Bran Mak Morn: The Last King

Favorites are "The Dark Man", "Worms of the Earth", "Kings of the Night", and the fragment with Pict Partha Mac Othna, Norseman Thorvald the Smiter, and a proud warrior woman of the Red-beards/Red People. Review portion: Robert E. Howard has an enthralling prose that draws me in, and leads the stories from start to finish, compelling the reader forward. His historical knowledge is on full display here, as well as his creative genius at mixing in mythology. With all the recent talk of Rome among social media, I would definitely suggest Bran Mak Morn tales. What helps drive these tales along, is Howard's exposure of ethnicities/races to each other, their tribal hate to conquer each other even when they have evolved into the era's standard of advanced civilizations, and their natural immersion into a new tribe when they fight a common cause. Even in the face of war, diverse men seem to have a respect for each other's commonality in life, and men among their own who act in devious ways are frowned upon at best, denounced in the middle, and even pushed to the brink of death at worst. The conquering Romans and the ravaging Danes won't find much love among the "savage" Picts and the back-island Celts. Skin tone is a passing topic, painting the scene, but never a point of contention. The spirit of it all though, is Robert's haunting atmosphere of ancient cultures, ghostly visions of dawning man and the inevitability of every man to pass into history to be their own spectre of remembrance for future peoples. Priest Jerome is a compelling and sacrificial character that I'd love to imagine as an enduring spirit. Each tale, I envision a dreamscape of over-the-horizon nightmare, with compatriots at the edge of war, and enemies in the shadows of camaraderie. Bran Mak Morn seems a man out of time, evolved from those that seem stuck in the past, and holding on to the primal savagery that scares the civilized men who try to control the future. Howard's tales may skirt racism (not of his standards but of the world's), but it's not a glorified testament against race, it's a documentary of humanity's age-old tendency to create tribes/cliques and to use these as standards for how they interact with others. Bran, and most of Howard's most relatable characters like Kull, Conan, Brule and beyond, are always at odds with tribalism, but also with civilization, as both basically limit a man's autonomy, though both can be enjoyable things to be exposed to correctly.

Of all of Howard's many memorable characters (Kull, Conan, etc.) I would say that Bran Mak Morn is the most interesting. As leader of the dwindling and nearly extinct race of Picts (a real culture that Howard has embellished upon), he battles Roman incursions and struggles to raise his beloved race out of the pit of savagery and darkness into which they are swiftly falling. He has a knowledge that no matter what he does, the fall of his race is inevitable. The true strength of Bran's character is that he battles and struggles toward his goal anyway, even though he knows that he will eventually fail. 'Men of the Shadows' is the first story in this collection and presents a strong start. It is a great introduction to Bran's character and the goals toward which he is striving. 'Kings of the Night' is the second story, and features a looming battle between the Roman Legions and the confederated armies of the northern races. This story also features an appearance from one of Howard's other popular characters. This comes very close to being my favorite in the collection. 'Worms of the Earth' is a strong tale featuring Bran's quest for vengeance against a Roman General's unjust treatment of a Pict. This is my favorite tale in the collection, and shows Howard at his best. Strong imagery, beautiful prose, and a dark plot. 'The Dark Man' takes place many centuries after Bran's death, but is nevertheless a powerful tale of the Pictish people who worship the dead king as a God. 'The Lost Race' is one of the weaker tale but presents a history of the Pictish people that makes it worthy of this collection. The Miscellanea and Appendices present helpful information but the only complete stories that feature Bran Mak Morn are those mentioned above. There are also many of Howard's poems about the Pictish people and Bran Mak Morn that show a different side of Robert E. Howard's skills and add much to the character of Bran and his people. The entire book is covered with Gary Gianni's beautifully atmospheric drawings and I would reccomend this collection for anyone seeking to discover Bran Mak Morn's character and Howard's expansive talents.

Good old Robert E. Howard! In the last dozen years of his sadly truncated life, he created a whole universe of pulpy goodness. If you've read all the Conans, and all the Kulls, and the Solomon Kanes, you still have these jewels of fast-paced blood-drenched bosom-heaving skull-cleaving story-telling to look forward to. These are among my favorites in Howard-world: he's hip-deep in the kind of lost-race mythology that he loves, and the stories here of Bran Mak Morn and Black Turlough O'Brien really sing. Nobody did it better. When REH uses a cliche, he makes it HIS cliche, and you instantly forgive him for it. He took such JOY in creating these fantasies of wish-fulfillment that you're swept heedlessly along. Thank Crom I discovered these stories when I was 11-- when I read them now, I'm that age again, and the wonder and innocence of that time is revisited.

If you are a Robert E. Howard fan, which I am, then your going to certainly like this one. Fast moving, as all of Howard's stories are, this is NOT just a Conan wrapped in a different skin. I do have to agree with a couple of other reviewers in that this is perhaps not Howard's best work, but it is certainly typical Howard and certainly worth the read. As has been pointed out, this is not a bunch of unpublished tales, cleaned up by other authors, this is the real stuff, warts and all. If you enjoy this particular genre, then you will no doubt enjoy this one. I collect these particular books and am glad to have a copy of this one, old and ragged as it might be.

One thing I notitced is that a lot of the works were finished by other writers. Not true of this collection! Not only could they not capture the true spirit of Howard's writing but they should have been left as so...unfinished. This volume leaves the stories as they should be. I was glad to see the type written unfinished story at the end of the book. I have to wonder why Bran Mac Morn never shared the popularity of Conan. Perhaps it was the poetry that turned off some readers. It was an unexpected departure from the Conan character we all know. We can only speculate as to what Howard might have created had he lived past age 30. Not only does Howard transend the art of pulp fiction, he should be up there with Tolkien as one of the great fantasy creators of all time.

If you've never read anything by Robert E Howard, you should know that he wrote for "pulp" magazines of the 20's and 30's like Weird Tales and with characters like Conan the Cimmerian and Bran Mak Morn, invented what we term "swords and sorcery" today. This collection focuses on the people he termed Picts and their king, Bran Mak Morn who is the last of his race with an unbroken bloodline. The Picts were the first of the Stone Age tribes to build a society, strive for art and explore the world, but time has displaced them, wars with the Celts drove them from conquered lands and as a result of intermingling bloodlines has thrust them into primative shadows of former glory. The setting for most of these stories takes place in the historical period of the Roman conquest of Briton and focuses on Bran Mak Morn's hatred of the Roman invaders and his drive to restore his race to civilization. Most of the stories are short, but the longest,"Worms of the Earth" is considered one of Howards best, and the all fit firmly in the mythos of Conan, Solomon Kane, King Kull and others. Also included is the Lovecraftian "Children Of Darkness", poems that tell the history and prophcies of the Picts, fragments and first drafts. This is an excellent collection that is at times moving, chilling and all ways entertaining. If you've never read REH and want to start, here is a good place to begin. If you like historical warfare with a supernatural flair or threories of pre-cataclysmic Ice Age societies you can do no better than this.