Khlit the Cossack is a literary character created by
Harold Lamb
Harold Albert Lamb (September 1, 1892 – April 9, 1962) was an American writer, novelist, historian, and screenwriter. In both his fiction and nonfiction work, Lamb gravitated toward subjects related to Asia and Middle East.
Lamb was an advocat ...
for ''
Adventure
An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme ...
'' between 1917 and 1926.
A wandering Cossack hero, Khlit defies conventional stereotypes: he is not a lover, nor is he youthful or flamboyant. An excellent horseman, he is also a fine swordsman, with a fine sword (the sword itself has an interesting past, which Khlit only discovers as the series progresses), but he isn't flashy. He is gruff and moody, but no anti-hero swathed in shades of gray--he protects the innocent when it is in his power to do so. He is a firm believer in swift, sharp justice and devout in his faith, though not given to prayer or religious musings. It is his keen wit that allows him to survive through countless treacheries and intrigues.
Some of american researchers call Khlit a “hero of Odyssean wit”. He always gets into a seemingly hopeless situation, from which he manages to get out, after all, being a step away from death. Khlit's adventures unfold not only in Ukraine, but far beyond. Travelіng across Asia the old Cossack encounters the empire of
Assassins
An assassin is a person who commits targeted murder.
Assassin may also refer to:
Origin of term
* Someone belonging to the medieval Persian Ismaili order of Assassins
Animals and insects
* Assassin bugs, a genus in the family ''Reduviid ...
, finds the grave of
Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan (born Temüjin; ; xng, Temüjin, script=Latn; ., name=Temujin – August 25, 1227) was the founder and first Great Khan (Emperor) of the Mongol Empire, which became the List of largest empires, largest contiguous empire in history a ...
and the treasures of
St. John the Baptist, beats the Chinese army, heads the united Tatar horde, becomes a
khagan
Khagan or Qaghan (Mongolian:; or ''Khagan''; otk, 𐰴𐰍𐰣 ), or , tr, Kağan or ; ug, قاغان, Qaghan, Mongolian Script: ; or ; fa, خاقان ''Khāqān'', alternatively spelled Kağan, Kagan, Khaghan, Kaghan, Khakan, Khakhan ...
(imperial title), saddles the elephant in India, saves Afghanistan from a new conquest, etc.
Harold Lamb wrote one short story and 18 novellas about Khlit. A number of the Khlit tales were collected in two books: ''The Curved Saber'' (Doubleday 1964) and ''The Mighty Manslayer'' (Doubleday 1969). More recently
University of Nebraska Press
The University of Nebraska Press, also known as UNP, was founded in 1941 and is an academic publisher of scholarly and general-interest books. The press is under the auspices of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, the main campus of the Unive ...
reprinted all of Lamb's Khlit tales in a four-volume series entitled ''Wolf of the Steppes'', ''Warriors of the Steppes'', ''Riders of the Steppes'' and ''Swords of the Steppes''.
List of stories published in ''Adventure'':
* "Khlit" (1917)
* "Wolf's War" (1918)
* "Tal Taulai Khan" (1918)
* "Alamut" (1918)
* "The Mighty Manslayer" (1918)
* "The White Khan" (1918)
* "Changa Nor" (1919)
* "Roof of the World" (1919)
* "The Star of Evil Omen" (1919)
* "The Rider of the Gray Horse" (1919)
* "The Lion Cub" (1920)
* "Law of Fire" (1920)
* "The Bride of Jagannath" (1920)
* "The Masterpiece of Death" (1920)
* "The Curved Sword" (1920)
* "Bogatyr" (1925)
* "White Falcon" (1925)
* "The Winged Rider" (1926)
* "The Wolf Master" (1926)
References
External links
A website dedicated to Harold Lamb's work.A website with a selection of Lamb's short fiction
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Characters in pulp fiction
Fictional Cossacks