Reviews

The Savage Tales of Solomon Kane by Salvador Sanz, Robert E. Howard, Elvio E. Gandolfo, Gary Gianni, H.P. Lovecraft

vinnsent's review against another edition

4.0

Если переиначить одну поговорку, то сборник рассказов о похождениях пуританина Соломона Кейна можно описать как "Началось за упокой, а закончилось за здравие". Пара маленьких отрывистых и не всегда увлекательных рассказов, которыми начинается сборник перетекают в захватывающие приключения, в которых не легкая судьба искателя приключений и справедливости забрасывает Соломона Кейна в самые не обычные ситуации и уголки мира. Начинаясь в туманных уголках средневековой Англии цепь связанных историй забрасывают Соломона через океан, обратно, снова в море и затем на чуждий, полный темных и не известных человеку тайн континент.
Расстраивают только пара рассказов, которые были не окончены автором ввиду каких-то причин. И если первые обрывки не очень сильно расстраивают, то заканчивающийся на самом интересном месте один из кульминационных рассказов огорчает не на шутку ибо он обещал быть по настоящему одним из интереснейших в сборнике.
Заключение: отличный сборник с очень харизматичным персонажем. Любителям приключений, истории и мистики рекомендую. Главное перетерпеть начало.
P.S. А какой бы мог получиться фильм на самом деле..
P.P.S. И надо просто закрыть глаза на скрытый любовь автора к арийской рассе.

netondia's review against another edition

3.0

If you're a fan of fantasy or weird fiction, Solomon Kane has plenty of necromancers, evil spirits, and elder ones to keep you interested. Unfortunately for me, all of this cool stuff is hidden behind the stories' pulp origins. That is to say, I think Solomon Kane would have been better as a fleshed out novel rather than a collection of short stories. I just find everything moves too fast and plots a bit too simple for me to really latch on to as an adult reader. There's nothing wrong with fun swashbuckling adventures, it's just not really my thing.

murdrean's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

soniapage's review against another edition

4.0

Well, "savage tales" is right. I tried this book because I have enjoyed Haggard's books. These are adventure stories in the extreme - with the emphasis on fighting. Probably best enjoyed by boys. In fact, I can just picture these being read around the boy scout campfire, especially the scary ones about ghosts.

zare_i's review against another edition

5.0

Solomon Kane - Puritan adventurer, swordsman with no match and man ready to fight to the very end against injustice and evil-doers wherever they many be. In my opinion one of the greatest book-characters ever.[return][return]This great collection follows Kane while he hunts down the pirates and murderers, follows a strange call of the deep African jungle - and by doing that goes from one adventure into another, freeing slaves, fighting cannibals, discovering lost cities of old civilizations and all the time coming into contact and fighting ghastly creatures from eons passed.[return][return]Here are also [unfortunately] unfinished fragments of several tales that just make reader wish for more :)[return][return]Great collection, great stories.[return][return]Highly recommended.

dantastic's review against another edition

3.0

Since I've read half of this before as Skull in the Stars, I'll only be reviewing the complete stories I've yet to read, no fragments.

Hills of the Dead:
Solomon Kane and N'Longa go up against a group of vampires in some remote hills. Carnage ensues.

It's been a couple years since I read one of the Solomon Kane stories. Howard's Puritan adventurer is quite a bit different from Conan but still quite good. The staff N'Longa give Kane to use proves to be invaluable and I loved the way the vampires were dealt with in the end. While I enjoyed this tale of vampires in Africa quite a bit, the racism of the time is quite apparent.

Wings in the Night:
Solomon Kane runs afoul of a cannibal and gets drawn into a situation involving harpies.

As with the previous story, the harpies are quite gruesome and Kane dispatches them ruthlessly. It's almost more horror than fantasy.

The Footfalls Within:
Kane gets captured by slave traders. More info about his staff is revealed before the caravan runs across an ancient tomb with something malevolent trapped inside...

Once again, Howard throws Kane into a horror story, this time an ancient evil from the time of Solomon. Of the three stories I hadn't yet read when I picked up this volume, this was probably my favorite.

While I like Solomon Kane more than Kull and Bran Mak Morn, I still prefer Conan. Still, Kane's stories are chilling adventures, more akin to horror than fantasy. If you can stomach casual racism of the time they were written in, they're quite good.

toolkidd's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

steven_v's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

gelatinousdessert's review against another edition

3.0

Solomon Kane is the wrong hero for these stories. Introduced as solemn and fanatical in his beliefs, Kane hardly ever talks about religion. He also associates with a "juju man" who gives him a black magic staff, which Kane gladly uses with the excuse that evil can defeat evil. He also frequently goes into a murderous rage unbecoming a stoic Puritan. The villains are one-dimensional pulp charicatures and, with a few noteworthy exceptions, the stories don't have much in the way of innovation. That being said, there are a few stand-out stories here that break away from the pack, and the art is excellent.

joshuafr's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful inspiring tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0