Kane
#1964.10 of 664 ranked universes · full ranking
Books 3 books Status Complete 1970–1976 Reading commitment Low Karl Edward Wagner Last reviewed 2026-08-25
Overview
Kane follows an immortal, cursed anti-hero (explicitly modeled on the biblical Cain) wandering a violent secondary world across centuries as soldier, sorcerer, warlord and outlaw. The three novels, Darkness Weaves (1970), Bloodstone (1975) and Dark Crusade (1976), form the character's core novel-length adventures.
Karl Edward Wagner also wrote roughly twenty further Kane short stories and novellas between 1970 and 1985; that shorter fiction is treated as expanded material rather than Core Canon here. Wagner remains better known within genre circles as an influential editor and short-story stylist than as a novelist to general readers.
Dark fantasy, Sword & sorcery · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (3 works) counts toward ranking
Kane Karl Edward Wagner
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Darkness Weaves | 1970 | 1 | core | 4.06 (1,652 ratings) |
 | Bloodstone | 1975 | 2 | core | 4.10 (1,683 ratings) |
 | Dark Crusade | 1976 | 3 | core | 4.15 (1,394 ratings) |
Core Canon here covers the three Kane novels; the author also wrote roughly twenty further Kane short stories and novellas across 1970-1985, catalogued separately as expanded material rather than Core Canon. Kane is an immortal, cursed anti-hero wandering a violent, Cain-inspired dark-fantasy world.
Quick answers
- How many books are in Kane? Kane's Core Canon is 3 books.
- What is the reading order for Kane? Publication order, starting with Darkness Weaves. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is Kane finished? Complete (1970–1976).
- How much reading does Kane take? Low reading commitment (estimated from 3 Core Canon books · ~813 pages).
- How is Kane ranked? #196 of 664 ranked universes on this site, based on 4,729 reader ratings across 3 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #196?
Ranked #196 of 664 ranked universes.
- Average reader rating of 4.10 across 3 core books.
- A smaller readership (4,729 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Remarkably consistent across the whole series: all 3 rated core books rate within 0.09 of each other.
- Less than 0.01 behind #195, The Chronicles of Prydain (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Highly rated · 3 books · Complete · 5k ratings · Ranks #196 overall
Good choice if you want a quick, low-commitment dark fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
Publication order (3 Core Canon books)
- Darkness Weaves (1970)
- Bloodstone (1975)
- Dark Crusade (1976)
Documented internal/story chronology is recorded for every Core Canon book here, and matches publication order exactly, with no divergence to show separately.
Awards (verified)
- No award nominations or wins were found for the Kane novels specifically.
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Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 4.10 across 4,729 ratings on 3 Core Canon books. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: Admit Kane (Karl Edward Wagner) accepted 2026-08-25
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
Last reviewed: 2026-08-26
Rule: Core Canon is the three Kane novels; the character's many further short stories and novellas are expanded material.