Rating: 
Summary: A strange sort of Puritan fanatic....
Review: "Naught but a wanderer, a landless man, but a friend to all in need."It is a mistake to write off the character of Solomon Kane as simply being a Puritan fanatic. It is inaccurate and an injustice. It is a strange sort of fanatic that hates the inquisition and the witch hunters, as much as, he does necromancers and murderers. Kane is in the ancient British and Irish tradition of a man who goes forth to wander the world after he receives the call- guided solely by his deep inner trust in his God. That is why he can walk the dark and wild places of the earth unscathed. That is why monsters and devils hold no terror for him. He simply trusts in the Lord to guide him to where he can do the most good. Kane is a Puritan in the original sense of the word, a single individual that has no tolerance for corruption whether it exists in the World- or the Church. He doesn't preach, for he doesn't need to- his actions, and his sword, speak for him. He needs no priest to mediate between himself and his Creator. Kane has gone beyond faith, for his is the sure and implacable knowledge that God exists. This is what makes him such a dangerous foe- you can't scare him and you can't make a deal with him. He obeys only the inner voice that guides him. I can see why the weak and corrupt would paint such a man as a fanatic. Solomon Kane was Howard's first creation. In my opinion, he was also his best. There is an element present here that is missing from the later characters- something higher.
Rating:
Summary: A knight-errant in the garb of a fanatic
Review: "For man's only weapon is courage that flinches not from the gates of Hell itself, and against such not even the legions of Hell can stand." Kane, a knight-errant born as a Puritan, has only one vanity - pride that no one has ever questioned his courage. "A hunger in his soul drove him on and on, an urge to right all wrongs, protect all weaker things, avenge all crimes against right and justice." My thanks to the publishers, who have assembled EVERYTHING, including unpublished material (not completed upon Howard's death) fleshed out by Ramsey Campbell, who did a good job. Campbell's introduction spells out, for each such story, who wrote which bits. "Skulls in the Stars" - On the road to Torkertown, Kane is warned off the shortest route across the moors; a fiend has slain every traveler to pass that way for the last year. Kane takes this as a sign that another task has come his way. "The Right Hand of Doom" - The necromancer may have deserved death, but Kane had only contempt for his betrayer, the magician's only 'friend' who sold him to the law. Not a good idea to cross a magician who has courage and nothing left to lose, waiting in the condemned cell at Torkertown. "Red Shadows" - After comforting a dying rape victim, Kane commits himself to tracking down Le Loup and his men. The trail leads from France to Africa, ending with Kane's first meeting and alliance with N'Longa (in case you wondered how they became blood brothers). Don't be put off by N'Longa's poor command of English; when he puts aside his pride in his knowledge of the alien tongue and drops into river dialect, that should clear up any misconceptions about Howard's treatment of his character. "Rattle of Bones" - Kane, passing through the Black Forest, stays the night at the Cleft Skull Tavern (English translation), meeting Gaston, a flamboyant fellow traveler who seems familiar. "The Castle of the Devil" (Campbell collaboration) - John Silent, an English mercenary moving on to his next job, meets with Kane in the Black Forest, to learn that Kane cut down a boy from the local Baron's gibbet. As his castle - the Castle of the Devil - is nearby, Kane has a feeling that he will be called upon to ease another evil man of his life... "Death's Black Riders" - A fragment, concerning a mysterious apparition encountered by Kane in his travels. "The Moon of Skulls" - Sir John Taferal, upon his death in a duel with Kane, confessed that he had sold his young cousin Marylin to a Barbary rover, faking her death, in an attempt to become the heir of Lord Hildred Taferal. Kane, having rid the world of one Taferal, took on the job of restoring another, tracing her to Negari, ancient city of evil repute, lost colony of Atlantis. "The One Black Stain: Sir Thomas Doughty, executed at St. Julian's Bay, 1578" - Poem. Solomon Kane, alone of all Francis Drake's men, has the courage to say, "Worthy of death he well may be, but the court ye held was a mockery..." "Blades of the Brotherhood" - The Fishhawk and his fellow pirates set upon a ship in the Caribbean carrying the daughter of one of Kane's old friends. The trail has led him to an English manor, whose master respects no one and nothing, not even the victor in his latest duel, Jack Hollinster, who stopped at first blood only at a magistrate's orders. "The Hills of the Dead" - N'Longa's initial gift to Kane - the cat-headed staff - ever afterwards travels with him. "Hawk of Basti" (Campbell collaboration) - Jeremy Hawk, an old acquaintance from Kane's seafaring days with Grenville, survived shipwreck on the African coast only to stumble across the unknown civilization of Basti. Having set himself up as a god-king, he has been overthrown, and seeks a return to power. "The Return of Sir Richard Grenville" - Poem. Upon being wakened in the middle of a jungle night by a ghostly warning, Kane isn't one to let wonder get in the way of survival. "Wings in the Night" - Coming upon the ruins of an African village, Kane learns the truth behind the ancient legends of harpies. He's actually at a serious disadvantage against his winged enemies here. "The Footfalls Within" - As part of this story, we learn much more about the cat-headed staff and its history, courtesy of one of a party of slavers who capture Kane. That was their first mistake - the second was to open up a sealed tomb deep in the wilderness. (No chance to make a third mistake after that.) "The Children of Asshur" (Campbell collaboration) - Kane stumbles across a lost civilization (Assyrian, this time). Compare with Howard's "The Voice of El-Lil" if the culture interests you. "Solomon Kane's Homecoming" - Short poem, relating Kane's return to his hometown after many years' absence.
Rating:
Summary: Van Helsing IS Solomon Kane...
Review: ...or so he certainly _seems_ to be, if you're at all familiar with, arguably, Robert E. Howard's most fascinating and complex of characters. Very hard to find volumes of Howard's work dedicated solely to Solomon Kane but well worth the find, in my opinion.
Several years back, Marvel Comics produced a fine limited series on the character, called The Sword Of Solomon Kane. Still, it will be nice to see Van Helsing, as I've never known of any work as such to feature the pugnacious Puritan. And if Van Helsing _is_ in fact a "steal" on Kane, let's look at it as flattering and be mindful also of the steals concerning Dracula, Frankenstein and the WolfMan. Simply sit back and enjoy the show...if only for the hypnotic Kate Beckinsale, of course.
Rating: 
Summary: Solomon Kane
Review: Although these stories may not be as polished as Howard's later works, I find them fascinating because not only do they clearly indicate the direction which Howard's writing will take, but the hero is so unlike any others that Howard created. I read the Kane stories long after I was familiar with Howard's other stories, and was rather surprised by the type of character that he had created in Kane. As for accusations that Howard was a rascist, if one takes into account that Howard considered Africans as barbarians and that he placed barbarians on a rather high pedestal (Conan, Kull, etc...), and if one also takes into account the direction which his Solomon Kane stories takes, then one would have to be quite the ignorant, knee-jerk liberal to think that.
Rating:
Summary: The Long Awaited Return of Kane
Review: As a R.E.H. fan, particularly of the Conan tales, long have I waited to find these stories collected about Solomon Kane. While a prior hope was dusty used bookstores, this is a very affordable edition that is certainly much nicer. Kane always was an underrated hero of Howard's. The Grim Puritan, the Avenging Vessel of God's Wrath, the strongest man in England. A must for any R.E.H. fan, and a nice change of pace from the barbarian world of Kull and Conan, yet tinged with the elements that make those guys great.
Rating:
Summary: The most complete and accurate collection ever
Review: Despite its humble mass market paperback appearance, this is the most complete and accurate collection of Howard's Solomon Kane stories ever published. The deluxe Donald Grant editions ("Red Shadows") and Centaur Press paperbacks published in the 70s were censored to remove possibly offensive racial descriptions. These are excellent stories. Robert E. Howard wrote the novelette "Red Shadows" at the age of 21! Pretty impressive. "Wings in the Night" is one of Howard's very best stories, a sustained, masterful combination of horror and adventure. Particularly interesting for those who, all too easily, call Howard a racist is Kane's strange friendship with the African shaman N'Longa. Baen Books should be heartily congratulated for reprinting these memorable, classic stories of weird adventure, most of which first appeared in the pages of that legendary pulp magazine "Weird Tales" .
Rating:
Summary: solemn kane
Review: howard's descriptions of the puritan with a sword and a pistol, makes Solomon Kane his most interesting creation. the concept in these stories are great too, and varying. some include magic, there are pirats and vampires. as always howard is unmatched in his combat descriptions. true greatness. one sad thing, though: the "completion" of some stories by Ramsey Campbell. awful. the guy hasn't got a clue. Solomon Kane sudenly tolerates corruption, one story has an incredibly stupid ending. Campbell was definitely the wrong choice. make up for it, get someone else.
Rating:
Summary: The Real Van Helsing
Review: I think the new and upcoming Val Helsing movie is really Solomon Kane indisguise. That's not a bad thing, just read this book then go see the movie and tell me you don't agree. Robert E. Howard is fabulous and created some of the greatest heroic pulp fiction ever.
Rating:
Summary: The Real Van Helsing
Review: I think the new and upcoming Val Helsing movie is really Solomon Kane indisguise. That's not a bad thing, just read this book then go see the movie and tell me you don't agree. Robert E. Howard is fabulous and created some of the greatest heroic pulp fiction ever.
Rating:
Summary: Great stories from a master of adventure
Review: I wholeheartedly agree with solkane@aol's review. Kane is an interesting hero in the typical REH mold. The varied settings of these stories drive home the "stranger in a strange land" aspects and REH's fast-paced style makes for enjoyable reading. I can devour a slew of REH stories like these in one sitting; H.P. Lovecraft's works tend to require more breaks. If you enjoy either author, this book is a fine addition to the genre
| 
