Celebrated Robert E. Howard scholar and contributor to this blog, Fred Blosser, has just done all of the Solomon Kane fans around the world a Big Favor with this instant classic: The Solomon Kane Companion. Last week I refreshed my memory of the Solomon Kane saga by reading The Savage Tales of Solomon Kane (you can read my review here).
Fred’s “informal guide to Robert E. Howard’s Dark Avenger” provides a detailed tour of Howard’s precursor to his legendary Conan the Cimmerian. Solomon Kane is a Puritan wanderer who is obsessed with fighting Evil and righting wrongs. Kane’s adventures involve battling some occult forces. While Kane is an expert swordsman and a deadly shot with his I particularly enjoy when Kane uses his juju staff. Kane’s friend N’Longa, an African shaman, gave Kane a juju staff for protection against evil and to be wielded as a weapon against Dark Magic. Kane uses it to kill vampires and supernatural spirits. In “The Footfalls Within”, it is identified as the mythical Staff of Solomon.
I enjoyed Fred’s analysis of the development of Solomon Kane from story to story. Kane’s adventures begin in 1553 and stop in 1610. But after Robert E. Howard’s death, Solomon Kane stories appeared as pastiches. I remember reading MARVEL’s Solomon Kane series years ago.
Everything you ever wanted to know about Solomon Kane can be found between these pages. Fred Blosser has written a great book about a great character. Don’t miss it! GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Introduction — vii
CHAPTERS
- Puritan Marvels and Mysteries — 13
- King of Swords — 17
- The Crimson Trails of Solomon Kane: First Phase — 23
- The Crimson Trails of Solomon Kane: Second Phase — 29
- The Crimson Trails of Solomon Kane: Third Phase — 35
- The Crimson Trails of Solomon Kane: Final Phase — 41
- Damsels Demure, One Damsel Destructive — 45
- Demons and Devils — 57
- Despots and Desperados — 69
- Magi and Men-at-Arms — 81
- Haunted Places and Lost Cities — 93
- Variant & Associated Stories in Solomon’s Kane Saga — 105
- Shrouded in Mystery — 111
- Solomon Kane and the Lost Continent — 115
- Dark Avenger versus Eldritch Horrors — 119
- Did Solomon Kane Ever Meet…? — 123
- Solomon Kane’s Ruthless Other — 131
APPENDICES
A. SOLOMON KANE in the Comic Books — 137
B. The SOLOMON KANE Concordance –165
C. SOLOMON KANE Chronology — 175
D. Why I Wrote This Book — 181
E. The Essential SOLOMON KANE — 183
F. A Guide to Further Reading — 187
G. Red Shadows — 189
About the Author — 223
Kelley strikes again! You’re going to send me to the poor house! Just ordered it.
Jerry, George the Tempter is always lurking about new books! Fred Blosser knocked it out of the park with THE SOLOMON KANE COMPANION!
Nice one, Fred.
Jeff, Fred does an impressive job revealing Solomon Kane.
Where is it available?
Bob, I bought my copy of THE SOLOMON KANE COMPANION on AMAZON.
I’ve tended to prefer the several Kane stories I’ve read to the Conan stories. Interesting, if obvious, how homophonic their names are. Thanks for the coverage of Fred Blosser’s book as well.
Todd, many of Robert E. Howard’s readers prefer Solomon Kane to Conan.
I like s&s, but I like horror more. Though if the choice in either was REH and Fritz Leiber, Leiber wins on both counts.
Todd, Fritz Leiber had a long and successful career while Robert E. Howard’s was cut short. Leiber wrote some wonderful books in the 1960s!
And even in the ’40s, Leiber was writing impressive to brilliant novels and shorter work. CONJURE WIFE alone would be enough, but it was hardly alone.
Todd, the highlight of 1964 was when I read THE WANDERER! My head exploded!
Cool…though I tend to think of it as one of his less effective novels…ahead of THE SILVER EGGHEADS. But even Leiber at less than his best is worth the effort, with Very rare exceptions (some of the most trivial late Fafhrd and Grey Mouser vignettes, but they are short enough to read and getting what one can, such as a mild joke, from them while moving on to the better stories, F&GM and others)
And I’ve not yet read the TARZAN novel he wrote.