I discovered Conan the Barbarian like many readers did in the 1960s when Lancer Books start publishing Robert E. Howard’s work. I especially loved the Frank Frazetta covers that graced some of the volumes.
Then in the early 2000s, Ballantine Books started publishing Robert E. Howard’s works in hardcover editions (later trade editions became available, too). THE COMING OF CONAN THE CIMMERIAN from 2006 includes many of the classic Conan stories like “The Frost Giant’s Daughter,” “The Tower of the Elephant,” and “Queen of the Black Coast.” Robert E. Howard captured the character of Conan perfectly and these stories hold up after decades of neglect.
Are you a fan of Conan the Barbarian? GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
- “Foreword” (Mark Schultz) — xv
- “Introduction” (Patrice Louinet) — xix
- “Cimmeria” (poem) — 1
- “The Phoenix on the Sword” — 5
- “The Frost Giant’s Daughter” — 29
- “The God in the Bowl” — 39
- “The Tower of the Elephant” — 59
- “The Scarlet Citadel” — 83
- “Queen of the Black Coast” — 119
- “Black Colossus” — 149
- “Iron Shadows in the Moon” — 183
- “Xuthal of the Dusk” — 211
- “The Pool of the Black One” — 245
- “Rogues in the House” — 271
- “The Vale of Lost Women” — 295
- “The Devil in Iron” — 313
- “The Phoenix on the Sword” (first submitted draft) –345
- “Notes on Various Peoples of the Hyborian Age” — 369
- “The Hyborian Age” — 371
- Untitled Synopsis (“The Hall of the Dead“) — 393
- Untitled Synopsis (“The Scarlet Citadel”) — 395
- Untitled Synopsis (“Black Colossus”) — 397
- Untitled Fragment (“The Hand of Nergal“) — 399
- Untitled Synopsis #2 (“The Snout in the Dark“) — 401
- Untitled Draft (“The Snout in the Dark”) — 403
- “Hyborian Names and Countries” — 411
- Hyborian Age Maps (drawn by Howard) — 415
- “Hyborian Genesis: Notes on the Creation of the Conan Stories” (Patrice Louinet) 423
- “Notes on the Conan Typescripts and the Chronology” (Patrice Louinet) — 447
- “Notes on the Original Howard Texts” –453
- Sketches — 459
No.
I did read one of the books and saw Arnold in the movie, but not my thing.
Jeff, I’m currently reading one of Robert E. Howard’s westerns. The guy could write in any genre!
Though his contempt for writing “spicy” stories, such as the first fiction I ever read from him (as collected in Tony Goodstone’s THE PULPS), didn’t help the quality of the results.
I’m with Jeff though to watch Arnold felt really crazy for me.
But the same goes for other Fantasy series.
Wolf, I have to be in the Right Mood to enjoy this kind of story.
I read all the Howard Conan books back in the 60’s. Not sure if I would enjoy them as much now.
Steve, I enjoy Robert E. Howard’s work. I’m less enthralled by the Conan pastiches.
Perhaps because I’ve read so sparingly in Howard’s originals, I liked Karl Edward Wagner’s Conan fiction at least as well as my memory of the original work. But I did like Wagner’s own Kane stories much better.
Todd, I’m with you on Karl Edward Wagner’s Kane stories. Better than Conan! But Wagner and Howard both died too young.
I think I read them in the 70s, or what was available at that time and never went back to them. Really liked the 1996 movie about Howard, “The Whole Wide World” with Vincent D’Onofrio.
Michael, I’m with you on THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD. Excellent film! It’s tragic that Robert E. Howard committed suicide at the age of 30.
Yes, I’m a Conan/Howard fan. I have a large collection of the paperbacks that were published back in the day: the 12 Lancer/Ace Conan editions, the Zebra non-Conan books, and a random selection of the Conan pastiches — most of which are disappointing, but the last one I read (whatever it was) was quite good. When I think about it, I probably have only read 20 or so of these 50 or more books. At the moment, I’m rereading the early Marvel Conan comics, as reprinted in the big omnibus volumes. I read the first volume of the color comics, and am now reading the first collection of the black & white Savage Sword of Conan.
Jeff, I have some of those MARVEL B&W omnibus editions of SAVAGE SWORD OF CONAN. Great stuff! I’m slowly re-reading many of my favorite Conan stories.
I might eventually read more Howard Conan fiction; the “completed” stories by de Camp, Carter et al. are pretty dire, despite de Camp’s own talent (comparable to how much better August Derleth’s horror fiction in his own voice is than are his attempts to “complete” and to some extent “correct” Lovecraft). Early on, most of my s&s reading ran to Leiber’s Fafhrd and Gray Mouser, Vance’s Cugel, Janet Fox’s Arcana, KE Wagner’s Kane, Joanna Russ’s Alyx a bit of Moorcock…all might owe at least a little to Howard, and at least as much to C. L. Moore, but all seemed an improvement on his work in the field
Todd, don’t forget Leigh Brackett! She fits right into that group you mentioned!
She does! Even with the slight distinction of being even more “sword and planet” than any of the cited.
George, I have only ever read the Conan comics and not the books by Robert E. Howard, although coming to think of it, I no longer see the paperbacks (along with ERB/Tarzan and Doctor Who) at book exhibitions and the pavement booksellers I frequent.
Prashant, I suspect you’ll be surprised at the power and energy in the original Conan stories by Robert E. Howard. I’m sure your local Library probably has some collections of Howard’s work!
Conan “conquered” many of my reading pennies back in the 60s. I still read and appreciate Howard, whose literary merits may not have been up there but, boy, could he spin a tale. I have a pile of Conan pastiches buried in a box somewhere that I may or may not get to.
Jerry, I have a bunch of Conan pastiches still to read, too. There was a rumor that TOR Books was going to start publishing Conan pastiches…but then the Covid-19 Pandemic hit.