Robert Ervin Howard (1906-1936) was an American master of the pulps, a writer whose fierce imagination helped forge the sword-and-sorcery tradition and gave the literary world figures who feel older than their ink - Conan the Barbarian chief among them. But before the Cimmerian strode onto the stage, Howard introduced one of his most severe creations in Solomon Kane: an ascetic Puritan wanderer compelled by a fury carved into his bones by the Almighty. In these five early tales, Kane hunts a murderer across continents, grapples the bloodthirsty ghost of a murdered lunatic, crosses paths with treachery in a shuttered inn, descends into a forgotten kingdom of skulls, and stands against the restless dead in a land scorched by ancient sorcery. Together they reveal the forging of Howard's avenging pilgrim - a man who believes himself God's scourge, armed with a blade, a vow, and a shadow that lengthens with every mile.
Review :
"In his best work, Howard's writing seems so highly charged with energy that it nearly gives off sparks." -Stephen King
"Solomon Kane is a lean, tough 16th century Puritan adventurer who swings a mean rapier. With more couth than Conan, he fights off everything from girls to gorillas. Great stuff for armchair adventurers." -Jim Roebuck, Edmonton Journal
"Before Stephen King, there was Robert E. Howard, the greatest pulp-fiction writer in the whole wide world." -Edith Sorenson, The Arizona Daily Star
"The fiction of Robert E. Howard is crude, violent, and implausible. I can't get enough of the stuff . . . My personal favorite is Solomon Kane, a 17th century Puritan swordsman who believes it is God's will for him to seek out evil people and carve them into steaks." -Hiawatha Bray, Lexington Herald-Leader
"'The Hills of the Dead' is not recommended for the weak-hearted." -Danny Walker, The Jackson Sun
"But there's also no doubt Howard was a genius at conjuring up fantastic worlds populated by muscular evildoers who, faced with Kane's swinging sword, eventually are reduced to ground round." -Fort Worth Star-Telegram
"For stark, living fear . . . what other writer is even in the running with Robert E. Howard?" -H.P. Lovecraft
"Kane is not a 'sympathetic' figure by today's literary standards; indeed, his name clearly describes his purpose (Solomon-judge over men; Kane-Cain-a slayer of his fellows) and he is a grim, humorless but nonetheless fascinating character. If we cannot 'identify' with him, we can still understand his purpose . . . These are adventures unlike any you've ever read, told in a style that sweeps up the reader and carries him along, breathless, to the final (often bloody) lines." -George W. Earley, Hartford Courant
