Karl Edward Wagner - Gods in Darkness

[andydecker]

Karl Edward Wagner - Gods in Darkness The complete novels of Kane (Night Shade Books, 2002, 520 p. hc)

Cover by Ken Kelly

Content:

Gods in Darkness (map)by Snow
Bloodstone (1975)
Dark Crusade (1976)
Darkness Weaves (1978) - variant of Darkness Weaves with Many Shades ... 1970

A collection of the three Kane novels.

Here are some earlier paperback editions:

Darkness Weaves (Warner Books, 1978, 288 p.)

Cover by Frank Frazetta

KANE The Mystic Swordsman commands the fleet of an island empress - a ravaged ruler bent on bitter revenge.

Once Efrel was the beautiful consort of a king. Now she is a hideous creature who lives only for revenge.

She has allies to aid her, but only Kane, the Mystic Swordsman, can rally her forces for battle. Only he can deliver the vengeance she has devised in her knowledge of black magic and in her power to unleash the demons of the Deep.

Bloodstone (Baen, this edition 1991, 308 p.)

Cover by Frank Frazetta

In the dark swamp slumbers a secret relic of the days when creatures from the stars ruled Earth, waiting for the right man to wake it. Kane, the mystic warrior, is that man. In the booty captured in a savage raid, Kane discovers a ring, a bloodstone, which is the key to the power that lies buried, inactive, but not dead, within the swamp. Now Kane, whose bloody sword has slashed and killed for the glory of others, can rule them all ...


Darkness Weaves was KEWs first novel, originally published by Powell in 1970, a pornography publisher that was trying to break into SF. According to David Drake, the publisher cut 20000 of the 70000 words "by an apparently random excision of words, with amazing misspellings and additional editorial meddling that beggars comprehension". Powell paid 400 of the contracted 500 USD before the company went bankrupt. But on the strength of that sale KEW could sell a collection of novellas and the unwritten Bloodstone to Paperback Library. But it wasn't published as in the meantime the publisher dropped its SF line. KEW didn't see a dime of the contract.