The Dark Crusade

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Bloodstone

Originally Published: 1975 by Warner Paperback Library

Excited to be covering the novel that got me hooked on Wagner. A Special thank you to the John Hay Library and Brown University for allowing me access to the original Bloodstone manuscript and the ur-text Wagner wrote as a high school student.

Including a photo of my trip to the library below.

Join us again in two weeks when we cover Part 2 of Bloodstone.

-Jordan Douglas Smith

And don’t forget you can buy this book cheap here.

Original music: F. N. York

The Dark Crusade is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://thedarkcrusade.wordpress.com/

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Two Suns Setting

Originally published: Fantastic, May 1976 edited by Ted White

Awards: Won 1977 British Fantasy Award for Best Short Story, Nominated for 1977 World Fantasy Award for Best Short Fiction

Happy to be back with another Kane episode, and such a great story too.

In my recent library delvings, I came across a great article in the  February 1978 issue of The Science Fiction Review called ‘Glimpses of the Third World Fantasycon’ by Mark Mansell, a reviewer of genre fiction in the late 70s and early 80s.

The article is Mark’s report from the Third World FantasyCon in L.A. It was the year when Wagner had both ‘Two Suns Setting’ nominated for Best Short Fiction and ‘Dark Crusade’ nominated for Best Novel. Mark describes picking Karl and his wife Barbara up from the airport on the first day of the Con. This was his first time meeting Wagner in person who he previously only had correspondence with. After check-in, Mark spent some time with Karl and Barbara and was introduced to Wagner’s

friend the editor Stephen Jones.

This seems to be his only interaction with Wagner besides attending a panel Wagner was on covering Epic Fantasy. It seems Wagner made a nice impression, Mark closes the article by saying:

“In closing, I’d like to thank everyone who made my first convention so (memorial) memorable, whether through friendship or kindness, made knowingly or unknowingly: Karl and Barbara Wagner, Stephen Jones, Harlan Ellison… You all may not remember my name or why I’m thanking you, but each in your own way made it a very special weekend for me by being very special people. Thanks.” (SFR No. 24 Vol. 7 No. 1 p. 37)

During the episode, Jonathan mentioned the appearance of giants in the bible and I wanted to share a couple of verses. It’s worth noting the word ‘giant’ is not always translated and in some versions left as Nephilim.

“There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.” (Genesis 6:4, King James Bible)

“And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.” (Numbers 13:33, King James Bible)

I also wanted to leave you with the opening poem of Robert Chambers’ King in Yellow that I referenced at the end of the episode.

Along the shore the cloud waves break,

Cassilda’s Song in “The King in Yellow,” Act i, Scene 2

That is all for this episode, join us in two weeks for Part 1 of Bloodstone, the first novel in the chronology. If you are reading along we’ll be covering through Chapter XIV: Flight into Nightmare.

original music: F. N. York

The Dark Crusade is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://thedarkcrusade.wordpress.com/

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Undertow

Originally published: Whispers #10, August 1977, edited by Stuart David Schiff

Awards: Nominated for 1979 Balrog for short fiction

I’m very excited to be starting off a new season of The Dark Crusade especially a season that is focused on Kane. This season I’m joined by comic writer Jonathan Gelatt. You can check out his webcomic Outrunners here. If you love Akira and The Warriors, you’re going to love his comic.

The connection between ‘Undertow’ and ‘Jane Brown’s Body’ is a strong one. I suggest checking out the original article by Deuce Richardson over here. ‘Jane Brown’s Body’ is a fairly short read and very fast paced. The author Cornell Woolrich led a very interesting life. For such an accomplished and adapted author, he was very reclusive. His aversion to going out caused a leg infection to worsen and resulted in an amputation. He even skipped the premiere of Truffaut’s adaptation of his own The Bride Wore Black in NYC. Upon his death, he left his literary estate to Columbia University which he had attended but never graduated from. Columbia was to use the funds to start a Journalism Scholarship in his mother’s name.

I built off of Richardson’s idea by putting forward the notion that the story Wagner wrote may be based more on the Journey to the Unknown episode than the Woolrich story. You’ll have to listen to the episode to understand why. Sadly, it’s speculation only and we will probably never know where the inspiration came from. We can, however, enjoy the wonderful opening sequence of Journey here. Reminds me a bit of Wagner’s opening to In the Pines. Coincidence?

Join us in two weeks when we cover Karl Edward Wagner’s adventuresome tale ‘Two Suns Setting’.

original music: F. N. York

The Dark Crusade is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://thedarkcrusade.wordpress.com/

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Kane is coming! I’m excited to announce Season 2 of The Dark Crusade will be starting next week- Thursday, July 5th, 2018. The entire season will be dedicated to Karl Edward Wagner’s dark fantasy character Kane.

With the new season comes a new co-host. I’ll be joined by comic book writer and sword & sorcery enthusiast Jonathan Gelatt. We’ve had a great time delving into the stories and are excited to share our thoughts. This season is the perfect season to start listening because all the Kane stories are easy to obtain as e-books, there is no excuse not to read along! Season 2 we’ll be covering Wagner’s collection Night Winds and his novel Bloodstone. Click here for buying options.

I’ve decided to read the stories in the order chronological to Kane’s life and NOT in order of publication. The hope is this will lend some insight into the arc of Kane’s life. We’ll be using Dale E Rippke’s timeline which you can find here on his blog The Darkstorm Files. Join us in one week when we cover the classic Kane tale ‘Undertow’.

-Jordan Douglas Smith

The Dark Crusade is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://thedarkcrusade.wordpress.com/

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Where the Summer Ends

Originally Published: Dark Forces, August 1980, edited by Kirby McCauley

Drink Pairing: Monkey Shoulder Batch 27 and Stewart’s Root Beer

I was honored having two amazing guests this week. Tim Mucci, who was in Episode 7 discussing River of Night’s Dreaming, and Michael Bukowski, artist of Yog-Blogsoth fame and Seventh Church Ministries, really added a lot to the discussion. Check out Mike’s version of the Kudzu Devil here. If you haven’t seen his work before you are in for a real treat, as mentioned in the episode he is nearing completion on his project started years ago to draw every creature mentioned in the works of H. P. Lovecraft. In addition to that project, his work often pops up on album covers and books. Now on to the hot links!

Pseudopod Episode 560-Where the Summer Ends here

George R. R. Martin not a blog post about Kirby McCauley here

Kudzu pics here

The Last Wolf-Karl Edward Wagner Documentary here

Kudzu Monkeys are real!

The Dark Crusade is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://thedarkcrusade.wordpress.com/