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Prince Raynor
Swords and Sorcery clash with riveting results in these classic stories! "[A] pomegranate popping with seeds—full of ideas." —Ray Bradbury When Robert E. Howard died in 1936, some of the greatest science-fiction and fantasy writers stepped into the void to pen amazing tales of swords and sorcery. Weird Tales published these two stories by iconic author Henry Kuttner, perfect for fans of Conan the Barbarian, and vital for every fantasy reader. Depicting a brutal world of swords and magic, with a hint of the Lovecraft mythos, Kuttner unleashes tales as vital in today’s Game of Thrones world as they were when they first published. Stories Cursed be the City The Citadel of Darkness
- GenresFantasy
Paperback
First published July 1, 1987
About the author
Henry Kuttner
756 books214 followersHenry Kuttner was, alone and in collaboration with his wife, the great science fiction and fantasy writer C.L. Moore, one of the four or five most important writers of the 1940s, the writer whose work went furthest in its sociological and psychological insight to making science fiction a human as well as technological literature. He was an important influence upon every contemporary and every science fiction writer who succeeded him. In the early 1940s and under many pseudonyms, Kuttner and Moore published very widely through the range of the science fiction and fantasy pulp markets.
Their fantasy novels, all of them for the lower grade markets like Future, Thrilling Wonder, and Planet Stories, are forgotten now; their science fiction novels, Fury and Mutant, are however well regarded. There is no question but that Kuttner's talent lay primarily in the shorter form; Mutant is an amalgamation of five novelettes and Fury, his only true science fiction novel, is considered as secondary material. There are, however, 40 or 50 shorter works which are among the most significant achievements in the field and they remain consistently in print. The critic James Blish, quoting a passage from Mutant about the telepathic perception of the little blank, silvery minds of goldfish, noted that writing of this quality was not only rare in science fiction but rare throughout literature: "The Kuttners learned a few thing writing for the pulp magazines, however, that one doesn't learn reading Henry James."
In the early 1950s, Kuttner and Moore, both citing weariness with writing, even creative exhaustion, turned away from science fiction; both obtained undergraduate degrees in psychology from the University of Southern California and Henry Kuttner, enrolled in an MA program, planned to be a clinical psychologist. A few science fiction short stories and novelettes appeared (Humpty Dumpty finished the Baldy series in 1953). Those stories -- Home There Is No Returning, Home Is the Hunter, Two-Handed Engine, and Rite of Passage -- were at the highest level of Kuttner's work. He also published three mystery novels with Harper & Row (of which only the first is certainly his; the other two, apparently, were farmed out by Kuttner to other writers when he found himself incapable of finishing them).
Henry Kuttner died suddenly in his sleep, probably from a stroke, in February 1958; Catherine Moore remarried a physician and survived him by almost three decades but she never published again. She remained in touch with the science fiction community, however, and was Guest of Honor at the World Convention in Denver in 198l. She died of complications of Alzheimer's Disease in 1987.
His pseudonyms include:
Edward J. Bellin
Paul Edmonds
Noel Gardner
Will Garth
James Hall
Keith Hammond
Hudson Hastings
Peter Horn
Kelvin Kent
Robert O. Kenyon
C. H. Liddell
Hugh Maepenn
Scott Morgan
Lawrence O'Donnell
Lewis Padgett
Woodrow Wilson Smith
Charles Stoddard
Their fantasy novels, all of them for the lower grade markets like Future, Thrilling Wonder, and Planet Stories, are forgotten now; their science fiction novels, Fury and Mutant, are however well regarded. There is no question but that Kuttner's talent lay primarily in the shorter form; Mutant is an amalgamation of five novelettes and Fury, his only true science fiction novel, is considered as secondary material. There are, however, 40 or 50 shorter works which are among the most significant achievements in the field and they remain consistently in print. The critic James Blish, quoting a passage from Mutant about the telepathic perception of the little blank, silvery minds of goldfish, noted that writing of this quality was not only rare in science fiction but rare throughout literature: "The Kuttners learned a few thing writing for the pulp magazines, however, that one doesn't learn reading Henry James."
In the early 1950s, Kuttner and Moore, both citing weariness with writing, even creative exhaustion, turned away from science fiction; both obtained undergraduate degrees in psychology from the University of Southern California and Henry Kuttner, enrolled in an MA program, planned to be a clinical psychologist. A few science fiction short stories and novelettes appeared (Humpty Dumpty finished the Baldy series in 1953). Those stories -- Home There Is No Returning, Home Is the Hunter, Two-Handed Engine, and Rite of Passage -- were at the highest level of Kuttner's work. He also published three mystery novels with Harper & Row (of which only the first is certainly his; the other two, apparently, were farmed out by Kuttner to other writers when he found himself incapable of finishing them).
Henry Kuttner died suddenly in his sleep, probably from a stroke, in February 1958; Catherine Moore remarried a physician and survived him by almost three decades but she never published again. She remained in touch with the science fiction community, however, and was Guest of Honor at the World Convention in Denver in 198l. She died of complications of Alzheimer's Disease in 1987.
His pseudonyms include:
Edward J. Bellin
Paul Edmonds
Noel Gardner
Will Garth
James Hall
Keith Hammond
Hudson Hastings
Peter Horn
Kelvin Kent
Robert O. Kenyon
C. H. Liddell
Hugh Maepenn
Scott Morgan
Lawrence O'Donnell
Lewis Padgett
Woodrow Wilson Smith
Charles Stoddard
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 26, 2026
Overlooked pulp fantasy/S&S
Tonight’s read: Prince Raynor by Henry Kuttner. Diversion Books. 2014.
There are just the two Prince Raynor stories. Both were published in the short-lived Weird Tales competitor Strange Stories. “Cursed be the City” was published in the April 1939 issue and “The Citadel of Darkness” in the August 1939 issue.
These stories show the influence of Robert E. Howard’s Conan stories with the epigraph of “The Tale of Sakhmet the Damned,” Kuttner’s version of The Nemedian Chronicles. I liked “The Citadel of Darkness” the best of the two stories. It had both Conan and Dungeons and Dragons-like elements. Like his Elak stories, Kuttner sends Raynor on weird, otherworldly journeys reminiscent of C. L. Moore’s Jirel stories. I wonder, has anyone done Prince Raynor pastiche? I think there is good potential in the wandering S&S trio of Prince Raynor, Eblik the Nubian, and Delphia, warrior-maiden and daughter of The Reaver of the Rock.
Here are my impressions of the two stories:
“Cursed be the City”
I know the Prince Raynor stories get linked to Sword & Sorcery, but I felt this story was more mythic epic than your typical S&S yarn. As revenge against an invading king who slays his father, Raynor releases a forest god to destroy his lost city/kingdom.
“The Citadel of Darkness”
What an excellent story! There is some similarity to Robert E. Howard’s Conan tale, “The Tower of the Elephant.” Raynor and Eblik need to rescue Delphia from the clutches of outlaws. A strange man of the woods offers his help—he is a sorcerer and controls the power of the zodiac. Eventually, Raynor and Eblik must travel to a black citadel and overcome its many secrets.
Tonight’s read: Prince Raynor by Henry Kuttner. Diversion Books. 2014.
There are just the two Prince Raynor stories. Both were published in the short-lived Weird Tales competitor Strange Stories. “Cursed be the City” was published in the April 1939 issue and “The Citadel of Darkness” in the August 1939 issue.
These stories show the influence of Robert E. Howard’s Conan stories with the epigraph of “The Tale of Sakhmet the Damned,” Kuttner’s version of The Nemedian Chronicles. I liked “The Citadel of Darkness” the best of the two stories. It had both Conan and Dungeons and Dragons-like elements. Like his Elak stories, Kuttner sends Raynor on weird, otherworldly journeys reminiscent of C. L. Moore’s Jirel stories. I wonder, has anyone done Prince Raynor pastiche? I think there is good potential in the wandering S&S trio of Prince Raynor, Eblik the Nubian, and Delphia, warrior-maiden and daughter of The Reaver of the Rock.
Here are my impressions of the two stories:
“Cursed be the City”
I know the Prince Raynor stories get linked to Sword & Sorcery, but I felt this story was more mythic epic than your typical S&S yarn. As revenge against an invading king who slays his father, Raynor releases a forest god to destroy his lost city/kingdom.
“The Citadel of Darkness”
What an excellent story! There is some similarity to Robert E. Howard’s Conan tale, “The Tower of the Elephant.” Raynor and Eblik need to rescue Delphia from the clutches of outlaws. A strange man of the woods offers his help—he is a sorcerer and controls the power of the zodiac. Eventually, Raynor and Eblik must travel to a black citadel and overcome its many secrets.
May 20, 2018
A decent couple of sword and sorcery stories. Prince Raynor's kingdom is stormed and, after, the warrior wanders the landscape with friends, encountering ancient powers.
The first of these tales was very fun to read because of its almost archaic style, feeling almost like a translation of a forgotten chronicle. However, the ending is kind of a "So what?" finale, one of those climaxes where you wish the author spent a little more time creating a good payoff.
The second story in the collection drops the stylish prose, but presents a much more solid tale. Objects, characters, and actions introduced at the beginning bring together a pretty cool ending.
Raynor himself is kind of just a 2-D warrior type. His buddy Eblik, a black man often described as being ugly*, seems a bit more interesting, though there's not much to him either. The third player in these stories, a woman named Delphia, is also just a blank pawn in the machinations of the author's imagination. I suppose that's okay. These kinds of stories don't require much more than cardboard figures for the writer to push around, but it also ensures that I don't remember the characters (indeed, I had to look up their names to write this review) but only the plots.
*Is he an ugly guy who happens to be black or is he ugly because he's black? This was left uncomfortably open-ended.
The first of these tales was very fun to read because of its almost archaic style, feeling almost like a translation of a forgotten chronicle. However, the ending is kind of a "So what?" finale, one of those climaxes where you wish the author spent a little more time creating a good payoff.
The second story in the collection drops the stylish prose, but presents a much more solid tale. Objects, characters, and actions introduced at the beginning bring together a pretty cool ending.
Raynor himself is kind of just a 2-D warrior type. His buddy Eblik, a black man often described as being ugly*, seems a bit more interesting, though there's not much to him either. The third player in these stories, a woman named Delphia, is also just a blank pawn in the machinations of the author's imagination. I suppose that's okay. These kinds of stories don't require much more than cardboard figures for the writer to push around, but it also ensures that I don't remember the characters (indeed, I had to look up their names to write this review) but only the plots.
*Is he an ugly guy who happens to be black or is he ugly because he's black? This was left uncomfortably open-ended.
February 2, 2023
To me the two Prince Raynor stories included in this volume were more interesting, and slightly better structured, than the four Kuttner tales in Elak of Atlantis. All six stories are contained in the Planet Stories paperback version of Elak of Atlantis published by Paizo. The paperback also has an introduction by Joe R. Lansdale. The two ebook collections are convenient to read, but that is the only reason to recommend them over the paperback.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews