Skulls in the Stars

Summary

Solomon Kane was heading to Torkertown and had two routes to choose from - a direct route across a moor, or a long tedious route through the swamps. Ignoring the warning of the villagers that he had just left behind, he decides that he will take the direct route across the moor. A young man of the village, seeing that Kane is heading towards the moor, rushes to beg him to please take the swamp route the next day instead of venturing through the moor at night. The boy tells him of the old miser, Ezra, who dwells on the moor but will be of no help, and his cousin Gideon who went crazy and died in the night. Kane, craving the adventure that lies ahead of him, decides to meet the madness of the moors head on. After a ghastly experience in the moor, Kane reveals to the village the truth of what is going on in the night.
Robert E. Howard (1906-1936) was an American author who made his name writing inexpensive fiction magazines known as pulp fiction. He is known as the father of sword and sorcery, a sub-genre of fantasy/historical fantasy, which involves sword-wielding heroes and violent adventures. Howard's most famous creation in this genre was Conan the Barbarian. He tragically committed suicide at the age of 30 but his name and literary legacy have lived on.