Соломон Кейн: Қара киімді әділет іздеуші

Fictional character

Solomon Kane is a fictional character created by the pulp era writer Robert E. Howard. A late 16th to early 17th 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. When Weird Tales published the story "Red Nails", featuring Conan the Barbarian, the editors introduced it as a tale of "a barbarian adventurer named Conan, remarkable for his sheer force of valor and brute strength. Its author, Robert E. Howard, is already a favorite with the readers of this magazine for his stories of Solomon Kane, the dour English Puritan and redresser of wrongs". Solomon Kane was portrayed by James Purefoy in the film Solomon Kane in 2009. He has also been featured in a series of comics published by Marvel from 1973 to 1994 and again from 2008 to 2009.

In his story "Moon of Skulls", Robert E. Howard described Kane as "He was a man born out of his time — a strange blending of Puritan and Cavalier, with a touch of the ancient philosopher, and more than a touch of the pagan, though the last assertion would have shocked him unspeakably. An atavist of the days of blind chivalry he was, a knight errant in the somber clothes of the fanatic. A hunger in his soul drove him on and on, an urge to right all wrongs, protect all weaker things, avenge all crimes against right and justice." Solomon Kane is a deeply devout Puritan. He is characterized by his fanaticism, unshakable faith, and religious zeal. His forename references King Solomon, who was righteous and wise. His morality is starkly black and white, allowing for no grey areas of uncertainty. To Kane, the wicked are wicked, and the righteous are righteous, with little between. His surname, Kane, is a reference to Cain, the Bible’s first murderer. A hint towards Kane's dangerous nature and willingness to take other men's lives. Like Conan the Barbarian, Kane shows a keen sense of chivalry and propriety, defending the innocent and the weak from their wicked oppressors. Kane lives on an endless odyssey to destroy evil and darkness in the name of God Almighty. He also seems to have little regard for his own life and safety, giving away years of his life to pursue and track down evil doers who deserved punishment. He is the archetypical wandering hero, seeking no reward for his actions.

Solomon Kane is a tall, sombre, and gloomy man with pale skin, gaunt face, and cold eyes. Kane is a Puritan Englishman, of the 16th century, who is often depicted with the stereotypical garb of his time and culture. He is dressed entirely in black. He wears a slouch hat, leather gloves, riding boots, a doublet, and cloak. Kane is proficient in many different types of weapons, and his arsenal is incredibly varied. His main weapon is a Spanish rapier, since Kane is a master duelist and swordsman. In his off hand, he often wields a dirk, a thrusting dagger of Scottish origin. Kane is also equipped with a brace of flintlock pistols. He also, on one occasion, uses a musket.

During one of his later adventures, his friend N'Longa, an African shaman, gave him a juju staff for protection against evil and to be wielded as a weapon. In "The Footfalls Within", it is the mythical Staff of Solomon. It is an artifact that belonged to the Biblical monarch of Ancient Israel, Solomon. Before this, when the world was young, Atlantean and pre Adamite priests in silent cities beneath the seas used the staff to fight evil, millions of years before mankind was born. The staff was older than the Earth and unimaginably powerful, more than even N'Longa knew. With the staff, Moses did wonders before the Pharaoh and carried it with him when his people fled Egypt. For centuries it was the Scepter of Israel (from Numbers 24:17), and Solomon used it to combat magicians or capture djinn. The staff may be Aaron's rod, Moses' rod, or the Rod of Asclepius. It is carved from a wood that no longer exists on Earth. The staff is covered with ancient hieroglyphs and sharply pointed at one end, with the head of a cat on the other. The cat's head is a representation of Bast, and the priests of Bast used the staff in Ancient Egypt. The cat's head was carved out of an unknown pre existing decoration and was added long after the staff was created. Using the staff, Kane can communicate over distances with N'Longa. It has also been used to slay vampires and evil spirits. Having carried it for an extended period, it has endowed Kane with the ability to sense otherworldly beings. When Kane is taken prisoner by slavers, Yussef the Hadji recognizes it and says it is older than the world itself and holds mighty magic.

He is an ancient shaman of pre colonial Africa who is driven to study magic. He has traveled the world in ancient times as a slave, secretly studying under various sorcerers and holy men of the Middle and Near East. In Judea, he acquired the Staff of Solomon, which he later gave to Solomon Kane to aid him in his wanderings. N'Longa's magical powers derive from his ability to send his spirit out of his body. He can take over the bodies of the living and dead through this method to communicate with Solomon Kane through the Staff of Solomon, and he also summons vultures by sending his spirit to parley with them.

Meaning "The Wolf", Le Loup is a French criminal mastermind whom Kane spent several years tracking down to avenge the murder of a dying girl he found, and her whole village. Kane eventually tracks Le Loup to Africa, where he first meets N'Longa, and justice is served after Kane kills him in a duel.

His real name is Jonas Hardraker and he is known on all coasts of the civilized world as a ruthless pirate. He is a tall, rangy, broad shouldered man, with a lean hawk like cruel face. Solomon Kane hunted him for two years after Hardraker sank a ship that was carrying the daughter of an old friend of Kane, the old friend having gone mad after hearing of his daughter's death. Kane finally confronted and killed Hardraker in England where Hardraker was smuggling alcohol with Sir George Banway.

Most of the Solomon Kane stories were first published in Weird Tales. Some stories were first published in a collection, also entitled Red Shadows, released posthumously. The order of publication, however, does not coincide with the order in which the stories were written. TitleDatePublicationFormSummary"Red Shadows"1928, AugustWeird TalesStoryAlternatively titled "Solomon Kane". This was the first Solomon Kane story ever published. In France, Kane finds a girl attacked by a gang of brigands led by a villain known as le Loup. As she dies in his arms, Kane determines to avenge her death, and the trail leads from France to Africa, ending in Kane's first meeting with N'Longa. "Skulls in the Stars"1929, JanuaryWeird TalesStoryIn England, Kane is on his way towards the hamlet of Torkertown and must choose one of two paths. One route leads through a moor, while the other leads through a swamp. He's warned that the moor route is haunted and all travelers who take this road die, so Kane decides to investigate. "Rattle of Bones"1929, JuneWeird TalesStoryIn Germany, Kane meets a traveler named Gaston L'Armon, who seems familiar to Kane, and together they rent rooms at the Cleft Skull Tavern. "The Moon of Skulls"1930, June (Part 1)Weird TalesStoryKane goes to Africa on the trail of an English girl named Marylin Taferal, kidnapped from her home and sold to Barbary pirates by her cousin. When Kane discovers the hidden city of Negari, he encounters Nakari, "The Vampire Queen of Negari".1930, July (Part 2)"Hills of the Dead"1930, AugustWeird TalesStoryIn Africa again, Kane's old friend N'Longa (the witch doctor from "Red Shadows") gives the Puritan a magic wooden staff, the Staff of Solomon, which will protect him during his travels. Kane enters the jungle and finds a city of vampires. "The Footfalls Within"1931, SeptemberWeird TalesStoryIn Africa again, Kane encounters Arab slave traders busily engaged driving slaves to market. He rushes to save a girl whom the slavers are mistreating, but is himself overwhelmed and taken prisoner. "Wings in the Night"1932, JulyWeird TalesStoryWhile in Africa, Kane comes across an entire village wiped out, with all of the roofs having been ripped off, as if by some creature attempting to get inside from above. "Blades of the Brotherhood"/"The Blue Flame of Vengeance" 1968Red Shadows, GrantStoryOn the English coast, Kane battles the Fishhawk and his fellow pirates in a historical action tale with no fantasy elements. Writer John Pocsik was commissioned by Arkham House founder August Derleth to "edit" Howard's prose and to add a weird element for his 1964 anniversary anthology Over the Edge. REH scholar L. Sprague de Camp and author Fritz Leiber are both reported to have thought highly of the "new" version. Pocsik went on to pen several other Kane pastiches, only one of which, "The Fiend Within", saw print in Ariel (with "Solomon Kane" changed to "Jonathan Flint"). "The Right Hand of Doom"1968Red Shadows, GrantStoryKane plays a minimal role in this story. A condemned wizard, Roger Simeon, seeks revenge on John Redly, the man who betrayed him. "The One Black Stain" PoemWherein Solomon Kane speaks out against Sir Francis Drake, objecting to his execution of Sir Thomas Doughty in 1578 Patagonia, South America (actual historical people and events). "The Return of Sir Richard Grenville" PoemKane fights side by side with the ghost of Sir Richard Grenville, at whose 1591 death Kane had been present. "Solomon Kane's Homecoming"1936, Fall (republished in 1976)Fanciful Tales of Time and SpacePoemAfter years of wandering, Kane comes back to England "to live forever in my place." Then he hears "the howling of the ocean pack" and leaves again. This work contains a dialog exchange between Kane and a local man: "Where is Bess? Woe that I caused her tears. "/"In the quiet churchyard by the sea she has slept these seven years." Most fans of the character have assumed that Bess is Queen Elizabeth I of England and consequently date the incident to 1610 but this is wrong. In the Howard fragment, "Hawk of Basti," Kane says of this monarch, "She herself has lied to and betrayed the folk of my faith ," an historian described Elizabeth as "a huge boulder in the path of Puritanism, unavoidable, insurmountable, immovable," and she is buried in Westminster Abbey which does not fit the description of Bess' burial place. Some fans consider "Bess" to be the love interest of Solomon Kane. There is no other mention of Bess in the stories, but given the character of Kane, a story has been read between the lines: Bess and Kane have shared a love, but the wayfaring nature of Kane has forced him to pursue his adventures. Perhaps he has planned to come home to start a family with Bess, but upon hearing of her death, breaks all connections to home and leaves again without returning. "Death's Black Riders"1968, SpringThe Howard Collector #10FragmentJust a few lines completed. Kane meets a shadowy ghost rider on the road. "The Castle of the Devil"1968Red Shadows, GrantFragmentIn the Black Forest, Kane tells John Silent, an English mercenary, how he cut down a boy from the local Baron's gibbet. Both men head to the Baron's castle for a reckoning. The final Howard sentence is the following: "Your speech is wild and Godless," said Kane. "But I begin to like you." (page 64 of Bantam edition, Skulls in the Stars)"The Children of Asshur" Red ShadowsFragmentKane comes across a lost city of Assyrians. Howard completed parts I through III (Part III ends on page 129 of Bantam edition, The Hills of the Dead)"Hawk of Basti" Red ShadowsFragmentKane's old acquaintance, Jeremy Hawk, was once the king of an African lost civilization, and wants to resume that role. The final Howard sentence is the following: Then calling to a man who had the appearance of a chief, he ordered him to walk between himself and Kane. (page 33 of Bantam edition, The Hills of the Dead)Notes Ramsey Campbell has completed Howard's three sizable fragments in English, and several compilations contain some of these collaborations. The 1978 and 1979 Bantam editions and 1996 Baen edition in which Campbell's continuation and completion of Howard's fragments are printed do not delineate the exact spot at which the author changes. Comparing these to the 2004 Ballantine edition, The Savage Tales of Solomon Kane, gives us that information. Javier Martin Lalanda has completed Howard's fragments in Las Aventuras De Solomon Kane, the complete Spanish edition of the Kane stories. Gianluigi Zuddas has completed Howard's fragments in Solomon Kane, Fanucci, Rome, 1979, the complete Italian edition of the Kane stories.

There are currently three audio book recordings of Solomon Kane stories and poems, all currently available for purchase and download through Audible. There is one free audio drama production:
The Savage Tales of Solomon Kane, an unabridged audio book of the collected Solomon Kane stories released by Tantor Audio and narrated by Paul Boehmer, originally available on CD A 2019 unabridged recording in French released by Hardigan Audio and read by Nicolas Planchais. A 2013 recording of the poem "Solomon Kane's Homecoming", released by Spoken Realms Audio and read by Glenn Hascall.