Customer Reviews

Bloodstone

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When a strange bloodstone ring is accidentally unearthed from where it has lain for countless centuries, it marks the reawakening of an evil of elder Earth. And when that ring falls into the hands of the mystic warrior Kane, it marks a dark day for all of mankind. Kane, with his vast experience, is playing a game, a game that only he sees the end of, and even he might just have miscalculated.

Karl Edward Wagner (1945-94) was an American author of some of the finest horror and fantasy literature to have been written, and one of his most interesting creations was the man Kane, an undying warrior and scholar. Overall, I found this book to be a positively gripping read. I found the setting to be quite interesting, and the characters to be absolutely fascinating. If you like such fantasy literature as Robert E. Howard's Conan, then you will love this book. I know I did. I highly recommend this book.

Bloodstones fills every need that a sword and sorcery reader has. The character,Kane, is truely the hero or un-hero, your choice, that we all seek to follow. Sporting the triple "B's", Big, Brutal, and Brilliant he shows the reader survival and success techniques that apply even in today's market arena. I am constantly amazed at the intricate flow of intrigue Wagner created. I have read the book three times and then lost my copy. I am now on my own quest for the "bloodstone" and the power of it's story.

I came across this book at a used bookstore for $1 but I would gladly pay more for other Kane stories! Wagner created a dark and rather creepy setting for this novel that combines science fiction and sword and sorcery with even a bit of horror mixed with a dry humor. The characters are wonderfully drawn, from the enigmatic Kane to the tough Teres and the ambitious Dribeck and haughty Gerwein. Teres is probably the best female heroine I have come across in fantasy, she could kick Conan's butt easily. Kane is a very dark anti-hero, you're never quite sure WHAT his plans and ambitions are. This is a book I have read again and again and easily one of my favorites. Original, not predictable and suspenseful. Don't read after dark, especially the chapters that take place in the ruined city of Arellarti.

1) I label this is dark fantasy. The main character is not a good guy and thus does things that most "protaganists" won't do.

2) I got hooked on Kane from the Wagner book Dark Crusade. Kane as a character does carry the entire story because he is so good at everything...and believably so.

3) I like how this book reveals a little about Kane whereas Dark Crusade didn't say much of anything. Kane's mystery still stands even after this read making you want more in order to truely understand who he is and where he comes from.

Fun read. Wagner is great with action scenes and creates a wonderfully likeable "bad guy" type character here.

Wagner's stories of Kane, his infamous anti-hero, have reached legend status within the fantasy and horror literature communities and their being out of print can make it difficult to even get a glimpse of one of modern fantasy's epic anti-heroes.

Perhaps I let that hype raise expectations too much, as I found this work to be fairly uninspired. Kane, as an anti-hero, seems to lack much that might draw a reader to root for the bad guy. He lacks the sort of dark humor that might make his evil exploits truly entertaining and, while the characters in the book call him a genius, the reader is likely to understand the elements of his plots for conquest far sooner than the characters themselves. In that sense, there's not much here that kept my attention.

Based on the ratings, it's apparent that others disagree greatly with my assessment and, should you decide to delve into the world of Kane, I hope that you get greater enjoyment out of it than I.

Karl Edward Wagner's character Kane is a great blending of Moorcock's tragic hero Elric, with his sorcerous powers, and Robert E. Howard's Conan, with his enormous physical strenght and skilled swordsmanship... Kane is a great hero, with some of the best sci-fi stories I've ever read- and I've read just about all of 'em... Give Kane a try- especially Bloodstone, Night Winds and Death Angel's Shadow...

I don't like swords & sorcery, but I read the Kane stories over and over again. Why? Imagine what Conan would be like if he had brains, class, and a believable reason for being so tough. These are rip-roaring adventure stories that still manage to make you think. And Kane is one of the most colorful and fascinating characters you'll ever read about. Piecing together his history from a hint in one story and a clue in another novel is an adventure in itself. And Wagner is a writer of such gifts that he can make you like and empathize with a character who is as much villain as hero. It's a shame these books are not easy to find, but trust me, they're worth the effort.

Kane is the actual anti-hero cold blooded killer. Great books wish Wagner was still alive. I get sick of the he's an assassin blah blah (Night Angel series) you think you're reading about an actual assasin & turns out he's a moral hero. Well not Kane he helps when it furthers his own ends.All for one & all for Kane.Love the books all of them. George RR Martin took a page from Wagner there are no good guys or bad just people living the best they can & if you have to be evil to win you just win being evil

I've read this book 5 plus times over the years. I especially enjoyed the Arellarti citizens [the giant frog creatures] and the stuff your imagination conjures up in the swamp sections. Of couse, the great visual images you get are in part due to awesome art by Frazetta and possibly Boris. I would like to see any Frazetta Or Boris art of Kane.

I first had the pleasure of reading this book when I was 14 years old. It left such an impact on my imagination, here I am 13 years later trying to find it. It's no surprise that it is very difficult to find this book. One of the best books I have ever read