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36th out of 128 books
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The Horror Stories of Robert E. Howard
Here are Howard’s greatest horror tales, all in their original, definitive versions. Some of Howard’s best-known characters–Solomon Kane, Bran Mak Morn, and sailor Steve Costigan among them–roam the forbidding locales of the author’s fevered imagination, from the swamps and bayous of the Deep South to the fiend-haunted woods outside Paris to remote jungles in Africa.
The co...more
The co...more
Paperback, 560 pages
Published
October 28th 2008
by Del Rey
(first published 2008)
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Howard was a working writer of the pulp age, meaning that he wrote for any venue that could pay, which means that he sometimes moved beyond his true love (historical adventure, I think) to work in other genres: boxing stories, spicy stories, detective stories, western stories--Howard's short career (first professional publication 1925, killed himself 1936) could serve as a nice cross-section of the pulp magazines. (Two notable absences: spy/supers, a la The Spider; and air stories; also, maybe s...more
Warning: Delving into this one too deeply may lead to REH overload. Here we find that when Howard crosses into Howard all of the peculiarities of his writing style are greatly intensified-both all that is good and all that is bad-making the contents of this book almost too intense to read, except in short snippets. I could not stand more than two or three stories in a single sitting.
One thing this collestion makes clear is that Howard's particular style of purple prose is best suit...more
One thing this collestion makes clear is that Howard's particular style of purple prose is best suit...more
As stated in earlier comments: when Howard is focused on story and adventure, he writes at his best, and the result is fun and catchy - as in the stories "The Hoofed Thing," "The Fires of Assurbanipal," "The Dwellers in the Tomb," and about half a dozen others. I enjoyed reading these and can see myself going back to them in the future when I'm in the mood for monsters and swashbuckling and some weirdness.
The rest of the stories in this anthology range fro...more
The rest of the stories in this anthology range fro...more
Dan
added it
As with all Howard writing, those not already inclined to "yarns" about high adventure or creeping horror may not be convinced by these stories. On the other hand, many of these are excellent examples of the genre, with more interesting and more memorable heroes even than the tales of HP Lovecraft, though I admit the terror in them is not as finely crafted.
I like this cover more than the cover of my version by the same publisher. My cover has Solomon Kane on it, so I confus...more
I like this cover more than the cover of my version by the same publisher. My cover has Solomon Kane on it, so I confus...more
I vacillated constantly between 3 and 4 stars for this book. When it's good it's great. Howard can spin terror to a hair fine thread that like the "monomolecular" wire in some Science fiction stories can cut stright through. Unfortunatly all the stories in this volume don't quite make it to that level. But, I believe the that the fright out weighs the "slight".
I own collections of Conan, Solomon Kane, and Bran Mak Morn...so some of the stories here aren't new to m...more
I own collections of Conan, Solomon Kane, and Bran Mak Morn...so some of the stories here aren't new to m...more
Stephan King stated in his Danse Macabre that Robert Howard could not write horror. Having read this, I agree with that statement. Perhaps in another time, these stories would have been scary, but compared to writers of his time (like his best friend HP Lovecraft), Howard falls short in his attempt to elicit the reaction the genre is named after. That being said, he does spin some wonderful stories that reflect where his strengths are, action. So I do recommend this book, and it only got such a ...more
This was an outstanding book, and a fine introduction to Howard for anyone who is thinking of investigating his work. Though Howard is most often noted for being the creator of Conan the Barbarian, and, in truth, the entire sword & sorcery genre, he was also a talented writer of horror tales. I was drawn in by Howard's language. His characters live in a world of rediscovered long-lost races of people, of quests, of adventure, greed, doom, mystery and terror. Interesting as well was the number...more
Robert E. Howard is most often remembered as the father of the Sword and Sorcery genre where he made his legend through the exploits of his seminal creation Conan the Barbarian, and lesser knowns Kull, Brak Mak Morn, and Solomon Kane. But besides being a master of weaving pulse pounding fantasy and adventure stories once found in the pages of the pulps, Howard also conjured dark tales of terror to rival his one-time friend and fellow Weird Tales alum, H.P. Lovecraft. This collection features so...more
This book is a bit of a mixed bag. On one hand it gives you variety: Sword & sorcery, westerns, boxing, african & arabian aventures, puritan badasses, and classic staples of horror fiction. On the other hand, the quality of it is rather mixed, there were a few stories in it that I really liked, quite a few that were ok if not standout, and several that were just offensive or bad.
I really believe (as most people probably do) that Howards strengths are in his Conan stories, of which this bo...more
I really believe (as most people probably do) that Howards strengths are in his Conan stories, of which this bo...more
My favorite has to be Pigeons from Hell. I liked a lot of the others, but there were a few I didn't care for.
CONTENT: It's a book of horror stories, so it's suspenseful and violent, sometimes gory. Not much profanity, and there's mention of tobacco and drinking.
CONTENT: It's a book of horror stories, so it's suspenseful and violent, sometimes gory. Not much profanity, and there's mention of tobacco and drinking.
Jason
rated it
Recommends it for:
Anyone who enjoys horror that requires the reader to think.
Recommended to Jason by:
I was already a fan of Robert E. Howard's work.
I have been a fan of Robert E. Howard for many years and I was very happy when this collection of tales came out. Some of them I had read in previous collections from Baen and the Best of volumes that were released before this collection came out, but many I had not read before. Robert E. Howard was a product of his time, and therefore he did have a habit of using slurs, but since it was more socially acceptable during the time he wrote these stories I see no reason to hold that tendency against...more
This one was a very interesting switch on a beloved author. I have read and know well all of his Conan, Kane, Bran stories etc. The horror stories were a treat. Especially the cowboy horror stories! That was a surprise...how much I enjoyed that segment of the book. I think the ones I liked the best were the unfinished few towards the end of the book. His writing had really improved by that point. A sad ending to what could have been a brilliant career.
Pretty awesome. Some of the first person "I found this ancient tome and yaddia yaddia" Lovecraft pastiches were a little heavy handed and got old after awhile, but I loved the other stuff - especially the weird western stuff, and Solomon Kane. Can't wait for my Solomon Kane collection to get here...
The monumental size of this volume actually works against it; reading this man REH stories in succession, you become too familiar with the man's weaknesses and cliches. But beyond the reuse of story element and theme, beyond the brazen text that never toys with subtlety, Howard was a primally talented storyteller. Would he had let himself live another ten years; who knows what the mature man might have produced?
Fun stories, some better written than others. It was interesting reading the first Conan story (he was an Irish Pirate?). I don't know how I had never heard of Robert E. Howard before this.
I made the mistake of forcing myself to read this collection in three weeks (I borrowed it from a library). That's too much REH for me. His strongest horror tales are still strong. Officially I am disappointed that this was not a complete collection of horror stories, but secretly I was relieved that I wouldn't have to slog through any more.
It's a real wash. Some of the stories are excellent, while others seem like second drafts which should have never made it to print. This book should be about 200 pages less.
Some of the poetry is excellent, and I do not like poetry.
Some of the poetry is excellent, and I do not like poetry.
This is a long read, but well worth the time spent. Howard did horror every bit as well as Lovecraft (with whom he shared a lengthy personal correspondence) or Poe. Some stories feature his characters Sailor Steve Costigan (or his possible relatives) and Solomon Kane (the demon-vanquishing Puritan). All feature Howard's natural ability to spin an entertaining yarn. I give this book my highest recommendation, especially for those of us who tend to prefer tales of terror of the "old-school"...more
Decent pulp writer, but a little too much racism for my taste.
I'm not too far into this collection yet, though I did skip ahead to the Soloman Kane stories first. So far I'm loving Howard's horror writings... of which I've not read much until now. As with his Kane and Conan works, though, he is sublime and intense, his style as fresh as if it were just written. In particular, I just finished THE DREAM SNAKE and it is one of the most subtly terrifying stories I've ever read.
Great book. Has some great horror stories, including some involving familiar characters like Solomon Kane and Bran Mak Morn, as well as stories that are a part of the Cthulhu mythos. One caveat though, some of the stories, particularly the "piney woods" stories, have racist terms in the dialogue, which some may find offensive. The introduction does a good job giving those stories some perspective.
I finally read this book after 2 years! It's a collection of short stories, so it was easy to just read it in between other things. Suffice it to say, Robert E. Howard is a master, one of my biggest influences, and this book was great. Some of the stories were obviously better than others, but it was a great collection.
From the creator of Conan comes strange and engaging tales.
Excellent collection by a master story-teller.
John Karr
added it
very cool from one of my favorite writers
This was an excellent book!
Not as great as I wanted it to be, but still good. Some of the stories seem to be a little too short, while others, like THE FIRE OF ASSHURBANIPAL are awesome. I have one of his Conan books on tap... if only I could find the Del Rey collections of Kull, Solomon Kane and Bran Mak Moran.
Jessica
marked it as to-read
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Robert Ervin Howard was an American pulp writer of fantasy, horror, historical adventure, boxing, western, and detective fiction. Howard wrote "over three-hundred stories and seven-hundred poems of raw power and unbridled emotion" and is especially noted for his memorable depictions of "a sombre universe of swashbuckling adventure and darkling horror."
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