A review by deimosremus
Bloodstone by Karl Edward Wagner
4.0
Bloodstone is my first jump into the works of Karl Edward Wagner, who has been often described as one of the fathers of dark fantasy, if not its foremost figure in the genre's formative years. Wagner’s chief invention is that of the character Kane, an iconic antihero who has equally violent and scholarly aspirations.
Bloodstone is written in a style reminiscent of one of Wagner’s biggest influences— strange fiction authors such as Lovecraft, Derleth, etc. The prose is both purple and pulpy, sometimes rather eloquent and while largely very well written, definitely feels its length. That said, it manages to craft a story that’s compelling and thrilling, and the character at the center of it goes through many intriguing changes as an amoral, double-crossing and selfish protagonist-to-antagonist. It blends heroic fantasy with cosmic horror well and the imagery described within it is definitely memorable. It even has a good attempt at a well-rounded and perhaps subversive (for the time) heroic female character in Teres, which is exceedingly rare in both this genre and the era it was written in.
I’ll likely be visiting more of Wagner’s works in the future after I cull through my reading list.
Bloodstone is written in a style reminiscent of one of Wagner’s biggest influences— strange fiction authors such as Lovecraft, Derleth, etc. The prose is both purple and pulpy, sometimes rather eloquent and while largely very well written, definitely feels its length. That said, it manages to craft a story that’s compelling and thrilling, and the character at the center of it goes through many intriguing changes as an amoral, double-crossing and selfish protagonist-to-antagonist. It blends heroic fantasy with cosmic horror well and the imagery described within it is definitely memorable. It even has a good attempt at a well-rounded and perhaps subversive (for the time) heroic female character in Teres, which is exceedingly rare in both this genre and the era it was written in.
I’ll likely be visiting more of Wagner’s works in the future after I cull through my reading list.