Razorfist and Jeffro Johnson both recommended the Solomon Kane stories of Robert E. Howard. Since Howard was a fellow Texan in his time I decided to pick up Del Rey’s The Savage Tales of Solomon Kane (July 2004). The book collects all of Howard’s stories about that character along with unfinished fragments and poems. Not counting the appendices, we get 390 pages of pure action-packed puritanical adventure. I highly recommend it to action/adventure fans.
Solomon Kane appears to have been written before Howard invented Conan. I get the impression most of the stories were written in the 1920s. The public discourse was more free and open then and it shows in the stories. Solomon Kane dresses as a Puritan and takes his Christian beliefs seriously. His faith gives him strength and presses him ever forward in his chosen task: taking vengeance for those who can’t take it themselves. Although it is stated in a few of the early stories that Solomon Kane isn’t a true Puritan in his beliefs and lifestyle there’s something about the group attracts him strongly enough to associate himself with them.
Although many stories focus on the character’s chosen mission of seeking justice for those who have been wronged it also shows his wanderlust. This is emphasized when the book ends with a poem about an older Solomon Kane returning to Devon, England at last to settle down. However, he can’t stay long as the open road and the adventure that clings to it calls to his soul so powerfully that he must set off again.
Many people have compared the dour Puritan with Howard’s most popular character, Conan the Barbarian, and noted the opposing natures. Conan seems to tower over ordinary men because his lawless, primal, barbarian upbringing made him tougher than soft, civilized men. Whereas Solomon Kane’s training, discipline and the dedication he gets from his faith (a religion of civilized lands) makes him more than a match for the lawless Arabs, uncivilized rogues and tribal natives of Africa.
Solomon Kane is not well known these days but his influence has been great over the years. Characters like Vampire Hunter D, the Witcher and many others got their look and character concept from Howard’s wandering swordsman. Regardless of the later influence, the stories are top notch. Some are regular adventure yarns while others pull in the horror/weird fantasy vibe that Howard did so well. Solomon Kane has some adventures in his native England but he travels the world and has quite a few adventures in the Dark Continent (back when people were allowed to say that), Africa.
As a fan of fantasy roleplaying games, I came to Robert E. Howard by way of the Conan stories listed in Gary Gygax’ Appendix N. One of the highest compliments OSR gamers can pay to a set of stories is “gameable”. This means they inspire good roleplaying sessions or help a game master understand how to organize a roleplaying session and stock it with adversaries to test the players. I would say the Solomon Kane stories are imminently gameable. Although most of the stories feature Solomon Kane working alone, the situations, opponents, locations and general vibe apply very well to an evening’s Dungeons & Dragons session.
The hero makes a “blood brother” in Africa. This shaman gives Solomon an ancient staff that operates just like a magic item from the pages of a Dungeon Master’s Guide. Although potent, it doesn’t unbalance the stories in which it appears. Many of the frightening creatures Solomon fights could be plucked from the pages of published D&D monster lists and quickly renamed. Solomon solves his challenges through his combat skills, his wits and his determination. This maps well to the game Gygax and the founders of D&D envisioned. A game master would do well to read a few Solomon Kane yarns and then bring them to life for his players.
The Savage Tales of Solomon Kane by Robert E. Howard is a winner of a book. If you haven’t read it it isn’t too late to fix that problem.
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