Customer Reviews

Age of Conan: Blood of Wolves: Legends of Kern, Volume 1 (Age of Conan Hyborian Adventures: Legends of Kern)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I have been reading Robert E. Howard for 23yrs now and own every book he wrote including the pastiches. This is a unique addition to the Hyborian Kingdom. The characters, (esp. Kern), have enough of the characteristics of Robert E. Howards style to be familiar yet are not just rip-offs. Loren Coleman maintains his own style yet still carries the flavour over from the Conan adventures. His use of unique paragraph breaks create suspense within the story without leaving you hanging. I have never seen this way of writing and I have read many, many books. The paragraph ends with an uncertain outcome or one with several possibilities and the next begins as if it was present after a comma, so there is no pause in the action just that, as indicated by a paragraph break. A good read and I look forward to more in this series.

I was pleasantly surprised by this novel. I came into it expecting writing on the level of, say, a bad D&D novel. The writing was actually very good and the story even better. The only knock I have is that it did not "feel" like an accurate portrayal of Cimmerians as written by REH. I don't know, but they seemed too "soft and caring" to be kin of Conan. Still, a fun read and I'll be picking up the sequel.

Non-traditional structure ... but FANTASTIC story telling!!!

You can get a synopsis anywhere so I'll cut to the chase... BUY THIS BOOK NOW! Kern is the most interesting character to wander Cimmeria since Conan himself. Take a little John Carter then add a dash of Tarzan, a pinch of Elric and a hardy handful of Conan (If he doesn't cut your hand off first) and you have Kern. I am already looking forward to more of Coleman and Kern in the future and, being a long-suffering Wheel of Time Fan, I hope it is sooner than later!
I have to agree with others who have reviewed this work - I was thrown off by the grammar and usage for the first chapter or two... most of the previous Conan authors wrote pieces which tried to mimic REH in style. Coleman trades, at times, grammar for a feeling of urgent action. I almost put the book down after the first 30 pages or so but kept with it to see where the story led and quickly became a fan of Kern; I bought the other two books in the series within days and read them eagerly.
I have the good fortune to own and to have read (at least twice) all of the Conan novels and collected editions published in the last 34 years (yeah, that's almost scary in and of itself) and I found myself caught up in a different but just as excited way reading Coleman as I ever have been reading Howard, DeCamp, Jordan or Carpenter. Not exactly textbook writing but darn ggod writing nonetheless.

Two thumbs up on this new series... though the second book is better than the first, this is a good start. Hopefully we'll see a lot more books set in the age of Hyboria.

This book is not on par with the epics like Martin and Gemmell... but it's a little more involved than a Forgotten Realms or Dragonlance.

Any fan of Howard, Hyboria, or Conan, will probably enjoy these books.

Loren Coleman's first novel in this Hyborian Age of Conan novels was a solid read.

Kern Wolfeye is a very colorful character, with engaging qualities, both as a warrior and a man. The varied characters and locales wer extremely well written and interesting. The details of surviving sub-zero weather - along with frost giants and sorcerors - was truly engaging to read.

With tons of action/adventure for us long-time Conan fans, with colorful characters and a bleak, cold world, The Hyborian Age of Conan, Kern's Adventures, promises to be an excellent and interesting thrill ride series.

I look forward to volume 2.

To the villagers of Gaud in the Kingdom of Cimmeria, winter feels like it will never end. Food is being rationed and the people go on raids seeking bounty held by others. The animals have not yet appeared so there is no hunting for fresh meat and the Vanir raiders from the north steal what little the clans have.

When Cul becomes chief, he exiles the weakest of Clan Gaudt as well as Kern "Wolf-Eye" who people distrust because of his appearance. Unlike the dark blued eyed clansmen, he has pale skin and amber glowing eyes with white hair. While on the trek to bury the dead clan chief, he sees the men of Vanir raiding villages and he returns to warn his former clansmen and help them in their fight. He decides to follow the raiders and bring back the hostages and his little band travels north and west into the heart of the land of the men of Vanir determined to fight the men who want to destroy the clans.

This takes place at the time Conan is king and magic is a fighting skill used in battle. The leader of the enemy Grimnir is said to be immortal, a son of Ymir who has the strength of many men and is a friend of the gods his people worship. There is plenty of action and gory battle scenes but the most exciting part of this storyline is the protagonist who goes from outcast to hero and leader. Sword and sorcery fans as well as readers who love the Conan stories will have a lot of fun reading this exceptional tale.

Harriet Klausner

Fans of Howard's orginal Conan stories gotta love the idea of these new books, Age of Conan Hyborian Adventures. Howard's Hyborian Age was such an awesome concept. He created such a richly detailed world and it was done with such passion that it was easy to believe that it could have been an age forgotten by history. As great as Conan was,( and Kull before), I always felt there were many, many other tales to be told.
Since the Legend of Kern is a tale of Conan's own homeland, Cimmeria, it's the perfect story to start this new series.
Outlawed by his clan, Kern struggles against superstitious prejudice and clan politics to unite the Cimmerian tribes. The legendary indomitable will of the Cimmerians may prove to be their downfall, as they would just as soon kill each other as they would the invading hordes.
While a lot of different authors have written Conan stories, only a few really seem to get Robert Howard's concept. Loren Coleman proves to be one of those few. The authors for the other trilogies for the Hyborian Adventures series to come, should pay close heed to the great job Coleman has done with Legends of Kern.

Conan's homeland is brought to our imaginations vividly, with grey skies cut by granite mountains, endless icy forests, and a hard-packed ground sprinkled liberally with frozen blood. This is a view into the harsh conditions that forged fantasy's greatest character, Conan the Cimmerian.

First, read all the original Robert E. Howard Conan you can find. It's easy now, just go get the new DelRay books. Then, when you're still thirsty for more, pick up the Legends of Kern.

This book was suprisingly good. I didn't expect much and was blown away with the action described by the author. If your looking for a quick read with a good story arc, then this is your read.

I went into this book with high hopes. While I wouldn't call myself a Conan fan, I have enjoyed past Conan stories, particularly the current Dark Horse Comics series. This book, though, was just horrible. I didn't even have a problem with the fact that Conan wasn't in it. The major issues of the book are that it has virtually no plot to speak of, and the writing style is well below average. First, the book follows Kern Wolf-Eye and his fellow clansmen on their journey to bury their dead chieftain, only to discover that there are more pressing issues - like dealing with a band of murderous warriors from the north. Unfortunately, the reader gains nothing from this story, save for trite characterizations. It's basically a collection of fight scenes with brief interludes to get our band of warriors from scuffle to scuffle. Worst of all is the writing style. I would guess that at least one out of every three sentences is a fragment. The author takes two sentences and, for some unknown reason, splits them up. I can deal with this in dialogue, inner thoughts, or even if the book was written in first person (though it would still bug me), but in this manner it's just sloppy.

I won't waste my time finishing out the trilogy.