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Age of Conan Hyborian Adventures: Legends of Kern #1
Blood of Wolves
In the bleak northlands, Grimnir, the living god of the plundering Vanir, is leading his hordes across Cimmeria. Tales of Grimnir's fury spread as refugees scatter throughout the land to escape his wrath.
In the village of Gaud, the young warrior Kern, the "Wolf-Eye," has been exiled, an outcast from clan and kin. It is he who is fated to confront the dreaded Grimnir. But as loyal friends and desperate fighters rally to his side, even Kern does not know whether he leads his people to deliverance, or certain death.
In the village of Gaud, the young warrior Kern, the "Wolf-Eye," has been exiled, an outcast from clan and kin. It is he who is fated to confront the dreaded Grimnir. But as loyal friends and desperate fighters rally to his side, even Kern does not know whether he leads his people to deliverance, or certain death.
336 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
3 people are currently reading
111 people want to read
About the author
Loren L. Coleman
107 books39 followersLoren L. Coleman (born 1968) is a science-fiction writer, born and grew up in Longview, Washington.
He is known for having written many books for series such as Star Trek, Battletech/Mechwarrior, Age of Conan, Crimson Skies, Magic: The Gathering and others. Former member of the United States Navy, he has also written game fiction and source material for such companies as FASA Corporation, TSR, Inc. and Wizards of the Coast.
In early 2010s, he began writing The ICAS Files series, science fiction short-stories. [wikipedia]
He is known for having written many books for series such as Star Trek, Battletech/Mechwarrior, Age of Conan, Crimson Skies, Magic: The Gathering and others. Former member of the United States Navy, he has also written game fiction and source material for such companies as FASA Corporation, TSR, Inc. and Wizards of the Coast.
In early 2010s, he began writing The ICAS Files series, science fiction short-stories. [wikipedia]
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
December 14, 2017
L'ambientazione è la Cimmeria di Conan, il personaggio più famoso del grande Howard. Il protagonista è un altro cimmero, anche se profondamente diverso da Conan (qui non posso dire altro per evitare spoiler). È sempre difficile fare confronti con uno scrittore dello spessore di Howard; in questo caso si è evitato (fortunatamente) il confronto diretto dato che il protagonista non è Conan ma un personaggio nuovo che vive in un'epoca in cui Conan è già una leggenda vivente. Per gli amanti dello Sword and Sorcery il libro è sicuramente godibile, i personaggi ben delineati (in rapporto al genere ovviamente), con un pathos che cresce man mano nel corso della lettura. Le battaglie sono epiche al punto giusto, come ci si aspetta in un racconto di heroic fantasy. La componente "Sorcery" è presente ma non enfatizzata, permettendo lo sviluppo coerente di un'ambientazione quasi-storica. A tratti la scrittura non è molto scorrevole, non so se dipenda dalla traduzione, ma nel complesso il libro si lascia leggere con piacere. Il mio voto: 3,5 stelle.
September 26, 2024
"Can't fight the weather" - Cimmerian adage (not about the actual weather)
"Fall down seven times. Get up eight. The Cimmerian way."
"Civilization, it seemed, prepared one to live, but not to survive."
I attempted, twice before, to read this book but could not get into. Third time was the charm and the story evokes interest with the environment. It's in no way a Howard or Conan tale, and I am sure it draws Conan fans in with the related promotion, but it stands as a primitive tale of survival and kinship on its own. In comparing The Frost-Giant's Daughter by Robert E. Howard, and in noting the points in "Blood of Wolves" where some characters address Conan's legend as hearsay and being given renown for other warrior's achievements, I would say that Kern Wolf-Eye and his crew found out the hard way that facing one Frost-Giant as a crew still does not put them on equal footing as Conan, who faced and slew two Frost-Giants, and who eventually takes the throne of Aquilonia. Vanir and Æsir face each other while the Frost-Giant's daughter lures the survivors to their death, but here, the Vanir have chosen a devastating side, and the Æsir or nowhere to be seen. Another reviewer pointed out that Conan left Cimmeria and for good reason, as we can see in this atmosphere that it is not an ideal place, and is a place of poverty and harsh actions against the weak. As a blanket statement, you could see it as the poorer country side where, when given the chance to adventure, some branch out on their own even though they are cultivated in a community of knowing your place within the hierarchy and being a part of the whole. Conan becomes a learned man as well as a fierce warrior, while these here cannot even read, though they certainly do not lack wit and fortitude.
The author kept it interesting, and did a good job of offering up characters to arouse your curiosity. Even in death or maiming, the spirit of the whole lives on through the members, like Burok Bear-Slayer's broadsword for Kern, or Ehmish's dagger for Aodh. I started cheering for an assassin even though he was out to kill the good guy, and like a lone wolf, you watched his struggle with finding his place, as well as his human nature to do the right thing. I didn't know at first when another character was introduced, but I couldn't wait to see how an actual lone direwolf would fare among those he generally calls Enemies. Many warriors and a few enemies of interest, I would like to see how this tale plays out in the second and third books but its definitely not Howardian adventure, and the frigid landscape does not convey wonder.
"Fall down seven times. Get up eight. The Cimmerian way."
"Civilization, it seemed, prepared one to live, but not to survive."
I attempted, twice before, to read this book but could not get into. Third time was the charm and the story evokes interest with the environment. It's in no way a Howard or Conan tale, and I am sure it draws Conan fans in with the related promotion, but it stands as a primitive tale of survival and kinship on its own. In comparing The Frost-Giant's Daughter by Robert E. Howard, and in noting the points in "Blood of Wolves" where some characters address Conan's legend as hearsay and being given renown for other warrior's achievements, I would say that Kern Wolf-Eye and his crew found out the hard way that facing one Frost-Giant as a crew still does not put them on equal footing as Conan, who faced and slew two Frost-Giants, and who eventually takes the throne of Aquilonia. Vanir and Æsir face each other while the Frost-Giant's daughter lures the survivors to their death, but here, the Vanir have chosen a devastating side, and the Æsir or nowhere to be seen. Another reviewer pointed out that Conan left Cimmeria and for good reason, as we can see in this atmosphere that it is not an ideal place, and is a place of poverty and harsh actions against the weak. As a blanket statement, you could see it as the poorer country side where, when given the chance to adventure, some branch out on their own even though they are cultivated in a community of knowing your place within the hierarchy and being a part of the whole. Conan becomes a learned man as well as a fierce warrior, while these here cannot even read, though they certainly do not lack wit and fortitude.
The author kept it interesting, and did a good job of offering up characters to arouse your curiosity. Even in death or maiming, the spirit of the whole lives on through the members, like Burok Bear-Slayer's broadsword for Kern, or Ehmish's dagger for Aodh. I started cheering for an assassin even though he was out to kill the good guy, and like a lone wolf, you watched his struggle with finding his place, as well as his human nature to do the right thing. I didn't know at first when another character was introduced, but I couldn't wait to see how an actual lone direwolf would fare among those he generally calls Enemies. Many warriors and a few enemies of interest, I would like to see how this tale plays out in the second and third books but its definitely not Howardian adventure, and the frigid landscape does not convey wonder.
November 23, 2016
I'm more of a "choked jungle ruins" or "crumbling decadent city" sort of person, myself. Cimmeria might be the most recognizable place name from the Conan stories, but as an (unvisited) location it was never particularly evocative. Conan left it.
Whereas Conan was usually an outsider in the sense that he was both a foreigner and a person whose values or code does not match those around him, Kern is an outsider by being physically different or separate inside the culture of his birth. It leaves him with a more steady attitude, more putting up with his life than particularly enjoying it, and gives him a curious weakness among the Cimmerians: he was relegated to manual labor within the clan, and is not war-trained. While a survivor against adversity and a leader of men, combat is never a sure thing.
Amusingly, in an "Age of Conan" setting sometime during his kingship of Aquilonia, the Cimmerians have a light attitude toward the legend of his life, knowing the tales to be exaggerations and partly amalgamated with the feats and battles of other men. Coleman plays with this idea, that the adventures of any man might somehow become part of Conan's due to repeated and inaccurate telling.
Whereas Conan was usually an outsider in the sense that he was both a foreigner and a person whose values or code does not match those around him, Kern is an outsider by being physically different or separate inside the culture of his birth. It leaves him with a more steady attitude, more putting up with his life than particularly enjoying it, and gives him a curious weakness among the Cimmerians: he was relegated to manual labor within the clan, and is not war-trained. While a survivor against adversity and a leader of men, combat is never a sure thing.
Amusingly, in an "Age of Conan" setting sometime during his kingship of Aquilonia, the Cimmerians have a light attitude toward the legend of his life, knowing the tales to be exaggerations and partly amalgamated with the feats and battles of other men. Coleman plays with this idea, that the adventures of any man might somehow become part of Conan's due to repeated and inaccurate telling.
June 17, 2016
An instant favorite. Gritty barbarian adventure set in the far north of Howard's Hyboria. Unlike many fantasy adventures, the action feels real. The characters are well developed, and you can almost smell the musk of the mammoth as it charges toward you. If you love sword and sorcery, you will love this book.
January 1, 2009
I thought this was a noble effort. Using Howard's world and expanding on it rather than working with an established character like Conan.
December 21, 2019
This impressed me. As a novel based on a video game (based on Robert E. Howard’s Hyborian Age), my expectations were low, and so totally exceeded. Coleman is a talented writer who brings Cimmeria to life. The wintry land, the desperate situation the Cimmerians find themselves in, the cruelty of their world, are all painted with skill. Coleman’s characters are also dynamic and compelling. Kern is a wonderful protagonist. Finally, Coleman’s descriptions of battle are exciting and suspenseful.
January 1, 2019
My rating: ★★★★
January 3, 2014
I read some of the reviews of this book before I picked it up, so I will be mentioning them while I do my own of this book as I feel that some of them were valid, and some not.
Coleman presents us with a interesting view of Cimmerian life during a long lasting winter where the people are plagued by raiders from the north, their leaders bearing a striking resemblance to Kern. Normally I am wary of characters with unusual appearances, that being one of the hallmarks of a Mary Sue-esk character. Thankfully, Kern is anything but. His flaws are well thought out, and his unusual appearance makes him an outcast in a village where he resides. The fact that he resembles the leaders of the raiders also causes him a number of issues. All in all, this makes for a realistic character who grows as the story progresses.
Two complaints raised about the novel in another review I have to agree with. The fact that the Cimmerians wear ponchos feels very off within the storyline. I understand that it's a fairly universal garment for various cultures, however in our modern society it is often associated with warmer climates within North America. It feels very un-Cimmerian and unfortunately comes up often enough within the novel to be disruptive.
Another issue is the Shemites. Coleman makes them black in 'Blood of Wolves' when they are listed as being of pale skin in every reference I could find online. This is an unfortunate mistake, and one that a writer has to be aware of when writing within a world with a preexisting series of peoples and places. There is always the possibility that there are a couple black Shemites, however, Coleman makes it feel as if all Shemites are black in skin tone. Though this didn't bother me as much as it has others, the error of this does stand out to anyone who knows the source material.
The above beside, Coleman's writing is fairly solid. His combat scenes are well done, often catching the flow of battle in just the right amount of detail and words. Each skirmish, up to the final climactic battle, is handled well and Coleman makes you feel like you are part of the action taking place. There was only one real battle, involving the sleigh-like attack, that I found to be a bit confusing, but otherwise it was well enough done that I didn't spend too long trying to figure out what had happened.
Another thing that Coleman does well is his characters. From Kern to the others, each comes across as an in depth character with their own thoughts, beliefs, issues and personality. Though Kern is the main character of this novel, the other characters are interesting enough that I actually cared about what happened to them as the story went on, even Frostpaw the wolf.
'Blood of Wolves' is a good book in the tradition of the Conan series of novels. Barring the issues mentioned above, it's a book worth reading and I would recommend it to anyone who grew up reading Conan or is interested in exploring the world beyond those stories.
Coleman presents us with a interesting view of Cimmerian life during a long lasting winter where the people are plagued by raiders from the north, their leaders bearing a striking resemblance to Kern. Normally I am wary of characters with unusual appearances, that being one of the hallmarks of a Mary Sue-esk character. Thankfully, Kern is anything but. His flaws are well thought out, and his unusual appearance makes him an outcast in a village where he resides. The fact that he resembles the leaders of the raiders also causes him a number of issues. All in all, this makes for a realistic character who grows as the story progresses.
Two complaints raised about the novel in another review I have to agree with. The fact that the Cimmerians wear ponchos feels very off within the storyline. I understand that it's a fairly universal garment for various cultures, however in our modern society it is often associated with warmer climates within North America. It feels very un-Cimmerian and unfortunately comes up often enough within the novel to be disruptive.
Another issue is the Shemites. Coleman makes them black in 'Blood of Wolves' when they are listed as being of pale skin in every reference I could find online. This is an unfortunate mistake, and one that a writer has to be aware of when writing within a world with a preexisting series of peoples and places. There is always the possibility that there are a couple black Shemites, however, Coleman makes it feel as if all Shemites are black in skin tone. Though this didn't bother me as much as it has others, the error of this does stand out to anyone who knows the source material.
The above beside, Coleman's writing is fairly solid. His combat scenes are well done, often catching the flow of battle in just the right amount of detail and words. Each skirmish, up to the final climactic battle, is handled well and Coleman makes you feel like you are part of the action taking place. There was only one real battle, involving the sleigh-like attack, that I found to be a bit confusing, but otherwise it was well enough done that I didn't spend too long trying to figure out what had happened.
Another thing that Coleman does well is his characters. From Kern to the others, each comes across as an in depth character with their own thoughts, beliefs, issues and personality. Though Kern is the main character of this novel, the other characters are interesting enough that I actually cared about what happened to them as the story went on, even Frostpaw the wolf.
'Blood of Wolves' is a good book in the tradition of the Conan series of novels. Barring the issues mentioned above, it's a book worth reading and I would recommend it to anyone who grew up reading Conan or is interested in exploring the world beyond those stories.
March 10, 2010
This author needs an English class. He can't put together sentences. The vast majority of this novel was written with sentence fragments. This made for some seriously jumpy reading.
I found this book difficult to read because of all the sentence fragments. At least one out of three sentences are fragmented throughout this novel (and the series). While I understand that the use of a sentence fragment can be effective when used sparingly, this author has written an entire trilogy comprised almost entirely of fragments!
Honestly, it makes the author look as though he has no command of the English language at all.
His Cimmerians wear ponchos, which seem wildly out of place for the culture, and the author misidentifies the Shemites as a black race. Twice in the trilogy he mentions the ebony skin of Belit - a woman Robert E. Howard described as having ivory skin.
The fragments really ruined the novel.
I found this book difficult to read because of all the sentence fragments. At least one out of three sentences are fragmented throughout this novel (and the series). While I understand that the use of a sentence fragment can be effective when used sparingly, this author has written an entire trilogy comprised almost entirely of fragments!
Honestly, it makes the author look as though he has no command of the English language at all.
His Cimmerians wear ponchos, which seem wildly out of place for the culture, and the author misidentifies the Shemites as a black race. Twice in the trilogy he mentions the ebony skin of Belit - a woman Robert E. Howard described as having ivory skin.
The fragments really ruined the novel.
January 25, 2016
These books are based on the videogame franchise, though they strive to be their own entity, and it's a good thing they did this. Blood of Wolves is good. This is not about Conan, but those who come after him. The Cimmerian way of life, hard and harsh is represented well here. The ongoing struggle they have with the Vanir is the focal point, and the battles, leading up to the final fight with the Vanir war chief, who is half Frost Giant, is brutal and epic. These books are good. Do they live up to the Conan Robert E. Howard portrayed? Not at all, but they aren't supposed to. They tell another story about folks who revere and remember Conan, who is still in Aquilonia during this tale. Great stuff.
Danny
Danny
October 25, 2011
Picked this one up to re-read when I ran out of something new a while ago. Amazing story! A more mature Conan tale. Where as Conan is portrayed as an ADD wanderer that left Cimmeria on his own, Kern is an outcast with a sense of loyalty to Cimmeria. Not as strong or as fierce as Conan but better in many ways. A natural leader that inspires those around him to cast themselves out of their tribes. Great characterization and bloody battles. Going to dig into the rest of the series soon.
November 19, 2008
What can I say? Michael suggested I read these before we started playing Age of Conan online. After some harassment, and having the books placed in my hand... I finally did it. Of course, I couldn't put them down. Once again, a fun read but this time because of non-stop action!
February 19, 2011
I had a lot of fun reading it. Very entertaining. I am considering rereading it before I finish the rest of the series.
It was very easy for me to feel the main character. That is why I enjoyed it so much.
It was very easy for me to feel the main character. That is why I enjoyed it so much.
June 14, 2009
not normally the kind of genre I dig, but this book was fun. I'll read the rest of the trilogy.
December 11, 2009
i thought it was slow in the beginning, but it got better when i got farther in the book.
July 18, 2012
Worst book ever... sorry to say that. I haven't even finished it.
July 21, 2013
An interesting story that gives insight into the culture and lifestyle of Conan's people. However, the story lacked much what made Howard's work so special. The whole plot eventually fell flat.
August 18, 2014
Found it really boring. Couldn't get myself to care about the characters or the story. Didn't finish.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews