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3.95 AVERAGE
3.95 AVERAGE
Read a bit under half the stories in this collection. The quality of the stories varies widely but overall they are short and exciting. I will probably return to read more of them in the future but for now it is going back on the shelf with a book mark to indicate which one I am up to.
Although these are the first Conan stories written by Howard, they contain many of my favorites. Many were written before Howard developed his Conan formula, and are therefore more creative and wild than later versions of the Conan stories. Some of the best in this volume are "The Tower of the Elephant," "The God in the Bowl," "Queen of the Black Coast," "Rogues in the House," and "Xuthal of the Dusk."
The volume comes with excellent biographical notes, reproductions of Howard's maps, and literary criticism. Of the three volumes by Del Rey, this is my favorite in terms of additional content.
The volume comes with excellent biographical notes, reproductions of Howard's maps, and literary criticism. Of the three volumes by Del Rey, this is my favorite in terms of additional content.
These Conan stories are a very refreshing change from the usual fantasy faire. Somehow, even though they're classic sword and sorcery they manage to feel a lot like they could be real live historical fiction.
Every one of the short stories here ha something very good going for it and they always seem to be to draw you into what feels very much like a real life situation even if it does involve a huge serpent or a magical squishy type of creature.
I loved it, an I know you Will too.
Every one of the short stories here ha something very good going for it and they always seem to be to draw you into what feels very much like a real life situation even if it does involve a huge serpent or a magical squishy type of creature.
I loved it, an I know you Will too.
High adventure of a character that is rude and unapologetic. There will be blood and battles and pirates. Live in it and enjoy the ride.
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
adventurous
dark
inspiring
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The stories of Conan first came out in the pages of the Weird Tales magazine in the 1930s. Characteristic of the pulp literature of the time, they are filled to the brim with action, danger, fantastical creatures and artefacts. All cards on the table: I am a devoted fan of pulp fantasy, but even then, Robert E. Howard stands in a class of his own.
This first of three volumes collecting the Conan stories in their entirety is recommended in large part because they are collected in their originally published form, in order of publication. Most collections and republications prior to this one have been riddled with posthumous edits and attempts at organizing the stories into a diegetic chronology which are entirely to the disservice of Howard's writing.
As an author, Robert E. Howard is remarkably sharp and precise, capable of describing in impressive detail without those descriptions ever feeling bloated or taking away from the intense pace of the action. The action scenes are dynamic and engaging, with a real sense for drama. Pulp fantasy, and Conan in particular, has a somewhat undeserved reputation for excessive "purple prose". This is in part due to poor posthumous edits in other editions ruining the flow of the writing, but there is also a particular style that comes along with the genre. The writing is elaborate, theatrical, dramatic, and ostentatious, but this can (and should) be taken as a strength.
It's important and necessary to note that Robert E. Howard, despite his strong writing, was also a deeply racist man, whose racism infuses every aspect of his worldbuilding. The world of Conan is one where "race" and "nationality" overlap, and come to define the core of every person. In other words, his is a world of ethnostates, founded around essential ethnic features. The writing as such reproduces and codifies as absolute negative stereotypes about real-world racialized groups. However, there is a certain degree of non-judgmental observerism taking place as well. Howard's narrator does not pass judgment on any one group of people, but shows how each and every ethnic group is flawed in their own way. This does not take away from the racist quality of it, but it complicates the image of Howard's world.
Further complicating this image is the character of Conan himself. He is a barbarian, in other words, an "uncivilized" person. We do not see ourselves in Conan, he is an entirely foreign entity to us, and we instead see ourselves in the cowardly court official, the lazy town guard, the greedy bar proprietor. Howard paints an image of civilization as a deeply unpleasant, corrupted place, contrasted against the purity of the savage Conan. We are forced to empathize with an Other, while seeing representations of ourselves falling before him. Howard perceived the modern world as a transitory stage, and expressed with Conan his belief that humanity's natural state is primitivity. As such, his stories display a boundless compassion for the Other, for the strange and the foreign, in spite of his simultaneous racist stereotyping.
For better and for worse, Robert E. Howard's writing has come to lay the foundations for contemporary fantasy, being perhaps even more influential than Tolkien. Conan is an important bit of genre history, as well as a thrilling read, if you are able to get past the deeply problematic aspects of the worlds.
This first of three volumes collecting the Conan stories in their entirety is recommended in large part because they are collected in their originally published form, in order of publication. Most collections and republications prior to this one have been riddled with posthumous edits and attempts at organizing the stories into a diegetic chronology which are entirely to the disservice of Howard's writing.
As an author, Robert E. Howard is remarkably sharp and precise, capable of describing in impressive detail without those descriptions ever feeling bloated or taking away from the intense pace of the action. The action scenes are dynamic and engaging, with a real sense for drama. Pulp fantasy, and Conan in particular, has a somewhat undeserved reputation for excessive "purple prose". This is in part due to poor posthumous edits in other editions ruining the flow of the writing, but there is also a particular style that comes along with the genre. The writing is elaborate, theatrical, dramatic, and ostentatious, but this can (and should) be taken as a strength.
It's important and necessary to note that Robert E. Howard, despite his strong writing, was also a deeply racist man, whose racism infuses every aspect of his worldbuilding. The world of Conan is one where "race" and "nationality" overlap, and come to define the core of every person. In other words, his is a world of ethnostates, founded around essential ethnic features. The writing as such reproduces and codifies as absolute negative stereotypes about real-world racialized groups. However, there is a certain degree of non-judgmental observerism taking place as well. Howard's narrator does not pass judgment on any one group of people, but shows how each and every ethnic group is flawed in their own way. This does not take away from the racist quality of it, but it complicates the image of Howard's world.
Further complicating this image is the character of Conan himself. He is a barbarian, in other words, an "uncivilized" person. We do not see ourselves in Conan, he is an entirely foreign entity to us, and we instead see ourselves in the cowardly court official, the lazy town guard, the greedy bar proprietor. Howard paints an image of civilization as a deeply unpleasant, corrupted place, contrasted against the purity of the savage Conan. We are forced to empathize with an Other, while seeing representations of ourselves falling before him. Howard perceived the modern world as a transitory stage, and expressed with Conan his belief that humanity's natural state is primitivity. As such, his stories display a boundless compassion for the Other, for the strange and the foreign, in spite of his simultaneous racist stereotyping.
For better and for worse, Robert E. Howard's writing has come to lay the foundations for contemporary fantasy, being perhaps even more influential than Tolkien. Conan is an important bit of genre history, as well as a thrilling read, if you are able to get past the deeply problematic aspects of the worlds.
Reading these stories all I could think is Robert E Howard did all of fantasy right at its beginnings. Everything that people turn to sword and sorcery for is here in these pages. The quality of the stories is not uniformly great, a couple in here were clearly meant to earn some money and little more, delivering lackluster plots that heavily feature scantily clad ladies, but the first few stories here spark and crackle with a living energy. They could have come out yesterday, not almost a hundred years ago.
It is of course sad that Robert E Howard could imagine such a fully realized imaginary world, so different from our own, but yet could not imagine a world without 1930s American racism. But they say the worst of people is of their time, and their best is for all time. I can imagine a day when the evil of racism has vanished from the world, and its echoes here are nothing more than a historical oddity, but as long as man has blood in his veins it will thrill to these tales of savage combat and glorious adventure.
It is of course sad that Robert E Howard could imagine such a fully realized imaginary world, so different from our own, but yet could not imagine a world without 1930s American racism. But they say the worst of people is of their time, and their best is for all time. I can imagine a day when the evil of racism has vanished from the world, and its echoes here are nothing more than a historical oddity, but as long as man has blood in his veins it will thrill to these tales of savage combat and glorious adventure.