I’m a big fan of Robert E. Howard’s Conan stories. After Lancer published the Conan stories in paperback with those great Frazetta covers, there was a huge demand for more Conan stories. Many writers turned their talents to producing Conan stories: L. Sprague de Camp, Lin Carter, Andy Offutt, and plenty of others. One of my favorite writers of Conan pastiches is Karl Edward Wagner. Wagner’s Conan is clever as well as powerful. In Conan: The Road of Kings Conan is about to be hanged. He escapes that fate, but finds himself involved in a civil war. When a sorcerer shows up to tip the balance of power to the rebels, Conan argues against using dark sorcery to win the kingdom. Conan’s advice is ignored and an even more malignant force than the dictator is unleashed. If you’re a fan of sword & sorcery novels, you’l find a lot to like in Conan: The Road to Kings.
Yay! It’s about time. I went through withdrawal symptoms. Very frustrating going on and finding you weren’t back so I can only imagine how you felt.
Welcome back!
Jeff, I’m glad the blog is back, too. The week it was down felt like a month!
Whoot! You’re back! I was going bonkers going cold turkey without my daily dose of Kelley.
Welcome back. Though DeCamp and Nyquist (I don’t think Carter so much early on) were pulling an August Derleth and “completing” fragments Howard had left even before Lancer was a gleam in anyone’s eye, in the 1950s, publishing at least one book and various stories in FANTASTIC UNIVERSE and probably elsewhere. I like Wagner’s Conan better than I like Howard’s, but I like Wagner’s Kane much better yet.
Todd, welcome back to you, too! It was a rough week when the blog was down. You don’t know how much something means to you until it’s gone. I completely agree with you on Wagner’s Kane novels. I may have to reread them for a future FFB.