Gods In Darkness: The Complete Novels Of Kane

Kane is the original anti-hero, both a bloodthirsty warrior and a cunning intellectual, and in his stories he's more often than not one of the bad guys, but with a little spark of goodness within him. He's one of the big badasses of sword and sworcery fantasy, to be considered alongside Elric and Conan. An immortal cast out of paradise, Kane is doomed to wander from misadventure to misadventure. Gods in Darkness is actually a collection of three novels about Kane, titled Bloodstone, Dark Crusade and Darkness Weaves originally published* in '75, '76 and '78 respectively. The reason that the Kane stories are so dark is because Kane is basically a super-villain, and he wades into poetically-written action scenes with as much fervor as a rabid bear that hasn't eaten for six weeks, and yet possesses a cold, calculating side that's far more chilling to behold. The nihilism and despair of the stories are great, and the world is bleak. At times there are even elements of Lovecraftian-style horror, and the gothic feel of the setting will immediately appeal to any fans of dark fantasy. Read this book if: you want to read some retro dark fantasy featuring an ultimate badass.