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35th out of 43 books
—
26 voters
Conan the Barbarian
by
Michael A. Stackpole (Goodreads Author)
Born in the fires of battle, Conan of Cimmeria lost his father and village when they were slaughtered by the cruel warlord Khalar Zym. Wandering the world alone, Conan was forged into a peerless warrior by hardship and bloodshed.
Years later, he crosses paths with Zym and his armies. But before Conan can exact vengeance, he must contend with the warlord's daughter-the sedu...more
Years later, he crosses paths with Zym and his armies. But before Conan can exact vengeance, he must contend with the warlord's daughter-the sedu...more
Paperback, 292 pages
Published
July 5th 2011
by Berkley
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I was not given my copy of the book. I was not asked to or paid to write this review.
I consider myself a Conan fan. I've read many of Robert E Howard's books. I read the Marvel comics. I even read a couple of Robert Jordan's Conan novels. And of course I've seen all the movies.
I'm a fan, not a fanatic. I know much about Conan lore, but I couldn't recite the Hyborian Knowledge as many could. I just enjoy a good read and Conan can provide that.
I'm also a fan of Mike Stackpole. I enjoy his works an...more
I consider myself a Conan fan. I've read many of Robert E Howard's books. I read the Marvel comics. I even read a couple of Robert Jordan's Conan novels. And of course I've seen all the movies.
I'm a fan, not a fanatic. I know much about Conan lore, but I couldn't recite the Hyborian Knowledge as many could. I just enjoy a good read and Conan can provide that.
I'm also a fan of Mike Stackpole. I enjoy his works an...more
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I bought this book because 1. I missed it in theaters and am in love with Jason Momoa (the guy who played Conan) and 2. It was less than $2.00 because I found it on one of Border's last days of being in business. It was a $2.00 well spent. :)
It is pretty clear that the movie came first, and the book was written based on the movie. So, I never expected it to be some literary work of genius. The writing is actually better than I expected, but with books like this, that are based on movies/TV, ther...more
It is pretty clear that the movie came first, and the book was written based on the movie. So, I never expected it to be some literary work of genius. The writing is actually better than I expected, but with books like this, that are based on movies/TV, ther...more
(Originally posted @ CSI:Librarian.)
4.5 Stars - Note: This review contains mild spoilers for both the movie novelization and the film itself.
I can’t remember the last time I read a book based on a movie and enjoyed it this much. Everything about Conan the Barbarian was done in a way that paid excellent tribute to earlier works and to Robert E. Howard’s impressive albeit brief writing career. Stackpole breathed an amazing amount of life into Conan, pulling from and referencing the original Robert...more
4.5 Stars - Note: This review contains mild spoilers for both the movie novelization and the film itself.
I can’t remember the last time I read a book based on a movie and enjoyed it this much. Everything about Conan the Barbarian was done in a way that paid excellent tribute to earlier works and to Robert E. Howard’s impressive albeit brief writing career. Stackpole breathed an amazing amount of life into Conan, pulling from and referencing the original Robert...more
Stackpole makes a valiant attempt to fix the unfixable by adding meat and logic around the script written for the Conan the Barbarian (2011) movie. As a result there are passages and sections in this novel that are very nice to read. These include, for example, Conan's reminiscing about his lost love, Belit, who was never mentioned in the movie.
In many places, Stackpole manages to bring logic to bridge the obvious gaps in story that we witnessed in theatres (such as why the pirate ship was sudde...more
In many places, Stackpole manages to bring logic to bridge the obvious gaps in story that we witnessed in theatres (such as why the pirate ship was sudde...more
I thought this a pretty good book that did homage to Robert E Howard's Conan. If you've read the original Conan books, you'll enjoy this one. I really enjoyed how the author weaved in references that you'd only know if you'd read the original books.
I found this a fast read and hard to put down.
One thing that struck me though, toward the end, was that it reminded me a video game. Mini boss fights leading up to the main boss fight. But then again, that was also how the original tales were too, so....more
I found this a fast read and hard to put down.
One thing that struck me though, toward the end, was that it reminded me a video game. Mini boss fights leading up to the main boss fight. But then again, that was also how the original tales were too, so....more
I actually never sought out to read this book. My wife had checked it out and I was desperate for something to read and I picked it up.
This book is based on the screenplay of a movie. I saw the movie (which was gosh awful terrible) so I was pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed the book. Michael Stackpole is a good writer and he turned a pig's ear of a movie into a silk purse.
I have not read any of the original Conan books but I am tempted to try them now. While this is by no means one of my favor...more
This book is based on the screenplay of a movie. I saw the movie (which was gosh awful terrible) so I was pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed the book. Michael Stackpole is a good writer and he turned a pig's ear of a movie into a silk purse.
I have not read any of the original Conan books but I am tempted to try them now. While this is by no means one of my favor...more
A good take on the Conan Saga. The author did a good job of character development while keeping the pace of the book up. The first 260 pages are really good, but the final 30 pages are a let down. One wonders if the final 30 pages were made to match the movie and not flow from the author's own creativity. Something seemed amis in the last scenes when compared with those throughout the rest of the book. I know the Conan book would be violent, but the author embraced the violence without being too...more
After the first viewing of the movie I really wanted to read the book. I wasn`t able to find it in hard copy but found it in ebook format, well after I started reading it there was no way I could put it down. Its based on the movie, however there are a lot of differences. I loved this book as much as I do the movie and I am so glad I bought it. I finished it in two days, fasted I`ve ever read anything. I recommend it for anyone, but be warned it is dark in some parts
The book is actually very similar close to the movie...a few parts are a little different here and there that literally could have been in the movie, for that matter. The plot, theme, characters, locations are the same.
The book is pretty good. I like the action parts of the book. Other than that the book needed some more work. I know pieces of certain characters life but others I had no idea. I wish I knew more about there childhood to understand why they are doing what there doing in the book....more
The book is pretty good. I like the action parts of the book. Other than that the book needed some more work. I know pieces of certain characters life but others I had no idea. I wish I knew more about there childhood to understand why they are doing what there doing in the book....more
Good fun. Stackpole ties this into the overlying Conan mythos by making copious references to other stories (Most notably Tower of the Elephant and Queen of the Black Coast), and his writing saves it from one of the criticisms I've seen hurled at the movie - that it's just a revenge tale. Stackpole hangs a lantern on it and manages to save it from being another rehash of well-worn plots.
And the man can write a page-turner.
And the man can write a page-turner.
I seemed to have more fun watching this movie than most of its reviewers did. Mind you, much of the fun involved speculating which of the jarring shifts in scene and tone were in the script, and which were made on the fly.
Conan fans and the morbidly curious are encouraged to read Michael A. Stackpole’s novelization, that increasingly rare product which entertains and enlightens, as it aligns closer to the screenwriters’ original vision. While it, too, has flatfooted moments (the transition into...more
Conan fans and the morbidly curious are encouraged to read Michael A. Stackpole’s novelization, that increasingly rare product which entertains and enlightens, as it aligns closer to the screenwriters’ original vision. While it, too, has flatfooted moments (the transition into...more
OK, we all have our pulp vices and Robert E. Howard is mine. I love the imaginary, fantastic worlds he creates based on ancient history. The Godfather of S&S, Howard knows how to engross the reader & keep the action coming! He actually used to write standing up, screaming out his stories. I will defend him against Edgar Rice Burroughs any day. Conan can whip Tarzan's butt!
I've never read or watched anything Conan but everyone knows about Conan the Barbarian, so when I saw this book at the Borders close-out I figured "why not?" I'm glad I did. It was fun to read and I thought it was actually quite well-written. My only problem was that the final climax seemed a little rushed.
As those who are familiar with this great character, this book fills in a few blanks after the fall of Belit, from Queen of the Black Coast. It also tells more on the raid of Venarium. I enjoyed it thoroughly and think others will as well, both as a stand alone story and / or another gap filled in the story that is Conan.
Certainly not REH, but competently written given the material he had to work with. The stuff with Conan as a child was fantastic. The inner thoughts and motivations of the characters made this book far superior to the movie.
Stackpole is no Howard.
It's an ok book, but it's not particularly awesome, and it actually reads like a selection of movie scenes.
It's an ok book, but it's not particularly awesome, and it actually reads like a selection of movie scenes.
fun adaptation. Fun to see Conan as a boy. cant wait to see the movie
Thought this was good for a movie tie-in. Stackpole did a great job of referencing parts of Conan's known past and fleshed out thoughts in a very good way that will only be glances in the movie.
This was a meh. It was nowhere near as good as the original series. There was less of the Conan we knew and more of this wannabe who barely had any of his real skill and relied mostly upon luck. This version of Conan also lacked the characteristics that made us love the original.
Meh.
Meh.
Not a great book, but what can you do when you're forced to adhere to a godawful script from a godawful movie?
This book is good in spite of what it's based off.
This book is good in spite of what it's based off.
![Amanda [Novel Addiction]](http://d.gr-assets.com/users/1296175918p2/4886503.jpg)
Honestly... way better than I was expecting. Definitely makes me want to see the movie, not that the movie will contain half as much story.
May 14, 2013
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