'Killer' – David Drake and Karl Edward Wagner


I've had my eye on a copy of DMR Books' 'Renegade Swords II' for a while now but apparently not that much of an eye or I'd have realised, a lot earlier than the other day, that there was a Karl Edward Wagner story to be found within... It hasn't been the easiest few weeks so I'm not surprised that I didn't notice, to be fair ;o)

Once I realised though, I had myself a copy of the collection pretty much straight away. There may well be a part of the world where Karl Edward Wagner's books are easily affordable but I don't live there, if something like this comes up then I don't hang about. 'Killer' eventually became a full novel in the nineteen eighties but for now, we're heading back to the seventies and a story that was a lot shorter...

No-one knew what the creature was... Not the Sarmatians who saw a hilltop explode and found a blue skinned creature in the middle of the rubble. Not Vonones, buyer of curiosities for the arena who finds himself with a creature that he has never seen before, but not for very long... And certainly not Lycon the Greek, a man who has made his living capturing the deadliest animals in the world and must now hunt and kill a creature that may not be of this world. It has escaped and it has a taste for blood. Lycon and Vonones must kill it before the Emperor kills them...

I'm not sure who wrote, or revised, which piece but what I do know is that Drake and Wagner came up with something pretty special between them. I'd go for Drake's original idea shot through with Wagner's grit and venom, it's an amazing combination that kept me going from start to finish.

'Killer' basically reads like the Ancient Roman equivalent of the Colonial Marines going on a 'bug hunt'. The creature is out there and it's hunting the hunters. There's a nice, steady dose of tension then that's interspersed with short sharp doses of violence from the creature. It really helps the story move in all the right ways.

I also liked that neither Lycon or Vonones were particularly affected by the otherworldliness of the creature, unlike other 'Sword and Sorcery' mainstays who fear unknown evils. It's almost like there was so much world still to explore, in those days, that anything from outside their limited experience could just be lumped in as part of that. Or maybe there wasn't time to be afraid if the Emperor's punishments were worse... Either way, it adds to a very 'matter of fact' feel to this piece. Things happen and sometimes, people must stand against the unknown; that seems to be the message here.

The solution to this problem is worth sticking around for and it's always worth meeting a 'hero' prepared to accept their limitations and look for another solution. Lycon's actions make for a brilliant finale, even if he is not directly involved in it...

While longer books are being read, 'Killer' made for a welcome break with it's tension and also blurring of the lines between hunter and hunted. I'll be keeping an eye open for the novel length version. In the meantime, the 'Renegade Swords II' collection remains the easiest way of reading this story so do yourself a favour and go read it.

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