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Conan: Dark Horse Collection
Conan Volume 15 The Nightmare of the Shallows
In the wake of an unthinkable tragedy, Conan and Bêlit find their bond buckling under an enormous strain. When Bêlit returns to her childhood home, what she discovers in the sands of Shem could separate her from Conan forever. Conan then seeks clarity through the mind-altering power of the yellow lotus, but the visions revealed to him may be more than the Barbarian can bear.
156 pages, Paperback
First published January 22, 2014
2 people are currently reading
90 people want to read
About the author
Brian Wood
1,178 books962 followersBrian Wood's history of published work includes over fifty volumes of genre-spanning original material.
From the 1500-page future war epic DMZ, the ecological disaster series The Massive, the American crime drama Briggs Land, and the groundbreaking lo-fi dystopia Channel Zero he has a 20-year track record of marrying thoughtful world-building and political commentary with compelling and diverse characters.
His YA novels - Demo, Local, The New York Four, and Mara - have made YALSA and New York Public Library best-of lists. His historical fiction - the viking series Northlanders, the American Revolution-centered Rebels, and the norse-samurai mashup Sword Daughter - are benchmarks in the comic book industry.
He's written some of the biggest franchises in pop culture, including Star Wars, Terminator, RoboCop, Conan The Barbarian, Robotech, and Planet Of The Apes. He’s written number-one-selling series for Marvel Comics. And he’s created and written multiple canonical stories for the Aliens universe, including the Zula Hendricks character.
From the 1500-page future war epic DMZ, the ecological disaster series The Massive, the American crime drama Briggs Land, and the groundbreaking lo-fi dystopia Channel Zero he has a 20-year track record of marrying thoughtful world-building and political commentary with compelling and diverse characters.
His YA novels - Demo, Local, The New York Four, and Mara - have made YALSA and New York Public Library best-of lists. His historical fiction - the viking series Northlanders, the American Revolution-centered Rebels, and the norse-samurai mashup Sword Daughter - are benchmarks in the comic book industry.
He's written some of the biggest franchises in pop culture, including Star Wars, Terminator, RoboCop, Conan The Barbarian, Robotech, and Planet Of The Apes. He’s written number-one-selling series for Marvel Comics. And he’s created and written multiple canonical stories for the Aliens universe, including the Zula Hendricks character.
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
March 24, 2014
So after the utter fail that was the Death, I decided to give the series another chance. Well, should have cut my losses. What was once a stellar read, entertaining, true to the original story and yet managing to bring a fresh originality to the canon, has gone completely off the rails.
The writer clearly either has no clue regarding the original material or simply does not care. A drug induced hallucination? Really? When you pick up a Conan story, you expect adventure, sorcery, swordplay, a larger than life character who brawls his way through the civilised world and yet maintains his barbarian code of honour. Instead, we get a simpering romantic and a plot that makes little sense.
I'm done.
The writer clearly either has no clue regarding the original material or simply does not care. A drug induced hallucination? Really? When you pick up a Conan story, you expect adventure, sorcery, swordplay, a larger than life character who brawls his way through the civilised world and yet maintains his barbarian code of honour. Instead, we get a simpering romantic and a plot that makes little sense.
I'm done.
December 5, 2020
The tactical details of battle have always appealed to me, though the killing does not. The story reveals some ins and outs of a siege - troop deployment, siege equipment, battle preparations, camaraderie. It's what makes up 99% of war, as opposed to the brief moments of violence which leave a field covered in blood and corpses. While there isn't a lot of gore, the artwork is amazingly detailed. Too bad the second half of the volume is a waste of time. Hallucinogenic induced dreams? No, thank you.
Conan is powerless to stop Belit from returning to her homeland of Shem. He tries to follow her, but is captured and forcefully conscripted to fight in the siege of Ramah En Ram. Amazingly, he and the men around him often see a woman look out from the ramparts who seems to be Belit herself.
Conan is powerless to stop Belit from returning to her homeland of Shem. He tries to follow her, but is captured and forcefully conscripted to fight in the siege of Ramah En Ram. Amazingly, he and the men around him often see a woman look out from the ramparts who seems to be Belit herself.
February 18, 2018
Once he got past the initial source material for "Queen of the Black Coast" Wood's Conan has had two problems. First, the pacing has been glacial. Second, he pushes his characters around like pawns, arbitrarily placing them into new situations rather than having them move into those places organically.
So The Nightmare of the Shallows opens with a three-issue story that is the flipside of the previous volume. We're now in Bêlit's home of Shem. The tragedies of the previous volume (e.g., authorial fiat) have caused her to abandon her ship and stroll around the ramparts of a city at a night, so that an invading army containing Conan can see her, and Conan can go all lovesick. (As I said: pushed around as if they were pawns.) There are a lot of unbelievable motives here, and this arc only picks up in its final issue when we learn a bit of Bêlit's origins (after which our characters are shuffled around one last time by authorial fiat). [3/5]
The other arc in the volume is a drugged-up hallucination horribly extended over three issues. It's a complete waste of space [1/5].
Which means on average that Wood's Conan work continues to fall. Sigh. At least the next issue will return to adaptation.
So The Nightmare of the Shallows opens with a three-issue story that is the flipside of the previous volume. We're now in Bêlit's home of Shem. The tragedies of the previous volume (e.g., authorial fiat) have caused her to abandon her ship and stroll around the ramparts of a city at a night, so that an invading army containing Conan can see her, and Conan can go all lovesick. (As I said: pushed around as if they were pawns.) There are a lot of unbelievable motives here, and this arc only picks up in its final issue when we learn a bit of Bêlit's origins (after which our characters are shuffled around one last time by authorial fiat). [3/5]
The other arc in the volume is a drugged-up hallucination horribly extended over three issues. It's a complete waste of space [1/5].
Which means on average that Wood's Conan work continues to fall. Sigh. At least the next issue will return to adaptation.
May 27, 2017
another 2 1/2 stars for this one. C'mon Brian Wood, how could you mishandle such great source material?! i won't ramble on about this, because my complaints are similar to those of the last volume: it's just not really Conan. it's an uninteresting metro-sexual Conan. yes, we know that Belit is one of the great loves of Conan's life, but none of this part of the story seems to connect with prior volumes and seems to diminish both of our protagonists. where is the epic love, the larger than life adventure? where is the great dialogue that was given to us from Busiek, Truman and Thomas? why am I left feeling that i'm reading about people who are almost banal in their mediocrity? sheesh. well, the art was a bit better in this volume i guess.
This should have been titled 'Conan Trips Balls'.
This should have been titled 'Conan Trips Balls'.
September 2, 2024
More of the new Belit saga. I'm still not onboard with it, but it's not bad. It's just so different from the earlier version, but I suppose that's the point. One of the story arcs was basically a long "What If" story as Conan is tripping on Yellow Lotus, which didn't seem to advance the story much. Still, I rarely read a Conan story I don't like, so I liked this one.
January 4, 2015
Black Horse's new Conan adaptations were excellent for the first 5 or 6 collections and switched between good and mediocre after that. However, with volume 14 the helm of the writer was taken by Brian Wood who has some impressive titles under his belt. His vision of Conan is very different from other series writers, however, and whereas I saw it as somewhat fresh breath with the 14th volume, things take a bad turn in the 15th.
The first story "The Woman on the Wall" is a pretty nice tale with Belit leaving Conan to go back to her father and Conan ending up recruited by the army attacking Belit's father's city. However, the second story, taking the bulk of the trade paperback, is merely a yellow lotus induced drugged vision laying out what Conan's and Belit's future might be like. The attempt here is presumably to deepen the relationship between the characters before the inevitable events of Queen of the Black Coast, but it fails horribly. A large part of this is due to Brian Wood's handling of Conan's character: he is not the man hardened by war and strife since his very birth that we know from Howard's tales, but a youth tormented by his emotions and feelings and fears. Where this would be a workable solution for any other character, it doesn't really work for Conan.
When Marvel introduced Conan's and Belit's tale in the 1970's, they made her a major character in Conan's early life, spanning almost 50 issues of the comic. They had many adventures together and the reader really got to care for their relationship before the inevitable finally happened. But here with Black Horse, we have Brian Wood attempting the same by showing us drug-induced visions and repetitively telling us that Conan loves Belit, but neglecting to actually show it to us.
The artwork of the 15th volume is better than that of the 14th, but that is pretty much the only good thing you can say of this collection. As it is, I have little hope of Wood being able to handle the tragedy of Belit's demise in the manner that it deserves - but we'll see...
The first story "The Woman on the Wall" is a pretty nice tale with Belit leaving Conan to go back to her father and Conan ending up recruited by the army attacking Belit's father's city. However, the second story, taking the bulk of the trade paperback, is merely a yellow lotus induced drugged vision laying out what Conan's and Belit's future might be like. The attempt here is presumably to deepen the relationship between the characters before the inevitable events of Queen of the Black Coast, but it fails horribly. A large part of this is due to Brian Wood's handling of Conan's character: he is not the man hardened by war and strife since his very birth that we know from Howard's tales, but a youth tormented by his emotions and feelings and fears. Where this would be a workable solution for any other character, it doesn't really work for Conan.
When Marvel introduced Conan's and Belit's tale in the 1970's, they made her a major character in Conan's early life, spanning almost 50 issues of the comic. They had many adventures together and the reader really got to care for their relationship before the inevitable finally happened. But here with Black Horse, we have Brian Wood attempting the same by showing us drug-induced visions and repetitively telling us that Conan loves Belit, but neglecting to actually show it to us.
The artwork of the 15th volume is better than that of the 14th, but that is pretty much the only good thing you can say of this collection. As it is, I have little hope of Wood being able to handle the tragedy of Belit's demise in the manner that it deserves - but we'll see...
May 7, 2017
The first three issues of this TBP are the least enjoyable of Wood's 25-issue Belit run of Conan comics. She leaves Conan and the Tigress in a crisis of faith after losing her baby in the plague of the last TPB. Conan gets conscripted into an invading army that happens to be attacking Belit's birth citadel (how convenient), he gets captured, she has him beaten and then thrown out, only to have her join him at the end. The art is okay and at time is good, but I still prefer the more youthful looking Conan at this point of his life.
The second story is a what-if story every Conan fan has imagined told through lotus dreams - Belit lives and Conan stays with her the rest of their lives. We the readers know of his life after Belit, the adventures and legacy he forges with the Kingship of Aquilonia as his crowning achievement. His life with Belit is quiet and of little importance outside of their small life built together, but happiness and family are his to share and enjoy. Which is the better life?
The second story is a what-if story every Conan fan has imagined told through lotus dreams - Belit lives and Conan stays with her the rest of their lives. We the readers know of his life after Belit, the adventures and legacy he forges with the Kingship of Aquilonia as his crowning achievement. His life with Belit is quiet and of little importance outside of their small life built together, but happiness and family are his to share and enjoy. Which is the better life?
January 24, 2021
Brian Wood takes on one of the greatest original Conan stories ever told - "Queen of the Black Coast" in epic fashion by greatly expanding the romance between Conan and his pirate queen, Belit. We know this tale will not end well for the Cimmerian, but the many extra twists and turns Wood takes us on really gets us invested in a chapter of Conan's life that is tumultuous, transformative and ultimately tragic. Not all of Dark Horse's Conan stories do so well when extending an original Howard tale so far beyond its original boundaries. And this one is not perfect. But for the most part it doesn't just do justice by Conan and Belit, it honors them, and is a most worthy read.
May 11, 2021
I wasn’t impressed with Brian Wood’s second Conan volume. I like this one even less. For years, I’ve called Moorcock’s Elric the Emo Conan. Little did I know that Wood had made a genuinely Emo Conan. One volume of lovesick Conan was tolerable. A second one is gratuitous. I’m sure this seemed like a great setup for tragedy to Wood, but when you know how Bêlit’s story ends, it’s not tragic: it’s just tedious. Alas, I’m trying to read through the entire Dark Horse Conan series, and the only way out...is through.
January 21, 2022
Kind of an oddball entry in the Conan series. It starts out with Conan pressed into an army that is storming the desert fortress of Ramah En Ram. After gaining entry he is promptly captured beaten and tossed back into the desert. The story then abruptly shifts, and the rest of the volume takes place in a drugged state wherein Conan imagines his life with Belit.
In all fairness, I hadn't read Volume 14 which may have given me more insight into what's happening in the beginning, but I still found the transition to Conan's hallucinogenic imagination jarring.
In all fairness, I hadn't read Volume 14 which may have given me more insight into what's happening in the beginning, but I still found the transition to Conan's hallucinogenic imagination jarring.
September 4, 2017
Action, adventure, fight, deception, thief, women are all replaced by romanticism and dreams. It's a completely different Conan from the one in 'Savage Sword', like two different characters with the same name.
October 8, 2018
Tragedy causes a seperation between Conan and Belit but Conan worships this woman and stops at nothing to find her and win her back. A yellow lotus brings him a beautiful dream of a future with Belit he would love to share.
September 4, 2020
Emo Conan rides again! Why do I keep reading these? My library has a limited selection, ok? These just aren’t Conan stories, they’re Belit and her pet stories. The art is mostly good, but the writing is tedious and flat.
June 12, 2018
much better then the last volume, i see alot of sour reviews for this one, i dissagree, fast paced, cool story. Not Woods best book but not bad.
July 15, 2018
Brian Wood's approach to Conan puts more emphasis on character and psychology, at the expense of the usual violent action. It's interesting, if, somewhat unsatisfying.
April 12, 2022
Muy bueno. En particular la historia que da título al libro que, aunque es algo ya bastante visto, está ejecutada con precisión.
August 25, 2025
Decimated the character. Not sure if they have actually read REH
March 16, 2021
The art was nice, but the story was empty. I like Conan stories, but this was not for my liking. I was utterly bored with this one.
September 17, 2014
This meandering couple of filler tales detailing Conan's relationship problems with Belit and a drug induced mid-life crisis are probably the two worst stories I have read in the series. I presume that the intention is to add depth and character background to the upcoming adaptation of Queen of the Black Coast, which began back in volume 13, and goes by the same title. From what I can tell that volume only contains the very beginning of Howard's story though, and the rest will appear in the following volume The Song of Belit, so presumably we are getting a good couple of installments of padding to try to explain how Conan got from A to B.
Not having read Howard's original Queen of the Black Coast myself, I can only guess that from meeting Belit, the relationship suddenly gets very intense very fast and there is some curiosity about how this happened... Which is fair enough, in as far as it goes. Sadly these stories have become steadily less interesting and the oddly out of sync first part of this collection, The Woman on the wall does not really seem to fit very well (which for a story which I guess is trying to make things fit together better, seems a bit of a flaw) and seems mostly an excuse to fill us in on Belit's background. The second eponymously named story is really just a fairly pointless dream sequence. Oh the angst of poor Conan, the pain... yawn, yawn, yawn. The choppiness of the drug fueled tale, while giving a certain feeling of Conan experiencing a bad trip, actually was just generally irritating and made the story even harder to follow - which was probably no real loss given how little there was anyway.
Not a total failure of a book though, as the artwork was fairly decent all all the way through, and each sub-story had a consistency of feeling which has lately been a bit lacking in these volumes. I liked David Gianfelice's colourful and bold renderings of Conan's lotus visions more than the story, and they fitted the idea of the story pretty well, even if the story itself was rather below par.
However, in my opinion, the really stunning artwork which is present in this volume belongs to the cover artist, Massimo Carnevale who also does some exceptional pieces of chapter-break art, which leave me wishing he does more than covers - a full story with his art would be a delight to read.
The various elements in this picture capture the upcoming story really beautifully, from the vividness of the colour and the idyllic setting, with a slightly awkward Conan being fed the yellow lotus by his lover during a bout of love-making, to the sinister backdrop we fail to see right away but only notice as we delve into the image. Fabulous.
Not having read Howard's original Queen of the Black Coast myself, I can only guess that from meeting Belit, the relationship suddenly gets very intense very fast and there is some curiosity about how this happened... Which is fair enough, in as far as it goes. Sadly these stories have become steadily less interesting and the oddly out of sync first part of this collection, The Woman on the wall does not really seem to fit very well (which for a story which I guess is trying to make things fit together better, seems a bit of a flaw) and seems mostly an excuse to fill us in on Belit's background. The second eponymously named story is really just a fairly pointless dream sequence. Oh the angst of poor Conan, the pain... yawn, yawn, yawn. The choppiness of the drug fueled tale, while giving a certain feeling of Conan experiencing a bad trip, actually was just generally irritating and made the story even harder to follow - which was probably no real loss given how little there was anyway.
Not a total failure of a book though, as the artwork was fairly decent all all the way through, and each sub-story had a consistency of feeling which has lately been a bit lacking in these volumes. I liked David Gianfelice's colourful and bold renderings of Conan's lotus visions more than the story, and they fitted the idea of the story pretty well, even if the story itself was rather below par.
However, in my opinion, the really stunning artwork which is present in this volume belongs to the cover artist, Massimo Carnevale who also does some exceptional pieces of chapter-break art, which leave me wishing he does more than covers - a full story with his art would be a delight to read.
The various elements in this picture capture the upcoming story really beautifully, from the vividness of the colour and the idyllic setting, with a slightly awkward Conan being fed the yellow lotus by his lover during a bout of love-making, to the sinister backdrop we fail to see right away but only notice as we delve into the image. Fabulous.
September 10, 2015
The first three issues in this volume, wherein Conan goes after Belit to bring her back from her home city are well-written and interesting. They are, if anything with Conan as protagonist can be, relatively character driven rather than pushed forward by violence and slick plotting. The final issues--those dealing with the Golden Lotus--are strange, and a little too much like the drug--incoherent and confusing. The art in this volume is better by leaps and bounds than the last, but still falls well short of the earliest volumes of the series, which is sad. The book deserves better than this volume (and especially the last) have given it.
January 26, 2016
The new Conan comic series does good justice to the Robert E. Howard stories. While the art does come and go in quality at time, overall it is a good. The adaptations of the original stories is well done. The fill in stories are also well done and follow the flow of the Character's life as written by Howard. Recommended to comic fans and Very recommended to Howard and Conan fans.
February 26, 2014
A nice change of pace for the series before we go back to REH's work adaptations, and a great way to bring something new in the spaces between established stories-as well as add to the drama of what those of us who have read the original stories know is going to come next.
July 26, 2016
The worst in a long long time. The art is terrible.
February 17, 2014
Volumn 15 - That's when this series "jumped the shark" in my opnion. Hope I'm wrong, but this was out of character for a Robert E. Howard based character.
December 11, 2014
4 stars for the first story, 2 for the second.
February 20, 2017
Wood's take on young Conan is to make him mopey and emo, which just does not work for the character.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews