Lofgeornost
Feeling Martian!
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- Jul 8, 2020
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So, it was a cold and rainy Sunday. I spent the afternoon reading another of Wagner's Kane novels, Bloodstone (1975) in the SF Gateway e-book edition. Like the earlier ones I read (Darkness Weaves and Dark Crusade) it was quite entertaining. It's a little odd, though, that all three Kane novels seem to have variations on the same plot: two states are at odds and Kane interjects himself into the struggle, planning to desert his erstwhile allies when the time seems ripe. Also, like the earlier novels, Bloodstone spends a fair amount of time--and chapters--on characters besides Kane himself. This time it's chiefly one of the two rulers, a thoughtful lord named Dribeck, and Teres, the hell-raising daughter of his rival. I found her one of the more interesting female characters in the Kane saga.
I won't say much about the plot, for fear of spoilers, but I will note that (like Darkness Weaves) this novel leans farther in the direction of science-fantasy than Dark Crusade or the Kane short-stories I've read. The titular bloodstone is an extra-terrestrial entity which wields alien super-science rather than magic, though as some characters in the novel note, there is not much of line between them. The book also features an alien race, the Rillyti, who are the bloodstone's servants. Rather than the typical serpent-men, they are froglike in appearance--which gives Wagner a chance to use the rare adjective 'vomerine' more than once in the book. Of course, this kind of science-fantasy isn't uncommon in sword-and-sorcery tales, especially the older ones. Given Kane's own mythic origins, I do find itsomewhat jarring.
I won't say much about the plot, for fear of spoilers, but I will note that (like Darkness Weaves) this novel leans farther in the direction of science-fantasy than Dark Crusade or the Kane short-stories I've read. The titular bloodstone is an extra-terrestrial entity which wields alien super-science rather than magic, though as some characters in the novel note, there is not much of line between them. The book also features an alien race, the Rillyti, who are the bloodstone's servants. Rather than the typical serpent-men, they are froglike in appearance--which gives Wagner a chance to use the rare adjective 'vomerine' more than once in the book. Of course, this kind of science-fantasy isn't uncommon in sword-and-sorcery tales, especially the older ones. Given Kane's own mythic origins, I do find itsomewhat jarring.