Karl Edward Wagner
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Karl Edward Wagner (4 December 1945 – 13 October 1994) was an American writer, editor and publisher of horror, science fiction, and heroic fantasy, who was born in Knoxville, Tennessee and originally trained as a psychiatrist. His disillusionment with the medical profession can be seen in the stories "The Fourth Seal" and "Into Whose Hands". He described his world view as nihilistic, anarchistic and absurdist, and claimed, not entirely seriously, to be related to "an opera composer named Richard".
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[edit] Overview
While some of his work is set in Robert E. Howard's universe (featuring Conan the Barbarian and Bran Mak Morn), he also created his own mystical and pre-historical hero, Kane, whose name and background are based on traditional conceptions of the biblical Cain. A powerful, left-handed man with red hair and eyes which people find it difficult to meet (the Mark of Kane), the character was described by Wagner as one "who could master any situation intellectually, or rip heads off if push came to shove".
Besides the Kane books, Wagner wrote contemporary horror stories (some of which, like "At First Just Ghostly", also feature Kane). These were collected in the books In a Lonely Place (1983), Why Not You and I? (1987) and the posthumous Exorcisms and Ecstasies (1997). They range from the highly literate and allusive (such as "The River of Night's Dreaming", which refers to Richard O'Brien's The Rocky Horror Show and the myth of Carcosa used in the work of Ambrose Bierce and Robert W. Chambers), to the pulpy and parodic (such as "Plan Ten from Inner Space", a crazed homage to Edward D. Wood's magnum opus Plan 9 from Outer Space). Many of his later stories, such as "But You'll Never Follow Me" and "Silted In", are tormented and deeply personal; some deal explicitly with drug addiction (e.g. "More Sinned Against") and sexual subjects, including repression (e.g. "Brushed Away") and transsexualism (e.g. "Lacunae").
With his friends Jim Groce and David Drake, Wagner formed the Carcosa Press publishing house to preserve the work of their favourite pulp writers in hard covers. Carcosa Press put out two substantial volumes of pulp horror tales, Murgunstrumm and Others by Hugh B. Cave and Worse Things Waiting by Manly Wade Wellman. Both books were edited by Wagner and profusely illustrated by Weird Tales artist Lee Brown Coye. Wagner collaborated with Drake on Killer, a science fiction horror novel set during the reign of the Roman emperor Domitian.
Coye's macabre designs, incorporating mysterious lattices of twigs, were the inspiration for Wagner's British Fantasy Award-winning story "Sticks". In the mid-1980s, "Sticks" received a chilling audio adaptation on the radio series The Cabinet of Dr. Fritz.
A connoisseur of rare horror gems, Wagner edited many horror and fantasy anthologies; perhaps his greatest achievement in this area was the annual anthology series The Year's Best Horror Stories (DAW Books), which he edited from volume VIII (1980) until volume XXII (1994). The series was cancelled after Wagner's death from tick fever aggravated by the effects of prolonged alcoholism.
[edit] Bibliography
[edit] Collections
- In a Lonely Place (1983)
- Why Not You and I? (1987)
- Unthreatened by the Morning Light (chapbook) (1989)
- Exorcisms and Ecstasies (1997)
[edit] Novel
- Killer (written with David Drake) (1985)
[edit] Kane
- Darkness Weaves (novel) (published in abridged and altered form 1970; restored text 1978)
- Death Angel's Shadow (collection) (1973)
- Bloodstone (novel) (1975)
- Dark Crusade (novel) (1976)
- Night Winds (collection) (1978)
- The Book of Kane (collection) (1985)
[edit] Robert E. Howard pastiches
- Legion from the Shadows (Bran Mak Morn novel) (1976)
- The Road of Kings (Conan novel) (1979)
