The Sword & Sorcery Saga - Darkness Weaves (Kane), by Karl Edward Wagner 

Frazetta... the illustrator that launched 1000 art school applications. Wait, that's a huge understatement!

Darkness Weaves is a good introduction to Kane, and you should read the other books as soon as possible. The interesting thing about the series is that many centuries may have passed between each story, and almost all the supporting characters will have been long dead by the next story. Kane understands history like no one else, because he lived it-- or maybe even made it.

KEW is my absolute favourite writer of S&S!!

Love the Kane stories. Bloodstone is my favorite though

Bloodstone would best introduction to Kane. Along with Black Crusade then Darkness Weaves. Then you read the short stories. I would not call him a Mary Sue since we are introduced to him after he has live a long enough life to gather his knowledge and skills. If you don't already have it,, look for Tales of the White Wolf which is an Elric of Melnibone anthology. The story ,The Gothic Touch, is an Elric/Kane crossover written by Wagner. I myself have all the books through the Night Shade Books edition. It is in two volumes, Gods in Darkness which has the novels and Midnight Sun which has the short stories. Both run for hundreds of dollars on ebay. Glad I got them when they came out. Wagner's writing influence for Kane seems to be in the gothic stories. Not the cheap paperback gothic, the old fashion ones like Melmoth the Wanderer by Charles Maturin (an major influence to Kane). This is described in Wanger's essay Once and Future Kane.

Thanks for this enjoyable walk down memory lane! This was my first Kane novel. I have this very same edition with the cover by Frank Frazetta. My personal favorite Kane novel was Death Angel’s Shadow. Regarding his novels involving Robert E. Howard’s characters, Wagner also wrote a Bran Mak Morn novel. Have you read his short story that had Kane fighting along side Michael Moorcock’s Elric? It was very unique in that his writing style in that short story was very different from his usual style when writing Kane-it is not one of my favorite Kane story.

Dive, great video on Wagner’s Kane, a terrific series. I think those outstanding Frazetta covers on the paperbacks got a lit of readers to notice these books. You gave an interesting look at the author and this book. Thank you.

I got listen to him talk on a panel about werewolves and other lycanthropes at World Con in Denver back in the 1980s. I read many of Wagner's books back in the day including his Conan works. His Kane is still my favorite character which predated the Witcher stuff. Frazetta did the original artwork for the Kane books. One of which was reused by the Southern Rock Band Molly Hatchet back in the day. Best book in the series is Bloodstone.

Thanks for the video! Nice retrospective!

Great review! Very happy when I come across videos about Kane since he’s my favourite sword and sorcery character. I don’t know how many people know this, but there is actually a chronology in the Kane series. It goes as follows: Undertow Two Suns Setting Bloodstone The Dark Muse Sing A Last Song Of Valdese Misericorde Lynortis Reprise Raven’s Eyrie Dark Crusade Reflections For The Winter Of My Soul Cold Light Mirage Darkness Weaves The Gothic Touch You can see a progression in Kane’s journey, however the chronology isn’t as critical as a saga like Elric.

The conan novel he wrote was entitled the "Road of Kings". I have my copies of his novels, with the Frazetta covers.

Night Winds for me have read this book so many times I have lost count

Interesting review, all so fascinating

I’m hoping to read these soon. I’m also planning to read his pastiche of REH’s Bran Mak Morn, called Legions from the Shadows.

You rock

As much as I love the Kane stories, I've been reluctant to read the novels. S&S seems to work much better in the short story- and novella-length form. Nearly every novel-length S&S work--in my experience--starts to drag near the middle of the tale. Not every S&S writer can pull off that full-tilt Holy Cow reading experience like R.E. Howard did so well. (Not that Howard was 100% successful at that, either.) Despite KEW's deft hand in writing S&S, he seemed to come at it from a horror writer's perspective rather than a fantasy writer's POV. As another person wrote in the Comments, KEW's influence is probably more from the gothic tradition instead of pulp-based S&S. Which explains the lack of straight-up heroic hero, more of a dark anti-hero. Good review!

thanks

Had Karl Edward wagner not died of cmplications of alcoholism and Lyme disease he would have gone on to write a modern version of Kane and his daughter Klest. A organzed crime type novel.

Might one wish for a playlist with all literature videos?

I am a fan of Karl Edward Wagner and I would say that Darkness Weaves is the weakest of his Kane novels. I do not believe that he had fully worked out his own approach to the character, and the novel is a little shaky. Keep with it, Bloodstone and Dark Crusade are much better and the short stories are better still. I agree with a previous poster who opined that the short story is the preferred medium for sword & sorcery ( and to my mind all weird fiction). It is sad that the economics of publishing has caused such a decline in what was once a vibrant media of dark fantasy. It seems that authors are often taking what would be the makings of a fine short story and bloating it into a series. I had the pleasure of meeting KEW in the early 90's, and he always said that the most satisfying part of editing the Years Best Horror anthologies was giving fledgling writers an audience for their short fiction.

Interested in this author. What book of his should I read first?

Funny question, where did you get those book protectors?

Do Not Thump The Book Of G'Quan...

I love the artwork from back then. Always made you want to buy the book. Now covers look childish. No imagination or talent

Stop poking the book , great review , thank you

Shades of black are grey