A review by jeffhall
The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian: Book One by Robert E. Howard

3.0

This a great collection of Howard's Conan stories as he wrote them, including illuminating background essays and notes. While there is something of a formulaic element to the stories when read as a series, nonetheless Howard's prose is vigorous and never distracts from the action. When his powers as a writer are really with him, he can deliver truly memorable stories such as "Queen of the Black Coast" and "The Vale Of Lost Women", the latter an unusually dream-like tale that successfully breaks out of the formula.