It was on this day, October 13th, in 1994, that Karl Edward Wagner lost his battle with his inner demons and succumbed to his alcoholism. As I mention in the "Night Winds" review, I am only just recently discovering his work, and am very happy for the discovery.
Now, Wagner is of course best known for his character Kane, a sword & sorcery heavyweight definitely in the vein of Howard pulp-fantasy. Wagner was also prolific in the horror genre as well; and integrated elements of horror into his fantasy works. If you ask me, horror-fantasy is a vastly under-served market, so it is a treat to get good stuff. The other great thing about Wagner was, well, his mind at work. It must be remembered that Wagner held a degree in psychiatry, and he injects a cerebral element into his prose.
I had hoped to get the full review for Night Winds up by today; but sadly it hasn't worked out that way. So I will be putting up a partial review (which I abhor the notion of doing), which covers the first two stories in the compilation, and then I'll revisit with updates as more tales are read. The first tale in the book, Undertow, has some definite horror elements and plays well into the October/Halloween theme.
So, if you can, track down some work by Wagner (it's getting harder and harder to find). You'll be happy that you did.
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