Bloodstone in Sword & Sorcery: "An earthier sort of fantasy"

Dec 04, 2008 Derek rated it it was amazing

Shelves: sword-and-sorcery

Wagner layers his story extremely effectively, starting with some surprisingly concise and cogent world-building regarding the political situation in a small frontier section of the world, and the internal politics of the involved city states. From there, Kane plays a dangerous and intricate military/political game against both sides, to manipulate the situation according to his own plans.

By this point, a bare third into the book--which also included a harrowing journey into an infested swamp to ...more

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Jul 17, 2008 Charles rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy

As I understand it, this was the first Kane novel that Wagner wrote, although not the first published. The character seems to still be developing somewhat here and I didn't think the book was quite as good as some of the later novels. Still, it was very enjoyable. ...more

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Dec 26, 2015 Karl marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Shelves: centipede-milipede-own, 2015-12-books-bought

This is copy 40 of 300 signed and numbered copies. Facsimile signed by Karl Edward Wagner and signed by Patrick J. Jones.

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Feb 19, 2018 Benjamin Chandler rated it liked it

A relatively epic sword and sorcery novel. Kane, a brooding immortal, uncovers an ancient ring that links him with a powerful cosmic device. There's political intrigue, a dash of romance, lots of frogmen, and bloodshed.

On the whole, the book was enjoyable. The stakes are high, the drama is intense. There's a few nice twists and cool plot points that intrigue and reward the reader. Wagner's prose is rich, bordering on a delicious shade of purple, though the author does rely on certain words heav ...more

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