The Legacy of Karl Edward Wagner

Today marks the 25th anniversary of Karl Edward Wagner’s death. He was born on December 12, 1945 and passed away on October 14, 1994.  The ISFDB has both dates wrong.  Deuce Richardson posted a photo of KEW’s grave marker on his tribute.

There have been several tributes posted today. They include posts by Charles R. Rutledge, Brian Murphy, Scott Oden, and David J. West.  All are erudite and substantial, and you should read them.

Wagner considered himself more of a horror writer than a writer of fantasy or sword-and-sorcery (a term he hated).  As a fiction writer, he was all of that and more. His work, if you can find it, and if you can afford it, is worth reading.  He’s out of print and getting harder to find (and more expensive) all the time.

He was also an editor to the top rank.  He edited DAW’s Year’s Best Horror anthologies for years.  They are worth seeking out for the introductions and essays alone, never mind the great stories.  Wagner brought us the first pure Conan as Robert E. Howard wrote him in the Berkeley collections, at least until de Camp put a stop to them.  His three volume series, Echoes of Valor, are books I pick up every time I see them.

I’m not going to try to repeat what they said.  I can’t improve on them.  Rather I was to devote a minute to something that all the other writers failed to mention.  Wagner’s first (AFAIK) role as editor and publisher.

Carcosa Press.

Wagner formed Carcosa in 1973 with David Drake and Jim Groce.  If I didn’t already hold Drake in high regard as a writer, this association would certainly put him on my list of people to respect above many others.  August Derleth had recently died, and they were concerned that Arkham House wouldn’t continue to publish new books.

Carcosa only published four volumes, but they were done right.  Today they are highly collectible.  The books were all collections.  They were Worse Things Waiting by Manly Wade Wellman (1973), Far Lands, Other Days by E. Hoffman Price (1975), Murgunstrumm by Hugh B. Cave (1977), and Lonely Vigils by Manley Wade Wellman (1981).  I find it interesting that all three of these writers began to publish novels again after their Carcosa volumes were published.  I’m not saying that bringing these collections into print was the reason.  I’m just point the timing out.

These collections are worth hunting down.   The good news is that Murgunstrumm is available in ebook, and Worse Things Waiting was reprinted in trade paper last year.

I enjoy Wagner’s work as an author and an editor.  I’m going to read something of his fiction tonight.  But I am especially grateful to him and David Drake and Jim Groce for publishing these books and keeping their writings alive.

23 thoughts on “The Legacy of Karl Edward Wagner

  1. Woelf Dietrich

    Good post. I now have the honour of possessing the three-volume Valor series, thanks to you. I like Wagner’s Kane. He is, to me, a Conan/Elric hybrid with a little bit of Solomon Kane. It’s indeed rare to find a Wagner book, at least in my neck of the woods. Thanks for keeping the masters alive with your posts. It is now more than ever important that we not lose track of our literary roots.

    Reply
    1. Keith West Post author

      Thanks. I agree about not losing track of our literary roots, especially since there seems to be an organized movement to eradicate them.

      Reply
  2. Paul McNamee

    KEW should be in perpetual reprint. I don’t understand why he isn’t.

    And, as David West and I were discussing, KEW should be out in *affordable* trade or mass market editions. He’s had a good enough run in the collectors’ editions.

    Wish I’d known him.

    Reply
    1. Keith West Post author

      I wish I had known him, too. You two are absolutely right about KEW being available in affordable editions. The only affordable editions I’ve seen are the ebooks of the Kane stories. I’ve not bought any, so I don’t know about the quality. I suspect he isn’t in print because whoever is handling his literary estate doesn’t understand (or maybe care) how to keep him in print. I have the same complaint about Jack Williamson. He left is estate to ENMU. Knowing university administrators like I do, I’m surprised they don’t have all of Williamson’s backlist in ebook form.

      Reply
      1. Carrington Dixon

        They are probably too scared of those nasty e-book pirates. That’s a shame, I have most of Williamson’s work in dead-tree editions, but I should love to have cheap electronic copies to read at the airport or such.

        Reply
        1. Keith West Post author

          Exactly. I often buy inexpensive ebooks of things I have in print so I can read them while traveling, especially if my print copies are signed.

          Reply
  3. deuce

    “I suspect he isn’t in print because whoever is handling his literary estate doesn’t understand (or maybe care) how to keep him in print.”

    I’ve heard things. I’ll leave it at that. Obviously, the situation isn’t optimal.

    Reply
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  6. Jason M Waltz

    Just finished ‘Raven’s Eyrie,’ a story I’d thought I’d read. I had not – and wow! what I’ve been missing! Spectacular, thrilling, pounding, raw writing like this:

    “He saw the black flames of the far abyss, toward which monstrous worms gnawed chaotic tunnels through the rock, seeking the flames of Hell, where as obscene moths they would burst forth to wheel and dart, until their smoldering wings would fail and they would plunge like meteors into the lake of fire.”

    Reply
    1. Keith West Post author

      That doesn’t sound familiar. I don’t think I’ve read that one. If I weren’t trying to finish something for you, I would read it later this evening.

      Reply
          1. Keith West Post author

            Made some progress tonight and worked out the logistics of the climax. This story is probably going to be twice the length I thought it would.

  7. Francisco

    hi, I’m Francisco from Spain, I hope you excuse my poor English!!! I’m an avid reader of KEW since I read the very few horror stories they translated to Spanish in some anthologies, later I read the two collections of stories of Kane and they were excellent just as good as Howard and Moorcock. I specially enjoyed The cold light (with the best antagonist I have read in a sword and sorcery story) and Raven’s Eyrie. What about his novels of Kane, are interesting enough?
    Best wishes and Greetings from Spain!!!

    Reply
    1. Keith West Post author

      Hola, Francisco! Muchas gracias por leyendo.

      Did I say that right? I’ve been trying to learn Spanish in my spare time. Your English is fine, by the way.

      I’ve not read the Kane novels yet, just the short fiction. I’m hoping to get to one of them soon. Thanks for your comment and for reading. Feel free to comment at any time. It’s always good to hear from folks in other parts of the world.

      Reply

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