Kane (series)

Kane is a fantasy Anti-Hero or Villain Protagonist appearing in a series of novels and short stories by Karl Edward Wagner.

Not to be confused with Robert E. Howard's Solomon Kane. Or Charles Foster Kane. Or the WWE's Kane. Or the Messiah.

Works from the Kane series:

Novels

• Bloodstone (1975) - in the booty captured in a savage raid, Kane discovers a powerful relic.
• Dark Crusade (1976) - Kane encounters an ancient cult of evil, and its power-hungry leader.
• Darkness Weaves (1978) (editorially altered abridgement published in 1970 as "Darkness Weaves With Many Shades") - the mad sorceress Efrel seeks war and revenge on her erstwhile husband, king Netisten Maril, and enlists Kane as her general in command of an army of mercenaries and monsters.

Story collections

• Death Angel's Shadow (1973)
  • "Reflections for the Winter of My Soul" - Kane meets a shapeshifting enemy who knows him (sequel to Dark Crusade).
  • "Cold Light" - a knight forms a band of crusaders and mercenaries in a quest to find and kill Kane.
  • "Mirage" - Kane meets another immortal and discovers that death is not the answer to his problems.
• Night Winds (1978)
  • "Undertow" - a mistress of Kane seeks to escape from him with the aid of a young barbarian.
  • "Two Suns Setting" - in a stony desert, Kane encounters the last of an elder race.
  • "The Dark Muse" - Kane's poet friend takes inspiration from a journey to chaos.
  • "Raven's Eyrie" - a previous victim of Kane plans to send his soul to hell.
  • "Lynortis Reprise" - the survivors of a bloody siege meet a betrayer.
  • "Sing a Last Song of Valdese" - a mutilated wizard takes his revenge.
• The Book of Kane (1985)
  • "Reflections for the Winter of My Soul", "Sing a Last Song of Valdese", "Raven's Eyrie" and:
  • "Misericorde" - Kane enters the keep of the cruel Vareishei clan.
  • "The Other One" - the gods are sometimes merciful; Kane is less so.

Tropes used in Kane (series) include:

• Action Girl: Teres in Bloodstone.
• Asshole Victim: Ionor in Raven's Eyrie (in an attempt to mitigate a Moral Event Horizon by Kane).
• Anti-Hero: Kane and some of his companions.
• Black and Gray Morality.
• Cain and Abel: Kane is based on Cain from The Bible. Kane was one of the first humans, created by a mad god. Kane was cursed for disobeying the god and killing his brother Abel.
• The Chick: M'Cori in Darkness Weaves.
• Cursed with Awesome: Kane is "cursed" with immortality and the ability to heal all wounds. Fortunately, he rarely angsts. He mostly just kicks butt.
• Eldritch Abomination: The Scylredi in Darkness Weaves, the titular Bloodstone and others.
• Evil Versus Evil: Kane is often pitted against villains even worse than him.
• God Is Dead: According to Kane in At First Just Ghostly: "There was a god. I killed him."
• Kill'Em All: In some stories, almost all named characters die and only Kane survives.
• Knight Templar: Gaethaa from Cold Light.
• Left for Dead: Lages in Darkness Weaves.
• Lost Technology: The Scylredi technology in Darkness Weaves.
• Made of Iron: Kane can take immense amounts of punishment and still fight on.
• Magic From Technology: It is suggested that all magic is like this.
• Precursors: The Scylredi, Krelran and other unnamed "elder races" in Darkness Weaves and Bloodstone.
• Prophecies Are Always Right: Subverted in Darkness Weaves: Roget, Lages and M'Cori each have their fortunes told. Roget's prophecy comes true, but the other two do not.
• Religion of Evil: The cult of Sataki in Dark Crusade.
• Squick: Kane having sex with Efrel in Darkness Weaves.
• Villain Protagonist: Kane.
• The Untwist: In Dark Crusade, the evil god's dark prophet has amassed an army of fanatics. They march to face a vastly superior force of well-armed, well-trained knights and soldiers. The knights are naturally confident that they will easily defeat this rabble. The reader holds his breath in anticipation of some dark magic that will turn the tide for the fanatics, but it never materializes, and the dark prophet's horde gets stomped.