You're welcome. I've commented before on other channels how KEW is so overlooked and forgotten about. His strongly cadenced style is far superior to most of today's fodder. And I agree with you on KEW being grim dark. Today's readers of heroic fantasy haven't read grim dark until they've read Wagner. Thanks again.
Hello there, thank you for putting out such a great video, Karl Edward Wagner is not an author often talked on youtube. Your channel popped up for me as a youtube recommendation and I am glad I decided to check it out and subscribe to it--I will be "binging" your content as I find the presentation really clear and straightforward! The first story I read about Kane was "Darkness Weaves" so it has a special place for me--as you rightly mentioned, it brings a nice mix of naval combat, political intrigue, and a Lovecraftian atmosphere. When I read this one, it was just after reading some of Robert E. Howard's Conan and I must say that the somber tone and the more sinister supernatural tones impressed me a lot, at the time. I do like the approach to the werewolf archetype on "Reflections for the Winter of My Soul"
"Reflections for the Winter of My Soul" was the first Kane short novella I ever read, and still my favorite. "Thus died Abel," what a quote. Yet I've probably read "Darkness Weaves" repeatedly more than any other.
@GrammaticusBooks Thanks for pointing me to this video! Karl and I weren’t really friends, but we ran in the same social circle back in the 80s. I mentioned Kane to him once. We didn’t really use the term anti-hero back then, but that was how I saw Kane. Karl’s reaction was basically “What the Hell is wrong with you?” He described Kane as a total villain whose any good deeds were in service of a self centered goal. With magic, science, and inhuman strength, he was basically one suit of armor away from being Dr. Doom. I haven’t read these books in a long time, but the ranking sounded well thought out. I might have put Bloodstone first, but I would need to reread the novels to be comfortable offering an opinion. Thanks again!
That's awesome that you actually knew Karl! And Bloodstone is a damn good novel. I just reread it. And I certainly couldn't argue with it at number one.
Thanks for this. I've read some of the Kane stories and enjoyed them. It's a shame Wagner didn't take better care of himself. Guy could write like no other.
I agree with most of your comments. I also agree with your assessment of his understanding of poetry. Wagner, in my view is a master at telling a story. Last point is, Darkness Weaves is a rewrite of the same novel published in shorter form in 1970...I loved the longer version...I enjoyed the intrigue and the battle scenes both there and in Bloodstone were amazing. Anyway, I enjoyed your presentation!
Glad you enjoyed the video DB! Wagner was indeed a master story teller. I miss his combination of grimdark along with an ability to transport the reader into his worlds. He is missed!
Great video! I think you are pretty close. I would put Bloodstone at the top. Thanks for talking about these books and Karl Edward Wagner. Not enough people do.
Found Kane in the 90s and I scoured the used bookstores for decades trying to complete the collection. I started with Darkness Weaves and it’s probably my favorite. K.E.W.’s Conan stories are solid as well. Good stuff.
I have Wagner's 'Road of Kings' Conan novel but I haven't read it yet. Were you able to complete the Kane novel collection? It's getting harder and harder to find these books.
The Road of Kings is really good, highly recommend. I have all the Wagner books, the Kane ones included, signed and limitetd. The last big purchase was the Centipede Press edition The Complete Kane which is beautiful but outrageously expensive. I wish for a new mass market omnibus to attract new readers. Wagner shouldn't be allowed to be forgotten.
In order of how often I re-read them: (1) Darkness Weaves (2) Dark Crusade (3) Death Angles Shadow (4) Bloodstone (5) Night Winds I also came across the audiobook version of "In a Lonely Place" which is modern horror short stories by Karl Edward Wagner. Hopefully that means they'll do some audio of the Kane all of the Kane novels (and not just the two done in the 90s).
So almost the exact opposite of what I listed! That's funny. I did recently re-read Bloodstone. Fantastic novel. They're all good. Can't really go wrong with any of these.
I'm fairly new to genre fiction but I quickly gravitated to Robert E. Howard and Lovecraft, that's how I came across Karl Edward Wagner. I have been enjoying his short stories, Sticks in particular was excellent, can't wait to start his Kane series. Great stuff, subbed!
You're missing one of the big 3. Clark Ashton Smith. His contributions to the Mythos cNnot be ignored. Conan and the Chthulu Mythos are canonically connected so be sure to put CAS into that rotation.
Brilliant overview, thank you. I watched your channel for the first time and subscribed right away. I've been a life long Wagner fan and have read the Kane novels countless times. And each times I debate with myself what is the best (you're right, there are no bad ones 😃). And fun fact and a side note, I'm in the Dark Wolf documentary myself, the fan with the heavy German accent and the sword at the end 😄. I'm looking forward to more of your content!
Have you read 'Brak the Barbarian' books by John Jakes? (who was more well known for the Kent Family Chronicles books.) Excellent overview on Kane - I have only read Bloodstone.
Bloodstone is a fantastic book Ben! And I only recently learned of Brak the Barbarian from Michael K. Vaughan's channel. I'd not heard of him until recently.
Can’t disagree - Nightwinds is one of my favourite books and Two Suns Setting is my favourite story in it, though I like Undertow probably just a little bit more than Dark Muse, but all the stories are great.
Raven's Eyrie and Two Suns setting from Nightwinds are also available as Audiobook, read by no less than Roger Zelazny, but they were only released on tape and are not available through normal channels anymore.
Thank you very much for reviewing Karl Edward Wagner's Kane series! Kane is my all-time favorite sword-and-sorcery hero (anti-hero). For me, I would rank the Kane novels accordingly (from favorite to least favorite): 1) Death Angel's Shadow; 2) Dark Crusade; 3) Night Winds; 4) Darkness Weaves; and 5) Bloodstone. But honestly, I greatly enjoy ALL of the Kane books, and my least favorite (Bloodstone) is still a fantastic novel that I will reread with relish every few years. There was a novella entitled: "The Gothic Touch" that had Kane meeting and briefly allying with Michael Moorcock's Elric character. The collaboration is very intriguing, but the actual execution of the story was quite poor in my opinion. I don't know what others think of this story, but the writing was extremely disappointing to me--the prose did not seem to resemble Karl Edward Wagner's previous style of writing Kane, and it was a very weak entry into the Kane portfolio of stories.
Glad you enjoyed the video! Can't argue with any ranking of these novels...it's really a matter of figuring out which one is Best, which one is Bester, and which one is Bestest! No wrong answers with these five books!
@@GrammaticusBooks What did you think of the story "Undertow" from the novel "Night Winds"? I really enjoyed that short story, especially the horror twist in the plot and the epic sword fight between Kane and a thinly-disguised Conan the Barbarian analog. ; )
@davidk6269 I just recently read Night Winds which was my first KEW experience, and therefore Undertow was my first first experience. What an excellent way to be introduced to that character. It builds such an air of mystery and menace up around Kane. Excellent stories. Dark Muse was probably the standout for me as well, but all the stories give such a great sense of place and mood. I could immediately visualize each story. Like S+S in Dracula’s castle or in a haunted graveyard.
@@BigPoppaPumperino I am so glad that you have discovered KEW and his Kane character. Kane is a wonderfully complex and fascinating character. "Dark Muse" was a really fantastic story that also has a chilling horror aspect to it. I was fascinated when Kane met his young daughter in "Raven's Eyrie" and muttered something about how she resembled her grandmother, and how the daughter inspired fear in the local bullies because of Kane being her father. KEW is truly a top-tier S+S writer--his training as a psychiatrist and his own inner demons really seeming to give him an ability to write dark characters. I hope that you enjoy the rest of the Kane novels as much as I do!
Great video. I have a couple of each book. I don't have the compilations. Always look for Kane, Elric and Conan at used book stores. Do you rank any of those books?
I have not yet ranked the Conan or Elric novels. I should rank the Lancer Conans. That's an excellent suggestion. Unfortunately, I don't own enough Elric to rank them! Thank you for checking out the video Shane!
Good review. I read the Kane stories in the early 80s. I really liked them as Wagner was clearly influenced by REH. However, when the stories were republished in the late 90s in the collected hardbacks I didn’t find them to be as good as my I recalled. That isn’t to say they are bad, they just didn’t hold up as well for me as REH, Moorcock and Leiber for instance.
Thanks LK! It's been awhile since I've read these as well. I'll have to re-read 'Dark Muse' and 'Cold Light' again and see if my opinion has changed....maybe that could be another video?
@@LeelandKrueger speaking of Moorcock, there is a Kane story written by Karl Edward Wagner that also features Elric and Moonglum. While the premise is intriguing, it sadly is by far my least favorite Kane story. It was written very late in Karl Edward Wagner's life, and I suspect that his physical decline reflected in his diminished writing ability.
I hear you KW. If you don't mind my asking, what was it you didn't like about Bloodstone and what did you like about Winter of My Soul? Thank you for checking out the video and the comment!
"Reflections for the Winter of My Soul" is definitely one of my favorite Kane stories--if not my favorite. I was sucked in by the way that KEW was able to create such a moody, atmospheric who-dun-it murder mystery/horror story in the claustrophobic environs of a snowed-in remote, rural estate. KEW introduced several characters who arouse the reader's suspicion as the hidden main adversary. The epic final conflict in which Kane triumphs in a way that harkens back to the biblical Cain is so exciting and satisfying, and one really learns to appreciate Kane's immense and indomitable physicality. I also loved that the story starts with a tie-in to the "Dark Crusade" novel was a nice touch. All-in-all, this is a rousing mystery/horror/action story that is written exactly in a way that I find supremely satisfying.
Each novel is a stand alone book. So it really doesn't matter. But I would suggest reading them in the order they were written. Which means starting with Bloodstone. Which is one of my favorites.
Hard to argue with that choice Rich. I love his short stories. But Bloodstone is his best full length novel. I just reread it as well. Fantastic story!
Excellent review. My introduction to Kane was Bloodstone. It blew my socks off and I never looked back.
I actually just finished a re-read of Bloodstone! And will have a review of it up in the next video. Thanks for checking this one out Leslie!
You're welcome. I've commented before on other channels how KEW is so overlooked and forgotten about. His strongly cadenced style is far superior to most of today's fodder. And I agree with you on KEW being grim dark. Today's readers of heroic fantasy haven't read grim dark until they've read Wagner. Thanks again.
Hello there, thank you for putting out such a great video, Karl Edward Wagner is not an author often talked on youtube.
Your channel popped up for me as a youtube recommendation and I am glad I decided to check it out and subscribe to it--I will be "binging" your content as I find the presentation really clear and straightforward!
The first story I read about Kane was "Darkness Weaves" so it has a special place for me--as you rightly mentioned, it brings a nice mix of naval combat, political intrigue, and a Lovecraftian atmosphere. When I read this one, it was just after reading some of Robert E. Howard's Conan and I must say that the somber tone and the more sinister supernatural tones impressed me a lot, at the time.
I do like the approach to the werewolf archetype on "Reflections for the Winter of My Soul"
Thanks for checking out the channel Douglas! I should go back and re-read these as it's been awhile. Darkness Weaves is a great one!
"Reflections for the Winter of My Soul" was the first Kane short novella I ever read, and still my favorite. "Thus died Abel," what a quote. Yet I've probably read "Darkness Weaves" repeatedly more than any other.
Darkness Weaves is a great book. I can see why it warrants multiple reads!
@GrammaticusBooks Thanks for pointing me to this video! Karl and I weren’t really friends, but we ran in the same social circle back in the 80s. I mentioned Kane to him once. We didn’t really use the term anti-hero back then, but that was how I saw Kane. Karl’s reaction was basically “What the Hell is wrong with you?” He described Kane as a total villain whose any good deeds were in service of a self centered goal. With magic, science, and inhuman strength, he was basically one suit of armor away from being Dr. Doom.
I haven’t read these books in a long time, but the ranking sounded well thought out. I might have put Bloodstone first, but I would need to reread the novels to be comfortable offering an opinion.
Thanks again!
That's awesome that you actually knew Karl! And Bloodstone is a damn good novel. I just reread it. And I certainly couldn't argue with it at number one.
Thanks for this. I've read some of the Kane stories and enjoyed them. It's a shame Wagner didn't take better care of himself. Guy could write like no other.
I'm glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for checking out the video Frank.
I agree with most of your comments. I also agree with your assessment of his understanding of poetry. Wagner, in my view is a master at telling a story.
Last point is, Darkness Weaves is a rewrite of the same novel published in shorter form in 1970...I loved the longer version...I enjoyed the intrigue and the battle scenes both there and in Bloodstone were amazing. Anyway, I enjoyed your presentation!
Glad you enjoyed the video DB! Wagner was indeed a master story teller. I miss his combination of grimdark along with an ability to transport the reader into his worlds. He is missed!
Great video! I think you are pretty close. I would put Bloodstone at the top.
Thanks for talking about these books and Karl Edward Wagner. Not enough people do.
Thanks MKV. It was very close between Bloodstone and Night Winds. But I am a sucker for a good short story collection!
Found Kane in the 90s and I scoured the used bookstores for decades trying to complete the collection. I started with Darkness Weaves and it’s probably my favorite. K.E.W.’s Conan stories are solid as well. Good stuff.
I have Wagner's 'Road of Kings' Conan novel but I haven't read it yet. Were you able to complete the Kane novel collection? It's getting harder and harder to find these books.
The Road of Kings is really good, highly recommend. I have all the Wagner books, the Kane ones included, signed and limitetd. The last big purchase was the Centipede Press edition The Complete Kane which is beautiful but outrageously expensive. I wish for a new mass market omnibus to attract new readers. Wagner shouldn't be allowed to be forgotten.
@@mymightykingdom383 Signed copies!!! Wow!
I found Kane in the eighties. Looked for years for new stories only to find out when I got the internet that KEW was long dead
In order of how often I re-read them: (1) Darkness Weaves (2) Dark Crusade (3) Death Angles Shadow (4) Bloodstone (5) Night Winds
I also came across the audiobook version of "In a Lonely Place" which is modern horror short stories by Karl Edward Wagner. Hopefully that means they'll do some audio of the Kane all of the Kane novels (and not just the two done in the 90s).
So almost the exact opposite of what I listed! That's funny. I did recently re-read Bloodstone. Fantastic novel. They're all good. Can't really go wrong with any of these.
Hey what’s up my man. Loved your work.
Thanks Tuareg! Just taking it a day at a time.
Thank you! I missed these back in the day. I'll have to do the ebooks, but hate the ebook covers.
Oh yeah, those covers are less than stellar. But they are an affordable option!
Just got a note from Centipede Press that they will be printing a new run of all of the novels in May/June!
Every single Heinlein novel? That would be outstanding news! I hope to heaven that they do some decent cover art!
@@GrammaticusBooks Oh sorry, I meant the Kane novels. I think they’re reprints of the five hardbacks…
I'm fairly new to genre fiction but I quickly gravitated to Robert E. Howard and Lovecraft, that's how I came across Karl Edward Wagner. I have been enjoying his short stories, Sticks in particular was excellent, can't wait to start his Kane series. Great stuff, subbed!
Too many people just don't know about Kane! And thanks RD!
You're missing one of the big 3. Clark Ashton Smith. His contributions to the Mythos cNnot be ignored. Conan and the Chthulu Mythos are canonically connected so be sure to put CAS into that rotation.
@@hyperguyver2 CAS is in a league of his own imo. I wish he was as widely discussed as Howard and Lovecraft are. Absolutely one of the best. 👍
Brilliant overview, thank you. I watched your channel for the first time and subscribed right away. I've been a life long Wagner fan and have read the Kane novels countless times. And each times I debate with myself what is the best (you're right, there are no bad ones 😃). And fun fact and a side note, I'm in the Dark Wolf documentary myself, the fan with the heavy German accent and the sword at the end 😄. I'm looking forward to more of your content!
Thanks Mighty! I'm actually re-reading Bloodstone at the moment. Great book. And now I'm going to have to go back and re-watch Dark Wolf!
Have you read 'Brak the Barbarian' books by John Jakes? (who was more well known for the Kent Family Chronicles books.) Excellent overview on Kane - I have only read Bloodstone.
Bloodstone is a fantastic book Ben! And I only recently learned of Brak the Barbarian from Michael K. Vaughan's channel. I'd not heard of him until recently.
Can’t disagree - Nightwinds is one of my favourite books and Two Suns Setting is my favourite story in it, though I like Undertow probably just a little bit more than Dark Muse, but all the stories are great.
I love a good collection of short stories! Of Wagner's Kane novels I'd definitely vote Bloodstone (which I just reread) his best.
Raven's Eyrie and Two Suns setting from Nightwinds are also available as Audiobook, read by no less than Roger Zelazny, but they were only released on tape and are not available through normal channels anymore.
Read by Roger Zelazny?!?!? Wow, I would love to hear those!
Thank you very much for reviewing Karl Edward Wagner's Kane series! Kane is my all-time favorite sword-and-sorcery hero (anti-hero). For me, I would rank the Kane novels accordingly (from favorite to least favorite): 1) Death Angel's Shadow; 2) Dark Crusade; 3) Night Winds; 4) Darkness Weaves; and 5) Bloodstone. But honestly, I greatly enjoy ALL of the Kane books, and my least favorite (Bloodstone) is still a fantastic novel that I will reread with relish every few years. There was a novella entitled: "The Gothic Touch" that had Kane meeting and briefly allying with Michael Moorcock's Elric character. The collaboration is very intriguing, but the actual execution of the story was quite poor in my opinion. I don't know what others think of this story, but the writing was extremely disappointing to me--the prose did not seem to resemble Karl Edward Wagner's previous style of writing Kane, and it was a very weak entry into the Kane portfolio of stories.
Glad you enjoyed the video! Can't argue with any ranking of these novels...it's really a matter of figuring out which one is Best, which one is Bester, and which one is Bestest! No wrong answers with these five books!
@@GrammaticusBooks What did you think of the story "Undertow" from the novel "Night Winds"? I really enjoyed that short story, especially the horror twist in the plot and the epic sword fight between Kane and a thinly-disguised Conan the Barbarian analog. ; )
Hah, I'd half forgotten that one! It's been years since I've read these. I'll have to go back and re-read 'Undertow'.
@davidk6269 I just recently read Night Winds which was my first KEW experience, and therefore Undertow was my first first experience. What an excellent way to be introduced to that character. It builds such an air of mystery and menace up around Kane. Excellent stories. Dark Muse was probably the standout for me as well, but all the stories give such a great sense of place and mood. I could immediately visualize each story. Like S+S in Dracula’s castle or in a haunted graveyard.
@@BigPoppaPumperino I am so glad that you have discovered KEW and his Kane character. Kane is a wonderfully complex and fascinating character. "Dark Muse" was a really fantastic story that also has a chilling horror aspect to it. I was fascinated when Kane met his young daughter in "Raven's Eyrie" and muttered something about how she resembled her grandmother, and how the daughter inspired fear in the local bullies because of Kane being her father. KEW is truly a top-tier S+S writer--his training as a psychiatrist and his own inner demons really seeming to give him an ability to write dark characters. I hope that you enjoy the rest of the Kane novels as much as I do!
Great video. I have a couple of each book. I don't have the compilations. Always look for Kane, Elric and Conan at used book stores. Do you rank any of those books?
I have not yet ranked the Conan or Elric novels. I should rank the Lancer Conans. That's an excellent suggestion. Unfortunately, I don't own enough Elric to rank them! Thank you for checking out the video Shane!
Loved the Kane Novels. He was combination of Conan + Evil Wizard ! :)
Definitely!
Good review. I read the Kane stories in the early 80s. I really liked them as Wagner was clearly influenced by REH. However, when the stories were republished in the late 90s in the collected hardbacks I didn’t find them to be as good as my I recalled. That isn’t to say they are bad, they just didn’t hold up as well for me as REH, Moorcock and Leiber for instance.
Thanks LK! It's been awhile since I've read these as well. I'll have to re-read 'Dark Muse' and 'Cold Light' again and see if my opinion has changed....maybe that could be another video?
Btw, I am with you the old cover art being amazing @@GrammaticusBooks
@@LeelandKrueger speaking of Moorcock, there is a Kane story written by Karl Edward Wagner that also features Elric and Moonglum. While the premise is intriguing, it sadly is by far my least favorite Kane story. It was written very late in Karl Edward Wagner's life, and I suspect that his physical decline reflected in his diminished writing ability.
I read Bloodstone first, and it put me off Kane for years. It took Reflections for the Winter of My Soul to bring me into the fold.
I hear you KW. If you don't mind my asking, what was it you didn't like about Bloodstone and what did you like about Winter of My Soul? Thank you for checking out the video and the comment!
"Reflections for the Winter of My Soul" is definitely one of my favorite Kane stories--if not my favorite. I was sucked in by the way that KEW was able to create such a moody, atmospheric who-dun-it murder mystery/horror story in the claustrophobic environs of a snowed-in remote, rural estate. KEW introduced several characters who arouse the reader's suspicion as the hidden main adversary. The epic final conflict in which Kane triumphs in a way that harkens back to the biblical Cain is so exciting and satisfying, and one really learns to appreciate Kane's immense and indomitable physicality. I also loved that the story starts with a tie-in to the "Dark Crusade" novel was a nice touch. All-in-all, this is a rousing mystery/horror/action story that is written exactly in a way that I find supremely satisfying.
Oke. I love a good anti-hero. I was wondering if there was a connection to Howard’s Solomon Kane, but I guess not.
Nope, absolutely no connection at all!
Are there any other Kane stories? These 5 are all ive ever found
I believe he did write some later Kane stories. But they're not viewed with the same reverence (or same quality) as these five.
Is there a specific order you should read these in? Im def interested.
Each novel is a stand alone book. So it really doesn't matter. But I would suggest reading them in the order they were written. Which means starting with Bloodstone. Which is one of my favorites.
@@GrammaticusBooks thank you for the reply. Keep up the good work!
Thanks
My pleasure Rich!
“An A+ on a scale of 1 to 10” 😂
Actually it's "An Eight Plus on a scale of 1-10" but yeah I can see how it might sound like that.
Interesting analysis but i put bloodstone as number 1
Hard to argue with that choice Rich. I love his short stories. But Bloodstone is his best full length novel. I just reread it as well. Fantastic story!