Prince Raynor, Part 1

 

cover art by Rudolph Belarski

Read/Watch 'em In Order #186

A few years ago, I took a look at Henry Kuttner's four stories about Elak of Atlantis. But Elak isn't the only Sword and Sorcery hero Kuttner brought us. In the April 1939 issue of Strange Stories, we are introduced to Prince Raynor. The story is titled "Cursed be the City."

Kuttner gives Prince Raynor an interesting world in which to go adventuring. It's set in a civilization that existed many of thousands of years ago in what is now called the Gobi Desert. The setting serves the same purpose that Robert E. Howard's Hyborian Age--a civilization that existed before recorded history that allows for the inclusion of magic, ancient gods and now-forgotten cultures.

Raynor is the son of the king of Sardopolis, a city that was called the Jewel of Gobi. At least until it was conquered by the brutal Cyaxares, a rival king. Raynor is sent off to be tortured--but not before he watches Cyaxares murder his dad.

Fortunately, his friend Eblik the Nubian is still free. He springs Raynor. The two men find a dying priest--the last surviving priest of the sun god Ahmon. From the priest, they get a talisman that can be used to release an even more ancient god--the god that Ahmon had displaced when Sardopolis was founded millennia ago. 

If they can release the ancient god, they will have vengeance against Cyaxares.

It's a great story. Raynor and Eblik are a good team and they are eventually joined by a woman warrior named Delphia. The quest to release the god is both exciting and spooky and there are aspects to Cyaxares' character that make him interesting--and possibly a returning villain for the next story.

Click HERE to read it.