Solomon Kane

Solomon Kane is a fictional character created by the pulp-era writer Robert E. Howard. A 16th century Puritan, Solomon Kane is a somber looking man who wanders the world with no apparent goal other than to vanquish evil in all its forms. His adventures, published mostly in the pulp magazine Weird Tales, often take him from Europe to the jungles of Africa and back to Europe.

Related Topics:
Fictional character - Pulp - Robert E. Howard - 16th century - Puritan - Weird Tales - Europe - Africa

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Howard describes him as a somber and gloomy man of pale face and cold eyes, all of it shadowed by a slouch hat. He is dressed entirely in black and his weaponry consists of a rapier, a dagger and a couple of flintlock pistols. During one of his latter adventures his friend N'Longa, a black African shaman, gave him a voodoo staff that served as a protection against evil, but could easily be wielded as an effective weapon. In the same adventure with N'Longa, Kane is seen using a musket as well.

Related Topics:
Rapier - Dagger - Flintlock - Shaman - Voodoo - Staff - Musket

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Kane is one of Robert E. Howard's most original characters. A common criticism of Howard is that all his heroes are the same, and this is a hard fact to deny. Conan the Barbarian, Kull the Conquerer, and Bran Mak Morn all fit the same mold: Strong, willful, unstoppable warriors who fight in ancient times and live by their own rules. Solomon Kane, however, is quite different. He lives in a much more modern world (the sixteenth century) and is exceptionally dedicated to the cause of good. Other Howard heroes are amoral, relatively apathetic men who care little for the troubles of others. However, in several Kane stories, Solomon spends years at a time dedicating himself to one cause or another, all in the name of stopping evil. It is to Howard's credit that Solomon Kane is such a radical departure from his other characters.

Related Topics:
Robert E. Howard - Conan the Barbarian - Kull the Conquerer - Bran Mak Morn

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