Bran Mak Morn

The Robert E. Howard Library #4

by Robert E. Howard, Frank Frazetta (Illustrator)

Collection of Howard's pulp fiction stories from the 1920's and 1930's featuring Bran Mak Morn, chieftan/king of the Picts.

From Lin Carter: "...And his saga is a thundering epic of war and conquest--wherein the cunning and ferocity of his people, the mysterious and ancient Picts, are flung up against the iron legions of Imperial Rome in a struggle to the death."

Includes the following tales:

The Lost Race
Men of the Shadows
Kings of the Night
A Song of the Race (Poem)
Worms of the Earth
Untitled ("A grey sky arched over the dreary waste...")
The Night of the Wolf
The Dark Man

Cover art by Frank Frazetta.

Genres: Fantasy, Sword and Sorcery, Short Stories, Fiction, Science Fiction, Horror, Adventure

192 pages, Paperback

Published September 1, 1969

About the author

Robert Ervin Howard was an American pulp writer of fantasy, horror, historical adventure, boxing, western, and detective fiction. Howard wrote "over three-hundred stories and seven-hundred poems of raw power and unbridled emotion" and is especially noted for his memorable depictions of "a sombre universe of swashbuckling adventure and darkling horror."

He is well known for having created—in the pages of the legendary Depression-era pulp magazine Weird Tales—the character Conan the Cimmerian, a.k.a. Conan the Barbarian, a literary icon whose pop-culture imprint can only be compared to such icons as Tarzan of the Apes, Count Dracula, Sherlock Holmes, and James Bond.

—Wikipedia

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bran Mak Morn is one of my favorite Howard characters. Great pieces here, including some of Howard's strongest.

[s-b-t · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though these stories were first seen in pulp fiction magazines in the late 1920's and early 1930's, to dismiss them as "easy reading" is a mistake. Howard and his contemporaries wrote impressive works of literature that drew heavily on history, and referenced recurring fictional themes such as dark fantasy, eldritch magics, the horrors of the night and the undiscovered country, lost empires and cities such as Atlantis, and of course massive battles between iron-clad warriors with sword and shield. These stories of Bran Mak Morn, last king of the Picts of England, are no exception. Highly recommended for fans of fantasy, historical fiction, and Robert E. Howard.

[Willow Redd · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the way Howard writes his characters, they are intelligent warriors. He writes thinking men with a strong fighting spirit. They can often be drawn into a bloodlust, but it is typically when all else fails.

Here we have a collection of Howard's Pict, Bran Mak Morn; only, the title character doesn't appear as much as you would think. The first tale is more the tragic history of the Picts, followed by the appearance of Bran through the eyes of a Roman. It's not until "Worms of the Earth" that Bran becomes the protagonist of the story as he seeks revenge on a Roman who has sentenced one of Bran's people to death. This leads Bran to seek out the horrors of the Great Old Ones.

The final two stories focus on another character entirely, Black Turlough O'Brien. The first of these involves O'Brien getting some supernatural help from the long-dead Bran (or so it seems as O'Brien finds a statue of Bran which seems to offer him some protection throughout the tale). The second doesn't seem to have any connection to Bran or the Picts, but it does include O'Brien meeting a character from the previous adventure and the two of them witnessing the end of a whole civilization.

All the stories in this collection are great examples of Howard's epic storytelling, but I wish there had been more direct focus on Bran Mak Morn, being that it is his book. Of course, seeing as how this collection wasn't put together until long after Howard's death, not much can be done about it. Bran wasn't one of his regular characters like Conan or Solomon Kane.

[Scott Templeman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Aborted 2/3rds through the book (a collection of short stories), the stories right after a note from the editor, "hey, there were a whole lot of racist intellectuals back then... and he drew inspiration from Jack London!" I simply couldn't stomach stories centered around "racial memory." The previous stories were good, but also a little repetitive, I am sure they worked better in small spaced out doses. His ideas about the rise and fall of all civilizations were interesting and ahead of his time, but ultimately the rationalized racism grew too much for me to continue to write off as culturally out of context.

[Frank McGirk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing amazing here, but I like me some Howard. Interesting to see the progression in his writing as well.

[Karen-Leigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

From Robert E. Howard, the creator of iconic fantasy heroes like Conan, Kull, and Solomon Kane, comes a collection of stories -- some never before published! -- surrounding Bran Mak Morn, the god/king of the Picts, a mysterious race of ferocious apelike barbarians that fascinated Howard throughout his short-lived writing career.


"Worms of the Earth" (1932), a story that H. P. Lovecraft called a "macabre masterpiece," pits Bran Mak Morn against an arrogant Roman governor who has just sentenced an innocent Pict to death. All alone against a seemingly unstoppable empire, Morn calls upon ancient supernatural forces to help him attain revenge. "Men of the Shadows" (1969) chronicles the Picts at the end of their long reign. As the New Races rise up and expand throughout the world, the Picts -- and their doomed king -- prepare to make one glorious final stand. In "Kings of the Night" (1930), Morn must use all his persuasive powers to unite Vikings, Gaels, and Britons against an invading Roman army.


Genre historians and fans of heroic fantasy alike will cherish this newest Howard collection, which -- aside from the previously unpublished material -- includes actual handwritten manuscripts, typed story lines containing hand-penned corrections, an in-depth chronology of Howard's fascination with the Picts, an insightful essay by Howard scholars Rusty Burke and Patrice Louinet, and numerous illustrations by Gary Gianni. While Bran Mak Morn, whom author David Weber called "the quintessential Howard hero," may not be as well known as Conan or Kull, his bloody adventures are just as enthralling. Paul Goat Allen

[Roman Audi · Rating 5 out of 5]

A surprisingly sensitive collection of romantic historical fantasy stories from Robert E Howard. Alongside an abundance of violence, Howard frequently delves into somber territory with reflections on a lost people and dying empires.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely love Robert E. Howard. I bought this book in 1997 and never got around to reading it until now. Marvelous sword&sorcery. He really was the best. What an absolute tragedy that he died so young (he was only 30). It is amazing how prolific he was in such a short time. Bran Mak Morn is the king of the Picts, a race of men that appear again and again in Howard's stories. I was reminded of In Search of Ancient Ireland: The Origins of the Irish from Neolithic Times to the Coming of the English as read about Howard's fictionalized account of the Dawn of Man, and the struggles of the old races in the face of the new people--the Celts, the Norse, the Saxons, etc. Good stuff.

[Keith B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anything by Howard is great for me. These stories also feature some early Sci-Fi with ideas of alternate universe's and also feature aspects of the Roman influence and occupation on Britain and Ireland. This book also features Kull.

[Ronald · Rating 3 out of 5]

read between summer 1970 & summer 1974

[Jack Caldwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

lacks the mano a mano thrill of conan stories but there's a particular melancholy to bran that i enjoyed