From 1982 to 2004, TOR Books published 48 Conan pastiches (the complete list is here). I’ve read a couple dozen of those TOR Conan novels and found the quality to be uneven. But there seems to be agreement that one of the best pastiches in the TOR series was Conan and the Emerald Lotus (Nov. 1995) by John C. Hocking (check out rankings here).
After almost 20 years, John C. Hocking finally finished the sequel to Conan and the Emerald Lotus: Conan and the Living Plague (2020). Titan Books has brought out Conan and the Emerald Lotus and Conan and the Living Plague together in one large volume titled Conan: City of the Dead (2024).
Conan and the Emerald Lotus tells the tale of Conan and a beautiful, but addicted sorceress who travels to The Dragon’s Spine deep in the desert to get more magic power from the Emerald Lotus. Evil sorcerer Ethram-Fal’s stronghold in the badlands of ancient Stygia holds both the Emerald Lotus and deadly traps.
Conan and the Living Plague is a solid sequel to Conan and the Emerald Lotus. Conan is recruited by a weak nobleman to be part of a small mercenary force headed to the isolated mountain city of Dulcine. Dulcine is situated on a diamond mine and rumored to have colossal wealth. But, the city is filled with ghouls and a murderous entity created from dark magic. The mercenary force manage to enter the doomed city of Dulcine, but the terrors just begin. I really loved Hocking’s adding a dash of H. P. Lovecraft to the mix!
If you’re a fan of Conan the Barbarian, you’ll love Conan: City of the Dead. GRADE: A (for both)
I haven’t read a Conan in about 50 years!
Bob, you’re overdue for a Conan novel!
Nope, not a fan. No interest in this. But then, we can’t all like the same things, can we?
Jeff, like Bill Crider, I became a Conan fan at an early age. Despite the dozens of Conan pastiches, no one can match the original writing of Robert E. Howard.
I dunno. I liked Karl Edward Wagner’s few entries better than what I’ve read of the original.
Todd, I need to reread some of Karl Edward Wagner’s work and compare it to Robert E. Howard’s Conan stories.
BTW, George, are you still receiving the Howard memorial postmarks from Scott Cupp? Scott seems not to be online at this point, and I need to send him a thanks letter.
Todd, yes! Scott Cupp sends me those wonderful postmarks each year! Love them!