Karl Edward Wagner

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Karl Edward Wagner, 1989

Karl Edward Wagner (born December 12, 1945 in Knoxville , Tennessee , USA ; † October 13, 1994 Chapel Hill , North Carolina ) was an American writer and publisher. He mainly wrote novels and short stories in the fantasy and horror genres and was considered by many fantasy fans to be the legitimate successor to Robert E. Howard . He is the namesake of the Karl Edward Wagner Award (The Special Award), which is presented annually in his honor by "The British Fantasy Society", for special literary achievements.

Life

Karl E. Wagner grew up in Knoxville, Tennessee. Inspired by reading numerous pulp magazines that he passionately collected throughout his life, he began to write at the age of 15. He graduated from Central High School in Knoxville and Kenyon College and began studying medicine at the University of North Carolina. After receiving his doctorate, he opened a practice as a psychiatrist, which he gave up in the mid-1970s to become a freelance writer.

In 1970 he published his first novel Mistress of the Shadows . However, the book was only published by a small publisher, which also shortened the novel without the knowledge of the author and even changed the appearance of the main character Kane. While he published short stories in semi-professional magazines, novels and collections of short stories about Kane, Wagner's most successful character (see below), gradually appeared. He also wrote a pastiche for each of the Robert E. Howard characters Bran Mak Morn ( Legion of Shadows , 1976) and Conan ( Conan and the Road of Kings , 1979). Together with David Drake (co-author of Wagner's 1984 novel Killer ) and Jim Groce, he founded Carcosa Press in 1975, which published two collections of horror stories. With the fantasy boom triggered by the film Conan the Barbarian , he also got in touch with film producers who originally wanted to make a film about Kane. Instead, he wrote various scripts for films and TV series, which were rarely made into a film. From 1983 he appeared primarily as editor for the anthology The Year's Best Horror Stories . He also tried to republish old fantasy stories, for example in the anthology Years of Valor .

In October 1994 he was found dead in his home. Liver failure has been identified as the cause of death due to years of alcohol abuse.

The character Kane

The best-known figure of Wagner is his interpretation of the biblical fratricide Cain . He portrays him as a rebel against God who wants to decide freely and independently. After killing his brother Abel , God curses him to walk the earth forever. Kane does not age and is immune to diseases, only through the violence he has unleashed can he find death. His hallmark are his piercing ice-blue eyes, which identify him as a murderer (Wagner's version of the Cain's mark ). Furthermore, he has traditionally stigmatized as deviant and evil, such as red hair and left-handedness.

Physically, Kane has the typical characteristics of a fantasy hero: a tall, muscled and feared swordsman. However, he is also above average intelligent, educated and an unscrupulous schemer. He represents an antihero in the tradition of the horror novels of the 19th century. Kane is concerned almost exclusively with his own gain, he acts amoral and uses violence and lies whenever it suits him. Recurring motifs here are the boredom and thirst for revenge against God caused by his long life. A typical feature of the stories is the eternal failure of Kane's plans. But also the secondary characters do not correspond to the typical clichés, often the line between good and bad is not clearly recognizable.

In the three unrelated novels, Kane usually appears as the antagonist of the main characters. In the numerous stories, however, he is usually the protagonist himself. This is also the case in Der Verfluchte ( Cold light ), in which an exhausted Kane retreats to a ghost town in order to draw new strength. A fanatical "fighter against evil" seeks him out together with fellow campaigners to put an end to the myth of Kane. In order to achieve his goal, the fanatic commits evil himself, as he harassed the handful of remaining residents of the city. Wagner clearly shows that the end (the destruction of evil) must not use any means without becoming amoral itself.

The later short stories, largely unpublished in Germany, set Kane in different epochs and environments. So he meets Elric von Melniboné (and opens up the interesting question of whether Kane is not an eternal hero ) or he becomes the protagonist of Victorian and modern horror pieces that reflect Wagner's penchant for horror.

Awards

  • 1975: British Fantasy Award for the short story Sticks
  • 1976: World Fantasy Award , special prize
  • 1977: British Fantasy Award for the short story Two Suns Setting
  • 1978: Phoenix Award for Lifetime Achievement
  • 1983: World Fantasy Award for Beyond Any Measure
  • 1983: British Fantasy Award, special prize
  • 1984: British Fantasy Award for the short story Neither Brute Nor Human
  • 1995: Deathrealm Award for the anthology The Year's Best Horror Stories XXII
  • 1998: Bram Stoker Award for the Exorcisms and Ecstasies collection
  • 2013: Induction into the East Tennessee Writers' Hall of Fame

bibliography

Kane saga

Novels:

  • Darkness Weaves with Many Shades ... (1970, also as Darkness Weaves , 1978)
    • English: The Saga of Kane: Mistress of the Shadows. Translated by Martin Eisele. Bastei Lübbe TB # 20015, 1979, ISBN 3-404-01439-1 . Also as: Mistress of the shadows. Translated by Martin Baresch . In: The Book of Kane. 1989. Also: Golkonda, 2018, ISBN 978-3-942396-93-6 .
  • Bloodstone (1975)
    • English: The Saga of Kane: The Blood Stone. Translated by Martin Eisele. Bastei Lübbe TB # 20023, 1980, ISBN ISBN 3-404-20023-X . Also called: the blood stone. Translated by Martin Baresch. In: The Book of Kane. 1989. Also: Golkonda, 2014, ISBN 978-3-942396-91-2 .
  • Dark Crusade (1976)
    • English: The Saga of Kane: Crusade of Evil. Translated by Michael Görden. Bastei Lübbe TB # 20009, 1979, ISBN 3-404-01259-3 . Also called: Crusade of Evil. In: Kane the Accursed. 1989. Also: Golkonda, 2015, ISBN 978-3-942396-92-9 .

Short stories:

  • Cold Light (1973)
    • German: The cursed one. In: The Saga of Kane: The Cursed. 1978. Also in: Kane the Cursed. 1989.
  • Mirage (1973)
    • German: Die Schattenburg. In: Kane the Accursed. 1989.
  • Reflections for the Winter of My Soul (1973)
    • German: A reflection for the winter of my soul. In: Kane the Accursed. 1989.
  • In the Lair of Yslsl (1974)
    • German: Im Bann Yslsls. In: Erhard Ringer , Hermann Urbanek (Ed.): The gods of Pegana. Heyne (Heyne Science Fiction & Fantasy # 4076), 1984, ISBN 3-453-31040-3 .
  • Lynorti's recapitulation (1974)
    • English: Lynortis' retribution. In: Kane the Accursed. 1989.
  • The Dark Muse (1975)
    • English: The black muse. In: Kane the Accursed. 1989.
  • Sing a Last Song of Valdese (1976)
    • German: Sing again from Valdese. In: Kane the Accursed. 1989.
  • Two Suns Setting (1976)
    • German: the last hero. In: Lin Carter (ed.): The Dark King. Pabel (Terra Fantasy # 88), 1981. Also as: Two suns sink. In: The Book of Kane. 1989.
  • Raven's Eyrie (1977)
    • German: Rabenhorst. In: Kane the Accursed. 1989.
  • The Other One (1977)
  • Undertow (1977)
    • German: In the wake. In: The Book of Kane. 1989.
  • In the Wake of the Night: An Excerpt (1981)
  • Misericorde (1983)
  • The Treasure of Lynortis (1984)
    • English: The treasure of Lynortis. In: Hugh Walker (Ed.): Magira, # 37. EDFC, 1987.
  • Lacunae (1986)
  • At First Just Ghostly (1989)
  • Deep in the Depths of the Acme Warehouse (1994)
  • The Gothic Touch (1994)

Collections:

  • Death Angel's Shadow (1973)
  • Night Winds (1978)
  • The Book of Kane (1985)
  • Gods in Darkness (2002)
  • Midnight Sun: The Complete Stories of Kane (2003)

German compilations:

  • The saga of Kane . In addition to the novels (see above), the following volumes of short stories were published in this series:
    • The cursed one. Translated by Michael Görden. Bastei Lübbe TB # 20004, 1978, ISBN 3-404-01073-6 .
    • Son of the night. Translated by Michael Görden. Bastei Lübbe TB # 20011, 1979, ISBN 3-404-01387-5 .
    • The vengeance of the accursed. Bastei Lübbe TB # 20026, 1980, ISBN 3-404-20026-8 .
  • The book of Kane. Bastei-Lübbe TB # 20121, 1989, ISBN 3-404-20121-3 .
  • Kane the Accursed. Bastei-Lübbe TB # 20124, 1989, ISBN 3-404-20124-8 .
Novels
  • Legion From the Shadows (1976, novel with Bran Mak Morn, a character by Robert E. Howard)
    • English: The saga of Bran Mak Morn 2: Legion of Shadows. Translated by Eva Eppers. Bastei-Lübbe TB # 20068, 1985, ISBN 3-404-20068-3 .
  • Conan: The Road of Kings (1979)
  • Killer (1985, with David Drake)
Collections
  • In a Lonely Place (1983)
  • Why Not You and I? (1987)
  • Unthreatened by the Morning Light (1989)
  • Exorcisms and Ecstasies (1996)
  • Red Harvest (2002)
  • Karl Edward Wagner: Masters of the Weird Tale (2011)

The Best Horror Stories of Karl Edward Wagner :

  • 1 Where the Summer Ends (2012)
  • 2 Walk on the Wild Side (2012)
Short stories
  • Stardust (1959)
  • In the Pines (1973)
    • German: Under the spruces. In: Michael Görden (Ed.): The last kiss. Bastei Lübbe (Fantastic Literature # 72051), 1986, ISBN 3-404-72051-2 .
  • Killer (1974, with David Drake)
  • Sticks (1974, Cthulhu Myth )
  • Sign of the Salamander (1975, Curtiss Stryker )
  • The Last Wolf (1975)
  • The Fourth Seal (1975)
  • The Coming of Ghor (Part 2 of 17) (1977)
  • The Day of the Lion (1978)
  • Mourning of the Following Day (1979)
  • .220 Swift (1980)
  • Where the Summer Ends (1980)
  • The River of Night's Dreaming (1981, The King in Yellow )
  • Beyond Any Measure (1982)
  • Neither Brute Nor Human (1983)
  • Into Whose Hands (1983)
  • More Sinned Against (1984)
  • Blue Lady, Come Back (1985, Curtiss Stryker )
  • Old Loves (1985)
  • Shrapnel (1985)
  • Silted In (1987)
  • Endless Night (1987)
  • Lost Exits (1987)
  • Satan's Gun (1987, Adrian Becker )
  • An Awareness of Angels (1988)
  • But You'll Never Follow Me (1990)
  • Cedar Lane (1990)
  • A Fair Cop (1991)
  • The Kind Men Like (1991)
  • The Slug (1991)
  • Did They Get You to Trade? (1992)
    • German: The dead are the real deal. In: Dennis Etchison (Ed.): Metahorror. Heyne (Heyne General Series # 9773), 1996, ISBN 3-453-09299-6 .
  • One Paris Night (1992, Adrian Becker )
  • Hell Creek (1993, Adrian Becker )
  • Little Lessons in Gardening (1993)
  • A Walk on the Wild Side (1993)
  • Passages (1994)
  • In the Middle of a Snow Dream (1994)
  • I've Come to Talk with You Again (1995)
    • German: I came back to talk to you. In: Stephen Jones , David A. Sutton (Eds.): Darker Terrors. Festa (Festa collector's editions), 2017.
  • Locked Away (1995)
  • Plan 10 from Inner Space (1995)
  • The Picture of Jonathan Collins (1995)
    • English: The portrait of Jonathan Collins. In: Frank Festa (Ed.): As tender as baby skin. Festa (Festa Horror TB # 1523), 2010, ISBN 978-3-86552-077-7 .
  • Gremlin (1995)
  • Prince of the Punks (1995)
  • Final Cut (1996)
  • Brushed Away (1997)
  • The Education of Gergy-doo-doo (1997)
Anthologies (as editor)
  • The Year's Best Horror Stories VIII – XXII (1980–1994)
  • Echoes of Valor I-III (1987, 1989, 1991)
  • Intensive Scare (1990)

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Winners of the British Fantasy Awards 2016 , "The British Fantasy Society", September 25, 2016, engl. Accessed October 31, 2016
personal data
SURNAME Wagner, Karl Edward
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American writer and publisher
DATE OF BIRTH December 12, 1945
PLACE OF BIRTH Knoxville , Tennessee , USA
DATE OF DEATH October 13, 1994
Place of death Chapel Hill , North Carolina , USA