Karl Edward Wagner’s ‘Kane’ series

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Madness

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« on: November 24, 2015, 02:26:25 am »
I recently found this post on r/fantasy about the favorite obscure series of authors and I was hoping that one of the authors queried would mention Bakker. Surprise, surprise, Bakker's answer was the first on the list and he mentioned a series that he's never brought up elsewhere, to my knowledge.

Anyone ever been exposed to this?
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Alia

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« Reply #1 on: November 24, 2015, 09:58:53 am »
You mean, has anyone here read "Kane"? The answer is - me. It's one of my favourite fantasy books ever, and I mean ever. I first read it when I was a teen, in an absolutely atrocious translation, and it still got me hooked. I bought the books (which was rare, at that time I used the library - my parents did not have much money or space in the flat), kept them ever since. Recently I got hold of English originals, read them again, this time with all my literary background that had accumulated ever since, and boy, while I remembered all the stories very well, I discovered a lot more in them.
First of all, Wagner thought of himself more as a horror writer, so "Kane" is not your simple sword&sorcery - and if a novel starts with a motto from Lovecraft, you know what to expect (as a teen I did not, as I hadn't read Lovecraft then). And then there is a story which is set in a place that is basically a fantasy version of WWI on Western front. In addition, he was trained as a psychiatrist, so his characters have a lot more psychological depth than average in this genre.
And the main character is an evil bastard. A likeable evil bastard, sometimes, but evil nonetheless. If he fights greater evil, he does not do it to save mankind or anything - it's just that the other side interferes with his plans.

However, if you want to read it, there is just one little problem - it's damn hard to get the books legally, unless you want to pay $175 for this edition: http://centipedepress.com/horror/kane.html (BTW, I would love to lay my hands on it but I'm not even sure whether they send overseas and how much would it cost, if possible).
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« Reply #2 on: November 24, 2015, 02:07:17 pm »
A serious question though, why would one not buy this one for a lot less?

EDIT: I believe that it is missing the short stories.  Still more reasonable than $175 bucks.
« Last Edit: November 24, 2015, 03:03:36 pm by H »
I am a warrior of ages, Anasurimbor. . . ages. I have dipped my nimil in a thousand hearts. I have ridden both against and for the No-God in the great wars that authored this wilderness. I have scaled the ramparts of great Golgotterath, watched the hearts of High Kings break for fury. -Cet'ingira

Alia

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« Reply #3 on: November 24, 2015, 03:03:09 pm »
Because it's just half of the set, "complete novels". The other half is "Midnight Sun", which is "complete stories". And that one starts from USD95. So together they wouldn't be that much cheaper than the new edition. And anyway, if I wanted to buy anything from abroad, I would have to pay for "International Signed-for", which further increases costs. You see, parcels sent from abroad too often happen to get missing on the way here. True story.
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« Reply #4 on: November 24, 2015, 03:04:13 pm »
Because it's just half of the set, "complete novels". The other half is "Midnight Sun", which is "complete stories". And that one starts from USD95. So together they wouldn't be that much cheaper than the new edition. And anyway, if I wanted to buy anything from abroad, I would have to pay for "International Signed-for", which further increases costs. You see, parcels sent from abroad too often happen to get missing on the way here. True story.

OK, yeah, I just noticed that as you were posting.
I am a warrior of ages, Anasurimbor. . . ages. I have dipped my nimil in a thousand hearts. I have ridden both against and for the No-God in the great wars that authored this wilderness. I have scaled the ramparts of great Golgotterath, watched the hearts of High Kings break for fury. -Cet'ingira

Madness

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« Reply #5 on: November 24, 2015, 04:33:28 pm »
You mean, has anyone here read "Kane"?

Yeap ;).

The answer is - me. It's one of my favourite fantasy books ever, and I mean ever. I first read it when I was a teen, in an absolutely atrocious translation, and it still got me hooked. I bought the books (which was rare, at that time I used the library - my parents did not have much money or space in the flat), kept them ever since. Recently I got hold of English originals, read them again, this time with all my literary background that had accumulated ever since, and boy, while I remembered all the stories very well, I discovered a lot more in them.
First of all, Wagner thought of himself more as a horror writer, so "Kane" is not your simple sword&sorcery - and if a novel starts with a motto from Lovecraft, you know what to expect (as a teen I did not, as I hadn't read Lovecraft then). And then there is a story which is set in a place that is basically a fantasy version of WWI on Western front. In addition, he was trained as a psychiatrist, so his characters have a lot more psychological depth than average in this genre.
And the main character is an evil bastard. A likeable evil bastard, sometimes, but evil nonetheless. If he fights greater evil, he does not do it to save mankind or anything - it's just that the other side interferes with his plans.

However, if you want to read it, there is just one little problem - it's damn hard to get the books legally, unless you want to pay $175 for this edition: http://centipedepress.com/horror/kane.html (BTW, I would love to lay my hands on it but I'm not even sure whether they send overseas and how much would it cost, if possible).

Lol - thanks, Alia. Between yourself and Bakker, I'll need to get my hands on these somehow. I was reading on reddit that though it's extremely hard to find physical copies, as they've been out of print for how many years, that recently (?) there have been Kindle editions released. Though, I really dislike screen reading :-\.
The Existential Scream
Weaponizing the Warrior Pose - Declare War Inwardly
carnificibus: multus sanguis fluit
Die Better
The Theory-Killer

Alia

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« Reply #6 on: November 24, 2015, 07:18:44 pm »
Madness, you're great! Yes, it seems they have finally appeared on Amazon (when I finally gave up any hope on getting them legally), although a few stories will be missing from this set. Now I just need to convince my husband dearest that I really need to spend those 30+ bucks on books that I already know and have in translation ;-)
And, contrary to you, I love screen reading.
Anyway, I highly recommend "Kane" once more, it is really worth reading.

Oh, and I also started reading William Blake because of a motto in one "Kane" book.
« Last Edit: November 24, 2015, 07:26:30 pm by Alia »
The road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom - William Blake

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« Reply #7 on: November 30, 2015, 06:32:52 pm »
I was intrigued enough in these, so I got some eBooks.  Reading it now.  Only a few pages in, but it has a very Conan-esque feel to it so far.
I am a warrior of ages, Anasurimbor. . . ages. I have dipped my nimil in a thousand hearts. I have ridden both against and for the No-God in the great wars that authored this wilderness. I have scaled the ramparts of great Golgotterath, watched the hearts of High Kings break for fury. -Cet'ingira

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« Reply #8 on: November 30, 2015, 10:03:43 pm »
Madness, you're great! Yes, it seems they have finally appeared on Amazon (when I finally gave up any hope on getting them legally), although a few stories will be missing from this set. Now I just need to convince my husband dearest that I really need to spend those 30+ bucks on books that I already know and have in translation ;-)
And, contrary to you, I love screen reading.
Anyway, I highly recommend "Kane" once more, it is really worth reading.

Oh, and I also started reading William Blake because of a motto in one "Kane" book.

Lol - thanks, Alia. In the past couple days, I've downloaded programs to affect my screens in order to facilitate better sleep so I might try some e-reading now.

I was intrigued enough in these, so I got some eBooks.  Reading it now.  Only a few pages in, but it has a very Conan-esque feel to it so far.

I figured they'd be in the vein of Conan/Solomon Kane (probably because the Kane pinged the association, most likely).
The Existential Scream
Weaponizing the Warrior Pose - Declare War Inwardly
carnificibus: multus sanguis fluit
Die Better
The Theory-Killer

Alia

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« Reply #9 on: December 01, 2015, 09:08:12 am »
Well, Wagner also wrote one Conan novel ("The Road of Kings"), which managed to include a bit of social commentary, as well as horror elements, in a classic Conan setting. Basically, it's a story of a revolution, which (as usual) eats its own children.
Anyway, if you start with "Darkness Weaves", the setting may seem Conanesque at first, as the publisher wanted a typical sword&sorcery - but the main character is certainly different. And the first appearance of Kane is a reference to the classic "it was a dark and stormy night", which made me laugh when I read it.

As for Conan - I read quite a lot of Howard when I was a teen (the same time as Kane, I guess). In translation, naturally. And then, when Howard became public domain, I downloaded some stories from Project Gutenberg. My, he was a really awful writer - meaning the language that he used.
The road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom - William Blake

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« Reply #10 on: December 01, 2015, 01:08:15 pm »
I did start with Darkness Weaves and I took the liberty to merge all the eBooks into one giant eBook, because I find it easier to manage that way.
I am a warrior of ages, Anasurimbor. . . ages. I have dipped my nimil in a thousand hearts. I have ridden both against and for the No-God in the great wars that authored this wilderness. I have scaled the ramparts of great Golgotterath, watched the hearts of High Kings break for fury. -Cet'ingira