Scan barcode
A review by blchandler9000
Kull: Exile of Atlantis by Robert E. Howard
3.0
Here are the three original King Kull stories that Howard published before he turned his sword & sorcery focus to Conan. The stories are fine, of varying lengths, and feature wicked wizards, snake-men, and invading Romans. Kull is an introspective soul, which sets him apart from most other sword-swinging, blood-thirtsy barbarians, but fear not, reader, he loves a good fight, too. There's plenty of skulls crushed and bodies split and stabbed by weapons of all kinds.
There's a bit of disconnect between the tales. The first story features the snake-men and, after Kull battles them, he swears to exterminate the evil race, but those antagonists are—disappointingly—never met again here. The second tale is a much more internal, philosophical piece about a magician and his magic mirrors. If the reader isn't expecting more snake-men, it's a decent story. The final piece is a time travel story, where Kull is pulled millennia into his future (still the reader's past) to battle invading Romans alongside another of Howard's heroes, Bran Mak Morn.
The book is listed as illustrated, but it's pretty bare-bones as far as the pictures go. The publishers just took what appear to be public domain photos of old swords, helmets, and landscapes, and a couple clipart barbarians and inserted them in various places in the text. They certainly didn't add much to the stories. I guess Frank Frazetta and Mark Schultz were already booked.
There's a bit of disconnect between the tales. The first story features the snake-men and, after Kull battles them, he swears to exterminate the evil race, but those antagonists are—disappointingly—never met again here. The second tale is a much more internal, philosophical piece about a magician and his magic mirrors. If the reader isn't expecting more snake-men, it's a decent story. The final piece is a time travel story, where Kull is pulled millennia into his future (still the reader's past) to battle invading Romans alongside another of Howard's heroes, Bran Mak Morn.
The book is listed as illustrated, but it's pretty bare-bones as far as the pictures go. The publishers just took what appear to be public domain photos of old swords, helmets, and landscapes, and a couple clipart barbarians and inserted them in various places in the text. They certainly didn't add much to the stories. I guess Frank Frazetta and Mark Schultz were already booked.