Exorcisms and Ecstasies [Hardcover]

Karl Edward Wagner (Author), Stephen Jones (Editor), J. K. Potter (Illustrator)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Karl Edward Wagner was 49 when he died in 1994. Horror readers treasured him as a superb craftsman in the short story form, as an anthologist for a decade's worth of the DAW Year's Best Horror Stories series, the maestro of Carcosa Press, a champion of the works of Manly Wade Wellman, and the creator of Kane, an immortal warrior-necromancer who swings his sword through stories thick with supernatural dread. This lovingly assembled book, planned before Karl died, serves both as a memorial volume and a last collection of his fiction. Included are a gallery of photos and poignant reminiscences by those who knew him, such as Stephen Jones, Peter Straub, Frances Wellman, Ramsey Campbell, and David J. Schow. There are 19 excellent horror tales, a long Kane tale and 4 shorter ones, 3 tales from his Adrian Becker (dark gunslinger) series, other uncollected pieces, and a bibliography. At the end of Exorcisms and Ecstasies there's a poem about a man who's obsessed by a demonic shadow: it concludes, "The shadow has ever haunted me, / As I walk the earth so alone-- / And when I turned, no face I saw, / For the shadow was my own. / Death Angel's Shadow."

Product Details

• Hardcover: 462 pages
• Publisher: Fedogan & Bremer; First Edition edition (August 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1878252283
• ISBN-13: 978-1878252289
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.6 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #905,647 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The final collection from one of the great unknowns!, July 6, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Exorcisms and Ecstasies (Hardcover)

For those readers who have come across the works of Karl Edward Wagner and enjoyed his work, then this is a must buy! As most of Wagner's books are currently out of print, obtaining this collection is the easiest way for readers to become exposed to Karl's works.

Included in this collection: The very first story Karl ever wrote; Short stories involving the mythical warrior Kane (set in both the past and present!); Adventures of his Western hero Becker; An invaluable bibliography for Wagner collectors; And of course his popular "horror" stories, which brought Wagner some well deserved critical acclaim.

Most of these stories are reprints (although there are a few "Uncollected Stories" appearing for the first time in this book), however Stephen Jones has done a fantastic job of selecting those stories which have most likely not reached the mass market.

Included as well in this collection are a series of photographs and articles from those closest to the author. I found many of these essays to be depressing as they overshadow the author's actual work, in favour of negatively commenting about his personal life. David Drake, his friend and one-time co-publisher/author, for obviously personal reasons, decided to take a particularly vicious stab at Karl as his farewell. Evidently Mr. Drake is not a sentimentalist.

On a final note, this collection does NOT contain some of Karl's more popular work (including Lacunae, More Sinned Against, and Sticks), which can be found in one of his three other collections. It does, however, provide a wide range of enjoyable stories, and for those who mourn the loss of one of the most creative imaginations of our generation, this is a fitting denouement. Farewell Karl!

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wagner's heritage - A Treasure, September 23, 1999

By 

brx "brxx" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Exorcisms and Ecstasies (Hardcover)

Having spent a lot of hours and days reading the adventures of KANE 20 Years ago, this book came to me as pleasant surprise. It does not only include some nearly perfect horror-stories but some odd Kane-pieces and a lot of information about the author and his life. The two recollections (one by Peter Straub) about the man himself show us that Wagner lived his stories. So he belongs there: With Howard, Poe and Lovecraft. I hope this never gets out of print.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Buy It Soon Or Miss It, January 2, 2000

By 

[e-mail] (West Virginia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Exorcisms and Ecstasies (Hardcover)

This book was printed in a hardcover trade edition of only 2000 copies (which is the version being sold here at Amazon) and a limited edition of 100 signed copies. The book is excellent (see the other reviews for details), so do not delay if you are interested in buying a copy. The editorial review for this book should state that this is a very limited offering.