Appendix Z - Karl
Edward Wagner
If
there is reincarnation then Robert E. Howard was reborn as this man. Wagner was
a hell of a writer. His Kane books fall somewhere beside Howard's Conan,
somewhere down a dark and twisted version of Earth and Hyperborea where man is
just the latest and far from the most powerful occupier of the planet, where
raw strength, intelligence and determination follow a nightmare path of sorcery
and death.
As
much as I love the Kane stories it was reading two of his Weird Tales style
anthologies that I came to appreciate the talent and versatility of Wagner.
Pulp stories, Lovecraftian stories, horror and adventure and just damn weird
stories.
If
I were to pick one story I'd say Bloodstone. For me it is the best of the Kane
tales and Kane strikes a deeper chord for me than any of the others, but
honestly, it is hard to go wrong with his work. Some shines out a bit more,
like 'Sticks' but these are good stories from a great writer.
Poetry
Red
Harvest
Songs
of the Damned
Stories
.220
Swift
A
Walk on the Wild Side
An
Awareness of Angels
At
First Just Ghostly
Beyond
Any Measure
Blue
Lady, Come Back
Brushed
Away
But
You'll Never Follow Me
Cedar
Lane
The
Coming of Ghor
The
Dark Muse
Deep
in the Depths of the Acme Warehouse
Did
They Get You to Trade?
The
Education of Gergy-doo-doo
Endless
Night
Exorcisms
and Ecstasies
A
Fair Cop
Final
Cut
The
Gothic Touch
Gremlin
Hell
Creek
I’ve
Come to Talk With You Again
In
a Lonely Place
In
the Lair of Yslsl
In
the Middle of a Snow Dream
In
the Pines
In
the Wake of the Night
Into
Whose Hands
Killer
(with David Drake)
The
Kind Men Like
Lacunae
Legion
from the Shadows
Little
Lessons in Gardening
Locked
Away
More
Sinned Against
Neither
Brute Nor Human
Old
Loves
One
Paris Night
The
Other Woman as by "Kent Allard"
Passages
The
Picture of Jonathan Collins
Plan
10 From Inner Space
Prince
of the Punks
The
River of Night’s Dreaming
The
Road of Kings
Satan’s
Gun
Shrapnel
Sing
a Last Song of Valdese
The
Slug
Stardust
Sticks
The
Treasure of Lynortis
Two
Suns Setting
Undertow
Unthreatened
by the Morning Light
Walk
on the Wild Side
Where
the Summer Ends
Why
Not You and I?
Kane
Darkness
Weaves
Death
Angel's Shadow
Bloodstone
Dark
Crusade
Night
Winds
The
Book of Kane
Gods
in Darkness
Midnight
Sun: The Complete Stories of Kane
His two pure horror collections (In a Lonely Place & Why Not You and I?) are also top notch.
ReplyDeleteSome great stories in those. His versatility as a writer really comes to light in these. Now I have to reread them.
ReplyDeleteI'm amazed atr someone in OSR-blogosphere noting the man's works. Since I read finnish translation of Darkness Weaves he has been influence in my taste of gaming and literature.
ReplyDeleteI hope there is a good translation of all his work, especially his Kane stories. I'd be surprised if the people who actually were involved with 1e AD&D back in the day weren't almost all Kane fans.
ReplyDeleteDarkness Weaves is only finnish translation out of Wagners works, I have read other in english. I think I like his short stories the best like At First Just Ghostly but Bloodstone and Dark Crusade are pretty good too.
ReplyDeleteI also really dig these personal lists of recommendations because it shows people are not treating Appendix N as some sort of western canon of fantasy literature.
I also use these lists to keep looking for the stories I haven't read. Appendix N does touch on a good number of the highpoints (as seen from the late 1970's) but it was only a personal list of what influenced D&D rather than fantasy or weird fantasy recommendations beyond that. Wagner's other work is excellent as well and if you like Lovecraftian horror you should try Sticks. His Conan story Road of Kings is definitely worth trying.
ReplyDeleteTrivia note Road of Kings was written almost entirely by Wagner's good buddy David Drake. Wagner had missed many deadlines due to his alcoholism and Drake finally couldn't stand it, stepped in and finished the novel from Karl's notes and they turned it in as Wagner's own. Drake fessed up after Wagner had passed away. Still one of the better non-Howard Conan works.
ReplyDeleteDrake is a hell of a writer, but that does surprise me because he tends to be pretty lousy at fantasy.
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