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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
Immersive and well-paced, "Beyond the Black River" is a fun bit of adventurous nihilism that may be a dark salve for these times of capitalist decay (if you can get beyond the incredible racism).
An interesting book. I struggled with the book of it because if one was to erase the name Conan and some of these stranger place names you could literally take this tale and put it into Old West or even the frontier prior to the Revolutionary War. I was a bit perplexed by Conan in this story. At times he seemed like an educated gentleman and then other times he became a ferocious savage. I know the writer was attempting to show us a character with death but sometimes the flip and switch between educated bourgeoisie and wild and ferocious savage was so stark that it jolted me out of the story.
The use of Conan as an example of frontier life and the savage nature of man opposite the expansion of civilizations hand with its tenuis grasp into the wild was well used and the story is more provocative than past Conan stories I imagine even more so in the 1930 when American was still in a semi expansive stage.
adventurous
dark
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
My favorite of the Conan stories thus far, just ahead of Queen of the Black Coast. The relation of the story from people near Conan is handled superbly here.
This was my first Conan book, and I had to read it for an english course I'm taking. I loved it, it was really well-written, described and Conan seems to be a very interesting character.
This was action-packed and I admit I couldn't stop my reading.
I'm looking forward to reading another Howard book!!
This was action-packed and I admit I couldn't stop my reading.
I'm looking forward to reading another Howard book!!
These Conan stories are perfect when they’re good. So influential, so engrossing. Plenty of action, cool settings. There’s usually some kind of moral or commentary buried under there. It’s a great trip into a fantasy world. I really wish magazines still did this sort of thing.
Tower of the Elephant is still the best one to me, but this ranks a close second.
Tower of the Elephant is still the best one to me, but this ranks a close second.
My first Conan story. The tension is kept high throughout the story. There aren't any overlong action scenes. No useless damsel in distress. I legitimately didn't know how it would play out in the end. And even though it surely fit the narrative, I was surprised at Balthus' fate.