tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post1570537691231796260..comments2024-03-18T20:22:06.331-04:00Comments on GROGNARDIA: Pulp Fantasy Library: Red ShadowsJames Maliszewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-66351057218950839762010-05-24T13:15:42.642-04:002010-05-24T13:15:42.642-04:00Did Kane ever kill anyone that, as modern ethics g...<i>Did Kane ever kill anyone that, as modern ethics go, was innocent?</i><br /><br>I don't believe so, but my point was more that I think most of us would feel, even in the event of slaying a horrible person, that there's something <i>unhinged</i> about Kane's zeal for "justice." He's a lot like the proverbial Lawful Good paladins who engage in all sorts of unpleasant behaviors against evil in order to achieve their goals. It edges toward ends justifying the means and that makes me uncomfortable.James Maliszewskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-8545518147829108992010-05-21T00:59:36.107-04:002010-05-21T00:59:36.107-04:00Did Kane ever kill anyone that, as modern ethics g...Did Kane ever kill anyone that, as modern ethics go, was innocent? I haven't read enough Kane stories to know for sure, but I'm guessing not from what all of you have said. It just seems like, given that normal, not-crazy-prodigal-son Puritans hung women and crushed men to death with stones, it's not unlikely Kane's extremism could go too far. We at once want to like him because he's killing horrible people... yet there's something frightening and suggestive that it wouldn't take much to end up on the wrong side of his sword. To me, that's what makes the character more interesting than Conan (who I could never get into).Chris Lowrancehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14261681408965717414noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-44455376811251140282010-05-20T12:41:33.635-04:002010-05-20T12:41:33.635-04:00Interesting idea, Jeff. However, I don't see ...Interesting idea, Jeff. However, I don't see why we should have to <i>secretly</i> agree with Kane's outcomes. After all, any human foes he kills are rapists, murderers and pirates, far from law and order. Supernatural foes are direct dangers to mankind. Thus, I agree with Kane's outcomes quite openly!Taranaichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02176999342965850175noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-84453134091452956762010-05-20T11:38:48.077-04:002010-05-20T11:38:48.077-04:00After reading this I made a very strange connectio...After reading this I made a very strange connection...remote maybe, and oddly congruent, but a connection nonetheless.<br /><br />Solomon Kane is to lawful society as the Hulk is to the chaotic individual. They're both driven by something that neither can completely put a finger on, they're both bloody, and often, in the end, we secretly agree with the outcome.<br /><br />Each is a paragon of their respective natures. One chaos and the other pure law. And when I say "law"...I'm not speaking of the law of man, but of, as they say, a "higher court".mntnjeffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09376768960933570936noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-26229690639425959602010-05-19T06:09:21.257-04:002010-05-19T06:09:21.257-04:00I disagree with your separation of justice from re...I disagree with your separation of justice from revenge. Maybe because like Howard I'm partly Scots-Irish/Ulster, but they seem entirely connected to me. :)Simonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01173759805310975320noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-37621034083315136882010-05-18T09:38:49.078-04:002010-05-18T09:38:49.078-04:00I agree that the Marvel comics version from the &#...I agree that the Marvel comics version from the '80s was surprisingly good and true to the original material. The Kane stories were the first REH stories I ever read and to this day they are still some of my favorites.<br /><br />Do any Kane fans here have any experience with the Savage Worlds-based Solomon Kane RPG? I've wondered how well it matches the feel of the original stories, but not enough to warrant a $50 purchase sight unseen.Aaron W. Thornehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09265357352225836802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-67310164166398623902010-05-17T19:08:57.508-04:002010-05-17T19:08:57.508-04:00And by "that damn film" I meant Bassett&...And by "that damn film" I meant Bassett's <i>Solomon Kane</i>, not <i>Death Wish</i>.Taranaichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02176999342965850175noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-24006729139817019832010-05-17T19:08:05.566-04:002010-05-17T19:08:05.566-04:00While I agree that "Red Shadows" isn'...While I agree that "Red Shadows" isn't the best REH story, or the best Solomon Kane story, considering just how many tales REH wrote it's pretty near to the top. The phrasing "it isn't the best" gives the implication that it's mediocre in comparison to other tales, which is surely not the case. Still, I'm sure this wasn't your intention, as you point out the story's many highlights.<br /><br />Certainly it's good enough for Rusty Burke to put the story in the first "Best of Robert E. Howard" volume, a decision I agree with wholeheartedly.<br /><br />Gotta agree on the Paul Kersey comparison not being apt: for one thing, Kersey was reacting to something that happened to him personally. His vigilante quest was a personal act of revenge against those who hurt him: Kane's quest is less straightforward. (Another reason that damn film ticks me off).Taranaichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02176999342965850175noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-71347023737409391822010-05-17T18:05:58.646-04:002010-05-17T18:05:58.646-04:00Huh. Reading this (and the Wiki article on Kane) h...Huh. Reading this (and the Wiki article on Kane) has inspired me to look for one of the collections.Gridlorehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07557288070023480388noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-6525231555506531922010-05-17T15:11:19.832-04:002010-05-17T15:11:19.832-04:00Conan is the more complicated character, in that h...Conan is the more <i>complicated</i> character, in that he has an involved history and and evolves over time, but his motives are fairly straight-forward. Kane is the more <i>complex</i> character, in that his motives remain ultimately obscure to himself and the reader, inviting you to try and work them out. Personally, I view Kane as the anti-Kurtz (from <i>Heart of darkness</i>).Matthew Slepinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04056247825064943944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-90908070940955651542010-05-17T14:57:09.314-04:002010-05-17T14:57:09.314-04:00Marvel comics did a great Kane miniseries in the l...Marvel comics did a great Kane miniseries in the late 80's that included the Le Loup story, and also the chase to Africa. The stuff in Africa was just great, zombies, Kane going hand to hand with a giant tribesman who killed gorillas with his bare hands. Great stuff. Still got those issues somewhere.<br /><br />in the 80's and 90's I worked a So Cal Ren Faire that had these great dudes playing Puritans. One of their biggest schticks was playing up Hypocrisy. Telling us carousing Morris Dancers (actually often storming our stage shows) that we were wicked, then they start drinking and carousing themselves under our bad influence. It was awesome. <br /><br />I always thought it would have been great for them to have had a big buff, grim looking dude playing Kane. Unswayed by lust and drink, he'd have come on stage and kicked our asses with the might of the Lord. Aw, to dream.Kevin Machttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14122665488285424578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-73155551566318273502010-05-17T12:32:04.095-04:002010-05-17T12:32:04.095-04:00I suspect that most of us have, at one time or ano...<i>I suspect that most of us have, at one time or another, hoped that Justice might be dealt to some evildoer with extreme prejudice and Kane speaks to that hope. </i><br /><br />That has its echoes in modern movies, from the "vengeance" flicks of the 70s to last year's "Taken." As for the stories themselves, I only discovered them in recent years and quite enjoy them.Anthonyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01254215329246851683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-84545241399859375762010-05-17T11:08:04.524-04:002010-05-17T11:08:04.524-04:00While I love Conan, IMO Kane is a far more intrigu...While I love Conan, IMO Kane is a far more intriguing character than the barbarian. There are some depths to the character it would have been interesting for Howard to explore (although at this point in his career I don't think he was skilled enough to explore them). Kane's last tale, Wings in the Night, is IMO one of the best Howard stories and one of the best pure "pulp" stories ever written.Badmikehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06199830751033032585noreply@blogger.com