Customer Reviews

The Midnight Sun: The Complete Stories of Kane

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Karl Edward Wagner's Kane is one of the most unique characters in fiction. Based on the Biblical Cain, Kane is an immortal who wanders his world (a version of Earth) hatching plots and trying to stave off boredom. Wagner decribes him as six feet tall, 300 pounds of muscle with red hair and beard. His most remarkable feature are his eyes, which are a piercing blue and contain a insane killer's gleam- the mark of Kane. Immensely strong and lightning quick, Kane is master of all weapons and combat types. Kane is also a sorcerer of great power. Wagner's creation is utterly amoral, at times a leader of ravaging armies or bandit bands. Sometimes he is hunted by those trying to seek righteous vengence or rid the world of his evil. The stories span thousands of years and the last ones take place in contemporary San Francisco and London. Dispite the monumental evil which Kane has perpetrated in his millennia long existance, the reader can't help but root for him. That's good writing!

A decade after his death, somebody finally got around to compiling a tribute to the late, great Karl Edward Wagner and his greatest creation, the arch-hero, Kane, in a two-volume set: Gods in Darkness, the Complete Novels of Kane, and this volume, The Midnight Sun, which contains all of the short stories, poems, etc., that have been floating around, mostly out of print, for the last decade or so.

Kane was my first experience with Wagner. Back in the '70's, when I was still a wee lad and most of my friends were reading stuff like The Outsiders, I stumbled on a paperback copy of Death Angel's Shadow, the one with the Frazetta cover, and spent the next few nights hiding in bed; under my covers, flashlight on long after midnight, altering my mind with this combination of Robert E. Howard and Lovecraft.

Now, after reading most of his published work, for my buck, the noveletta's contained here are absolutely Wagner's best writing, period. The shorter Kane stories are nightmarishly bizarre, violent, and punchy, unlike Wagner's complete novels which tend to be a bit bloated and have a tendency to lose momentum (although they're still worth reading, by all means). The novel Bloodstone (contained in 'God's') is particularly inconsistent. That seems natural, since Wagner tended to work in the short story format, both in his own work and as the editor of other authors' works, in his many horror anthologies.

As far as the compilations go, they're okay. There are lots of typo's in the text (nitpicky, I know, but c'mon...), and frankly, my biggest gripe - the Ken Kelly covers just stink. Nobody does Wagner and Kane (or fantasy illustration in general) justice like Frank Frazetta.

Anyway. Say what you will about the likes of Lin Carter, L. Sprague de Camp, Manly Wade Wellman, Fritz Leiber, et al, there are really only two masters of what's come to be known as 'dark fantasy': Robert E. Howard, and Wagner.

This volume is great. Pick it up and enjoy.

This book is a fitting companion to Night Shade Books previous release "Gods in Darkness". The text is crisp and clean and I have only noticed one typographical error. This book brings together for the first time all of Karl Edward Wagner's short stories and poems about his mystic swordsman anti-hero Kane. The stories are presented in chronological order which is a nice change. Readers who own "Night Winds" will note that "Sing A Last Song of Valdese" now preceeds "Lynortis Reprise" and "Raven's Eyrie". My only complaint, and it is minor, is that Night Shade didn't include an overall chronology of the Kane stories in both of it's editions. I first read Wagner's Kane stories when I was 13 years old. Twenty-two years later they still hold their appeal and I'm saddened that there will be no more tales of Kane. Hint, hint, perhaps there is an author out there willing to pick up where Wagner left off. My favourite tale in this entire collection is "Reflections for the Winter of my Soul". This is one of the best werewolf stories I have ever read and I think it would make a great adaptation to the screen or a show like "The Outerlimits" or "Tales From the Darkside".

During his much-too-short life of only 49 years, Karl Edward Wagner was known for a few things. He was known as a horror/dark fantasy author, mainly the stories and novels involving his Kane character. He was also known as the editor of numerous horror anthologies. And he was known to party hard.

I first discovered the writings the Wagner through this book, The Midnight Sun, a collection of his Kane short stories. This particular book was published in the early 2000s by Night Shade Books, a known publisher of fine works of speculative fiction.

Why did I get this book? Well, I had heard of Wagner as an editor, but I had never experienced his actual writing despite being told by numerous sources that he was a quality author. Also, I myself tend toward mixing fantasy and horror in my own writings, and I had heard Wagner was known for this.

But the book was difficult to find when I went searching for it. No book stores had it. The publisher, at least at the time, was no longer printing it. And Wagner's older works, his novels, were particularly difficult to find, and I spent weeks upon weeks scouring used book stores for anything by Wagner. Then one night I was scanning through eBay, and sure enough, this book was available.

I snagged it up, and a few days later the book arrived in the mail.

I've been thankful ever since, and hold this book in high regard.

Wagner's short stories in this collection pinpointed particular times in the life of his Kane character, initially a swordwielding mage of extreme power who is immortal. Eventually the reader figures out this Kane is actually the Cain from the Bible, or at least some version of Abel's brother. The reader also discovers that Kane is quite ruthless and possibly insane. Also, being immortal, Kane exists in many worlds in many different times. Some of the stories in this collection are in another world seemingly far in the past, but a handful of the tales are set in modern times. Throughout these stories, Kane seems to have one goal, vengeance against God, and Kane often goes to extremes in searching out this vengeance.

Kane is rarely likable, though he can at times be somewhat honorable. Often he is ruthless to the point of betrayal, even to savagery.

He doesn't sound like a very nice person, now does he?

That's because he's not.

But his tales are still fantastic. The writing is strong here, mixing darker elements into fantastic worlds in a manner as strong as the writings of Lovecraft but sometimes with the pop culture knowledge of Stephen King. Many of these tales are not for the weak of heart, though a few are downright sentimental.

More than anything, Karl Edward Wagner showed me how horror elements could be mixed with Sword & Sorcery fantasy and still come off strong, quite strong, when done correctly. As a writer, I can only dream to be a hundredth as good as the tales in this collection.

Ok, most of the folks who purchased this book are probably long time fans of Wagner, Howard, and Lovecraft. You know who you are. Lol. If you are reading these stories for the first time, lucky you. So, saying that, I want to comment on "Reflections for the Winter of My Soul." This story alone is worth the purchase price of the book. I came across it in "Death Angels Shadow." Warner 1973. Try and find that paperback at a reasonable price lol. Anyway, Wagner spins an original and outstanding werewolf tale. Evingolis the bard is a bit more then he seems. Like Kane, Evingolis is immortal, deadly, and looking to somehow, someway, stave off the ever creeping tedium which threatens to overwhelm. The atmosphere is tight and tension filled to say the least. A remote hunting lodge the perfect setting to ratchet up the claustrophobic atmosphere. I very much enjoyed the climactic showdown between the two supernatural killers. Awesome. And Kane is by no means the favored participant in the fight. Wagner imbued Kane with an original moral perspective unmatched in the fantasy genre. That's what sets Kane apart. He is the ultimate human, making decisions in the way humans tend to do, selfishly. And I love the character for those flaws. So, read the story. Spend an afternoon reading one of the worlds great werewolf tales and Kane's struggle to survive the awesome beast's ferocious, and cunning onslaught. You will not be dissapointed.

I love Wagner's Kane. This is a must have for anyone interested in "dark fantasy." Curiously, my copy does not contain "In the lair of Yslsl," as Amazon's description states it should. It contains everything listed above but that story. I understand that this story is included in his earlier publication "Dark Crusade." I am curious to know of the reason for the discrepancy so if you own a copy of "Midnight Sun" please leave me a comment regarding this error.

This is great reflection on eternal life....The stories have such unsual approaches to time and Kane. Death Angels Shadow. Far darker than Elric, far more human. Kane is a freak of nature, enduring it all. Kane, with all his power and experience, is stuck in his own present. Whenever he decides to remember, old, old things. Things that could have happened 10 years or uncountable centuries ago. The eternal Now. You can always get what you need, but what do you do when you get what you want? Thought provoking, and highly enjoyable.

IF YOU'VE NEVER READ K. E. WAGNER'S "KANE" STORIES, I ENVY YOU THE THRILL OF HIS DISCOVERY. SIMPLY THE BEST IN THE S&S GENRE, HANDS DOWN. I GRIEVE THAT THERE WILL BE NO MORE OF WAGNER'S KANE. A UNIQUE CHARACTER, TO SAY THE LEAST ! THESE STORIES SATISFY, AND LEAVE YOU THINKING . .

I wish the author hadn't died because the Kane novels are some of the better fantasy I have ever read. No wonder they are hard to find, everyone wants them.

I bought my book about 3 years ago and I still read it over and over again. Out of my little library, this is my favorite book. I was looking at the complete series, and I noticed that one of the stories is called "The Lair of Yslsl" (or something to that extent) and I was wondering if it is the same as "Dark Crusade"