It's been nearly a year-and-a-half since I reveiwed L.Sprague de Camp's novel Conan of the Isles. At that time, I promised to PROMPTLY review another novel based on one of Robert E. Howard's characters. Somehow, this got away from me and... well, I'm only now getting to that review. I realize the delay in delivering on this promise has probably caused wars to break out, economies to crumble, family relationships to be destroyed, and kittens to commit suicide. But I'm trying to make up for that.
Anyway, Legion from the Shadows, by Karl Edward Wagner, was published in 1976. It features Bran Mak Morn, a king of the Picts who ruled in northern Britain and fought against Roman invaders in the early 3rd Century.
Wagner, whose had written excellent sword-and-sorcery stories featuring a hero named Kane, proves to be a good match for an REH character. Whereas de Camp's novel was very entertaining, it felt like an Alternate Universe version of Conan rather than the "real" Conan. Legion from the Shadows, though, feels like a "real" Bran Mak Morn story.
Howard had written only a few stories featuring Bran, though two of these are among his absolute best tales. Wagner draws directly on the original stories to build the plot of his novel.
In fact, if you run across this novel, I would recommend reading at least "Worms of the Earth" before reading the novel, since the plot is a direct sequel to the events of that superb horror/adventure yarn. (Reading "Kings of the Night" and the King Kull story "The Shadow Kingdom" is also recommended, though not as necessary. The events of these stories are alluded to in the novel.)
Wagner also did his real-life research, matching the plot up with an historical incident in Roman/British history. At some point in the early 2nd Century, the 9th Roman Legion simply disappeared while serving in Britain. In the novel, we discover that it was wiped out by Picts led by Bran's grandfather. But not all of those Legionaries died. Some of them were entombed in a cavern. It was there they were found by the dwellers who inhabit a vast network of tunnels and caverns beneath the earth's surface.
It's these dwellers--the remnants of a non-human race that had been driven off the surface by humankind in a savage prehistoric war--that Bran had encountered in "Worms of the Earth." While seeking revenge on a Roman officer, Bran has made an alliance with the degenerate race. That hadn't worked out well.
Now the Worms are back, this time with the half-human decendents of the 9th Legion assembled into a formidable military force. They want to reform an alliance with the Picts. And they won't take "no" for an answer. To force Bran's hand in this matter, they kidnap the Pictish king's sister.
Bran pursues them underground to rescue her, but is soon captured himself. What follows is (like many of Howard's original stories) an effective combination of violent adventure and Lovecraftian-influenced cosmic horror. There are battles in the pitch darkness of the underground world. There are escapes, rescues and re-captures. Bran gets unexpected help from a woman warrior who turns out to have her own unexpected agenda. Bran is threatened with having his soul destroyed and his body used as a puppet. His sister is threatened with being turned into a snake.
The sister, named Morgain, is a great character. Brave and resourceful despite her horrific situation, she gets one of the best (and creepiest) action scenes in the book during an escape attempt.
Wagner also recounts the intertwined history of the Picts and the Worms, smoothly weaving that together with Howard's own history of the world that he used to build the worlds of Kull and Conan.
The book's violent conclusion involves Bran and his Picts battling both a terrifying monster and the half-human Legionaires. It's a fantastic novel from start to finish. In my personal Head Canon, it is part of Bran Mak Morn's official history. I think it has earned that spot.
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