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Gardens of Fear: The Weird Works of Robert E. Howard, Vol. 6
The definitive 10-volume set of Robert E. Howard's weird fiction and poetry (with all texts meticulously restored to the original versions as published in Weird Tales and other magazines) continues with volume 6, GARDENS OF FEAR! This collection of classic Howard begins with the Conan story "Queen of the Black Coast," and also includes "The Haunter of the Ring," "The Garden of Fear," "The Devil in Iron," "The Voices Waken Memory," "The People of the Black Circle," and "A Witch Shall Be Born."
Edited by REH-scholar Paul Herman. Introduction by Benjamin Szumskyj. Cover by Stephen Fabian.
Edited by REH-scholar Paul Herman. Introduction by Benjamin Szumskyj. Cover by Stephen Fabian.
210 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 1, 1934
7 people are currently reading
84 people want to read
About the author
Robert E. Howard
2,999 books2,652 followersRobert 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."
He is well known for having created—in the pages of the legendary Depression-era pulp magazine Weird Tales—the character Conan the Cimmerian, a.k.a. Conan the Barbarian, a literary icon whose pop-culture imprint can only be compared to such icons as Tarzan of the Apes, Count Dracula, Sherlock Holmes, and James Bond.
—Wikipedia
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
He is well known for having created—in the pages of the legendary Depression-era pulp magazine Weird Tales—the character Conan the Cimmerian, a.k.a. Conan the Barbarian, a literary icon whose pop-culture imprint can only be compared to such icons as Tarzan of the Apes, Count Dracula, Sherlock Holmes, and James Bond.
—Wikipedia
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
March 24, 2019
Още като видях съдържанието на този том, веднага усетих, че ще е пълна петица! Два от най-яките Конански разкази са тук, а и останалите не са никак зле.
Queen of the Black Coast - Една от любимите ми истории за Конан! Страхотен пиратски разказ с фентъзи елементи! Шедьовър отвсякъде! - 5/5
The Haunter of the Ring - Увлекателен мистичен разказ, който се чете бързо. - 4/5
The Garden of Fear - Още едно "прераждане" на Джеймс Алисън. Не блести особено, но има някои интересни идеи. - 4/5
The Devil in Iron - Приятно, но не твърде оригинално приключение на Конан. Общо взето, комбинира стари идеи от предишни разкази и оставя впечатление за претоплена манджа. - 4/5
The People of the Black Circle - Бих наредил този разказ в Конанския ми топ 3! В него има всичко - приключения, битки, тайнствени магьосници, екзотична атмосфера, интересни герои, заплетен сюжет... Абе, ако не сте го чели, много сте пропуснали! - 5/5
A Witch Shall Be Born - Поредният много добър разказ от Конаниадата, включващ една от най-култовите сцени с Кимериеца! За съжаление има един недостатък, заради който трябва да сваля от максималната оценка - точно в кулминацията Конан остава зад кадър за сметка на доста по-скучния Валерий. - 4,5/5
Queen of the Black Coast - Една от любимите ми истории за Конан! Страхотен пиратски разказ с фентъзи елементи! Шедьовър отвсякъде! - 5/5
The Haunter of the Ring - Увлекателен мистичен разказ, който се чете бързо. - 4/5
The Garden of Fear - Още едно "прераждане" на Джеймс Алисън. Не блести особено, но има някои интересни идеи. - 4/5
The Devil in Iron - Приятно, но не твърде оригинално приключение на Конан. Общо взето, комбинира стари идеи от предишни разкази и оставя впечатление за претоплена манджа. - 4/5
The People of the Black Circle - Бих наредил този разказ в Конанския ми топ 3! В него има всичко - приключения, битки, тайнствени магьосници, екзотична атмосфера, интересни герои, заплетен сюжет... Абе, ако не сте го чели, много сте пропуснали! - 5/5
A Witch Shall Be Born - Поредният много добър разказ от Конаниадата, включващ една от най-култовите сцени с Кимериеца! За съжаление има един недостатък, заради който трябва да сваля от максималната оценка - точно в кулминацията Конан остава зад кадър за сметка на доста по-скучния Валерий. - 4,5/5
March 27, 2024
Gardens of Fear is the sixth volume of a series that collects the fiction and poetry of Robert E. Howard as it originally appeared in Weird Tales magazine. This volume (Kindle version) has six short stories and one poem. Most of the short stories are Conan the Barbarian stories. The poem first appeared in The Fantasy Fan fanzine.
Queen of the Black Coast (Conan) (5/5)
(Weird Tales, May 1934)
This story chronicles how Conan met and joined a pirate crew headed by Bêlit, the Queen of the Black Coast, developed a reputation as they raided the coast, and then searched for a lost city. This story had action, adventure, romance, and a thrilling final battle with a melancholy ending. For a short story it felt epic.
The Haunter of the Ring (John Kirowan) (3/5)
(Weird Tales, June 1934)
Professor Kirowan investigates after a friend believes that his wife has been trying to kill him. A standard pulp tale with a connection to Conan. The ring in this story is Thoth-Amon’s Serpent Ring of Set which was introduced in “The Phoenix on the Sword,” the very first Conan story.
The Garden of Fear (James Allison) (3/5)
(Marvel Tales, July-August, 1934)
James Allison tells a story of one of his past lives as Hunwulf of the Æsir tribe while he travels with his love, Gudrun. After a winged man, the last survivor of an ancient race kidnaps Gudrun, Hunwulf tracks them down to a tower surrounded by strange blood red flowers.
The Devil in Iron (Conan) (3/5)
(Weird Tales, August 1934)
A beautiful enslaved woman is used to lure Conan to a deserted island in order to ambush him, but the island turns out to have a recently re-awakened demon dwelling there. While it relied a little too much on coincidence and echoed some of what has come before in previous stories, it still had its moments.
The Voices Waken Memory (Poem) (5/5)
(The Fantasy Fan, September 1934)
I really liked this dark poem. A step up from the poems in the previous volume.
The People of the Black Circle (Conan) (5/5)
(Weird Tales, September-October-November, 1934)
On the borders of Vendhya, the Hyborian version of India, Conan’s scheme to save some of his men doesn’t go as planned and he winds up having to face a group of sorcerers in their mountain fortress. Howard is on fire here. Action, plot twists, a great cast of characters, and new setting make for a thrilling novella. Speaking of characters, because of the decisions she made and the way she handled herself in the face of adversity, by the end of the story Yasmina the Devi of Vendya became one of my favorite side characters written by Howard.
A Witch Shall Be Born (Conan) (4/5)
(Weird Tales, December 1934)
After a witch replaces her twin sister as queen of Khauran, she comes into conflict with Conan. Although there’s lots of exposition and the ending is a little anticlimactic, it was still an exciting read. This story has the iconic crucifixion scene with the vulture that was included in the 1982 Conan the Barbarian film. The scene and how things play out afterwards in this story do a fantastic job of showing Conan’s determination to survive and his brutal philosophy on life in the Hyborian age.
As with the previous volumes, it was interesting reading Howard’s work in publication order.
Queen of the Black Coast (Conan) (5/5)
(Weird Tales, May 1934)
This story chronicles how Conan met and joined a pirate crew headed by Bêlit, the Queen of the Black Coast, developed a reputation as they raided the coast, and then searched for a lost city. This story had action, adventure, romance, and a thrilling final battle with a melancholy ending. For a short story it felt epic.
The Haunter of the Ring (John Kirowan) (3/5)
(Weird Tales, June 1934)
Professor Kirowan investigates after a friend believes that his wife has been trying to kill him. A standard pulp tale with a connection to Conan. The ring in this story is Thoth-Amon’s Serpent Ring of Set which was introduced in “The Phoenix on the Sword,” the very first Conan story.
The Garden of Fear (James Allison) (3/5)
(Marvel Tales, July-August, 1934)
James Allison tells a story of one of his past lives as Hunwulf of the Æsir tribe while he travels with his love, Gudrun. After a winged man, the last survivor of an ancient race kidnaps Gudrun, Hunwulf tracks them down to a tower surrounded by strange blood red flowers.
The Devil in Iron (Conan) (3/5)
(Weird Tales, August 1934)
A beautiful enslaved woman is used to lure Conan to a deserted island in order to ambush him, but the island turns out to have a recently re-awakened demon dwelling there. While it relied a little too much on coincidence and echoed some of what has come before in previous stories, it still had its moments.
The Voices Waken Memory (Poem) (5/5)
(The Fantasy Fan, September 1934)
I really liked this dark poem. A step up from the poems in the previous volume.
The People of the Black Circle (Conan) (5/5)
(Weird Tales, September-October-November, 1934)
On the borders of Vendhya, the Hyborian version of India, Conan’s scheme to save some of his men doesn’t go as planned and he winds up having to face a group of sorcerers in their mountain fortress. Howard is on fire here. Action, plot twists, a great cast of characters, and new setting make for a thrilling novella. Speaking of characters, because of the decisions she made and the way she handled herself in the face of adversity, by the end of the story Yasmina the Devi of Vendya became one of my favorite side characters written by Howard.
A Witch Shall Be Born (Conan) (4/5)
(Weird Tales, December 1934)
After a witch replaces her twin sister as queen of Khauran, she comes into conflict with Conan. Although there’s lots of exposition and the ending is a little anticlimactic, it was still an exciting read. This story has the iconic crucifixion scene with the vulture that was included in the 1982 Conan the Barbarian film. The scene and how things play out afterwards in this story do a fantastic job of showing Conan’s determination to survive and his brutal philosophy on life in the Hyborian age.
As with the previous volumes, it was interesting reading Howard’s work in publication order.
July 20, 2018
James Allison es un hombre que tiene la suerte o la desgracia de recordar todas sus vidas pasadas. El cuento narra como él, cuando era un altivo nórdico, se opuso a su pueblo por amor y cómo su amada fue secuestrada por un ser que entonces consideraba un demonio sin mayores explicaciones. Sin embargo, James lamenta no haber tenido mayor curiosidad en aquel momento por esa criatura que dio por sentado.
January 23, 2016
In this sixth volume Howard continues his stories of Conan. Here is the story of Conan's lost love Belit, "Queen Of The Black Coast". These stories are presented unedited as they originally appeared in the magazine. Highly recommended
June 17, 2019
Queen of the Black Coast - 4/5
Fun, exciting and the prose is candy for the eyes. Everything I look for in a Conan story. My only complaint this time around is that the villain/monster felt underwhelming and had no time to develop compared to many other villains in the series. The final battle was cool, but it lacked emotional substance because of the lack of characterization. Other than that, still Conan at its finest with bloody, sexy action.
***
The Haunter of the Ring - 3/5
Another reincarnation story, I think this one is better than most of Robert’s others. A ring is passed down through time, carrying on a cycle of vengeance by the wicked spirit that haunts the ring. Those who wear the ring are destined to commit terrible crimes. The summoner of the vengeful ghost is defeated in the end, but not without sacrifice. In a way, the ring wins in the end.
***
The Garden of Fear - 2/5
A reincarnation story where the protagonist recalls his battle against the last survivor of an ancient race of winged demons in a garden of scarlet flowers. A simple premise, but the flashy visuals is nice eye-candy. It was a little heavy on racist themes which took away a lot of my enjoyment.
***
The Devil in Iron - 3/5
Not even close to the best, but simple Conan fun. It feels like several of the older stories stitched together with a few unrealized new ideas. Not bad, but feels uninspired and doesn’t bring anything new to the expanding universe. Just like Queen of the Black Coast, the villain doesn’t offer much either.
***
The People of the Black Circle - 4/5
Man, Robert knew how to start a visceral, bloody and blindingly fast fantasy adventure and keep consistent pace. Nothing like a good adrenaline rush from beginning to end.
***
A Witch Shall be Born - 4/5
A queen is dethroned by her evil twin that was once thrown out into the desert and left to die because she was born with the mark of a witch. The outcasted sister builds up her powerful magic and hatred over the years and turns it against the kingdom that left her to die. The sister steals the queen's place on the throne and commits countless atrocities in her name.
Conan comes along to make the evil sister pay for her crimes and restore the glory of the true queen. A thrilling tale of deception and sisterly betrayal. I ended up feeling a bit sorry for the villain this time around, I can't blame her for hating a world that cursed her to such a tragic fate the moment she was born. Salome is one of the most sympathetic villains in the entire Conan the Barbarian series.
Fun, exciting and the prose is candy for the eyes. Everything I look for in a Conan story. My only complaint this time around is that the villain/monster felt underwhelming and had no time to develop compared to many other villains in the series. The final battle was cool, but it lacked emotional substance because of the lack of characterization. Other than that, still Conan at its finest with bloody, sexy action.
***
The Haunter of the Ring - 3/5
Another reincarnation story, I think this one is better than most of Robert’s others. A ring is passed down through time, carrying on a cycle of vengeance by the wicked spirit that haunts the ring. Those who wear the ring are destined to commit terrible crimes. The summoner of the vengeful ghost is defeated in the end, but not without sacrifice. In a way, the ring wins in the end.
***
The Garden of Fear - 2/5
A reincarnation story where the protagonist recalls his battle against the last survivor of an ancient race of winged demons in a garden of scarlet flowers. A simple premise, but the flashy visuals is nice eye-candy. It was a little heavy on racist themes which took away a lot of my enjoyment.
***
The Devil in Iron - 3/5
Not even close to the best, but simple Conan fun. It feels like several of the older stories stitched together with a few unrealized new ideas. Not bad, but feels uninspired and doesn’t bring anything new to the expanding universe. Just like Queen of the Black Coast, the villain doesn’t offer much either.
***
The People of the Black Circle - 4/5
Man, Robert knew how to start a visceral, bloody and blindingly fast fantasy adventure and keep consistent pace. Nothing like a good adrenaline rush from beginning to end.
***
A Witch Shall be Born - 4/5
A queen is dethroned by her evil twin that was once thrown out into the desert and left to die because she was born with the mark of a witch. The outcasted sister builds up her powerful magic and hatred over the years and turns it against the kingdom that left her to die. The sister steals the queen's place on the throne and commits countless atrocities in her name.
Conan comes along to make the evil sister pay for her crimes and restore the glory of the true queen. A thrilling tale of deception and sisterly betrayal. I ended up feeling a bit sorry for the villain this time around, I can't blame her for hating a world that cursed her to such a tragic fate the moment she was born. Salome is one of the most sympathetic villains in the entire Conan the Barbarian series.
April 5, 2020
This collection contains a bunch of Conan stories, a Kiorwen story that ties into the Hyborian Mythos, and a James Allison story that is the basis for REH's only SF novel. The best part are the two Conan stories "Queen of the Black Coast" and "A Witch Shall be Born". These stories describe two of the most pivotal and memorable events in the life of Conan. In one, Conan meets the love of his life, Belit the Pirate Queen, and spends some of his most carefree and happy times at her side ravaging and pillaging from the Black Kingdoms to Argos. Conan in Love. In the other story we find Conan at his lowest point ever, literally hanging from a cross in the desert waiting to die. Conan has come close to death in practically every story in which he is mentioned, but he has never been so completely broken as to be crucified and left to the vultures. We have the highest and lowest points of Conan's life, in an artistic sense anyway. Conan does later become king of Aquilonia, but that event doesn't even warrant a featured tale by REH, it's just mentioned as a past event. These two stories are the most significant of all Conan stories.
The Kiorwen(sic) tale provides an interesting link from Hyboria to modern day England. It's a murder mystery of sorts where the serpent ring of Thoth-Amon makes an appearance, proving that all of REH's creations live in the same universe.
James Allison comes back to tell another story of his past lives. He is something of a forerunner to Moorcock's Eternal Champion, as he has been a hulking hero for untold ages, saving buxom wenches form unholy horrors again and again. This time he travels to a new land, joins a tribe of alien people, and his girl is spirited away by a giant black man with wings who lives in a tower with no doors. Which is exactly the plot of Almuric, with some slight alterations.
This is REH really proving himself. His stories are getting longer and more involved, and better as well.
The Kiorwen(sic) tale provides an interesting link from Hyboria to modern day England. It's a murder mystery of sorts where the serpent ring of Thoth-Amon makes an appearance, proving that all of REH's creations live in the same universe.
James Allison comes back to tell another story of his past lives. He is something of a forerunner to Moorcock's Eternal Champion, as he has been a hulking hero for untold ages, saving buxom wenches form unholy horrors again and again. This time he travels to a new land, joins a tribe of alien people, and his girl is spirited away by a giant black man with wings who lives in a tower with no doors. Which is exactly the plot of Almuric, with some slight alterations.
This is REH really proving himself. His stories are getting longer and more involved, and better as well.
October 25, 2015
This short supernatural story is about a man capable of remembering all his past lives, even before man's evolution.
Here he focuses on his past life as a "sort of" cave man, as there are mammoths, etc. The supernatural edge includes man-eating plants and a winged man-like creature.
Here he focuses on his past life as a "sort of" cave man, as there are mammoths, etc. The supernatural edge includes man-eating plants and a winged man-like creature.
May 5, 2021
The omniscient narration of James Allison is much better than the stilted dialogue of Conan.
October 9, 2024
[Read in The Garden of Fear and Other Stories of the Bizarre and Fantastic]
Another James Allison tale of a past life he lived in pre-history. His girlfriend is abducted and he rescues her from a tower owned by a winged man from a dead civilization. Pretty cool stuff.
Comics:
Adapted in Conan 9. Pretty dang faithful, obviously changing the protagonist to Conan and the woman to Jenna who was with Conan at the time. It misses a bit of the language/lost civilization angle, but has enough of it to work. Barry Windsor-Smith coming into his own here with some really beautiful panels like Conan swimming in the water.
Another James Allison tale of a past life he lived in pre-history. His girlfriend is abducted and he rescues her from a tower owned by a winged man from a dead civilization. Pretty cool stuff.
Comics:
Adapted in Conan 9. Pretty dang faithful, obviously changing the protagonist to Conan and the woman to Jenna who was with Conan at the time. It misses a bit of the language/lost civilization angle, but has enough of it to work. Barry Windsor-Smith coming into his own here with some really beautiful panels like Conan swimming in the water.
June 17, 2024
Howard's version of romantasy. No bueno
June 25, 2025
3.5 stars
kinda entertaining, based heavily on norse mythology which I didnt expect.
kinda entertaining, based heavily on norse mythology which I didnt expect.
October 9, 2024
https://archive.org/details/Fantastic...
https://en.m.wikisource.org/wiki/The_...
Would have been 1/5 if not for the vague Lovecraftian references. 1.5/5 honestly. At least it was short.
https://en.m.wikisource.org/wiki/The_...
Would have been 1/5 if not for the vague Lovecraftian references. 1.5/5 honestly. At least it was short.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews