Dark Crusade in Sword & Sorcery: "An earthier sort of fantasy"

Sep 12, 2018 Joseph rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Third & last of Karl Edward Wagner's Kane novels; and with rather less Kane than you might expect.

As in the previous two novels (Darkness Weaves & Bloodstone), Kane is very explicitly Not a Good Guy. He makes an alliance with (in this case) Ortak ak-Ceddi, bandit leader turned prophet of a dark & ancient god and leads the Dark Crusade on a path of conquest & destruction through the southern kingdoms; but both he and Ortak know that theirs is an entirely utilitarian alliance of convenience, to be ...more

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Feb 10, 2015 Lee Broderick rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, fiction-fantasy

I would never have looked for politics in Karl Edward Wagner's work but here it is, a Cold War era fantasy. Whether that was intentional or subconscious is probably beside the point - it's all here: a tyrannical despot, secret police, state-sponsored arts, an intertwining of church and state, a shadow army (literally) and a final showdown consisting of psychological torture... clearly the author had a lot on his mind in the 1970's.

This prism is an unusual but brilliant one through which to defra ...more

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Jan 17, 2012 David rated it it was amazing

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

Fantasy masterpiece. A classic that demands to be read by the current generation of Fantasy fans.

If I were to rank the Kane novels in order of my preference, I'd name DARKNESS WEAVES as the best novel with DARK CRUSADE in second and BLOODSTONE third place. Ask me again in 5 years and I might reverse the order. ...more

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Jun 07, 2020 Christopher rated it really liked it

Shelves: fiction

My prior assertion that Kane stories are better in novel than in short fiction-a usual inversion of my fiction reading habits-maintains its truth. I liked this as much, perhaps a bit more, than Bloodstone. Though its still more than a bit short of the absolute sword and sorcery perfection that was Darkness Weaves.

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Jun 28, 2013 Jonathan rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-2013, s-s, fantasy, reviewed

My first Sword & Sorcery book! ...and a great read! Wagner's writing is impressive and exciting...dark imagery, literary metaphors and fun to follow. He is very detailed on the battle scenes ; it appears he is very knowledgable about military tactics, devices, ect...Good characters, but there is little history of them and not much world building in this novel. It is mostly atmosphere, scenery, action - and a solid plot. I was very curious about the world and the early developments of Kane, our m ...more

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