Cormac Mac Art

 

cover art by Jeff Jones

It's interesting to read the Robert E. Howard tales that were unsold during his lifetime and wonder why the heck no one published them. I've yet to run into one that's bad.  REH was one of the best short story/novella writers of all time and even his weaker efforts are usually better than most other stuff. 

While he was alive, REH wrote two complete stories about Cormac Mac Art--a Gaelic pirate active not long after Roman rule in Britian collapsed. Cormac and his partner Wulfhere Skull-Splitter sail the violent seas of that era and find their share of adventure.

cover art by Ken Kelly

REH left two unfinished Cormac tales behind when he died. In 1975, Richard Tierney completed those two stories and all four were published in Tigers of the Sea, published by Zebra books. This went through five printings over the next few years and the anthology was reprinted by Ace in 1979. Baen Books reprinted all four stories in Cormac Mac Art in 1995.  Obviously, people enjoyed these stories.  They deserved to see the light of day. 

Cormac reappeared in 2014 in Swords of the North, published by REH Foundation Press. This includes the two complete stories and has the two unfinished tales in the appendix. This makes sense, of course. This publisher is giving us pure REH and, though I remember enjoying Tierney's endings to the unfinished tales, it wasn't Howard's work

I used to own the Zebra paperback, but lost track of it years ago. But I did recently acquire a copy of Swords of the North and last night, I read "Swords of the Northern Sea." And, by golly, it was just as much fun as I remembered it being.

Cormac is a guest of Rognor the Red, having been shipwrecked nearby. Rognor has a beautiful British woman named Tarala prisoner and plan to marry her. The fiery Tarala isn't happy with this, but she's not being given a choice.

But another Viking named Hakon has fallen for Tarala and she, it turns out, has fallen for him. This gets Hakon tossed into a cell. Rognor plans to have him killed after forcing him to watch the marriage ceremony. Rognor isn't a nice guy.

Cormac, by the way, is planning on stealing a longship. Wulfhere (an arch-enemy of Rognor) and 40 Danes are hidden nearby, having also survived the shipwreck. Hakon also has a dozen followers ready to follow him and, after Cormac springs him from jail, expresses a desire to team-up. If Hakon can usurp Rognor's position as leader, Cormac can take his pick of the longships.

So all Cormac has to do, aside from rescuing Hakon, is also rescuing Tarala, then come up with a plan to launch a surprise attack on Rognor and his men. Cormac and his allies are outnumbered 6 to 1, so this plan has to be a really, really good one.

It's an excellent story, ending with the sort of brutal battle scene that Howard excels at writing. Cormac is a great character--someone willing to split an enemy's skull, but expressing a desire to avoid killing when it's not necessary. Hakon and especially the fiery & brave Tarala are great characters in their own right. And, of course, it's impossible not to want to follow along with someone named Wulfhere Skull-Spliter. 

I'm glad the Cormac stories are in print again. Though I may see if I can find Tigers of the Sea at a reasonable price on the used book market. I'd love to own it both for nostalgia and to read Richard Tierney's endings to the two unfinished stories.