tales, respetando su escritura original y lejos de los «arreglos» que sufrieron en ediciones posteriores.
La edición se completa con La sombra del buitre, protagonizado por «Sonia la Roja», que se desarrolla en Viena, durante el sitio de Soliman el Magnífico.
Seguir las aventuras de este ermitaño puritano en su descarga ferviente de ira contra el mal y la injusticia sea humana o sobrenatural ha sido de lo más satisfactorio.
Desde piratas, otros espadachines, brujos, zombies, vampiros y seres primigenios o magia de distinta clase se baten en duelo con este maestro espadachín llamado Solomon Kane.
Un camino solitario para alcanzar la redención de un hombre maldito tan frío como el hielo..✍️⚔️🎩
December 26, 2023
Robert E. Howard is best know today for his iconic character Conan the Barbarian but he isn't even in my top 3 three favorites of Howard's characters. He created so many other amazing characters. Solomon Kane is #2 on my favorites list of Howard's characters. Here are all the unedited adventures collected in one volume. Excellent adventure read. Nothing but action and vengeful retribution from the wandering Puritan. Highly recommended
January 10, 2022
Note, Jan. 9, 2022: When I read short story collections intermittently over a period of time, my reactions are similarly written piecemeal, while they're fresh in my mind. That gives the reviews a choppy, and often repetitive, quality. I've now condensed and rearranged this one into a unified whole.
Best known as the creator of Conan the barbarian, pulp-era giant Robert E. Howard enriched literature with several other memorable series characters, including Kull, Bran Mak Morn, Dark Agnes de la Ferre --and Solomon Kane. This volume collects REH's entire Kane corpus: nine short stories, three narrative poems (one of which exists in two variant forms, both of which are included here), and four partially completed story fragments, of which we have the beginnings but not the endings. (The 1968 posthumous collection Red Shadows, published by Donald M. Grant, was almost as comprehensive, lacking only one fragment and having only one version of the poem "Solomon Kane's Homecoming;" but only 896 copies of that collection were ever printed.) Seven of the stories were published in the years 1928-1932; the other two, and all of the poems and fragments, were first published posthumously. The selections are arranged mostly in terms of how they appear to fit into the fictional chronology of Kane's career; the geographical settings range from England to France to sub-Saharan Africa, and the time period is the late 16th century (my initial impression was 17th century, but REH establishes the Elizabethan date in a couple of selections).
Kane is a brilliantly conceived and masterfully drawn character: a restless adventurer and world-class swordsman with a passionate hatred of injustice and cruelty, who's also a devout Puritan (though not a plaster saint). He willingly embraces a felt duty to protect the weak and innocent against the outrages of the strong, and will go the second mile (and third, fourth, and thousandth....) to implacably hunt down and punish those responsible for outrages that he comes across; he interprets this, in terms of his faith, as a divine calling, though the author suggests that the cause is already there in his psychological makeup even without the religious justification. (I completely disagree with reviewers who regard this as a negative personality trait, and find no justification for their position. Yes, he's as tough as nails, and has the moral toughness to accept responsibility for taking human life on a regular basis without going insane. But he doesn't revel in violence or look for excuses to inflict it, doesn't convict the innocent, and has compassion even for the guilty; his moral indignation over atrocities that deserve it is real, not a pose, and he's as gentle with the innocent and victimized as he is ferocious with the victimizers. Personally, if I'm affronted by anybody's behavior, it's by those who murder, rape and rob for their own recreation and pleasure --not by those who seek to stop them.) REH himself had no particular religious beliefs that we know of, and no innate sympathy with those of his character, whom he often calls a "fanatic" (nor, probably, much real knowledge of what Puritans believed, given the fact that he has Kane address one villain as "offal of Purgatory," and that Kanes's reflections in "Wings in the Night" about "evolution" would be unrealistic for a 16th-century Puritan); so it's to his credit that he was able to present a deeply religious protagonist as sympathetically as he does.
Howard's writing included both speculative and straight historical fiction, and both can be found here. Most of the completed stories (and one of the poems) have supernatural premises, but "The Blue Flame of Vengeance" (which was originally published as "Blades of the Brotherhood") and "The Moon of Skulls" are straightforward tales of action adventure, with the hero pitted against purely natural dangers. "Wings in the Night," though set in Africa, draws on Greek mythology and gives it a science-fictional rather than supernatural explanation. In the case of the story fragments, it's hard to tell how the author planned to develop any of them, because they're too short and incomplete (little more than a single page, in one case). In that sense, they can be frustrating. But they're also fun to read, as far as they go; and I'd love to see a modern writer complete them.
All of the completed stories are, IMO, well-crafted, with original and varied premises; capable plotting; excellent prose style (REH is one of a handful of writers I personally particularly admire as stylists, considered apart from any other quality of their writing); a solid good vs. evil theme, with a recognition that mankind's enemies are "the monsters in his own heart and without;" a strong, kick-butt hero I could like and admire, who makes sound moral choices and stands up for others; and the kind of exciting adventure, often supernatural jeopardies and violent action that draws me and other readers to pulp-style fiction in the first place. Kane's a very compelling, fascinating character (I actually like him better than Conan!) presented with intriguing glimpses of a rich back-story that it's a pity Howard didn't live to explore. In the several stories set in the Africa of that day, Howard evokes the Dark Continent's physical setting much more realistically than Burroughs does in the latter's Tarzan series. The speculative fiction elements in several stories are a plus for me; but the common denominator of the tales is the action-adventure motif and the antique setting, which is reflected in my Goodreads shelving decisions.
Since the African stories often bring Kane into contact with blacks, a word is warranted about Howard's racial attitudes and language; the latter is at times definitely insensitive, and the former were shaped by the Darwinist pseudo-science of his day, which was unashamedly racist. (Virtually all of the insensitive language is in REH's own narrative voice, not Kane's dialogue.) One reviewer took special exception to the observations near the end of "Wings in the Night," with the comment "the dark-skinned peoples fade" and the paean to the indomitable fighting prowess of the "Aryan barbarian." Howard also has a tendency to treat his non-European characters (including the Semitic stocks in the fragment "The Children of Asshur") as part of a mass that blindly shares a tribal or ethnic "national character," rather than as individuals who have their own qualities and make their own moral decisions. All of these attitudes are particularly part of the "science" he learned in school. Anthropologists of that day expected the "less fit" races to die out, and saw the Aryan (especially Anglo-Saxon) stock as the fittest, destined to inherit the earth in good Darwinian fashion. They also subscribed to theories about "national character;" and glorified the warrior tradition of the historic Aryan cultures as a societal ideal of manliness. It's important to note, though, that in practice, Howard's racial messages here are mixed. Not all of his black characters exhibit bad traits, and some exhibit perfectly positive ones. The shaman N'Longa, whom Kane comes to respect and appreciate as a friend and ally, is a figure who's subversive of both the writer's and the readers' racism. Kane recognizes his common humanity with the blacks, and never treats them invidiously; indeed, he'll fight for them as readily as for whites. And his attitude toward the slavers in "The Footfalls Within" is as justly morally outraged as the reaction of any of us would be.
Another word is in order about Howard as a poet. This is actually my first real experience with his poetry, and this is only a tiny sample of what was actually a considerable body of work. But on the basis of it, I'd say he was a poet of first-rank ability, who hasn't gotten nearly his due from the critical community (big surprise --NOT!). My reaction is influenced by the fact that I prefer rhymed and metered poetry (which his is) to free verse, and particularly like poems that tell stories, as these do. But even apart from that, I think these poems are wonderfully evocative of real emotion, and have a genuine aesthetic quality. I'd rate them with the best early 20-century poems I've read.
Gary Gianni is credited here as the illustrator. His black-and-white drawings (a few full-page) which pepper the text enhance it greatly; but his role here was actually apparently that of originator and editor of the book, and he did a great job in that. A couple of other features add to the collection's value for Howard fans: Lovecraft's "In Memoriam: Robert Ervin Howard," reprinted from Weird Tales, and a "Short [14-page] Biography of Robert E. Howard" by Rusty Burke. This latter doesn't add to the picture presented in Blood and Thunder: The Life and Art of Robert E. Howard by Mark Finn; but it would be a good introduction for those who haven't read the Finn book. (To me, the six pages of notes on the textual criticism of the stories weren't of interest, and I skipped that section; but it would be useful for serious Howard scholars.)
If you're a Howard fan, a fan of classic pulp-era adventure, or just a reader of adventure fiction in the classic mold, written with taste and skill, this is one story collection you shouldn't ignore!
Best known as the creator of Conan the barbarian, pulp-era giant Robert E. Howard enriched literature with several other memorable series characters, including Kull, Bran Mak Morn, Dark Agnes de la Ferre --and Solomon Kane. This volume collects REH's entire Kane corpus: nine short stories, three narrative poems (one of which exists in two variant forms, both of which are included here), and four partially completed story fragments, of which we have the beginnings but not the endings. (The 1968 posthumous collection Red Shadows, published by Donald M. Grant, was almost as comprehensive, lacking only one fragment and having only one version of the poem "Solomon Kane's Homecoming;" but only 896 copies of that collection were ever printed.) Seven of the stories were published in the years 1928-1932; the other two, and all of the poems and fragments, were first published posthumously. The selections are arranged mostly in terms of how they appear to fit into the fictional chronology of Kane's career; the geographical settings range from England to France to sub-Saharan Africa, and the time period is the late 16th century (my initial impression was 17th century, but REH establishes the Elizabethan date in a couple of selections).
Kane is a brilliantly conceived and masterfully drawn character: a restless adventurer and world-class swordsman with a passionate hatred of injustice and cruelty, who's also a devout Puritan (though not a plaster saint). He willingly embraces a felt duty to protect the weak and innocent against the outrages of the strong, and will go the second mile (and third, fourth, and thousandth....) to implacably hunt down and punish those responsible for outrages that he comes across; he interprets this, in terms of his faith, as a divine calling, though the author suggests that the cause is already there in his psychological makeup even without the religious justification. (I completely disagree with reviewers who regard this as a negative personality trait, and find no justification for their position. Yes, he's as tough as nails, and has the moral toughness to accept responsibility for taking human life on a regular basis without going insane. But he doesn't revel in violence or look for excuses to inflict it, doesn't convict the innocent, and has compassion even for the guilty; his moral indignation over atrocities that deserve it is real, not a pose, and he's as gentle with the innocent and victimized as he is ferocious with the victimizers. Personally, if I'm affronted by anybody's behavior, it's by those who murder, rape and rob for their own recreation and pleasure --not by those who seek to stop them.) REH himself had no particular religious beliefs that we know of, and no innate sympathy with those of his character, whom he often calls a "fanatic" (nor, probably, much real knowledge of what Puritans believed, given the fact that he has Kane address one villain as "offal of Purgatory," and that Kanes's reflections in "Wings in the Night" about "evolution" would be unrealistic for a 16th-century Puritan); so it's to his credit that he was able to present a deeply religious protagonist as sympathetically as he does.
Howard's writing included both speculative and straight historical fiction, and both can be found here. Most of the completed stories (and one of the poems) have supernatural premises, but "The Blue Flame of Vengeance" (which was originally published as "Blades of the Brotherhood") and "The Moon of Skulls" are straightforward tales of action adventure, with the hero pitted against purely natural dangers. "Wings in the Night," though set in Africa, draws on Greek mythology and gives it a science-fictional rather than supernatural explanation. In the case of the story fragments, it's hard to tell how the author planned to develop any of them, because they're too short and incomplete (little more than a single page, in one case). In that sense, they can be frustrating. But they're also fun to read, as far as they go; and I'd love to see a modern writer complete them.
All of the completed stories are, IMO, well-crafted, with original and varied premises; capable plotting; excellent prose style (REH is one of a handful of writers I personally particularly admire as stylists, considered apart from any other quality of their writing); a solid good vs. evil theme, with a recognition that mankind's enemies are "the monsters in his own heart and without;" a strong, kick-butt hero I could like and admire, who makes sound moral choices and stands up for others; and the kind of exciting adventure, often supernatural jeopardies and violent action that draws me and other readers to pulp-style fiction in the first place. Kane's a very compelling, fascinating character (I actually like him better than Conan!) presented with intriguing glimpses of a rich back-story that it's a pity Howard didn't live to explore. In the several stories set in the Africa of that day, Howard evokes the Dark Continent's physical setting much more realistically than Burroughs does in the latter's Tarzan series. The speculative fiction elements in several stories are a plus for me; but the common denominator of the tales is the action-adventure motif and the antique setting, which is reflected in my Goodreads shelving decisions.
Since the African stories often bring Kane into contact with blacks, a word is warranted about Howard's racial attitudes and language; the latter is at times definitely insensitive, and the former were shaped by the Darwinist pseudo-science of his day, which was unashamedly racist. (Virtually all of the insensitive language is in REH's own narrative voice, not Kane's dialogue.) One reviewer took special exception to the observations near the end of "Wings in the Night," with the comment "the dark-skinned peoples fade" and the paean to the indomitable fighting prowess of the "Aryan barbarian." Howard also has a tendency to treat his non-European characters (including the Semitic stocks in the fragment "The Children of Asshur") as part of a mass that blindly shares a tribal or ethnic "national character," rather than as individuals who have their own qualities and make their own moral decisions. All of these attitudes are particularly part of the "science" he learned in school. Anthropologists of that day expected the "less fit" races to die out, and saw the Aryan (especially Anglo-Saxon) stock as the fittest, destined to inherit the earth in good Darwinian fashion. They also subscribed to theories about "national character;" and glorified the warrior tradition of the historic Aryan cultures as a societal ideal of manliness. It's important to note, though, that in practice, Howard's racial messages here are mixed. Not all of his black characters exhibit bad traits, and some exhibit perfectly positive ones. The shaman N'Longa, whom Kane comes to respect and appreciate as a friend and ally, is a figure who's subversive of both the writer's and the readers' racism. Kane recognizes his common humanity with the blacks, and never treats them invidiously; indeed, he'll fight for them as readily as for whites. And his attitude toward the slavers in "The Footfalls Within" is as justly morally outraged as the reaction of any of us would be.
Another word is in order about Howard as a poet. This is actually my first real experience with his poetry, and this is only a tiny sample of what was actually a considerable body of work. But on the basis of it, I'd say he was a poet of first-rank ability, who hasn't gotten nearly his due from the critical community (big surprise --NOT!). My reaction is influenced by the fact that I prefer rhymed and metered poetry (which his is) to free verse, and particularly like poems that tell stories, as these do. But even apart from that, I think these poems are wonderfully evocative of real emotion, and have a genuine aesthetic quality. I'd rate them with the best early 20-century poems I've read.
Gary Gianni is credited here as the illustrator. His black-and-white drawings (a few full-page) which pepper the text enhance it greatly; but his role here was actually apparently that of originator and editor of the book, and he did a great job in that. A couple of other features add to the collection's value for Howard fans: Lovecraft's "In Memoriam: Robert Ervin Howard," reprinted from Weird Tales, and a "Short [14-page] Biography of Robert E. Howard" by Rusty Burke. This latter doesn't add to the picture presented in Blood and Thunder: The Life and Art of Robert E. Howard by Mark Finn; but it would be a good introduction for those who haven't read the Finn book. (To me, the six pages of notes on the textual criticism of the stories weren't of interest, and I skipped that section; but it would be useful for serious Howard scholars.)
If you're a Howard fan, a fan of classic pulp-era adventure, or just a reader of adventure fiction in the classic mold, written with taste and skill, this is one story collection you shouldn't ignore!
February 2, 2015
I'd like to have been able to give this 5 stars but for various reasons I can only go 4. I first read this book in spurts some years ago. The stories and the character I've known for many ears. Having discovered Conan back in the dark ages of my youth I spent time searching out many of REH's works. Back in the late '60s and '70s there were many reprints and collections of stories based on Howard's work.
I like Howard and I like most of his fantasy characters...though I never really got into his sports stories, westerns and so on. I suppose to "Howard purists" that may disqualify me as an actual Howard fan, but I'll try to bear up under the disappointment. Sigh. So, anyway having read Conan, Bran Mak Morn, Kull, etc. I also read Solomon Kane...and I like the stories.
This book includes all the stories plus poetry and fragments of stories. I think possibly to the modern reader the style of the writing here may come across a bit florid. The long spooky speeches by wizards, witch doctors and so on can go on and on a bit. Still the stories are dark and full of blood tinged with black magic for our hero to battle.
I do want to put a warning in here as I have to do for many books of the era and before. These stories are decidedly not PC and there are words and attitudes here that I'm sure some will find offensive. Be aware of that going in and take as you care to. I think most will be able to enjoy the stories as stories but the attitudes shown will be hard to take for some and will often have to be set aside.
So, why 4 stars? Lots of nostalgia for me as I read these young but I find I'm not quite as enthralled by these as I was before. A bit sad I suppose. But still good book and good stories, sort of horror/action adventure if we need to tag them. :)
I like Howard and I like most of his fantasy characters...though I never really got into his sports stories, westerns and so on. I suppose to "Howard purists" that may disqualify me as an actual Howard fan, but I'll try to bear up under the disappointment. Sigh. So, anyway having read Conan, Bran Mak Morn, Kull, etc. I also read Solomon Kane...and I like the stories.
This book includes all the stories plus poetry and fragments of stories. I think possibly to the modern reader the style of the writing here may come across a bit florid. The long spooky speeches by wizards, witch doctors and so on can go on and on a bit. Still the stories are dark and full of blood tinged with black magic for our hero to battle.
I do want to put a warning in here as I have to do for many books of the era and before. These stories are decidedly not PC and there are words and attitudes here that I'm sure some will find offensive. Be aware of that going in and take as you care to. I think most will be able to enjoy the stories as stories but the attitudes shown will be hard to take for some and will often have to be set aside.
So, why 4 stars? Lots of nostalgia for me as I read these young but I find I'm not quite as enthralled by these as I was before. A bit sad I suppose. But still good book and good stories, sort of horror/action adventure if we need to tag them. :)
December 27, 2019
· Jovial Puritans R Us Buddy Read (JPRUBR™) with The Overlord and my Half-Barnacled Son ·
Actual rating: 3.565489758965664896213 stars.
Super ExtraRigidly Austere Chirpy Solomon Kane ain't as deliciously sexey as My Barbarian Cutie Pie (he'd have to whack more puny humans on their little heads with beef bones for that. And to ditch most of his clothes. Which he would probably find repulsively repulsive. Because he’s ridiculously—and most unnecessarily—rigid like that) but he's got a pretty scrumptious, um, ju-ju staff with a, um, cat-head and stuff, which is kinda sorta hot and stuff, so QED and stuff. Do you think I should dance to celebrate? I think I should dance to celebrate. So dance to celebrate I shall. You're welcome.
➽ Full review to come when pigs fly, chicken have teeth and crayfish whistle on the mountain top. Maybe.
Actual rating: 3.565489758965664896213 stars.
Super Extra
➽ Full review to come when pigs fly, chicken have teeth and crayfish whistle on the mountain top. Maybe.
September 6, 2024
Solomon Kane stories read differently than Robert E Howard’s famous Conan stories. Kane’s world is our world, although it’s about 400 years in the past and you only get a fleeting history lesson from his tales. Most stories here take place in Africa and the Middle East.
Kane’s history isn’t particularly fleshed out, and it’s a shame we didn’t get more stories about him. All we know is that he was once a buccaneer, has a puritanical background, and is obsessed with fighting evil. Kane’s adventures seem to start with him stumbling across people in danger or seeming to sense an evil just beyond the forest. Kane’s been known to stalk his prey, for years at a time if need be.
Solomon Kane is a skilled fighter with a rapier or a flintlock. He’s deceptively strong and can handle himself ferociously hand-to-hand.
Kane is a man of God but surprisingly doesn’t sermonize too often. He carries a staff of unknown origins that’s proven to be effective against evil magic.
This book contains every Solomon Kane story as well as various story fragments. A must read for violent, smart pulp adventure.
Kane’s history isn’t particularly fleshed out, and it’s a shame we didn’t get more stories about him. All we know is that he was once a buccaneer, has a puritanical background, and is obsessed with fighting evil. Kane’s adventures seem to start with him stumbling across people in danger or seeming to sense an evil just beyond the forest. Kane’s been known to stalk his prey, for years at a time if need be.
Solomon Kane is a skilled fighter with a rapier or a flintlock. He’s deceptively strong and can handle himself ferociously hand-to-hand.
Kane is a man of God but surprisingly doesn’t sermonize too often. He carries a staff of unknown origins that’s proven to be effective against evil magic.
This book contains every Solomon Kane story as well as various story fragments. A must read for violent, smart pulp adventure.
February 6, 2017
The dark hero Solomon Kane leads us into the world of ancient secrets and the monsters that live in the jungles of Africa. With his loyal pistol, rapier and Ju Ju staff opposes the vampire queen, damned creatures, evil men, and evil that is hiding in the old cities and ruins. Always on the side of good, he helps those that attack these dark forces, although it often is in perilous situations, with his strength and mind destroy evil in its path. Writer story of Conan Robert E. Howard, in this book of the guide us through the character Puritan hero Solomon Kane that although brutal with his enemies, always was there to avenge poor and innocent people. Although Kane appearance fears evil, evil person is not afraid to attack him, but he has no mercy with the creature of darkness. All in all the stories in the book are interesting and the fantasy world of Africa where they are located. If you like Conan will surely love and Solomon Kane.
September 29, 2021
The Solomon Kane character, avenging do-gooder and REH's first S&S hero, and his world are, I think, less richly conceived than the more popular (and less morally upright) Conan, yet served as effective vehicles for Howard's early adventure and dark supernatural story ideas. I picked a handful of these stories to get a feel for them, and while reading I found myself always hoping to find that same unbridled, raw exuberance and passion Conan exudes that caused me to initially fall in love with REH, but came away disappointed for the most part. As far as Puritan heroes go Solomon Kane is probably as exhilarating as they come. Unfortunately, that's not saying much.
Skulls in the stars (3.0)
Red shadows (3.0)
The hills of the dead (3.5)
The footfalls within (3.5)
Skulls in the stars (3.0)
Red shadows (3.0)
The hills of the dead (3.5)
The footfalls within (3.5)
Read
September 14, 2025Wymęczyłam.
Ta okładka dawała mi tyle nadziei! O ile toporny styl pisania jestem w stanie zrozumieć, biorąc pod uwagę, że były to pierwsze literackie kroki stawiane przez autora, o tyle nie potrafię przejść do porządku dziennego nad wylewającym się niemal z każdej strony rasizmem. Ja wiem, że ta książka to produkt innych czasów, a opowieści o Solomonie liczą już sobie bez mała sto lat, ale jednak czytam je ze współczesnej perspektywy i niestety nie potrafię odnaleźć w nich dla siebie nic.
Bohater, który jest jedynie szablonem, archetypem mściciela, ale właściwie bez żadnego charakteru, opowiadania z niezbyt porywającą fabułą, w których nie znalazłam oczekiwanej grozy i świat wypełniony ludźmi, których autor przedstawia jako czarnoskórych dzikusów parających się głównie mordami i czarną magią. Hierarchię tej rzeczywistości można przedstawić tak - biały angielski wybawiciel ratujący damy z opresji, potem długo, długo nic, a gdzieś na dnie cała reszta opisywanych przez Howarda postaci. Im ciemniejsza ich skóra, tym niżej plasują się na społecznej drabince. Choć tych z najciemniejszą autor nie traktuje nawet jak ludzi, bardziej jak małpopodobne stwory. Liczyłam, że posłowie odniesie się do tego tematu, ale nie, zamiata go pod dywan kilkoma zdaniami. Szkoda.
Jest to pewnie swego rodzaju klasyka, ale czy warto się z nią zaznajamiać? Moim zdaniem niekoniecznie. Zostawiam bez oceny, bo nie mam pojęcia, jak to ugryźć.
Ta okładka dawała mi tyle nadziei! O ile toporny styl pisania jestem w stanie zrozumieć, biorąc pod uwagę, że były to pierwsze literackie kroki stawiane przez autora, o tyle nie potrafię przejść do porządku dziennego nad wylewającym się niemal z każdej strony rasizmem. Ja wiem, że ta książka to produkt innych czasów, a opowieści o Solomonie liczą już sobie bez mała sto lat, ale jednak czytam je ze współczesnej perspektywy i niestety nie potrafię odnaleźć w nich dla siebie nic.
Bohater, który jest jedynie szablonem, archetypem mściciela, ale właściwie bez żadnego charakteru, opowiadania z niezbyt porywającą fabułą, w których nie znalazłam oczekiwanej grozy i świat wypełniony ludźmi, których autor przedstawia jako czarnoskórych dzikusów parających się głównie mordami i czarną magią. Hierarchię tej rzeczywistości można przedstawić tak - biały angielski wybawiciel ratujący damy z opresji, potem długo, długo nic, a gdzieś na dnie cała reszta opisywanych przez Howarda postaci. Im ciemniejsza ich skóra, tym niżej plasują się na społecznej drabince. Choć tych z najciemniejszą autor nie traktuje nawet jak ludzi, bardziej jak małpopodobne stwory. Liczyłam, że posłowie odniesie się do tego tematu, ale nie, zamiata go pod dywan kilkoma zdaniami. Szkoda.
Jest to pewnie swego rodzaju klasyka, ale czy warto się z nią zaznajamiać? Moim zdaniem niekoniecznie. Zostawiam bez oceny, bo nie mam pojęcia, jak to ugryźć.
July 11, 2008
“He was…a strange blending of Puritan and Cavalier, with a touch of the ancient philosopher, and more than a touch of the pagan…A hunger in his soul drove him on and on, an urge to right all wrongs, protect all weaker things…Wayward and restless as the wind, he was consistent in only one respect—he was true to his ideals of justice and right. Such was Solomon Kane.”
“Such was Solomon Kane,” indeed.
This book rocks. As much as I’d like to try and sound clinical about this—screw it. I’m not a literary critic, I’m just a guy who loves to read, and loves fantasy in particular. I already knew I liked REH after I finished the Coming of Conan the Cimmerian, but this collection really cinched it for me.
The Savage Tales of Solomon Kane is a collection of short stories and poems that focus on Howard’s other, not-quite as well-known hero, Solomon Kane. Kane is everything that the quote above suggests, and then some. I actually find him to be a pretty interesting character, in that he is so full of contradictions, and also in that he’s remarkably self-unaware. In one of the earliest stories of the collection, Kane is traveling through England, where he comes across a dying girl, the sole survivor (for about five minutes) of a bandit attack on her village. She dies in Kane’s arms.
Kane proceeds to wage a long guerilla war against the bandits, until it at last comes down to him and their leader. The two duel, and the leader escapes, and flees to AFRICA. So Kane does what any vengeance-obsessed lunatic would do…and pursues him. There’s a wonderful moment where the bandit turns to him and asks him why he’s doing this…and Kane really doesn’t know. He just feels like it should be done. (Witchfinder General, you should read this book…)
Most of the stories in this collection follow a chronology of a sort. Kane spends a great deal of time wandering in Africa, following some undefined and undefinable urge to explore. Along the way, he encounters all sorts of strange demons and beasts, some of which are almost Lovecraftian in their nature (Not too surprising. Howard and Lovecraft corresponded, and indeed, were friends.). There’s some neat poetry in the collection too, as well as a few story fragments that I believe have not been published before. Seeing the fragments is neat, all though some of them are so long, you wish Howard had finished the damn thing before he died.
“Such was Solomon Kane,” indeed.
This book rocks. As much as I’d like to try and sound clinical about this—screw it. I’m not a literary critic, I’m just a guy who loves to read, and loves fantasy in particular. I already knew I liked REH after I finished the Coming of Conan the Cimmerian, but this collection really cinched it for me.
The Savage Tales of Solomon Kane is a collection of short stories and poems that focus on Howard’s other, not-quite as well-known hero, Solomon Kane. Kane is everything that the quote above suggests, and then some. I actually find him to be a pretty interesting character, in that he is so full of contradictions, and also in that he’s remarkably self-unaware. In one of the earliest stories of the collection, Kane is traveling through England, where he comes across a dying girl, the sole survivor (for about five minutes) of a bandit attack on her village. She dies in Kane’s arms.
Kane proceeds to wage a long guerilla war against the bandits, until it at last comes down to him and their leader. The two duel, and the leader escapes, and flees to AFRICA. So Kane does what any vengeance-obsessed lunatic would do…and pursues him. There’s a wonderful moment where the bandit turns to him and asks him why he’s doing this…and Kane really doesn’t know. He just feels like it should be done. (Witchfinder General, you should read this book…)
Most of the stories in this collection follow a chronology of a sort. Kane spends a great deal of time wandering in Africa, following some undefined and undefinable urge to explore. Along the way, he encounters all sorts of strange demons and beasts, some of which are almost Lovecraftian in their nature (Not too surprising. Howard and Lovecraft corresponded, and indeed, were friends.). There’s some neat poetry in the collection too, as well as a few story fragments that I believe have not been published before. Seeing the fragments is neat, all though some of them are so long, you wish Howard had finished the damn thing before he died.
October 5, 2021
There have been several different books with this title, all with different contents, leading to confusion for bibliographers. My edition is the Centaur Press edition in their Time-Lost series. The copyright page just says copyright 1968 by Glenn Lord, but the book is prefaced by an introduction written by Albert E. Gechter which is dated November 8, 1970. It's the third and last volume of the Kane stories as presented by Centaur, following The Moon of Skulls and The Hand of Kane. Kane was a dour Puritan English gentleman, who traveled all over Europe, Africa, and the New World to fight evil wherever he found it. He was Howard's first great adventure character, predating Conan by a few years. There are some somewhat racist attitudes in some of the texts, as was common and expected in those days. This edition includes seven works (some unfinished) and includes two poems. Red Shadows is one of Kane's best-known adventures, and Blades of the Brotherhood is another good one. The Castle of the Devil was expanded into a good graphic novel, and I wonder if The Right Hand of Doom was a Mignola inspiration. For sentimental reasons my favorite piece is the poem, Solomon Kane's Homecoming, a delightful bit of doggerel that serves as an epilogue to the series; for some not clearly remembered reason I used to read it frequently to my kids as bedtime story with grand flourishes and dramatic gestures in as loud and booming a voice as I could muster. It was a funny family tradition for a while... I can still recite a lot of it... "The white gulls wheeled above the cliffs, the air was slashed with foam..."
March 15, 2022
Solomon Kane is a wandering Puritan that delivers justice with blade and blunderbuss. He roams the grim wilderness of the 15th century where supernatural danger and haunted ruins lurk in every corner. Vengeful ghosts, bloodthirsty demons, dark sorcerers; the mad avenger Kane challenges them all armed with a fanatic’s faith and a warrior’s savage heart.
Dark, violent and adventurous stories. The atmosphere is chilling, the fast-paced bloody action is constantly exciting and the fiends are grotesque. Wings in the Night and Skulls in the Stars were my favorites of the bunch, they best showed how morally flawed Kane is as a character and the horrors of the world he lives in. They best revealed the grim antihero hiding beneath his facade of being a holy man. The dark fantasy prose and thunderous action scenes were on par with Conan, but the stories and world building weren't quite on the same level as the tales of the barbarian hero.
I didn’t like how heavily a lot of the “horror and mystery” in this series of tales relied on outdated racist themes. I understand this series was written during a different era and I expect there to be themes like that, but when the entire plot of some of the stories rely entirely on misinformed racial prejudice and cultural ignorance, it makes them hard to enjoy. Some Conan stories have similar issues, but not nearly as many or on the same level. There are some cringeworthy moments that anyone who's read Lovecraft will feel familiar with. If nothing else, it’s worth reading for the cool action scenes, awesome gothic scenery and gruesome monsters.
Dark, violent and adventurous stories. The atmosphere is chilling, the fast-paced bloody action is constantly exciting and the fiends are grotesque. Wings in the Night and Skulls in the Stars were my favorites of the bunch, they best showed how morally flawed Kane is as a character and the horrors of the world he lives in. They best revealed the grim antihero hiding beneath his facade of being a holy man. The dark fantasy prose and thunderous action scenes were on par with Conan, but the stories and world building weren't quite on the same level as the tales of the barbarian hero.
I didn’t like how heavily a lot of the “horror and mystery” in this series of tales relied on outdated racist themes. I understand this series was written during a different era and I expect there to be themes like that, but when the entire plot of some of the stories rely entirely on misinformed racial prejudice and cultural ignorance, it makes them hard to enjoy. Some Conan stories have similar issues, but not nearly as many or on the same level. There are some cringeworthy moments that anyone who's read Lovecraft will feel familiar with. If nothing else, it’s worth reading for the cool action scenes, awesome gothic scenery and gruesome monsters.
October 31, 2014
Na Fnac há uma secção que se chama "Romance no Feminino", mas não há a secção de "Romance no Masculino". Está mal! Pois se houvesse, o Salomão Kane estaria lá, e eu analisá-lo-ia mais atentamente antes de o trazer para casa.
Não gosto de romances só com beijinhos mas, também não gosto de romances sem beijinhos; e este Salomão, "estranha mistura de Puritano e Cavaleiro" dedica-se apenas a manter a justiça e a proteger os desvalidos a "fio de espada".
Depois da introdução desnecessária (e mentirosa, pois tenho este livro há anos - de um tempo antes da Grande Invasão das Rosas Algemadas - e em miúda lia livros de cowboys), vamos lá ao que interessa.
Este livro relata as aventuras do herói, criado há quase 100 anos, por um dos "pais" da literatura fantástica. O misterioso e valente Salomão Kane - sempre armado de espada punhal pistola - luta com almas penadas demónios vampiros e outras coisas horripilantes. E fez-me sono...
Estou convencida que se eu não me tivesse empanturrado com outros autores do género (Tolkien, Martin, Brett,...), cujos enredos e personagens têm muito mais "apitos", teria apreciado melhor Howard.
Com um grande sentimento de culpa, e porque o li por alto, dou-lhe duas estrelas baixinhas.
Não gosto de romances só com beijinhos mas, também não gosto de romances sem beijinhos; e este Salomão, "estranha mistura de Puritano e Cavaleiro" dedica-se apenas a manter a justiça e a proteger os desvalidos a "fio de espada".
Depois da introdução desnecessária (e mentirosa, pois tenho este livro há anos - de um tempo antes da Grande Invasão das Rosas Algemadas - e em miúda lia livros de cowboys), vamos lá ao que interessa.
Este livro relata as aventuras do herói, criado há quase 100 anos, por um dos "pais" da literatura fantástica. O misterioso e valente Salomão Kane - sempre armado de espada punhal pistola - luta com almas penadas demónios vampiros e outras coisas horripilantes. E fez-me sono...
Estou convencida que se eu não me tivesse empanturrado com outros autores do género (Tolkien, Martin, Brett,...), cujos enredos e personagens têm muito mais "apitos", teria apreciado melhor Howard.
Com um grande sentimento de culpa, e porque o li por alto, dou-lhe duas estrelas baixinhas.
June 16, 2024
Είχα... δεκαετίες να διαβάσω Howard και πραγματικά το απόλαυσα. Εξαιρετικά ενδιαφέρουσα η αισθητική των ιστοριών του Solomon Kane, βλέπεις πως αμέτρητα έργα του παρελθόντος (λογοτεχνικά και μη):άντλησαν ιδέες από το ρεπερτόριο του.
December 6, 2010
I’ve been reading Robert E. Howard’s Conan for 30+ years now. I remember – and still have – the Science Fiction Book Club editions edited by the late Karl Wagner and I think any consideration of the best fantasy writing has to include “Beyond the Black River” and “A Witch Shall Be Born,” at the very least, but I was never much interested in reading any of the non-Conan stories Howard wrote.* I was always intrigued, however, by what I heard about “Solomon Kane” – a Puritan soldier-of-fortune who went around smiting the wicked. The idea of a fanatic, self-righteous, holier-than-thou Puritan slaughtering the heathen and the un-Godly sounded like such a “cool” idea. Recently, I had opportunity to utilize an Amazon gift card, and purchased Del Rey’s reissue of the Kane stories and…
There’s nothing “wrong” with the stories and fragments in this collection (assuming one can get past the racism**) but there’s nothing really “right” either. In short, they’re kind of boring. The passion and fun found in the best of the Conan stories is singularly lacking in all of these stories, as is the introspection found in the Kull canon. And there’s far too much exposition; this is Howard clearly learning how to write a story so I can only recommend it to a Howard completist and will be gifting my copy to my brother this Christmas.
* I read the Kull stories when I was in college but didn’t have the depth of imagination to really appreciate them, and it was only a middle-age reread that made me realize Howard’s largely unrealized potential as a writer worth remembering.
** The racism is not often worse than what you would find in much of the writing of the period (esp. in the pulps) but Howard does go way over the top in the last paragraphs of “Wings in the Night,” where he writes:
There’s nothing “wrong” with the stories and fragments in this collection (assuming one can get past the racism**) but there’s nothing really “right” either. In short, they’re kind of boring. The passion and fun found in the best of the Conan stories is singularly lacking in all of these stories, as is the introspection found in the Kull canon. And there’s far too much exposition; this is Howard clearly learning how to write a story so I can only recommend it to a Howard completist and will be gifting my copy to my brother this Christmas.
* I read the Kull stories when I was in college but didn’t have the depth of imagination to really appreciate them, and it was only a middle-age reread that made me realize Howard’s largely unrealized potential as a writer worth remembering.
** The racism is not often worse than what you would find in much of the writing of the period (esp. in the pulps) but Howard does go way over the top in the last paragraphs of “Wings in the Night,” where he writes:
Kane stood with the ju-ju stave in one hand and the smoking pistol in the other, above the smoldering ruins that hid forever from the sight of man the last of those terrible, semi-human monsters whom another white-skinned hero had banished from Europe in an unknown age. Kane stood, an unconscious statue of triumph – the ancient empires fall, the dark-skinned peoples fade and even the demons of antiquity gasp their last, but over all stands the Aryan barbarian, white-skinned, cold-eyed, dominant, the supreme fighting man of the earth, whether he be clad in wolf-hide and horned helmet, or boots and doublet – whether he bear in his hand battle-ax or rapier – whether he be called Dorian, Saxon or Englishman – whether his name be Jason, Hengist or Solomon Kane.” (p. 320)
September 12, 2010
Since I've read half of this before as Skull in the Stars, I'll only be reviewing the complete stories I've yet to read, no fragments.
Hills of the Dead:
Solomon Kane and N'Longa go up against a group of vampires in some remote hills. Carnage ensues.
It's been a couple years since I read one of the Solomon Kane stories. Howard's Puritan adventurer is quite a bit different from Conan but still quite good. The staff N'Longa give Kane to use proves to be invaluable and I loved the way the vampires were dealt with in the end. While I enjoyed this tale of vampires in Africa quite a bit, the racism of the time is quite apparent.
Wings in the Night:
Solomon Kane runs afoul of a cannibal and gets drawn into a situation involving harpies.
As with the previous story, the harpies are quite gruesome and Kane dispatches them ruthlessly. It's almost more horror than fantasy.
The Footfalls Within:
Kane gets captured by slave traders. More info about his staff is revealed before the caravan runs across an ancient tomb with something malevolent trapped inside...
Once again, Howard throws Kane into a horror story, this time an ancient evil from the time of Solomon. Of the three stories I hadn't yet read when I picked up this volume, this was probably my favorite.
While I like Solomon Kane more than Kull and Bran Mak Morn, I still prefer Conan. Still, Kane's stories are chilling adventures, more akin to horror than fantasy. If you can stomach casual racism of the time they were written in, they're quite good.
Hills of the Dead:
Solomon Kane and N'Longa go up against a group of vampires in some remote hills. Carnage ensues.
It's been a couple years since I read one of the Solomon Kane stories. Howard's Puritan adventurer is quite a bit different from Conan but still quite good. The staff N'Longa give Kane to use proves to be invaluable and I loved the way the vampires were dealt with in the end. While I enjoyed this tale of vampires in Africa quite a bit, the racism of the time is quite apparent.
Wings in the Night:
Solomon Kane runs afoul of a cannibal and gets drawn into a situation involving harpies.
As with the previous story, the harpies are quite gruesome and Kane dispatches them ruthlessly. It's almost more horror than fantasy.
The Footfalls Within:
Kane gets captured by slave traders. More info about his staff is revealed before the caravan runs across an ancient tomb with something malevolent trapped inside...
Once again, Howard throws Kane into a horror story, this time an ancient evil from the time of Solomon. Of the three stories I hadn't yet read when I picked up this volume, this was probably my favorite.
While I like Solomon Kane more than Kull and Bran Mak Morn, I still prefer Conan. Still, Kane's stories are chilling adventures, more akin to horror than fantasy. If you can stomach casual racism of the time they were written in, they're quite good.
August 13, 2024
The white gullls wheeled above the cliffs,
The wind was slashed with foam,
The long tides moaned along the strand
When Solomon Kane came home.
Hé walked in silence through the streets
of the little Devon town,
The folk all followed whispering
all up the streets and down.
From the "Solomon Kane's Homecoming" by Robert E Howard.
Solomon Kane puritan, expert swordsman, fighter for justice. Strolls through strange lands and slays supernatural and natural alike. In this collection Kane mostly travels unknown Africa and fights pirates on the scores of England.
Perhaps the fantastic adventures and language in which it is written is unsuited for some sensibilties in the 21st century, but few have the ability to write in such a strong masculine voice and have his material survive for close to a century and still remain read a lot.
I don't want the discussion if his writing is sexist or racist, this was another age of mankind. So read it or not but place it in the time these hero's belong.
I first encountered Solomon Kane in de b/w pages of the Savage Sword of Conan and hé kinda impressed the heck out of me. Other writers have created more tales about this English hero and have geven him longevity so that hé remains interesting in this 21st century and once again has his place in the new SSOC series currently running.
Solomon Kane is one of the many powerfull voices created by Robert E Howard and is worthy being read. Like Tarzan, Buck Rogers, Conan, king Kull, the Shadow worthy of your time.
The wind was slashed with foam,
The long tides moaned along the strand
When Solomon Kane came home.
Hé walked in silence through the streets
of the little Devon town,
The folk all followed whispering
all up the streets and down.
From the "Solomon Kane's Homecoming" by Robert E Howard.
Solomon Kane puritan, expert swordsman, fighter for justice. Strolls through strange lands and slays supernatural and natural alike. In this collection Kane mostly travels unknown Africa and fights pirates on the scores of England.
Perhaps the fantastic adventures and language in which it is written is unsuited for some sensibilties in the 21st century, but few have the ability to write in such a strong masculine voice and have his material survive for close to a century and still remain read a lot.
I don't want the discussion if his writing is sexist or racist, this was another age of mankind. So read it or not but place it in the time these hero's belong.
I first encountered Solomon Kane in de b/w pages of the Savage Sword of Conan and hé kinda impressed the heck out of me. Other writers have created more tales about this English hero and have geven him longevity so that hé remains interesting in this 21st century and once again has his place in the new SSOC series currently running.
Solomon Kane is one of the many powerfull voices created by Robert E Howard and is worthy being read. Like Tarzan, Buck Rogers, Conan, king Kull, the Shadow worthy of your time.
December 1, 2019
Solomon Kane é um puritano elizabetano que procura de todas as formas destruir o mal pela raiz. Dizendo se enviado por Deus para acabar com as injustiças e maldades , ele faz uso de sua pistola e de sua espada para destruir vilões, bestas, esqueletos animados, vampiros , canibais, rainhas, feiticeiras, piratas etc
Coitadinho dos inimigos de Kane, ele irá até o fim do mundo para agarrá-los. Coitadinho de quem mexer com um protegido de Kane, ele irá buscá-los no inferno se for necessário.
Com 9 contos ( todos escrito no início do século XX (1920-1930) sangrentos e cheios ação nos momentos decisivos, o livro é excepcional. As narrações são tão detalhadas que nas batalhas parece que nós os leitores vamos nos ferir.
Escrito de forma mais sútil que Conan, o livro não deixa nada a desejar . Há uma gama muito grande de recursos explorados por Howard alguns inéditos como o uso de espadas nas batalhas contra seres sobrenaturais . Meus amigos não estamos falando de qualquer um não , Robert Ervin Howard foi o pioneiro nestes tipos de histórias, tendo influenciado muitos escritores famosos como , J.R.R. Tolkien e George R. R. Martin entre outros.
Livro delicioso , vale a pena .
Coitadinho dos inimigos de Kane, ele irá até o fim do mundo para agarrá-los. Coitadinho de quem mexer com um protegido de Kane, ele irá buscá-los no inferno se for necessário.
Com 9 contos ( todos escrito no início do século XX (1920-1930) sangrentos e cheios ação nos momentos decisivos, o livro é excepcional. As narrações são tão detalhadas que nas batalhas parece que nós os leitores vamos nos ferir.
Escrito de forma mais sútil que Conan, o livro não deixa nada a desejar . Há uma gama muito grande de recursos explorados por Howard alguns inéditos como o uso de espadas nas batalhas contra seres sobrenaturais . Meus amigos não estamos falando de qualquer um não , Robert Ervin Howard foi o pioneiro nestes tipos de histórias, tendo influenciado muitos escritores famosos como , J.R.R. Tolkien e George R. R. Martin entre outros.
Livro delicioso , vale a pena .
July 9, 2018
A very strong and grim character. You will love his adventures!
March 22, 2024
How I love Solomon Kane. How I wished Howard would have lived longer the tales we could have had. Yes some of these tales are better than the others. But over all such a fun read. So pick up your " Ju Ju" stave and start your journey. Adventure is waiting for you!
October 24, 2017
La sombra del buitre vale, por sí solo, la pena.
April 2, 2020
Una estupenda lectura, muy pulp y muy de su tiempo, con aventuras exóticas en una Europa con pinceladas sobrenaturales y un acercamiento al África ignota, con ciudades escondidas y civilizaciones olvidadas, y resonancias míticas. Un hombre envuelto en una misión (o en una por relato) que le lanza a las más peligrosas circunstancias, en narraciones paulatinamente más elaboradas.
Irónicamente lo mejor del volumen, lo que pone la guinda y hace que casi se merezca la quinta estrella, es el último cuento incluido con gran acierto: La sombra del buitre. Un cuento que ni siquiera se encuentra protagonizado por el puritano Solomon Kane, sino que se sitúa en el intento del Gran Turco de conquistar Europa topándose con la resistencia de Viena en su camino, pero que se demuestra como un precursor evidente del ahora llamado grimdark cultivado por autores como Joe Abercrombie: un héroe desencantado, pendenciero y bebedor; una guerrera independiente, inteligente, vocinglera y bebedora (Sonia la Roja a.k.a. Red Sonja); violencia sin censura; cambio de punto de vista narrativo; situaciones rocambolescas que salvan la situación; venganzas que se alargan en el tiempo... Una delicia de relato por el que ya merece la pena un volumen que ya era recomendable de por sí.
Irónicamente lo mejor del volumen, lo que pone la guinda y hace que casi se merezca la quinta estrella, es el último cuento incluido con gran acierto: La sombra del buitre. Un cuento que ni siquiera se encuentra protagonizado por el puritano Solomon Kane, sino que se sitúa en el intento del Gran Turco de conquistar Europa topándose con la resistencia de Viena en su camino, pero que se demuestra como un precursor evidente del ahora llamado grimdark cultivado por autores como Joe Abercrombie: un héroe desencantado, pendenciero y bebedor; una guerrera independiente, inteligente, vocinglera y bebedora (Sonia la Roja a.k.a. Red Sonja); violencia sin censura; cambio de punto de vista narrativo; situaciones rocambolescas que salvan la situación; venganzas que se alargan en el tiempo... Una delicia de relato por el que ya merece la pena un volumen que ya era recomendable de por sí.
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February 22, 2021“He was . . . a strange blending of Puritan and Cavalier, with a touch of the ancient philosopher, and more than a touch of the pagan. . . . A hunger in his soul drove him on and on, an urge to right all wrongs, protect all weaker things. . . . Wayward and restless as the wind, he was consistent in only one respect—he was true to his ideals of justice and right. Such was Solomon Kane.”
In discussions of weird fiction, most would know of the names of HP Lovecraft or Robert E Howard. They are, after all, probably the most well known writers from the pulp era. But I still find it rather mystifying that it is Lovecraft, and not Howard, who is celebrated as the master and the best of the pulp weird writers, despite the fact that Howard surpassed Lovecraft in terms of tone, character, and plot.
Now that's not to say that Howard hasn't found his place. He's certainly gained cult status among the fantasy community as one of its innovators and its finest writers, but he hasn't been fully given his due and it's quite a damn shame as he's proven himself to be capable of writing moody, atmospheric stories that also have a sense of adventure and wonder to it as well. It had been a while since I last read Howard, I read a few of the Conan stories as well as some of Solomon Kane's stories when I first started trying to broaden my fantasy tastes and try to move away from the Tolkien/Lewis model, as much as I enjoy them and many people were pointing towards Howard as a rival for Tolkien (in fact, Tolkien said he 'rather liked' the Conan stories) as well as the greatest writer of fantasy asides from him, so I decided to give him a shot. It's safe to say that I was pleasantly surprised to find a writer with a command of mood and atmosphere, and though he can admittedly get repetitive, he proves himself to be a phenomenal writer of the fantastic.
I always found Solomon Kane to be a more interesting character than Conan, not that Conan isn't meticulously developed or not interesting, but it's more for personal taste. I like enigmatic characters, characters that have a sense of danger to them and are unpredictable, again not saying that Conan isn't all of that. If I could compare the Puritan to anyone, it would be The Punisher, though unlike Frank Castle, there's no underlying motive that defines his cause, no family that he lost, though in Howard's superbly written Solomon Kane's Homecoming, we capture a glimpse of the man underneath the force of nature, which suggests that perhaps he began his quest to vanquish evil because of a lost loved one. But, instead of usually marking it as a flaw in the book, I'd say that this mystery regarding Kane's motivations in fact enhances Kane's character, it would be a bit of a let down if we were given a full on explanation on who or even what Kane is and why he acts the way he acts, it's like he's a heroic version of Judge Holden, though he's not a demon and not as evil as the judge. We can only wonder who Kane is and why he decided to do what he does, and I think that enhances the stories.
Howard's poetry also proves to be quite good, while I wouldn't say that I'm that into poetry, Howard does show a knack for it. He's not quite as lyrical as Clark Ashton Smith, nor as frustratingly verbose as Lovecraft, but Howard's poetry is very much in his own voice, bringing a sense of melancholy and sensitivity, while also having an aura of mystique and suspense revolving around it as well.
Gianni's art remains delightful to the eye, he brings a scratchy, almost sketch-like style to the book while also bringing the sense of verve and adventure that befits Howard's style. I do wish that he did more of the Del Ray Howard books, because he brings his characters to life in the way that Howard had envisioned them, but oh well, I'll count my blessings on the books that he did illustrate under the Del Ray label.
There are flaws in the book, as there's no such thing as a perfect work. Howard's stories, especially by the end, do begin to feel tedious and repetitive and some of his depictions of other cultures can be rather insensitive at best, though to Howard's credit, he does make sympathetic minority and women characters, such as his show stealer character and the closest thing that Kane has to a friend in N'Longa, who often serves as a foil for Kane, with his signature wit and witticisms to be opposite of Kane's Byronic moodiness, though I will say that Howard's work isn't for the politically correct, now I'm not one of those snowflakes who gets offended by everything, so it doesn't particularly bug me. But if it bugs you, and it pains me to say it, just don't read it. But if you can grow a spine, have fun reading it. That also brings me to another plus to Howard's work, that even his negatives can be looked at as positives, such as how his stories can be tedious or repetitive, it doesn't mean that they're bad by any means, and even with his questionable portrayal of minorities, he does make sympathetic characters that are minorities.
At the end of the day, I still see that Howard is the best of the pulp writers, but it's not even that he's a great pulp writer, he's just a great writer in general.
In discussions of weird fiction, most would know of the names of HP Lovecraft or Robert E Howard. They are, after all, probably the most well known writers from the pulp era. But I still find it rather mystifying that it is Lovecraft, and not Howard, who is celebrated as the master and the best of the pulp weird writers, despite the fact that Howard surpassed Lovecraft in terms of tone, character, and plot.
Now that's not to say that Howard hasn't found his place. He's certainly gained cult status among the fantasy community as one of its innovators and its finest writers, but he hasn't been fully given his due and it's quite a damn shame as he's proven himself to be capable of writing moody, atmospheric stories that also have a sense of adventure and wonder to it as well. It had been a while since I last read Howard, I read a few of the Conan stories as well as some of Solomon Kane's stories when I first started trying to broaden my fantasy tastes and try to move away from the Tolkien/Lewis model, as much as I enjoy them and many people were pointing towards Howard as a rival for Tolkien (in fact, Tolkien said he 'rather liked' the Conan stories) as well as the greatest writer of fantasy asides from him, so I decided to give him a shot. It's safe to say that I was pleasantly surprised to find a writer with a command of mood and atmosphere, and though he can admittedly get repetitive, he proves himself to be a phenomenal writer of the fantastic.
I always found Solomon Kane to be a more interesting character than Conan, not that Conan isn't meticulously developed or not interesting, but it's more for personal taste. I like enigmatic characters, characters that have a sense of danger to them and are unpredictable, again not saying that Conan isn't all of that. If I could compare the Puritan to anyone, it would be The Punisher, though unlike Frank Castle, there's no underlying motive that defines his cause, no family that he lost, though in Howard's superbly written Solomon Kane's Homecoming, we capture a glimpse of the man underneath the force of nature, which suggests that perhaps he began his quest to vanquish evil because of a lost loved one. But, instead of usually marking it as a flaw in the book, I'd say that this mystery regarding Kane's motivations in fact enhances Kane's character, it would be a bit of a let down if we were given a full on explanation on who or even what Kane is and why he acts the way he acts, it's like he's a heroic version of Judge Holden, though he's not a demon and not as evil as the judge. We can only wonder who Kane is and why he decided to do what he does, and I think that enhances the stories.
Howard's poetry also proves to be quite good, while I wouldn't say that I'm that into poetry, Howard does show a knack for it. He's not quite as lyrical as Clark Ashton Smith, nor as frustratingly verbose as Lovecraft, but Howard's poetry is very much in his own voice, bringing a sense of melancholy and sensitivity, while also having an aura of mystique and suspense revolving around it as well.
Gianni's art remains delightful to the eye, he brings a scratchy, almost sketch-like style to the book while also bringing the sense of verve and adventure that befits Howard's style. I do wish that he did more of the Del Ray Howard books, because he brings his characters to life in the way that Howard had envisioned them, but oh well, I'll count my blessings on the books that he did illustrate under the Del Ray label.
There are flaws in the book, as there's no such thing as a perfect work. Howard's stories, especially by the end, do begin to feel tedious and repetitive and some of his depictions of other cultures can be rather insensitive at best, though to Howard's credit, he does make sympathetic minority and women characters, such as his show stealer character and the closest thing that Kane has to a friend in N'Longa, who often serves as a foil for Kane, with his signature wit and witticisms to be opposite of Kane's Byronic moodiness, though I will say that Howard's work isn't for the politically correct, now I'm not one of those snowflakes who gets offended by everything, so it doesn't particularly bug me. But if it bugs you, and it pains me to say it, just don't read it. But if you can grow a spine, have fun reading it. That also brings me to another plus to Howard's work, that even his negatives can be looked at as positives, such as how his stories can be tedious or repetitive, it doesn't mean that they're bad by any means, and even with his questionable portrayal of minorities, he does make sympathetic characters that are minorities.
At the end of the day, I still see that Howard is the best of the pulp writers, but it's not even that he's a great pulp writer, he's just a great writer in general.
June 15, 2020
Actualmente, Robert E. Howard es minimamente conocido por ser el creador del gran bárbaro de la literatura y el cómic, Conan el cimmnerio. Y, sin embargo, este personaje no es ni la punta del iceberg de la sorprendentemente extensa y variada obra del texano, que puso fin a sus días de un disparo en su coche incapaz de soportar la muerte de su madre. No contaba mas de 30 años. Una muerte tan abrupta y un talento tan sobresaliente nos hacen especular en como habría pasado a la historia de las letras, pues seguramente hubiera pasado. Robert E. Howard, como he dicho, cultivo muchos de los géneros de las revistas pulp: historias del oeste, epopeyas históricas, relatos detectivescos y picantones, historias de espada y hechiceria, incluso terror lovecraftniano -era un gran admirador y amigo del Solitario de Providence-. El joven Robert destacaba sobre todo en espada y hechicería, e influyo muchísimo a autores actuales, como G.R.R Martin. La obra que reseño se engloba en este genero, y si bien no es tan conocida como el cimmnerio, si que ha tenido una adaptación -bastante plof, he de confesar- al cine.
¿Quien es Solomon Kane? Solomon viene a ser el arquetipico caballero andante de las novelas medievales trasladado a una oscura Europa del siglo XVII. Es un puritano que recorre el mundo resolviendo problemas que van desde peleas con esclavistas sarracenos y luchas con naciones negras del África profunda, hasta de índole sobrenatural y satánico, siguiendo siempre un estricto código moral que le impide abandonar a cualquier inocente a su suerte. Esta edición de Valdemar reúne todas las aventuras, ocho en total, de este negro paladín de la fe.
Las extrañas aventuras de Solomon Kane tienen mas que merecido su epíteto pues son, cuanto menos, pintorescas. Partiendo de un héroe clásico del folletín, oscuro y misterioso, pero noble, siempre dispuesto a jugarse el tipo aunque sea contra hechiceros, demonios o vampiros. Cada relato narra una aventura diferente e individual, en principio, en los últimos relatos si existen un atisbo de hilo conductor.
-Cráneos de las estrellas: en este relato nuestro héroe deberá hacer frente a un misterioso ser que mutila a todo aquel que pase por el bosque.
-La mano derecha de la maldición: aquí, Solomon Kane debera a hacer frente a un extraño asesinato que se muestra como un misterio que, por desgracia, no tiene absolutmante nada de misterioso. De los mas flojos del conjunto, el protagonista apenas sobresale en todo el relato, que simplemente fluye a ese giro argumental fallido.
-Sombras rojas: en esta aventura, nuestro heroe se encuentra persiguiendo a unos sanguinarios bandoleros, entre ellos, el famoso espadachín Le Loup, al que se enfrentara en un épico duelo a espada, narrado con un frenetismo y detalle que nos obliga a esquivar las estocadas.
-Resonar de huesos: Kane y un compañero de viaje hacen un alto en una posada que encierra un macabro horror en su interior. Algo mas flojo que los demas.
-Luna de calaveras: es el relato mas largo de la colección. Solomon Kane se habre pase entre la espesa selva africana para encontrar la arcana ciudad de Negari, donde la reina tiene secuestra a una joven inglesa. Prodigo en descripciones exóticas, combates trepidantes y tensión, es la mejor pieza en el conjunto, donde nuestro protagonista sobresale como un justiciero imbatible.
-Las colinas de los muertos: De nuevo en Africa, Solomon Kane debera hacer frente junto a la ayuda del chaman yuyu, N'Longa, a una miriada de muertos que moran en las colinas, aterrorizando a la indefensa poblacion tribal.
-Alas negras: Solomon Kane, en su afan por ayudar a las tribus del Africa profunda, debera defender a estas de un monstruoso enemigo que viene de los cielos. El enfrentamiento final entre el puritano y estos demonios del aire es impresionante, de los mejores de la coleccion.
-Los pasos en el interior: lo que empieza como una aventura mas del puritano, esta vez contra esclavistas árabes, termina convirtiéndose en un explicito relato de terror lovecraftniano, criatura monstruosa y primigenia incluida. Y hasta a este ser Solomon le echa huevos.
-La sombra del buitre: este ultimo relato largo narra el asedio de Viena por parte de Suleiman el Magnifico, sultán de los turcos, y la desesperada defensa de los vieneses. Aunque en este ultimo Solomon Kane no es protagonista, es una aventura muy buen narrada y muy entretenida.
¿Quien es Solomon Kane? Solomon viene a ser el arquetipico caballero andante de las novelas medievales trasladado a una oscura Europa del siglo XVII. Es un puritano que recorre el mundo resolviendo problemas que van desde peleas con esclavistas sarracenos y luchas con naciones negras del África profunda, hasta de índole sobrenatural y satánico, siguiendo siempre un estricto código moral que le impide abandonar a cualquier inocente a su suerte. Esta edición de Valdemar reúne todas las aventuras, ocho en total, de este negro paladín de la fe.
Las extrañas aventuras de Solomon Kane tienen mas que merecido su epíteto pues son, cuanto menos, pintorescas. Partiendo de un héroe clásico del folletín, oscuro y misterioso, pero noble, siempre dispuesto a jugarse el tipo aunque sea contra hechiceros, demonios o vampiros. Cada relato narra una aventura diferente e individual, en principio, en los últimos relatos si existen un atisbo de hilo conductor.
-Cráneos de las estrellas: en este relato nuestro héroe deberá hacer frente a un misterioso ser que mutila a todo aquel que pase por el bosque.
-La mano derecha de la maldición: aquí, Solomon Kane debera a hacer frente a un extraño asesinato que se muestra como un misterio que, por desgracia, no tiene absolutmante nada de misterioso. De los mas flojos del conjunto, el protagonista apenas sobresale en todo el relato, que simplemente fluye a ese giro argumental fallido.
-Sombras rojas: en esta aventura, nuestro heroe se encuentra persiguiendo a unos sanguinarios bandoleros, entre ellos, el famoso espadachín Le Loup, al que se enfrentara en un épico duelo a espada, narrado con un frenetismo y detalle que nos obliga a esquivar las estocadas.
-Resonar de huesos: Kane y un compañero de viaje hacen un alto en una posada que encierra un macabro horror en su interior. Algo mas flojo que los demas.
-Luna de calaveras: es el relato mas largo de la colección. Solomon Kane se habre pase entre la espesa selva africana para encontrar la arcana ciudad de Negari, donde la reina tiene secuestra a una joven inglesa. Prodigo en descripciones exóticas, combates trepidantes y tensión, es la mejor pieza en el conjunto, donde nuestro protagonista sobresale como un justiciero imbatible.
-Las colinas de los muertos: De nuevo en Africa, Solomon Kane debera hacer frente junto a la ayuda del chaman yuyu, N'Longa, a una miriada de muertos que moran en las colinas, aterrorizando a la indefensa poblacion tribal.
-Alas negras: Solomon Kane, en su afan por ayudar a las tribus del Africa profunda, debera defender a estas de un monstruoso enemigo que viene de los cielos. El enfrentamiento final entre el puritano y estos demonios del aire es impresionante, de los mejores de la coleccion.
-Los pasos en el interior: lo que empieza como una aventura mas del puritano, esta vez contra esclavistas árabes, termina convirtiéndose en un explicito relato de terror lovecraftniano, criatura monstruosa y primigenia incluida. Y hasta a este ser Solomon le echa huevos.
-La sombra del buitre: este ultimo relato largo narra el asedio de Viena por parte de Suleiman el Magnifico, sultán de los turcos, y la desesperada defensa de los vieneses. Aunque en este ultimo Solomon Kane no es protagonista, es una aventura muy buen narrada y muy entretenida.
September 24, 2025
„Solomon Kane” to jedno z mniej znanych, ale wciąż intensywnie klimatycznych dzieł Roberta E. Howarda ojca Conana Barbarzyńcy. Zamiast egzotycznych krain Hyborii, dostajemy tu XVI wieczny świat pełen ciemnych lasów, nawiedzonych ruin i ponurego ludowego mistycyzmu. Na jego tle działa samotnik tytułowy Kane, mroczny pielgrzym z mieczem i flintą u pasa, który ściga zło z imieniem Boga na ustach i fanatycznym ogniem w sercu.
Mrok, krew i siarka
Na poziomie atmosfery, Howard osiąga tu rzeczy wielkie. Opowiadania kipią od gotyckich obrazów, przerażających istot i symboliki rodem z malarstwa Boscha. To pulpowa przygoda w wersji hard zamiast kolorowych czarodziejek i skarbów, mamy przeklęte wioski, demoniczne moce i bezimienne groby.
Mimo osadzenia w świecie realnym (czy raczej: „quasi-historycznym”), opowiadania utrzymują styl weird fiction. Nadprzyrodzone elementy są tu realnym zagrożeniem, nie tylko psychologiczną sugestią. Dla fanów grozy i akcji w duchu klasycznego fantasy to może być atrakcyjny miks. Mroczny fantasy spotyka grozę godną H.P. Lovecrafta, ale „Solomon Kane” to przede wszystkim prosty, mocny narracyjny cios szybko trafia do sedna, brak dłużyzn
Postać Kane’a
Solomon Kane to antybohater w czystej formie fanatyczny człowiek wiary, asceta, zimny sąd Boży. W sensorach 21. wieku to nazbyt surowa i zamknięta postać – niemal pozbawiona emocji, bezromantyczna, pozbawiona „miękkości” czy relacji. Chodź w realiach XX wieku też moim zdaniem była zbyt płaska ni jaka.
Początkowa pogarda wobec tzw. „dzikusów” ustępuje miejsca pewnej refleksji i moralnemu rozedrganiu . Czy Howard to ukrywa? A może projektuje siebie, swój wewnętrzny zwrot – w każdym razie dystansowanie się od prostego rasizmu wydaje się świadome
Styl i konstrukcja
Howard operuje barokowym językiem bogatym, napompowanym archaizmami, pełnym emfazy. Nie każdemu to podejdzie. Fabuły są proste: Kane trafia w nowe miejsce → odkrywa zło → wymierza sprawiedliwość. I choć każda historia trzyma w napięciu, to schematyczność szybko się uwidacznia. Mi to nie gra przekoloryzowany język dostaje prostacką fabułe.
To zbiór przeznaczony raczej do dawkowania jedno opowiadanie na raz. W przeciwnym razie szybko można poczuć znużenie. Ja to poczułem. Tak naprawdę czułem jak bym czytał to samo.
Dziedzictwo epoki
Nie da się przemilczeć jednego faktu: duża część tych historii jest przesiąknięta rasistowskimi stereotypami. Czarnoskórzy mieszkańcy Afryki przedstawiani są często w sposób kolonialny, infantylny lub jako barbarzyńscy „Inni”. Czasami Howard próbuje od tego odchodzić, ale są to wyjątki, nie reguła.
Współczesny czytelnik może (i powinien) podchodzić do tych fragmentów z krytycznym dystansem. Sam Kane wielokrotnie używa fraz sugerujących wyższość białej rasy, co w kompilacji kulminuje w nagich werdyktach moralnych i symbolice białego wybawiciela. Chodź jeden "plus" Kane zaczyna rozumieć, że nie każdy „czarny” jest barbarzyńcą, a niektórzy zasługują na szacunek i wolność. Mało tego ale jest światełko w tunelu.
„Solomon Kane” to lektura dla tych, którzy szukają mrocznej alternatywy dla klasycznego fantasy. Nie ma tu humoru Conana, nie ma epickiej rozmachu Hyborii. Jest za to samotna walka z piekłem na ziemi często dosłownie. To proza bezkompromisowa, brutalna, a czasem odpychająca.
Jeśli miał bym do czegoś to porównywać to chyba do Kana Karl Edward Wagner. Gdzie uważam, złożonością klimatem i mrokiem Kane zjada Salomona na kolacje. Tutaj niestety mamy schematyzm nudzące powtórki i wszechobecny rasizm i poglądy autora.
2/5
Mrok, krew i siarka
Na poziomie atmosfery, Howard osiąga tu rzeczy wielkie. Opowiadania kipią od gotyckich obrazów, przerażających istot i symboliki rodem z malarstwa Boscha. To pulpowa przygoda w wersji hard zamiast kolorowych czarodziejek i skarbów, mamy przeklęte wioski, demoniczne moce i bezimienne groby.
Mimo osadzenia w świecie realnym (czy raczej: „quasi-historycznym”), opowiadania utrzymują styl weird fiction. Nadprzyrodzone elementy są tu realnym zagrożeniem, nie tylko psychologiczną sugestią. Dla fanów grozy i akcji w duchu klasycznego fantasy to może być atrakcyjny miks. Mroczny fantasy spotyka grozę godną H.P. Lovecrafta, ale „Solomon Kane” to przede wszystkim prosty, mocny narracyjny cios szybko trafia do sedna, brak dłużyzn
Postać Kane’a
Solomon Kane to antybohater w czystej formie fanatyczny człowiek wiary, asceta, zimny sąd Boży. W sensorach 21. wieku to nazbyt surowa i zamknięta postać – niemal pozbawiona emocji, bezromantyczna, pozbawiona „miękkości” czy relacji. Chodź w realiach XX wieku też moim zdaniem była zbyt płaska ni jaka.
Początkowa pogarda wobec tzw. „dzikusów” ustępuje miejsca pewnej refleksji i moralnemu rozedrganiu . Czy Howard to ukrywa? A może projektuje siebie, swój wewnętrzny zwrot – w każdym razie dystansowanie się od prostego rasizmu wydaje się świadome
Styl i konstrukcja
Howard operuje barokowym językiem bogatym, napompowanym archaizmami, pełnym emfazy. Nie każdemu to podejdzie. Fabuły są proste: Kane trafia w nowe miejsce → odkrywa zło → wymierza sprawiedliwość. I choć każda historia trzyma w napięciu, to schematyczność szybko się uwidacznia. Mi to nie gra przekoloryzowany język dostaje prostacką fabułe.
To zbiór przeznaczony raczej do dawkowania jedno opowiadanie na raz. W przeciwnym razie szybko można poczuć znużenie. Ja to poczułem. Tak naprawdę czułem jak bym czytał to samo.
Dziedzictwo epoki
Nie da się przemilczeć jednego faktu: duża część tych historii jest przesiąknięta rasistowskimi stereotypami. Czarnoskórzy mieszkańcy Afryki przedstawiani są często w sposób kolonialny, infantylny lub jako barbarzyńscy „Inni”. Czasami Howard próbuje od tego odchodzić, ale są to wyjątki, nie reguła.
Współczesny czytelnik może (i powinien) podchodzić do tych fragmentów z krytycznym dystansem. Sam Kane wielokrotnie używa fraz sugerujących wyższość białej rasy, co w kompilacji kulminuje w nagich werdyktach moralnych i symbolice białego wybawiciela. Chodź jeden "plus" Kane zaczyna rozumieć, że nie każdy „czarny” jest barbarzyńcą, a niektórzy zasługują na szacunek i wolność. Mało tego ale jest światełko w tunelu.
„Solomon Kane” to lektura dla tych, którzy szukają mrocznej alternatywy dla klasycznego fantasy. Nie ma tu humoru Conana, nie ma epickiej rozmachu Hyborii. Jest za to samotna walka z piekłem na ziemi często dosłownie. To proza bezkompromisowa, brutalna, a czasem odpychająca.
Jeśli miał bym do czegoś to porównywać to chyba do Kana Karl Edward Wagner. Gdzie uważam, złożonością klimatem i mrokiem Kane zjada Salomona na kolacje. Tutaj niestety mamy schematyzm nudzące powtórki i wszechobecny rasizm i poglądy autora.
2/5
August 1, 2016
Executive Summary: This was a disappointment. I signed up to review this for SFF Audio trying something I wouldn't have read otherwise, but I mostly found myself bored.
Audio book: Paul Boehmer does a pretty good job here. I'd listened to him before with the Night Angel Trilogy, and enjoyed him again with this book.
He does some voices for the various characters. I think if this collection had a bad reader I would have stopped before the end.
Full Review
I don't normally seem to enjoy older works of Sci-Fi and Fantasy, and unfortunately, things were no different here.
I was never a Conan fan growing, so I'd never read any of Mr. Howard before. The audiobook collection stars with an obituary or memorium written by H.P. Lovecraft with whom Mr. Howard apparently corresponded.
Mr. Howard is probably best known for his character Conan, but Solomon Kane is often credited as the first "Sword & Sorcery" character.
In this collection of stories Solomon Kane fights Pirates, Ghosts, Vampires, Sorcerors, Harpies and more. Solomon Kane wields daggers, pistols a sword, and in later stories, a magical staff. Sounds like it would be great!
Unfortunately I was mostly bored. The best story of the bunch for me was The Children of Asshur, which was only a fragment and therefore ends somewhat abruptly. I would have liked to see where Mr. Howard intended to go with that story.
There are certainly things to like here. The writing isn't bad and the adventures are certainly varied enough, but it just seemed like not much really happens most of the time.
And then there is the racism. You can pull out the usual excuses, when the book what written, or the fact that the racism portrayed is probably accurate to the characters themselves. That doesn't change the fact for me that it kept pulling me out of the stories.
It's not in every story, but is present in most, especially those where Solomon Kane travels to Africa. Many times it seemed like an unnecessary aside, rather than an important plot point for or character motivation.
All and All, as I believe these stories are in public domain you might be better off picking one or two to check out rather than the whole collection. I think the best complete story was The Hills of the Dead where Kane first gets his magic staff and fights a horde of vampires.
2.5 Stars
Audio book: Paul Boehmer does a pretty good job here. I'd listened to him before with the Night Angel Trilogy, and enjoyed him again with this book.
He does some voices for the various characters. I think if this collection had a bad reader I would have stopped before the end.
Full Review
I don't normally seem to enjoy older works of Sci-Fi and Fantasy, and unfortunately, things were no different here.
I was never a Conan fan growing, so I'd never read any of Mr. Howard before. The audiobook collection stars with an obituary or memorium written by H.P. Lovecraft with whom Mr. Howard apparently corresponded.
Mr. Howard is probably best known for his character Conan, but Solomon Kane is often credited as the first "Sword & Sorcery" character.
In this collection of stories Solomon Kane fights Pirates, Ghosts, Vampires, Sorcerors, Harpies and more. Solomon Kane wields daggers, pistols a sword, and in later stories, a magical staff. Sounds like it would be great!
Unfortunately I was mostly bored. The best story of the bunch for me was The Children of Asshur, which was only a fragment and therefore ends somewhat abruptly. I would have liked to see where Mr. Howard intended to go with that story.
There are certainly things to like here. The writing isn't bad and the adventures are certainly varied enough, but it just seemed like not much really happens most of the time.
And then there is the racism. You can pull out the usual excuses, when the book what written, or the fact that the racism portrayed is probably accurate to the characters themselves. That doesn't change the fact for me that it kept pulling me out of the stories.
It's not in every story, but is present in most, especially those where Solomon Kane travels to Africa. Many times it seemed like an unnecessary aside, rather than an important plot point for or character motivation.
All and All, as I believe these stories are in public domain you might be better off picking one or two to check out rather than the whole collection. I think the best complete story was The Hills of the Dead where Kane first gets his magic staff and fights a horde of vampires.
2.5 Stars
February 18, 2018
Standard Howardian disclaimer first: Robert E. Howard was living in a small town in Texas in the 1920s & 30s and writing, very quickly, for pulp magazines, so his stories sometimes feature ... suboptimal portrayals of people of other races & ethnic backgrounds, and ditto portrayals of women (if any).
Which, given that Solomon Kane is a "Puritan adventurer" circa 1600 AD, wouldn't seem like it would be an issue, but several of Kane's adventures take him to the heart of Africa, an Africa that wouldn't be out of place in a "jungle adventure" book or movie of the time, but which has little or no relation to the actual continent and its actual inhabitants at the time.
All that said, these are generally pretty great stories -- grim and moody and sombre, and in most cases although Solomon Kane is (as is typical for Howard's protagonists) strong, powerful and a dab hand with (in this case) a rapier or a flintlock, the tales themselves actually play out as horror stories, as Kane encounters such entities as vengeful skeletons, vampire hordes, or flying bat-things who remind me of nothing so much as the critters in the movie Beastmaster (although (spoiler!) in the Beastmaster movie they're not entirely malevolent).
And, of course, there are also plenty of very bad men who go down to red ruin beneath Kane's thundering flintlocks or smashing fists or flickering blade.
Which, given that Solomon Kane is a "Puritan adventurer" circa 1600 AD, wouldn't seem like it would be an issue, but several of Kane's adventures take him to the heart of Africa, an Africa that wouldn't be out of place in a "jungle adventure" book or movie of the time, but which has little or no relation to the actual continent and its actual inhabitants at the time.
All that said, these are generally pretty great stories -- grim and moody and sombre, and in most cases although Solomon Kane is (as is typical for Howard's protagonists) strong, powerful and a dab hand with (in this case) a rapier or a flintlock, the tales themselves actually play out as horror stories, as Kane encounters such entities as vengeful skeletons, vampire hordes, or flying bat-things who remind me of nothing so much as the critters in the movie Beastmaster (although (spoiler!) in the Beastmaster movie they're not entirely malevolent).
And, of course, there are also plenty of very bad men who go down to red ruin beneath Kane's thundering flintlocks or smashing fists or flickering blade.
January 2, 2009
Solomon Kane has to be one of the most unique characters Howard ever created, and he did so when he was quite young. These are just really wonderful stories.
I also have a collection from Centaur Press entitled "Solomon Kane."
I also have a collection from Centaur Press entitled "Solomon Kane."
July 1, 2015
Dressed in black with the tall slouch-hat typical of Puritan fashion, and armed with sword, flint-locks, and, later, an ancient carved staff, Solomon Kane stalks the 16th century world from the remote reaches of Europe to the bloody decks of the high seas, and into the deepest, darkest African jungles. Whether it be a witch-cursed monstrosity, hell-spawned vampire, mutant throw-back, or just a wicked wretch of humankind, Solomon Kane will fight with equal determination and enthusiasm to see good triumph.
Robert E. Howard's tales are so alive, you almost have to check yourself for wounds. Between the lines broods an ancient feeling of melancholy that lends such realism to the writing. And the beautiful, sweeping illustrations in this book by the award-winning artist Gary Gianni bring that classical story-telling feel to the fore-front.
As with all of Howard's heroes, Solomon Kane is larger-than-life, fearless, and inherited of an ancestral fighting prowess and unconquerable spirit. But Kane's adventures are the product of his fanatical obsession to root-out and destroy evil in any form. He seeks no personal reward -- only claims to do the will of God. However, despite his staunch Puritan faith, his inner demons are almost as dark as those he combats. He is a man of violence, filled with a wander-lust to seek out what he judges as evil with a determination and recklessness that is psychotic.
What makes Solomon Kane so endearing to read is, on one hand, Solomon Kane is the archetypal swash-buckler -- much like a character from a Robert Louis Stevenson adventure story. On the other hand (probably the left because left-handedness was once thought to be of the Devil), Kane is as foreboding as what he faces -- most often horrors as nightmarish as anything Edgar Allen Poe ever created.
Reading these stories in this format is like a journey back to my childhood -- when the jungles of an old Tarzan movie were more real than anything documented on the National Geographic channel, and when a horror-comic hidden in a text book at school would make me too scared to sleep that night. It reminded me of when I was too young to be allowed to read such violent and terrifying tales but did so anyway because I knew therein were hidden truths of adventures still left in this world that my parents didn't want me to know about.
Robert E. Howard's tales are so alive, you almost have to check yourself for wounds. Between the lines broods an ancient feeling of melancholy that lends such realism to the writing. And the beautiful, sweeping illustrations in this book by the award-winning artist Gary Gianni bring that classical story-telling feel to the fore-front.
As with all of Howard's heroes, Solomon Kane is larger-than-life, fearless, and inherited of an ancestral fighting prowess and unconquerable spirit. But Kane's adventures are the product of his fanatical obsession to root-out and destroy evil in any form. He seeks no personal reward -- only claims to do the will of God. However, despite his staunch Puritan faith, his inner demons are almost as dark as those he combats. He is a man of violence, filled with a wander-lust to seek out what he judges as evil with a determination and recklessness that is psychotic.
What makes Solomon Kane so endearing to read is, on one hand, Solomon Kane is the archetypal swash-buckler -- much like a character from a Robert Louis Stevenson adventure story. On the other hand (probably the left because left-handedness was once thought to be of the Devil), Kane is as foreboding as what he faces -- most often horrors as nightmarish as anything Edgar Allen Poe ever created.
Reading these stories in this format is like a journey back to my childhood -- when the jungles of an old Tarzan movie were more real than anything documented on the National Geographic channel, and when a horror-comic hidden in a text book at school would make me too scared to sleep that night. It reminded me of when I was too young to be allowed to read such violent and terrifying tales but did so anyway because I knew therein were hidden truths of adventures still left in this world that my parents didn't want me to know about.
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