Kull

Exile of Atlantis

By: Robert E. Howard

Narrated by: Todd McLaren

In a meteoric career that spanned a mere 12 years, Robert E. Howard single-handedly invented the genre that came to be called sword and sorcery. From his fertile imagination sprang some of fiction's most enduring heroes. Yet while Conan the Cimmerian is indisputably Howard's greatest creation, it was in his earlier sequence of tales featuring Kull, a fearless warrior with the brooding intellect of a philosopher, that Howard began to develop the distinctive themes and the richly evocative blend of history and mythology that would distinguish his later tales of the Hyborian Age. Much more than simply the prototype for Conan, Kull is a fascinating character in his own right: an exile from fabled Atlantis who wins the crown of Valusia, only to find it as much a burden as a prize.

This groundbreaking collection brings together all of Howard's stories featuring Kull: "Exile of Atlantis," "The Shadow Kingdom," "The Mirrors of Tuzun Thune," "The Cat and the Skull," "The Screaming Skull of Silence," "The Striking of the Gong," "The Altar and the Scorpion," "The Curse of the Golden Skull," "By This Axe I Rule!" "Swords of the Purple Kingdom," "The King and the Oak," and "Kings of the Night."

©2009 Robert E. Howard (P)2010 Tantor

The Beginnings of Modern Fantasy

Along with Lord Dunsany, Edgar Rice Burroughs and L. Frank Baum, the beginning of modern fantasy. Twentieth century classic

Great book for all ages

i love this book very good listening great for kids teen's an audlts it some of the best mysteries dark fantasy books out there Robert E Howard version of fantasy is just breathtaking.....

The Origins of Sword and Sorcery

Kull: Exile of Atlantis is an interesting read but definitely not the best place to begin if you're unfamiliar with Howard's fiction. There are a few strong stories in this volume but it's definitely not Howard at his best. In these stories and fragments the reader can sense REH developing as a writer, finding his voice and practically inventing a new genre (now commonly referred to as sword and sorcery). Only a few of these tales were published during Howard's lifetime and they're among the best in this collection. "The Mirrors of Tuzun Thune", in particular, stands out.

It's apparent that Howard was brimming with ideas at this point in his career so even if this work doesn't always hold together (and sometimes even contains laughably awkward moments), there's a certain joy in the sheer imagination at work here.

Kull is an intriguing character, a barbarian (like Howard's most famous creation, Conan) but far more philosophical and introspective. I can even see the genesis of a character like Michael Moorcock's Elric in some of this work.

Overall, this is an enjoyable read but other than a handful of stories, it's definitely for Howard fans and purists.

Not Conan, Not even close

Kull is clearly the minor leagues, where Howard developed his skills about character and background and pacing. Its interesting, but unfullfilling. A few of the stories in this selection seem like filler to make it more complete and they should have been left out entirely.

Histori fiction

Very NOT PC. So a bit of a guilty pleasure...so best in private? Or not.

Loved it!

Loved it. Reads like the Conan stories. Great tales of high fantastic adventure, magic and murder.

EPIC!!!

WELL DONE, HIGH QUALITY PRODUCTION. EXCELLENT NARRATION. OLD BUT DREAMLIKE QUALITY AND VIBE TO THE STORIES.

Kull The Awesome!!!!

Experience the beginning of Sword and Sorcery! Kull is the prototype for all that follow Robert E. Howard's ground breaking story telling. Kull is not just an earlier crude version of Conan. He stands on his own as do each of Howard's characters. Your doing yourself a favor by immersing yourself in the beginning of High Fantasy.

Glimpses of Brilliance

Any additional comments?

If you love Conan and Robert E. Howard's other characters, and are of the 'completionist' ilk, you will want to pick up this collection of Kull stories. The great thing about these collections are that they present Howard's stories unedited, in their original forms -- many of his stories were changed for publication or completed by lesser authors posthumously. Unfortunately, the collection's greatest strength is also its weakness. Its authenticity means that we are presented, especially in this collection, with only a few complete stories. The rest are sketches and fragments of varying entertainment value. It's a confusing soup. As you eat it you will find bites of fantastic flavor and potency, but they come at unpredictable times and only after/between many unsatisfying bites. It should also be noted that the character of Kull and the stories themselves vary a lot; for this reason, it's hard to get a sense of a singular protagonist.

Big fan

I read most of Robert E Howard’s Conan stories when I was young. So I revisited these novels and found them even more enjoyable today.
This is the first time I’ve listened to the Kull stories and found that they were good, but not as good as Conan. I do however, recommend the Kull series to anyone that enjoys Conan.