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

Sep 06, 2018 Joseph rated it really liked it · review of another edition

More classic 1970s acid gothic sword & sorcery (and maybe in some way the origin of grimdark?).

Spoilers for a book published in 1975: In this one, even more than in Darkness Weaves, Kane is a straight-up villain -- he begins by convincing the ruler of Scolari to sponsor an expedition into a nasty swamp to find a legendary, pre-human city; then, when after much travail (and attacks by bufanoid locals) he finds the city (and the thousand-foot domed building called Bloodstone), he murders the last ...more

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Jan 17, 2012 David rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy, all-time-favorites, sword-sorcery

Wagner's first Kane novel is a magnificent, sword and sorcery landmark. A Grimdark grand-daddy that must be read by all Fantasy fans. As fresh and relevant today as it was when publish in 1975. A timeless classic that has withstood the test of time. This is a book you'll want to buy multiple copies of for yourself and for your friends.

Updated: After I've thought about this book for a few days I wanted to note that this is not the best book for Kane/Wagner virgins to begin reading. Though BLOODST ...more

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Jan 31, 2015 Lee Broderick rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, fiction-fantasy

Fomenting war, seeking to conquer the entire human race as a way of staving off boredom (and hoping that the eventual and inevitable destruction of his projected empire would prove just as fun and distracting); it's hard to think of how one novel could more clearly demarcate Kane from Fritz Leiber's Fafhrd or Robert E. Howard's Conan. Kane is in no way generous, altruistic or noble.

The politics and depiction of a land at war made me wonder if this could have been an influence on the modern mast ...more

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Jul 29, 2020 Jason Ray Carney rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy, sword-and-sorcery, dark-fantasy

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This was the second Kane novel that I have read. The other one was *Darkness Weaves.* This is a slightly critical review, so let me begin by clarifying that I think Kane the character is an artistic accomplishment, despite his problems. I enjoyed *Bloodstone* better than *Darkness Weaves.* What struck me about this novel was the writing style. It was very artful, lyrical at times; many of the expository passages read like the Romantic poetry of Coleridge, Shelley, Keats, and evoked some of the s ...more

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Dec 06, 2013 Jason rated it really liked it

Shelves: sword-and-sorcery

4.5 stars.

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Feb 08, 2024 Jon rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy

Kane is no hero. In this novel, Kane tries to forge an empire, playing one warring kingdom against another and then when that fails, to annihilate them both with the power of Bloodstone. This is masterwork strategy, shown with a deft hand by Wagner.

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