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3.95 AVERAGE
3.95 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
These stories are problematic. On the surface, they're exciting adventure stories, full of battles, daring rescues and narrow escapes. Unfortunately, they're also very racist and sexist, by today's standards. I know you can't judge stories written in the 1930s by today's attitudes, but it makes for some painful reading when the racism and sexism is so blatant and in your face.
I wasn't sure what to expect when I started reading this book, but I was happy with what it ended up being. It is hard to rate because being composed of several short stories, my opinion of each varied. However, I think the cumulative effect was that it was quite good. It inspires a childlike yearning for adventure and gave me the same sort of feelings that heroic myths do.
Brute force and cunning, rich epithets and menacing tension, in a world of ancient civilisations in ruins, forgotten gods, scarcely dressed maidens in distress, where primordial serpent is creeping in the blackness along with madness and sin
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
The Conan the Barbarian (for the early twentieth century progressive):
4 cups racism
3 tablespoons sexism
2 teaspoons xenophobia
1 packet testosterone
Let rise 5 minutes for the masculinity to work its way through the dough and make it easier to swallow.
Bake at Fahrenheit 451 for thirteen minutes and a bonus chapter for your fantasy classic. Toss in a couple Arnold Schwarzeneggers for flavor and serve to millions.
Sorry, but this was actually well written and fun but had some problems by modern day standards. I try not to judge by that but the stories got repetitive after a while.
4 cups racism
3 tablespoons sexism
2 teaspoons xenophobia
1 packet testosterone
Let rise 5 minutes for the masculinity to work its way through the dough and make it easier to swallow.
Bake at Fahrenheit 451 for thirteen minutes and a bonus chapter for your fantasy classic. Toss in a couple Arnold Schwarzeneggers for flavor and serve to millions.
Sorry, but this was actually well written and fun but had some problems by modern day standards. I try not to judge by that but the stories got repetitive after a while.
Why did I wait until now to read these stories? I grew up loving the character of Conan. I watched the iconic Schwarzeneggar movies probably starting before age 10 (parental guidance notwithstanding - I am sure that the little bit of nudity helped inflame my early interest). My mother gave me the TSR original Conan role-playing game box set, which I dearly wish I had kept. In early adulthood I read several graphic novelizations of Conan stories, and read [a:Robert Jordan|6252|Robert Jordan|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1538507642p2/6252.jpg]'s collections of his Conan novels. But, until now, I had never read the original Robert Howard stories. I put faith in other reviewers who confirmed this as the definitive writing-order collection, untouched by later editors and posthumous collaborators.
The prose is highly descriptive, and requires your undivided attention; the payoff is tremendous. Howard captured something primordial, something ancient and powerful in his words. The world that he built is vast, ancient, and vital. It is not hard to imagine this as our earth, perhaps hundreds of thousands of years in the past. It has it's own ancient history, and relics of eons gone by continue to present menace and danger to those unlucky enough to stumble upon them. People are varied in race and culture, but all civilizations present a barely veiled (if at all) savagery in which life is a gift that could be taken at any moment.
Into this realm marches Conan, the indomitable, the noble savage, the incredibly lucky and magnetic figure. If you stand against him, you had better be sure to slay him with your first blow, because you will not get the chance to try a second. He embodies raw strenth and speed and agility simultaneously, and possesses animal cunning. Women of the civilized nations swoon at his panther-like grace and power. He disdains so-called civilization as a mask for brutality behind which noblemen hide. He loves to live but will not hesitate to throw himself into gravest danger, trusting to his iron sinews and mighty thews to carry him through, if anyone can.
Howard's stories have been criticized for purple prose, but I did not find it to be such; more often I found it to be poetry. He has been more rightly criticized for racism and treatment of women. Although Howard himself may be a proven racist, at least in these stories I did not see this strongly expressed. It was hard to keep track of what peoples were described as black and which not, but certainly there are many black races in this world which are described as more savage or uncivilized as a culture overall. This does not appear to matter to Conan, however, who treats all peoples the same. I will leave more in-depth analysis of this matter to others. Women, though, certainly get a lousy lot in life in this world; they are portrayed as notably physically weak, are barely clothed, and most often play the role of damsel-in-distress, with a few cast as evil seductress. To Conan's credit, he refuses to bed any woman by force, including when a woman offers herself to him under duress, not that there is any need with the way they throw themselves at him. In one story, Queen of the Black Coast, a pirate queen is shown as an equal to Conan, if not in physical power, then in leadership and personal strength. On the other hand, she still does a sexy dance at him and strips in front of her whole crew, drawn by his uncivilized mien. Conan, thoughout these tales, respects bravery and will, no matter the source, and similarly rejects cowardice and traitorousness from all who display these.
Yes, much could be said about infantile wish-fulfillment and the pulpy, low class nature of these stories and characters, but I loved the raw ferocity and glory of these tales.
I did not read the supplemental material included with this volume, wanting instead to merely experience the stories across all three volumes; I will return to those on a re-read in the future.
The prose is highly descriptive, and requires your undivided attention; the payoff is tremendous. Howard captured something primordial, something ancient and powerful in his words. The world that he built is vast, ancient, and vital. It is not hard to imagine this as our earth, perhaps hundreds of thousands of years in the past. It has it's own ancient history, and relics of eons gone by continue to present menace and danger to those unlucky enough to stumble upon them. People are varied in race and culture, but all civilizations present a barely veiled (if at all) savagery in which life is a gift that could be taken at any moment.
Into this realm marches Conan, the indomitable, the noble savage, the incredibly lucky and magnetic figure. If you stand against him, you had better be sure to slay him with your first blow, because you will not get the chance to try a second. He embodies raw strenth and speed and agility simultaneously, and possesses animal cunning. Women of the civilized nations swoon at his panther-like grace and power. He disdains so-called civilization as a mask for brutality behind which noblemen hide. He loves to live but will not hesitate to throw himself into gravest danger, trusting to his iron sinews and mighty thews to carry him through, if anyone can.
Howard's stories have been criticized for purple prose, but I did not find it to be such; more often I found it to be poetry. He has been more rightly criticized for racism and treatment of women. Although Howard himself may be a proven racist, at least in these stories I did not see this strongly expressed. It was hard to keep track of what peoples were described as black and which not, but certainly there are many black races in this world which are described as more savage or uncivilized as a culture overall. This does not appear to matter to Conan, however, who treats all peoples the same. I will leave more in-depth analysis of this matter to others. Women, though, certainly get a lousy lot in life in this world; they are portrayed as notably physically weak, are barely clothed, and most often play the role of damsel-in-distress, with a few cast as evil seductress. To Conan's credit, he refuses to bed any woman by force, including when a woman offers herself to him under duress, not that there is any need with the way they throw themselves at him. In one story, Queen of the Black Coast, a pirate queen is shown as an equal to Conan, if not in physical power, then in leadership and personal strength. On the other hand, she still does a sexy dance at him and strips in front of her whole crew, drawn by his uncivilized mien. Conan, thoughout these tales, respects bravery and will, no matter the source, and similarly rejects cowardice and traitorousness from all who display these.
Yes, much could be said about infantile wish-fulfillment and the pulpy, low class nature of these stories and characters, but I loved the raw ferocity and glory of these tales.
I did not read the supplemental material included with this volume, wanting instead to merely experience the stories across all three volumes; I will return to those on a re-read in the future.
3.5 out of 5 - Short stories aren't usually my thing, but I think the format serves the author's purpose. Granted he was writing long ago for a magazine, but I think Howard's characters would be ill suited to a novel, or for that matter a feature length movie.
Conan is a good action hero in short bursts - what he does between adventures is likely uninteresting to describe. I would listen to more and may even try a print book!
Conan is a good action hero in short bursts - what he does between adventures is likely uninteresting to describe. I would listen to more and may even try a print book!
This collection of stories was a lot more interesting than I thought it would be. I originally picked it up for historical reasons--to learn more about the history of genre fiction. However, aesthetically, I expected the content to be pretty weak: a sexist, racist male-power fantasy. And there was quite a bit of that stuff. For example, Conan fights a giant snake in order to get the girl a number of times. I figure either Howard had a hilariously overt Oedipal complex, or a very Freudian sense of humor. Neither would surprise me.
But I was surprised how often Howard moves beyond these sorts of limitations. For example, he's obsessed with describing the 'race' of all the characters, but I couldn't find any reference to one race being superior to another. The 'darker' races are more often than not Conan's allies, not enemies. Maybe there is some more pronounced racism in his correspondence or other works, but for the most part he escapes from it in these stories.
It was the same with the sexism. Very often, women are reduced to objects, 'princessess' in need of rescue, sometimes even literally Conan's 'prize' for defeating a villain or monster. But one story in particular stuck in my mind: "The Vale of Lost Women". At first glance, it was one of the worst stories in the anthology, in terms of the 'princess' problem. But then I noticed that, while that is certainly the plot, the story is in fact told from the princess's point of view. (In this particular story, Conan is a minor, inessential background character.) While we all know countless stories involving princesses in need of rescue, this is the first time I ever noticed that the princess (not the rescuing hero) was the voice of the story. What would have been nice to see in some 1970s fantasy novels seems remarkable for a story written in 1932.
Howard's style is as interesting as the content, in the same sense, i.e. when he's transcending his limitations. For the most part, I thought the prose was overwrought, but the plot's were well-paced. Howard tended to repeat certain descriptions, but sometimes he manages passages that are quite evocative. For example, I'm not particularly frightened of snakes, but reading some of Howard's stories, I definitely had the feeling for what that might be like. He handles the exposition problem deftly. By the end, and with seemingly minimal effort, we have a sense of Conan's (and Howard's) world.
It's easy enough to make fun of Conan stories. But when I thought about the circumstances under which they were written (i.e. very quickly, during the Depression, for money), their relative quality is striking. Basically: yes, they're silly, but they're not only silly. If Howard had written at this level under those circumstances, I wonder what might have been had he had lived past 30.
But I was surprised how often Howard moves beyond these sorts of limitations. For example, he's obsessed with describing the 'race' of all the characters, but I couldn't find any reference to one race being superior to another. The 'darker' races are more often than not Conan's allies, not enemies. Maybe there is some more pronounced racism in his correspondence or other works, but for the most part he escapes from it in these stories.
It was the same with the sexism. Very often, women are reduced to objects, 'princessess' in need of rescue, sometimes even literally Conan's 'prize' for defeating a villain or monster. But one story in particular stuck in my mind: "The Vale of Lost Women". At first glance, it was one of the worst stories in the anthology, in terms of the 'princess' problem. But then I noticed that, while that is certainly the plot, the story is in fact told from the princess's point of view. (In this particular story, Conan is a minor, inessential background character.) While we all know countless stories involving princesses in need of rescue, this is the first time I ever noticed that the princess (not the rescuing hero) was the voice of the story. What would have been nice to see in some 1970s fantasy novels seems remarkable for a story written in 1932.
Howard's style is as interesting as the content, in the same sense, i.e. when he's transcending his limitations. For the most part, I thought the prose was overwrought, but the plot's were well-paced. Howard tended to repeat certain descriptions, but sometimes he manages passages that are quite evocative. For example, I'm not particularly frightened of snakes, but reading some of Howard's stories, I definitely had the feeling for what that might be like. He handles the exposition problem deftly. By the end, and with seemingly minimal effort, we have a sense of Conan's (and Howard's) world.
It's easy enough to make fun of Conan stories. But when I thought about the circumstances under which they were written (i.e. very quickly, during the Depression, for money), their relative quality is striking. Basically: yes, they're silly, but they're not only silly. If Howard had written at this level under those circumstances, I wonder what might have been had he had lived past 30.
Gotta love Howard's pulp action hero. One of my personal faves, it's easy to forget that Conan is smart as well as strong.
One, maybe two, of these stories stand out as not belonging in this collection of fantastic tales. The exception(s) has a weak plot, confusing and unexciting action, and offends modern sensibilities beyond what can be tolerated for the sake of the rest of the story. But it is very clearly the exception. The rest of these tales are thrilling, engrossing, and wonderfully evocative. I was especially struck by the excellent way in which the mundane (if sword-weilding barbarians can be called mundane) was mixed with fantastic elements from "Yog Sothothery." By and large, the mixture was exactly right to keep those elements "weird" and maintain their sense of other-worldliness.
I also think that reading them in the order they were written is probably better than some of the chronological schemes that have been used in other collections. Even skipping around in the life of the character, they did grow a bit repetitive. I think this was only because I was reading them one after another, with no breaks, though. If received and read separately as intended I don't think that would be a problem. If I had it to do over I would have read one, stopped and read something else, and then come back for another, so take that for what it's worth.
I also think that reading them in the order they were written is probably better than some of the chronological schemes that have been used in other collections. Even skipping around in the life of the character, they did grow a bit repetitive. I think this was only because I was reading them one after another, with no breaks, though. If received and read separately as intended I don't think that would be a problem. If I had it to do over I would have read one, stopped and read something else, and then come back for another, so take that for what it's worth.