Brak The Barbarian by John Jakes
I’m not a massive fantasy fan. I have dipped my toes in occasionally. When I worked at Waterstones book shop I realized there was so much of it!!! I like Sword and Sorcery movies, some of the Conan stuff, and I enjoyed John Carpenter from Mars ( film and books Sword and Planet I believe these are called! Joe Abercrombie’s grimdark stuff and didn’t like Game of Thrones ( yes, we exist). So, I found some of these Brak novels very cheap and thought, why not? The covers are always pretty good and I’m a sucker for that.
John Jakes started writing Science Fiction and Fantasy stories i the 1950’s . He was a contemporary of Lin Carter and a member of the Swordsmen and Sorcerers Guild of America. The group was formed to promote science fiction and Fantasy writing. His most popular novel that made his name , however , was the Civil War historical fiction series North and South . This was made into a very successful ABC miniseries.
The Brak stories where originally published in Fantastic Magazine in 1965, then printed as a collected volume in 1968. So What is Brak the Barbarian about? It’s a collection of adventures where Brak has to overcome variuous threats on his quest. With his broadsword long braid of blonde hair and only dressed in a loincloth, he’s setting out to to find the fabled land of Kurdishan the Golden, as he has been thrown out of his tribe for questioning there allegiance to the war gods. In the first tale, He ends up in a town and gets harassed by some fellows who end up being these great, weird creatures with knives for hands who follow the spectacular H P Lovecraft-sounding Yob Hoggoth, bringer of dark. That’s where it all kicks off.
There is the evil, soul-taking Septegundus, who promises a dire revenge for Brak’s humbling of himself and his dark god. Later, Brak is enslaved at the terrible mines of King Ushiram of Toct and starts a slave rebellion; confronts the conjurer Ankhma Ra whose Silk of Shaitan can rip the living heart out of anyone it touches; battles the treacherous Zama Khan at the ruins of cursed Chambalor and frees thousands of ghosts who had been trapped there in prolonged torment; and saves the life and throne of Queen Rhea of Phrixos (after she first saved him at considerable risk to herself) averting her enforced betrothal to the odious Lord of the Tigers. He’s a prisoner, a doppelganger for a dead prince, a bodyguard, and an assassin in various tales.
We also enter a world of weird Lovecraftian horrors, evil wizards, and some amazing monsters! The Doomdog, haunting the caverns of Toct; the Fangfish, in a deep pool at a sinister mountain pass above the realm of Tazim, Lord of the Tilling; T’Muk, The Thing which Crawls, a highly poisonous giant spider at Chambalor’s desert; and a giant scavenger slug, which in the aftermath of battles at Phrixos feeds on dead (and wounded) soldiers. )
Brak has a strict code of honour that he adheres to at all times, even if it puts him in harms way. He is also determined to continue his quest at all costs, even abandoning the gifts of Kingdoms and the unrequited love of Queens and Princesses.
A lot of gruesome violence that surprised me. Some of the writing is typical old-world Conan-style fantasy but the fight scenes are more brutal and gory than any Conan novel. I have to admit, about a quarter of the way through I was ready to give in. The style of writing was very meandering and cliched fantasy and I was not feeling it at all. However, as the action ramped up and the story got weirder, I really did enjoy it. It’s a quick fantasy romp of pure pulp pleasure. I recommend you give it a go!!
If you want to read more about Brak, there is a great article on the Dark Worlds website .
