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Swords of Shahrazar
Since the days of Genghis Khan it was said that the ancient city of Shahrazar sheltered the treasure of long-dead shahs of Khuwarezm. Many an adventurer had sought that fabled hoard and many had died, for the forbidden city was closely guarded. But one man called Kirby O'Donnell staked his life against the golden lure of wealth beyond man's dreams. He entered the forbidden city in heavy disguise and found the treatsure - only to be forced to leave it in the subterranean tunnels beneath the palace...
Swords of Shahrazar
is one of three exciting stories featuring Kirby O'Donnell by Robert E. Howard, Creator of Conan and Kull.
Cover illustration: Chris Achilleos
Swords of Shahrazar
is one of three exciting stories featuring Kirby O'Donnell by Robert E. Howard, Creator of Conan and Kull.
Cover illustration: Chris Achilleos
122 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 1976
About the author
Robert E. Howard
3,079 books2,700 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 - 13 of 13 reviews
October 9, 2021
This is a collection of five of Howard's short contemporary adventure stories, four set in the Middle East and one in China. Kirby O'Donnell, who's amazingly similar to one of Howard's other pulp heroes, El Borak (Francis Xavier Gordon), stars in three of them. Only two of the stories were published during Howard's lifetime, The Treasures of Tartary in 1934 in Thrilling Adventures, and the titular tale, also from 1934, which appeared in Top-Notch. Howard, of course, will always be remembered for creating Conan and Solomon Kane and King Kull and so many other adventure and horror hallmarks, but he was a vastly prolific writer who worked in many genres. Howard was a terrific adventure writer and pulp story-teller, but these aren't among the best of his work. Fun stuff, but not especially memorable. My edition is part of the Berkley series that featured a fold-out expansion poster of the cover bound in the middle of each book, but they never identified the artist, Ken Kelly.
August 29, 2014
"The Brazen Peacock" is interesting--and disturbing--for its intersection with current world events. Howard sculpts a nation-state of nefarious devil-worshippers out of the Yazidi people, who in the story pursue the stolen item of the title. I thought that it had all been crafted out of whole cloth, only to realize later (via Google, this morning) that the Yazidi are not only real but are currently the focus of humanitarian crisis in Iraq, and have been unfairly characterized as devil worshippers for centuries.
February 23, 2016
Robert E. Howard is my all time favorite writer, but for many years much of his work was heavily edited. This is another of the heavily edited collections of Robert E. Howard's stories. I am a purist when it comes to a writers works. I know some of these stories are no longer PC but they should be read as Howard wrote them and understood that he wrote in another time period. Don't read this book unless you just can't find any others of Howard's unedited books to read. Message me if you need a list of what is good from this awesome fantasy and action writer.
July 27, 2024
More desert adventures, sort of. The first three stories feature Kirby O’Donnell as the protagonist. The fourth
“The Treasures of Tartary”
Kirby O’Donnell is an American who passes himself off as Ali el Ghazi, a Kurd. He is in search of a great treasure, but once found cannot carry it away. He then faces a moral dilemma.
“Swords of Shahrazar”
This story begins after the end of the previous story. O’Donnell has taken refuge in the castle. He is guest of Orkhan, having saved his life once in the past
Orkhan sends him on a mission to recover diplomatic papers from a British secret agent. He finds himself in a temporary alliance with Afzal Khan, who plans on killing him and his men in the morning. Favorite line: ” Man’s treachery is balanced by man’s loyalty...”
“The Curse of the Crimson God”
O’Donnell is again after treasure. This time it is the bloodstained God, a ruby-encrusted golden statue.
“The Brazen Peacock”
The story is told in the first person by John Mulcahy. An old friend arrives at his doorstep in Djibouti. Erich Girtmann has stolen the Brazen Peacock, a gold statue worshipped by the Melek Taus. He has a place to hide; he only needs clothing and a horse. Mulcahy’s servant, Ali, brings food to Girtmann every other day. Several days later, Mulcahy is attacked in his home by a man wearing Ali’s clothes. Something has gone wrong.
“The Black Bear Bites”
Black John O’Donnell would meet for drinks with his friends Bill Lannon and Eric Brand, at the European Club in some unnamed city in China. Then one day, Lannon is stabbed and thrown into the Yellow River. Lannon had been a government agent looking into the smuggling activities of Yotai Yun. O’Donnell sets out to avenge his friend and discovers a rebellion along the way,
Favorite line: “I have lost all my illusions; without the breathtaking touch and go of risk and adventure, I should perish of boredom.”
This might be one of Howard's Cthulu stories, as that devil god is mentioned in the story.
Kirby O’Donnell seems to be a man who puzzles over the moral complexities of his actions; something El Borak does not seem to do. But then O’Donnell seems to be a petty criminal, unlike El Borak.
“The Treasures of Tartary”
Kirby O’Donnell is an American who passes himself off as Ali el Ghazi, a Kurd. He is in search of a great treasure, but once found cannot carry it away. He then faces a moral dilemma.
“Swords of Shahrazar”
This story begins after the end of the previous story. O’Donnell has taken refuge in the castle. He is guest of Orkhan, having saved his life once in the past
Orkhan sends him on a mission to recover diplomatic papers from a British secret agent. He finds himself in a temporary alliance with Afzal Khan, who plans on killing him and his men in the morning. Favorite line: ” Man’s treachery is balanced by man’s loyalty...”
“The Curse of the Crimson God”
O’Donnell is again after treasure. This time it is the bloodstained God, a ruby-encrusted golden statue.
“The Brazen Peacock”
The story is told in the first person by John Mulcahy. An old friend arrives at his doorstep in Djibouti. Erich Girtmann has stolen the Brazen Peacock, a gold statue worshipped by the Melek Taus. He has a place to hide; he only needs clothing and a horse. Mulcahy’s servant, Ali, brings food to Girtmann every other day. Several days later, Mulcahy is attacked in his home by a man wearing Ali’s clothes. Something has gone wrong.
“The Black Bear Bites”
Black John O’Donnell would meet for drinks with his friends Bill Lannon and Eric Brand, at the European Club in some unnamed city in China. Then one day, Lannon is stabbed and thrown into the Yellow River. Lannon had been a government agent looking into the smuggling activities of Yotai Yun. O’Donnell sets out to avenge his friend and discovers a rebellion along the way,
Favorite line: “I have lost all my illusions; without the breathtaking touch and go of risk and adventure, I should perish of boredom.”
This might be one of Howard's Cthulu stories, as that devil god is mentioned in the story.
Kirby O’Donnell seems to be a man who puzzles over the moral complexities of his actions; something El Borak does not seem to do. But then O’Donnell seems to be a petty criminal, unlike El Borak.
January 3, 2009
Mostly stories of Kirby O'Donnell, who was a fairly similar character to Francis Xavier Gordon.
April 18, 2024
Classic REH adventure stories set in the Middle East/West Asia. The 3 stories in this collection are ordered by when they were first published, but that's not the order they should be read. Instead, read them in this order:
1. The Curse of The Crimson God. A character who later shows up in Swords of Shahrazar is first introduced in this story and his relationship with Kirby is explained.
2. The Treasures of Tartary.
3. Swords of Shahrazar. This story is a direct sequel to The Treasures of Tartary and should be read last.
Unfortunately these were the only stories REH wrote of Kirby O'Donnell, aka Ali el Ghazi, which is a shame as they are all quite enjoyable and worth a read.
1. The Curse of The Crimson God. A character who later shows up in Swords of Shahrazar is first introduced in this story and his relationship with Kirby is explained.
2. The Treasures of Tartary.
3. Swords of Shahrazar. This story is a direct sequel to The Treasures of Tartary and should be read last.
Unfortunately these were the only stories REH wrote of Kirby O'Donnell, aka Ali el Ghazi, which is a shame as they are all quite enjoyable and worth a read.
August 15, 2013
This collection of tales contains the following stories: The treasure of Tartary, Swords of Shahrazar, The curse of the crimson god, The brazen peacock, The black bear bites. The first three stories are about a Kirby O'Donnell aka Ali el Ghazi, the fourth I am not sure but possibly as well too. but the fifth is about a John O'Donnell. All the Kirby stories are very engrossing and action packed. The first two seem to follow in sequence and not sure when the third falls in the timeline. The Brazen Peacock is also a well done story though it leaves it unclear if Kirby is the main character or not. I loved the story though which centers on a tale about the Yezidis. The last story in the book was clearly the weakest one of the bunch. It seemed to rushed and it didnt really catch my interest, probably because it was centered in the Orient and not in the Middle East like all the previous stories.
June 6, 2010
Good adventure. The first 3 short stories are coordinated and take place in the Arab world with the hero (always the same guy) disguised as a local, but the last 2 take place in a different locale and the hero is no longer in disguise.
I found that somewhat jarring, but the stories themselves were worth reading.
The back cover promise, "... led a desert band to battle against an Empire -- for a treasure as vast as all Asia!" That never happened. Yes, he's pursuing treasure in many stories, but he's hardly leading a bunch of people nor is he battling an empire.
Chalk it up to hype I guess.
Still the stories are good.
I found that somewhat jarring, but the stories themselves were worth reading.
The back cover promise, "... led a desert band to battle against an Empire -- for a treasure as vast as all Asia!" That never happened. Yes, he's pursuing treasure in many stories, but he's hardly leading a bunch of people nor is he battling an empire.
Chalk it up to hype I guess.
Still the stories are good.
July 25, 2011
Typical Howard. My guilty pleasure.
January 4, 2014
Another pulsating action story from a master
November 23, 2014
Classic Howard
Read
April 22, 2015blech
May 21, 2025
No va a pasar a ser una de mis lecturas favoritas de REH, pues tiene obras y personajes mejores, pero no por ello dejaré de decir que ha valido la pena.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews