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Of all of Robert E Howard's pulp heroes, none is more well remembered than his barbariac Cimmerian, Conan. Which is a shame, because I far prefer the man's earlier work and Solomon Kane is some of his finest. Written mainly in the twenties these stories are dark, raw, slices of pulp adventure at its pulpiest and most brutal. Kane is a morose, grimly stoic Puritan who wanders the world righting wrongs and meeting out justice according to his own book of law. Unlike his barbarian counterparts, one never gets the feeling that Kane is anything more than a man with a will. There is a human sense of frailty to the character that makes these stories all the more gripping, his achievements in the face of danger all the more powerful. The stories themselves are reasonably varied (for their type) including a smattering of African tribal adventure, tales of bleak English moorlands, Mediterranean piratical voyages etc. But the plots are not nearly so important as the headlong, gripping prose that tells them and which bursts forth from every page. Howard was a master of evoking the greatest emotional response from readers in as economical a fashion as possible, and whilst he exhibits some clunkiness here and there, the combined effect is one of headstrong and unadulterated adventure. In addition to the complete collection of stories, there are also a fair few draughts and unfinished manuscripts, an introduction, and a number of excellent pictures (both plates and within the text). Some of the textual images can get in the way a bit of the reading, but the plates are first class, perfectly capturing the brooding menace of the tales. Recommended.
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