Karl Edward Wagner / Kane Cover Gallery

A change of pace from the usual science fiction galleries. Karl Edward Wagner (1945-1994) was a superb horror writer and wrote one of the few sword & sorcery series that I followed. I was never that keen on Conan: the Howard originals were fine but the endless sequels-by-other-hands got rather tedious after a while, endlessly riffing on the same themes. Wagner's Kane, however, seemed fresh, more intelligently written, more humorous in places—an introspective, immortal barbarian. Wagner was also an award-winning horror story writer and edited a great many anthologies, including The Year's Best Horror Stories between 1980-94. He edited three collections of Conan stories by Robert E. Howard, as well as adding to the canon of both Bran Mak Morn and Conan; he owned a complete run of Weird Tales and, under the Carcosa imprint, co-published collections by Manly Wade Wellman, E. Hoffman Price and Hugh B. Cave; he was also the editor of the Echoes of Valor sword & sorcery anthologies.

Wagner's later years were dogged by alcoholism and he died suddenly on 13 October 1994 at the age of 48.

A couple of years ago, Night Shade Books reprinted the Kane novels and stories in two volumes, now both hugely expensive to buy second hand. Thankfully, the recent upheaval due to the building work has unearthed these treasures... the Coronet editions published in 1977-81. More for the rapidly growing pile of books to re-read at some point.

Bloodstone
Coronet 0-340-21812-6, 1977.

Darkness Weaves
Coronet 0-340-22002-3, 1978. Cover by Christos Achilleos
Roc UK 0-14-017523-7, Oct 1993. [same as above]

Nightwinds
Coronet 0-340-23472-5, 1979. Cover by Christos Achilleos

Death Angel's Shadow
Coronet 0-340-25079-8, 1980.

Dark Crusade
Coronet 0-340-25077-1, 1981.

Gods in Darkness
Night Shade Books, 2002.

Midnight Sun
Night Shade Books, 2003.

PUBLICATIONS

Novels (series: Kane)
Darkness Weaves With Many Shades (Kane). Reseda, CA, Powell, 1970; restored as Darkness Weaves, New York, Warner, 1978; London, Coronet, 1978.
Bloodstone (Kane). New York, Warner, 1975; London, Coronet, 1977.
Dark Crusade (Kane). New York, Baen 1976; London, Coronet, 1981.
Bran Mak Morn: Legion of the Shadows. New York, Zebra, 1976.
Conan: The Road of Kings. New York, Bantam, 1979.
Killer, with David A. Drake. New York, Baen, 1985.

Novels as Kent Allard
The Other Woman. New York, Bee Line (943-T), 1973.

Omnibus
Gods in Darkness (contains: Bloodstone, Dark Crusade, Darkness Weaves). Newberg, OR, Night Shade Books, Jun 2002.

Collections & Chapbooks
Death Angel's Shadow (Kane). New York, Warner, 1973.
(contains: Reflections for the Winter of My Soul; Cold Light; Mirage)
Sign of the Salamander. Columbus, OH, Gary Hoppenstand, 1975.
Nightwinds. New York, Warner, 1978; London, Coronet, 1979.
(contains: Undertow; Two Suns Setting; The Dark Muse; Raven's Eyrie; Lynortis Reprise; Sing a Last Song of Valdese)
In A Lonely Place. New York, Warner, 1983; revised, Santa Cruz, CA, Scream Press, 1984.
(contains: Introduction by Peter Straub (ar); In the Pines; Where the Summer Ends; Sticks; The Fourth Seal; More Sinned Against; .220 Swift; The River of Night's Dreaming; Beyond Any Measure; Afterword (ar))
The Book of Kane. West Kingston, RI, Donald M. Grant, Oct 1985.
(contains: Reflections in the Winter of My Soul; Misericorde; The Other One; Sing a Last Song of Valdese; Raven's Eyrie)
Why Not You and I?. New York, Tor, Sep 1987; expanded, Arlington, IL, Dark Harvest, Nov 1987.
(contains: Into Whose Hands; Old Loves; More Sinned Against; Shrapnel; The Last Wolf; Neither Brute Nor Human; Sign of the Salamander; Blue Lady, Come Back; Silted In. The Dark Harvest edition adds Lacunae; Lost Exits)
Author's Choice Monthly issue 2: Unthreatened by the Morning Light. Pulphouse, Oct 1989.
(contains: Introduction: Unthreatened by the Morning Light (ar); Endless Night; Neither Brute Nor Human; The River of Night's Dreaming)
Where the Summer Ends. Eugene, OR, Pulphouse, Nov 1991.
Exorcisms and Ecstasies, ed. Stephen Jones. Minneapolis, MN, Fedogan & Bremer, Oct 1997.
(contains: Introduction: Talking with Karl by Stephen Jones (ar); Midnight Sun (pm); Various Encounters with Karl by Peter Straub (ar); Did They Get You to Trade?; The Kind Men Like; Cedar Lane; The Slug; Final Cut; Locked Away; Endless Night; A Walk on the Wild Side; Passages; Little Lessons in Gardening; I've Come to Talk with You Again; An Awareness of Angels; But You'll Never Follow Me; Plan 10 from Inner Space; Prince of the Punks; The Picture of Jonathan Collins; Gremlin; Brushed Away; In the Middle of a Snow Dream; The Big Dutchman by Frances Wellman (ar); All Good Friends by David J. Schow (ar); In the Wake of the Night (ex); The Treasure of Lynortis; The Gothic Touch; At First Just Ghostly; Deep in the Depths of the Acme Warehouse; Friends Die by Ramsey Campbell (ar); Doc Wagner by Jenny Campbell (ar); Satan's Gun; Hell Creek; One Paris Night; The Truth Insofar as I Know It by David Drake (ar); Brother Karl: Stories First and Last by James R. Wagner (ar); The Education of Gergy-doo-doo; Stardust; Killer, with David Drake; The Coming of Ghor; A Fair Cop; Karl Edward Wagner: Sassenach by Brian Lumley (ar); Karl Edward Wagner: A Working Bibliography of English Language First Editions by Scott F. Wyatt & Stephen Jones (ar); Afterword: Karl Edward Wagner—A Personal Farewell by C. Bruce Hunter (ar); Death Angel's Shadow (pm))
Midnight Sun: The Collected Stories and Poetry of Kane. Portland, OR, Night Shade Books, 2003.
(contains: Death Angel's Shadow (pm); Undertow; Two Suns Setting; The Dark Muse; Sing a Last Song of Valdese; Misericorde; Lynortis Reprise; Raven's Eyrie; In the Lair of Yslsl; Reflection for the Winter of My Soul; Cold Light; Mirage; The Other ONe; The Gothic Touch; Midnight Sun (pm); Lacunae; Deep in the Depths of the Acme Warehouse; At First Just Ghostly; The Treasure of Lynortis; In the Wake of the Night (extract); The One and Future Kane (ar))

Verse
Midnight Sun. Columbus, OH, Gary Hoppenstand, 1974.