THE KORMAK SAGA, by William King

I’ve been reading THE KORMAK SAGA by William King for a while, and I just read the eighth and latest book, SWORD OF WRATH. The series isn’t over yet, but I really enjoy it and so I thought I’d write a short review to show my appreciation.

Kormak is basically Conan the Cimmerian if Conan were raised by warrior-monks dedicated to fighting malicious creatures of the supernatural. Kormak’s family was killed by a prince of the Old Ones, a wicked magical race that once ruled the world, and the Old One left Kormak alive as a witness to his deeds, promising to come back and kill him one day. Kormak is raised by the Guardians of the Dawn, an order dedicated to defending mankind from dark magic, and is equipped with a dwarf-forged blade capable of wounding and killing creatures immune to normal weapons.

And then Kormak goes forth into the world to do his duty.

By the time the series starts, Kormak is getting a bit older and run-down, but still has lots of fight in him. During the course of the eight books, he fights mad wizards (repeatedly), necromancers, undead monsters, insane elves, wererats, goblins, sea-dwelling squid monsters, and other creatures. The first few books have a Monster Of The Week feel to them (making them essentially stand alone), but the last few have been an overarching mystery about a sinister sarcophagus, and I’m looking forward to seeing where it goes.

Definitely recommended! Most of the books are on the shorter side, but there’s an art to doing short books, and the Kormark series definitely hits the mark.

-JM