Echoes of Valor

by Karl Edward Wagner (Editor), Henry Kuttner, Fritz Leiber

Three great realms of heroic adventure by a trio of fantasy masters:

ROBERT E. HOWARD
The creator of Conan the mighty Cimmerian pits his hero against a fiend from hell and a savage tribe in the first complete publication ever of "THE BLACK STRANGER"

FRITZ LEIBER
The dean of fantasy writers send his greatest creations - Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser - on an entertaining, eerie quest in the definitive version of "ADEPT'S GAMBIT"

HENRY KUTTNER
A master of fantasy challenges a reluctant American pilot with sorceress Morgan le Fay and the forces of evil in a struggle to save WWII Britain... the first publication in book form of "WET MAGIC"

Genres: Fantasy, Sword and Sorcery, Anthologies

288 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published February 1, 1987

About the author

Karl Edward Wagner (12 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". Wagner also admired the cinema of Sam Peckinpah, stating "I worship the film The Wild Bunch".

Reviews

[Derek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not to be confused with the '70s revival fashion guide, Echoes of Velour. I joke.

Wagner has a thing for the original forms of the stories. "The Black Stranger" is an unpublished Conan story that Howard later rewrote into a Black Vulmea piece, "Swords of the Red Brotherhood". "Adept's Gambit" is an earlier version, bereft of the framing device that draws the Twain from Nehwon to fantasy-historical Lebanon. It may even predate Leiber's construction of Nehwon itself, though Lankhmar is mentioned shudderingly at one point.

In his introduction to "The Black Stranger", Wagner identifies the twin influences of Old World legend and Old West tales as the alchemy to Howard's writing, which is a fascinating thought. The story forms a pair with "Beyond the Black River", taking place just after those events and in the same basic area, near the Thunder River frontier of Aquilonia or Zingara.

I wish that Howard had done more with the setting, with Conan wandering around the outskirts of civilization. It suited the character and suited the level of adventure that Howard favored: strongmen behind fortresses, piracy in spades, lost treasures, and politically-incorrect natives.

It is astonishing how polished "Adept's Gambit" is with regard to characterization and tone, at least for its first half. There's no date given for its actual writing, but Leiber has nailed the relationship of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser and their hijinks. I challenge any reader to be unaffected by the pair's contentious interview with Nigauble: the interplay, the use of words, the sheer musical language, the way it all locks together. And just afterwards is an 80's movie-style montage as the two fetch the shopping list of impossible artifacts, dispensing with in a few pages what a lesser author might drag into a trilogy. It is delightful to read, with a sense that behind the small mentions and allusions lurk a host of other adventures of at least equal narrative value.

But the story takes a weird right turn just after their confrontation with Anra, where Ahura narrates a weirdly gothic backstory whose purpose seems minute given the abrupt endgame.

[Jason Waltz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great anthology, opens and closes with terrific tales of heady action and heroic derring-do. Sad there is only 3 stories, but they are fine specimens of sword-and-sorcery's loving embrace. REH of course rocks with one of Conan's more exciting tales involving Picts and pirates and pretty baubles and prettier dames and powerfully diabolical sorcery. Some terrific turns of phrase describing battle, blood, and Conan's prowess at finding both. Leiber follows this with a great example of both his famous duo and what all S&S duos should be like. Beautiful writing, filled with spectacular sarcasm and tongue-twisting dialogue of quick wit and banter. A bit too much combining of that tongue-twisting and banter for my personal enjoyment, but the writing is a delight. And finally an extremely well-written and delivered Arthurian tale from Henry Kuttner, who I am not very well-read in. I enjoyed this story quite a bit, even its moments of lightheartedness, for it was dark and dangerous throughout, and none of the humor felt forced, or slapstick, or over-played. A believable protagonist and deeds of wonder and bravery in a well-realized setting. Well-done, a great introduction to Kuttner's heroic writing.

I wish there were at least a fourth tale, though these were all longer stories. And Leiber's tale - though fun - grew a wee tiresome.

[Jean-Francois Boivin]

Feb. 16, 2013 - Read "The Black Stranger" by Robert E. Howard, during a chronological reading of Conan stories and comic adaptations. Unpublished during his lifetime, this is the original unedited version, before it was "edited" by L. Sprague de Camp and published in Fantasy Magazine #1, Feb. 1953. De Camp later retitled it "The Treasure of Tranicos" for the Conan book series from Lancer Books.

Aug. 11, 2019 - Read "Adept's Gambit" by Fritz Leiber during a chronological reading of Fafhrd and Gray Mouser stories. The version in this book is the original publication from NIGHT'S BLACK AGENTS (1947), and not the edited version that was collected in SWORDS IN THE MIST (1968). The only Fafhrd and Gray Mouser story set in historical Earth and not in the world of Nehwon.

June 3-4, 2021 - Read "Wet Magic" by Henry Kuttner in its original publication in Unknown Worlds vol.6 #5, Feb. 1943.

[T. Kurt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent collection of what I've read Wagner prefered to call heroic fantasy, but which is often called sword & sorcery. I had already read Howard's "The Black Stranger", first in its rewritten version ad a pirate story, "Swords of the Red Brotherhood", with Conan replaced with Howard's swashbuckling hero Black Vulmea, and later in its original form in the Del Rey trade paperback collection The Conquering Sword of Conan, but it was good to read it again. I was also familiar with Leiber's "Adept's Gambit", and enjoyed rereading it as well. Kuttner's "Wet Magic" was new to me, and I liked it, though not as well as the Howard and Leiber stories.

[Wes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vastly different short stories in terms of characters and locations, but the vibe is still the same. This is another book that was handed down to me after one of my best friends passed on. I read it for the Conan, not really being interested in the other two, but I can't just NOT finish a book, so I ground through those stories too.

All in all, I liked the story by Henry Kuttner the best. With these kinds of books, they all just sort of tend to blur together for me and is MUCH more of a throwback to the reading of my youth as opposed to anything I really read now.

You should know by the cover if this is your jam or not.

[Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 & 1/2: most of Kuttner's story is a corny knockoff of "Connecticut Yankee" and "Sword in the Stone" that lowers the quality of Wagner's collection. However, the original version of "Adept's Gambit" included herein is the best work by Leiber (and one of the best-crafted S&S stories by anyone) I've yet read. Also, REH's original "The Black Stranger" packs a heavier punch with Conan rather than Black Vulmea (who starred in the revised iteration) doing the swinging.

[Murray Writtle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stirring stuff!

[Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first "Echoes of Valor" collection, with stories by Robert E. Howard, Fritz Leiber, and Henry Kuttner. Edited by Karl Edward Wagner.

[bluetyson]

Echoes of Valor by Karl Wagner (1987)