The Savage Tales of Solomon Kane - Robert E Howard

 

As I've said, I was a fan of REH's Conan since Marvel set him in their comics, and with the success of that run, Marvel extended their REH works to include this Puritan hero, Solomon Kane. Despite his lack of joie de vivre and lusty exuberance that Conan exhibited, Kane's somber outlook, all black attire and somewhat unstable fixation with righting wrongs (to the point of obsession and, while he denied it, a thrill of fighting'n'killing), all registered as a bit more human than the more famous barbarian.

This compilation of various tales and a few fragments of stories, varies in quality. I do not know the chronology of Howard's writings, but some of these are not nearly as fleshed out as some of his other work. There are also unfortunate bigotries of the time which must be overlooked if one is to enjoy the tales, even if some are a bit cringe-worthy. 

Despite these issues, this book is still quite enjoyable, as Kane literally travels the world on the trail of evil-doers, often encountering "savages" in the jungles of Africa along with many other exotic locales. He overcomes outlandish odds, but in a fairly (comparatively) realistic way and while he may be caught up in blood lust himself, he does always try to avenge those who are wronged by evil.

I quite enjoy these tales as ways of escaping the insane "real" world for a while, but, again, the prejudices of the time may turn off some folks.