tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post8310431096082343012..comments2024-03-28T01:53:34.870-04:00Comments on GROGNARDIA: Pulp Fantasy Library: The Shadow KingdomJames Maliszewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-71278063994187314952010-06-21T20:47:09.803-04:002010-06-21T20:47:09.803-04:00James, I really appreciate these pulp fantasy libr...James, I really appreciate these pulp fantasy library segments. They have introduced so many authors that I've never read before, its because of these that I'm reading A. Merritt's Moon Pool (well this and the people of the pit module I bought on your recommendation). The only difficulty is finding these story collections (yes I know I know the internet...I just like finding things in person is all). Anyway i wanted to say thanks for these.<br /> Now on to Kull, as a youth I'm ashamed to admit that I would only read Conan stories; I think I was only interested in the Character as opposed to the authors work (I even absorbed many of the tales written by other writers), Looking back I can only kick myself for being so narrow minded. I recently read the Shadow Kingdom and thought just wow...I found it somehow more dark and desperate then the Conan stories; I didn't get the same sense of invulnerability that Conan seems to evoke. Kull came across as less perfect a warrior (I felt the same when I read the fist Solomon Kane story). I also found the setting just more primitive and primordial it conjured images of the fire kingdom from the old Bakshi film "Fire and Ice". Anyway great review of the Shadow Kingdom, keep up the great work.Regamerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14568470239734853393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-92025619669536090952010-06-21T16:55:26.297-04:002010-06-21T16:55:26.297-04:00I love that passage too, Skald. It echoes another...I love that passage too, Skald. It echoes another passage from "The Black Stone": "Man was not always master of the earth - and is he now?"Taranaichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02176999342965850175noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-8173081042944643392010-06-21T15:24:30.345-04:002010-06-21T15:24:30.345-04:00I think its also important to mention that the sto...<i>I think its also important to mention that the story is the first "aliens amoung us" story that I can think of in modern literature.</i><br /><br />That sense of paranoia is a central element of the story. Even a filthy Pict is better than a (insert Samuel L. Jackson style pejorative) snake.<br /><br />I also love the sense that humanity's mastery of the planet is so recently attained and so tenuous. My favorite passage in the story is:<br /><br /><i>"They are gone," said Brule, as if scanning his secret mind; "the bird-women, the harpies, the bat-men, the flying fiends, the wolf-people, the demons, the goblins—all save such as this being that lies at our feet, and a few of the wolf-men. Long and terrible was the war, lasting through the bloody centuries, since first the first men, risen from the mire of apedom, turned upon those who then ruled the world</i>Scallop Skulled Skaldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09614954870582728737noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-9365934315090718662010-06-21T15:08:04.214-04:002010-06-21T15:08:04.214-04:00Rusty Burke saw fit to include "The Shadow Ki...Rusty Burke saw fit to include "The Shadow Kingdom" in <i>The Best of Robert E. Howard</i>, so you clearly aren't alone in considering it one of the best Howard tales.<br /><br />That said, there are other differences to consider between Kull and Conan. One of the most interesting is that Kull is completely uninterested in women: a far cry from the usual perspective of all Howard's heroes being interested in sex (probably the single most infuriating thing about that damn film <i>Kull the Conqueror</i>), and it's all the more refreshing for it.<br /><br />That said, some people use this to suggest that Kull might be gay (what with his relationship with Brule perhaps being "more than just friends") but this neglects the possibility that Kull just isn't interested in sex in general.<br /><br />Personally, I like Kull and Conan about equally, and view both as human/force-of-nature as each other: both have elements that make them mythic, and also very human failings and quirks.Taranaichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02176999342965850175noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-39113935148863461212010-06-21T13:26:58.279-04:002010-06-21T13:26:58.279-04:00I think its also important to mention that the sto...I think its also important to mention that the story is the first "aliens amoung us" story that I can think of in modern literature.<br /><br />That idea gets used in tons of science fiction later on.Nickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15271590915482399360noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-54256493399686633642010-06-21T11:01:33.463-04:002010-06-21T11:01:33.463-04:00This is a superb story and has a dash of everythin...This is a superb story and has a dash of everything in it. <br /><br />I prefer Kull to Conan as the former comes across as human and the latter as a force of nature. Neither is dumb (as portrayed in their respective flims [sic]) but Kull does seem a bit more reserved and thinks things out. Maybe this is the reality of getting older. If you dive into everything, sometimes it is going to hurt. Bad.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-59816278087676198782010-06-21T10:37:54.957-04:002010-06-21T10:37:54.957-04:00I've just finished reading the collected stori...I've just finished reading the collected stories in the "Kull, exile of Atlantis" book and liked them quite a bit. You're right, "The Shadow Kingdom" is a great tale and full of inspiration for games.Anthonyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01254215329246851683noreply@blogger.com