The First Kothar the Barbarian MEGAPACK®: 3 Sword and Sorcery Novels

Kothar #1-3

by Gardner Francis Fox

Gardner F. Fox (1911-1986) enjoyed a long and successful career writing in many genres. He wrote adventure novels, spy novels, romances, historical novels, fantasy and science fiction, comic books (more than 4,000 of them!) -- everything imaginable, in fact, and with a skill and surety that won him a legion of fans and readers worldwide.

In the 1960s, at the peak of the sword and sorcery craze, when Robert E. Howard's Conan the Barbarian (and many similar creations) reached the pinnacle of their success, Gardner Fox created his first sword & sorcery hero: Kothar the Barbarian. Kothar's adventures spanned 5 volumes. Included in this volume are:

Kothar: Barbarian Swordsman

Kothar of the Magic Sword

Kothar and the Demon Queen

Genres: Fantasy, Sword and Sorcery, High Fantasy

329 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 6, 2016

About the author

Gardner Francis Cooper Fox was an American writer known best for creating numerous comic book characters for DC Comics. Comic book historians estimate that he wrote more than 4,000 comics stories, including 1,500 for DC Comics.
Fox is known as the co-creator of DC Comics heroes the Flash, Hawkman, Doctor Fate and the original Sandman, and was the writer who first teamed those and other heroes as the Justice Society of America. Fox introduced the concept of the Multiverse to DC Comics in the 1961 story "Flash of Two Worlds!"

Pseudonyms: Gardner F. Fox, Jefferson Cooper, Bart Sommers, Paul Dean, Ray Gardner, Lynna Cooper, Rod Gray, Larry Dean, Robert Starr, Don Blake, Ed Blake, Warner Blake, Michael Blake, Tex Blane, Willis Blane, Ed Carlisle, Edgar Weston, Tex Slade, Eddie Duane, Simon Majors, James Kendricks, Troy Conway, Kevin Matthews, Glen Chase

Reviews

[Éric Kasprak · Rating 4 out of 5]

This Kindle Megapack contains the first 3 Kothar novels. Straight forward, fun and action packed sword and sorcery, yes please! I was weary that this would be a cheap Conan pastiche (as most review sites mentioned), but to my surprise these are very good classic and fun sword and sorcery stories. The prose is kept simple throughout and there is plenty of sword action, monsters and - of course - sorcery. The author builds his stories mainly around the sorcery part of the genre with a plethoria of magic, curses, evil witches, not so evil witches and of course sorcerers. As for Kothar himself, he his much more simple that Conan, more of a one solution type of guy, but since his solution is all out action, I kind of like the guy. In fact, I liked some of Khotar's adventures more than some of Conan's (Conan is much better litterature overall, but some stories where lacking). So if you like action, evil sorceres and classic D&D type adventures you will love Kothar.

[Andrew Hale · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shorter Review: These are entertaining stories and worth the read, though it may seem like it doesn't take itself seriously at times, or that it was simply the author filling a niche market among the era. Each story seems to be formulaic of one another: Kothar a traveling outsider and each place he visits is a repressed and subdued area under the iron rule of sorcery or fear. Kothar may, or may not, invoke the remembrance of the name of Conan, but my shorter review would be double the size if I went into what I see as comparisons and influences. This is like Howard's Conan to a small degree, but a rougher and more juvenile example at best. In all honesty, Kothar isn't the most magnetic personality to follow, but Gardner Fox gave some enthralling side characters that left you wanting to know more about them, like the ancient lich and creator of Frostfire in the tomb, or the immortal handmaiden looking for lovers while the separated lovers (a reverse Beauty and the Beast) find each other again, or the realm of Daemonia, where lamia warlocks forsake their human realm to bask in a wicked one, cannibalizing the vulnerable, or the Cumberian Viks where Kothar apprenticed for battle-god Dwallka, and the haunted Angel of Urgal who seeks vengeance for her lover. The last story gave a short glimpse of ten warriors long dead, baddest of the bad, risen for vengeance. For consistency's sake, or lack of, Kothar became the champion of Queen Elfa and later the champion of Queen Candara, yet tells demon Ahrima that he would serve under no woman. Greyling is grey in all stories but one, where he's white. Kothar speaks against the existence of gods, though he also speaks of his encounters with some, in a world where gods and demons are simply one and the other. Conan depended on steel over magic, but needed neither, as he would fight tooth-and-nail to survive. Kothar's livelihood depends on Frostfire and the protections of mages. As fun as the read was throughout, there are a lot of demons and pentagrams, and sometimes the line between good and evil didn't get blurred, it simply doesn't exist, as the gods were either non-existent or pretty much a demon themselves, and the demons were a pantheon of beings with at least one being benificent. I wouldn't say it was poetic prose or romantic tragedies, but the writing entertained.

Story References:
The Sword of the Sorcerer 3/5
Fighting as a mercenary commander for the cause of Queen Elfa of Commoral against Lord Markoth, a king emboldened by the magic of red-haired witch Red Lori, the yellow-haired mercenary Kothar of Cumberia is at the threshold of death by story's beginning from the battle at the Plain of Dead Trees, with Markoth's own mercenaries trailing Kothar's bloody tracks across the battlefield. Inside an ancient tomb, the fated meeting of a living corpse, a 50,000+ year old warrior-magician named Afgorkon (from frozen Thuum), reveals Kathor's call to be the Queen's champion and to use Afgorkon's alien metal, demon-forged Frostfire to cut a swathe through Markoth's armies to retrieve the Queen's flayed sorcerer, Kazazael. Afgorkon teases at the mystery of Kothar's true heritage, but won't reveal the secret. With a magician's sword that may or may not be magical, and with a witch's warhorse (Greyling) that may or may not be magical, Kothar faces mission after mission, and witnesses an array of magic, effervescent carnivorous sea slugs, three-eyed hate-filled dragons, an intuitive wolf, enchanted mermaid cloaks, Slothann harpies, an abyss of hellish horror, sultry succubi, and his own temptations.

The Treasure in the Labyrinth 3.75/5
Gone from Commaral's recent war of the roses, Kothar, Greyling, and Frostfire find themselves starving for employment, food, and the ancient "trade" of Elorna, in the town of Azdor. Somewhat haunted by the face of Red Lori, Kothar still can't be bothered. Ever the sell-sword in need of drinking money, Kothar takes on merchant Menthal Abanon's quest to find treasure in the labyrinth of sorcerer Ulnar Themaquol. An enchanted immortal's loneliness (Miramel), a Ninth Legionnaire's entrapment (Honorius), and separated lovers (Ulnar & Lady Rosannia) make this journey one to cheer for. Sought after treasure seems not so worth the hassle of handsy skeletons, searing heat, stinging sands, giant arthropods, living webs, wizard Pthoomol's enchantments, red-furred Minokar, and treacherous merchants.

The Woman in the Witch-Wood 4/5
From town to town, kingdom to kingdom, scant meals and payments for his skill here and there, Kothar, Greyling, and Frostfire set out to sell their services in land of the robber barons ... but they make a wrong turn in a forest that doesn't even show up on Gwalith of Exekonn's world renowned maps, coming into the repressed Murrd, where citizens are nothing more than marked cattle, chattel for the wizard's experiments and dark desires, a concentration camp without fences. A power struggle between Countess Alaine, lady of Shallone, and Lord Gorfrio, usurper of Alaine's castle/land. Sworn by Belthamquar, king of daemons, neither witch nor warlock can enchant like the hopeless desire of a maidservant (Mellicent). Neither can ensorcel Kothar like the ghost of Red Lori.

Kothar of the Magic Sword: Forward

The Helix from Beyond 5/5
40,000 years is but a blink when you live in a timeless paradise. In Althasia, King Drongol rules harshly and makes breeding farms for his captured women. Phronalon, the greatest wizard beside Afgorkon, wants to protect his beautiful wife, Ayatha, from Drongol's desire to breed her like possible sized equine. The demons of Ebthor and Nixus advise and help him create a helix that is a portal to a created world, Narvalla, to whisk he and Ayatha away to and second the next 40,000 years in paradise. Modern day Vandacis (nia Althasia) sees mighty mage Thaladomis seek out the sorceries of Phronalon, learning the way to access Narvalla. Thaladomis summons and captures demon Warrl to cast a fatal spell to prevent the helix from being brought to Narvalla, closing off the world to outsiders. But he must sell this access to the most powerful man in Romm, Emperor Kyros, who floats a debaucherous golden galley upon the Lake Lotusine. A cheated merchant, Nestorius, hires their Rufflod, who enlists barbarian Kothar, to retrieve the helix, where Kothar unintentionally joins up with Oasian slave girl Laella, faces off against killer brown bear Gorth, faces off against magically created eagle Skrye, seeks enchanted ruby Gwanthol, and garners "energy" from Narvalla native Liethe. All this sorcery and demon activity makes Kothar miss his Grondel Bay homeland.

A Plague of Demons 4/5
In Clon Mell, Kothar struggles to protect Laella from Red Lori's mind games, and to save a sister-like acquaintance (Mahla) from cultic subterfuge. Possessive demon Ahrima takes a liking to Mahla and Kothar but Red Lori's claim on Kothar's mind, body, and soul exposes the Cumberian to a forgotten dark demon (Thurkaknorr), to a horny yeti beast, even hornier Mongrel raiders, and to long dead mages and necromancers. From Clon Mell's streets of trade to Thistem Abbey's cultic orgies, from the subdued courts of Commoral to the dusty ancient ruins of haunted Xythoron, and the blackened stone shrine of forgotten king demon Thurkaknorr, Kothar is either plagued with demons or plagued with feminine wyles.

Kothar and the Demon Queen 4/5
Beyond the mountains into the Haunted Lands, Mage Mindos Omthl of Niemm looks for eternal youth while the wicked kingdom of Urgal plots against the outlaw kingdom Kor. King Tor Domnus and half-demon Queen Candara, respectively, obsess over the god Xixthur, a metallic idol that grants immortality at whatever stage of life the holder is in. With the ancient spells of mad Baithorion, along with the Dialogue of Demons/Nights of Necromancy writings of Gronlex Storbon, prompting Mindos into summoning demon Abathon, the magician Kylwyrren summons one of the meanest demons (Azthamur) to serve under Domnus, and sorcerer Zordanor does the bidding of demon queen Candara. All the while, Kothar plays pawn to the battle of king and queen, trekking through the ghoul-haunted city of the dead (Anthom), battling a giant Makkadonian named Japthon, meeting the tragic Athalia the Angel, making friends with sword master Evmor, whisking mistress Philisia from Urgal, and facing off against sentient ESP plants (Thyllu) and Xanthian marshland dragons. By tale's end, Kothar isn't the only one with hunger cravings, but we are left wanting to know more about a northern warrior of Grondel Bay who fought for southern kings and came home to train Kothar in the ways of the sword (Svairn). And even more so, wanting to see more action from the Ten: the greatest warrior of ancient Vandacia, Aylwold the Wise and his nine mighty warriors from eons ago, the Royal Guards of Candara's brother, King Calyxius.

Creatures/gods/places/characters of Interest:
- 1,003 demons
- Abathon - demon of Kryth's ten hells
- Achollos - fabled pits where sinful sorcerer's corpses are reanimated by demons
- Aedenn - fabled land
- Asherol - invoked by Red Lori with Kalikalides
- Beeltheer - ten-eyed demon or god; said in vain by Ahrima
- Bethamquar - father of demons (Red Lori wears links of his forbidden words)
- Borean - cold wind
- Cereeth - fabled world of blackness
- Dakkag - invoked by Kazazael for protection
- Dwallka (of the War Hammer) - Northern God of battle; invoked by Kothar like "thank God" or a vain curse
- Dythan - book that lists the fate of people
- Eldrak (of the Seven Hells) - said in vain by Markoth's mercenary
- Elwys - said in vain by Kothar
- Eudor - invoked by Kazazael for protection
- Hastarth - she-demon succubus
- Hasther - helworld demon; father of Candara
- Huldor - demon that protects innocents
- Ikrikone - forbidden incense scents and dark rites done for Ikrikone
- Isthis - love goddess of Memphor
- Jagthanoy - fabled land of ghosts
- Mizran - ancient god; old altar in Clon Mell
- Nabbadon - arch-fiend demon
- Narvalla - demon and sorcerer created paradise world
- Nifferheim - spirits displaced from bodies wonder this grey wasteland
- Omorphon - serpent-god from planet Yarth legend (Red Lori has a magic door of his likeness)
- Pulthoom the Black Lord - dark god
- Salara (of the bared breast?) - said in vain; love goddess of Vandacia
- Thumm - often invokes "gods of Thumm"
- Thurkaknorr - forgotten god; actually a king demon among the kelets
- -Xixthur - a god

[Robert Jr. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I first had skimmed this volume and its companion a while ago as research for an article. It seemed rather thin then and after sitting down and actually reading through it cover to cover, it still has some lack as compared to some other barbarian swordsmen stories. It's not as bad as Brak the Barbarian but it's not as good as Karl Edward Wagner's Kane books. It cannot touch Robert E. Howard's Conan but that is an impossibly high standard.

The first third of the book had two interesting scenes. Inside the tomb of Afgorkon when Kothar gets his cursed sword and the flayed sorcerer hovering above the land tortured by the whipping winds screaming. The second third was not very memorable and the last third did pick up the pace a little. The writing was slightly better here and a semblance of an atmosphere seemed to seep in. However, for the most part, this book completely lacks atmosphere. There is plenty of monsters and demons but most are kind of cliched at this point (lizard-beasts, tentacled horrors, a yeti). Although, the giant worm-god-thing was pretty cool.

This book is an okay diversion if you're starving for some sword & sorcery but its barbarian swordsman, the titular Kothar, seemed a bit too invincible for all of it. His strength was off the charts and in the last third he leaped from the top of a tower to the slanting stakes at the edge of the spiked moat below, sliding on the soles of his "war boots" down along them at landing. There is also the misogyny present in a few collar-tugging incidents and the sexual focus on the female form got to be a bit weird pretty quick, not in some places mind you, but in most.

I cannot really recommend this book to anyone new to the Sword & Sorcery genre but a clean slate and an immature mind might be required to really and thoroughly enjoy this. But I have to admit it scratched the sword & sorcery itch but didn't quite fully satisfy.

[Edwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gardner Fox was amazingly prolific, writing thousands of comic books, plus a slew of novels and short stories. During the Sword and Sorcery revival in the 1960s, arguably triggered by Lancer republishing Robert E Howard’s Conan pulp stories, Fox wrote these Kothar Barbarian Swordsman stories. Sure, they’re directive as hell, and would have fit right in with Weird Tales in the 1930s, although that’s no reason to be dismissive. All five of the stories republished in these Wildside Press Megapacks are equally fun and entertaining reads. All clearly following in the Howard school of pulp fiction heroics the stories are action-packed and fast moving with no elements of high fantasy to bog things down. Reminded me a lot of video games or Dungeon and Dragons adventures when the adventurer explores a magical world, encountering monster or supernatural beings, then a final battle with the Big Bad or Boss to conclude. A terrific collection of fun and pulpy stories that are well worth the bargain ebook pricing.

[Dannan Tavona · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rough start but quickly improved

Alternate universe, sword and sandal fantasy

Gardner Fox worked for DC Comics for years writing stories, and these dozen short stories compiled here are overblown and fun. The first story of forty pages was so flowery it bordered on parody. Obviously inspired by Conan, Fox borrows heavily from Earth for his world of Yarth with its two moons. Rome becomes Romm, Macedonians become Makkadonians, and Mongols become Mongrols. Fortunately, with each successive short story, Fox shows his grasp of the written word, and the prose loses its flowery language for story telling, and place names and inhabitants become more original. With the last entry, an actual novella, we see Fox's skill develop into that which I still admire and enjoyed with his barbarian Niall the Far Traveller series with his lover goddess Emelkartha at his side a decade later. And ignore the cover; Kothar is blond with blue eyes,though in all other respects, is typically huge, strong, and skilled as a warrior, with a cursed magic sword to save the day. Fun.

[Nathan Dehoff · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collects three different volumes, Kothar: Barbarian Swordsman (itself originally published as three short stories), Kothar of the Magic Sword , and Kothar and the Demon Queen . The author is probably best known for his work in comics, and I realized when looking at my tags that I'd read some of his Silver Age Justice League of America stories. These tales of Kothar, barbarian warrior from the northern country of Cumberia, are pretty derivative and formulaic, but still fun. Kothar receives the magic sword Frostfire from the undead wizard Afgorkon, the inspiration for the Lich in Dungeons & Dragons and other fantasy. Owning the sword means he will never be able to have other significant possessions, despite how many fabulous treasures he finds, but he prefers the weapon. He has a recurring enemy in the sorceress Red Lori, with whom he has a weird love-hate relationship, and even teams up with her at one point. The barbarian faces the usual contingent of wizards, monsters, and demons, generally coming out none the worse for wear. One conceit of these stories is that, rather than taking place in an imaginary distant past, Kothar's planet of Yarth is instead a remnant of an intergalactic civilization that died out, not that this really comes into the plots.