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Horrorgeschichten #3
Black Hounds of Death
Black hounds of death is the fifth and final volume of The weird works of Robert E. Howard. This volume includes the last Conan story written by REH, Red nails, a dark and bloody tale of destruction. Also included are a number of other great stories of horror and fantasy, along with some of REH's weird poetic verse
336 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 1936
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76 people want to read
About the author
Robert E. Howard
3,017 books2,661 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 - 11 of 11 reviews
December 3, 2012
Up front, let me be clear that my review is based only on the first story of the book, the novella BLACK CANAAN. Although I enjoyed it quite a bit, I decided that I have many other books that I want to read more than this one, so I may return to it again someday.
That being said, I enjoyed the prose of Robert E. Howard quite a bit. His writing style was clear and lucid, and made the tale a quite visual and easily imagined experience. The vocabulary used was quite modern, if not for the subject matter it would be difficult to tell that this story had been written so long ago.
BLACK CANAAN was an interesting (if that's the proper term) glimpse into race relations and fears of the deep south in years gone by. I'm sure that the author had a political point he was attempting to make with a metaphor, but it wasn't apparently obvious to me and I didn't spend too much time trying to toy it out, just concentrated on the story at hand.
The Lousiana bayou/african voodoo aspect of the story and setting was different than what I usually read, and I enjoyed this quite a bit for its breezy pacing and somewhat unique characters. It has some supernatural elements that worked pretty well, but to me the suspense of the build-up evaporated in the denouement, as the resolution lacked the horror I had anticipated, though it tried. Maybe it was more shocking at the time of release.
Overall, I didn't find this initial story compelling enough to keep reading the rest of the book at the moment - but I will likely find a "Best of" list for this author and read some choice selections in the future. I have a feeling this book is mid-quality output.
That being said, I enjoyed the prose of Robert E. Howard quite a bit. His writing style was clear and lucid, and made the tale a quite visual and easily imagined experience. The vocabulary used was quite modern, if not for the subject matter it would be difficult to tell that this story had been written so long ago.
BLACK CANAAN was an interesting (if that's the proper term) glimpse into race relations and fears of the deep south in years gone by. I'm sure that the author had a political point he was attempting to make with a metaphor, but it wasn't apparently obvious to me and I didn't spend too much time trying to toy it out, just concentrated on the story at hand.
The Lousiana bayou/african voodoo aspect of the story and setting was different than what I usually read, and I enjoyed this quite a bit for its breezy pacing and somewhat unique characters. It has some supernatural elements that worked pretty well, but to me the suspense of the build-up evaporated in the denouement, as the resolution lacked the horror I had anticipated, though it tried. Maybe it was more shocking at the time of release.
Overall, I didn't find this initial story compelling enough to keep reading the rest of the book at the moment - but I will likely find a "Best of" list for this author and read some choice selections in the future. I have a feeling this book is mid-quality output.
August 15, 2019
I took a while stopping and starting this book in 7 years. Life must have intruded on my time.
The 9th and final volume of The Weird Works of Robert E. Howard finishes strong with a book containing arguably not only his best Conan yarn, but perhaps the best story of Howard's career in _Red Nails_ . A story where we are introduced to blonde heroine Valeria of the Red Brotherhood.
The title of the volume comes from a rather crude horror story taking place in the Middle-east, but Howard weaves quite the fright with it and contains a lot of his key notes in terms of action, mystery, suspense, and the aforementioned horror. The Lovecraft-like influence is felt in stories such as The Dead Remember and The Fire of Asshurbanipal and there is Howard poetry interspersed throughout the book. Another gem!
The 9th and final volume of The Weird Works of Robert E. Howard finishes strong with a book containing arguably not only his best Conan yarn, but perhaps the best story of Howard's career in _Red Nails_ . A story where we are introduced to blonde heroine Valeria of the Red Brotherhood.
The title of the volume comes from a rather crude horror story taking place in the Middle-east, but Howard weaves quite the fright with it and contains a lot of his key notes in terms of action, mystery, suspense, and the aforementioned horror. The Lovecraft-like influence is felt in stories such as The Dead Remember and The Fire of Asshurbanipal and there is Howard poetry interspersed throughout the book. Another gem!
August 2, 2020
Този и следващият том обхващат разкази, напечатани в "Уиърд Тейлс" след смъртта на Хауърд.
Black Canaan - Тази история има силни сходства с разказа за Конан "Отвъд Черната река", само дето се развива в Америка и култът е негърски. Конановата версия по ми хареса. - 3,5*
Red Nails - Един от класическите разкази за Конан. Някои го смятат за най-добрия, но за мен е малко под върха, най-вече защото повтаря познати елементи. - 4,5*
Black Hound of Death - Поредният екшън-ужас, който не блести с особена оригиналност, но е добре написан. - 3,5*
The Fire of Asshurbanipal - Един от по-добрите приключенски разкази на Хауърд, с щипка Лъвкрафтов ужас за подправка. - 4,5*
Dig Me No Grave - Отново ужас, този път от по-класически тип, но отново не твърде впечатляващ. - 3,5*
Black Canaan - Тази история има силни сходства с разказа за Конан "Отвъд Черната река", само дето се развива в Америка и култът е негърски. Конановата версия по ми хареса. - 3,5*
Red Nails - Един от класическите разкази за Конан. Някои го смятат за най-добрия, но за мен е малко под върха, най-вече защото повтаря познати елементи. - 4,5*
Black Hound of Death - Поредният екшън-ужас, който не блести с особена оригиналност, но е добре написан. - 3,5*
The Fire of Asshurbanipal - Един от по-добрите приключенски разкази на Хауърд, с щипка Лъвкрафтов ужас за подправка. - 4,5*
Dig Me No Grave - Отново ужас, този път от по-класически тип, но отново не твърде впечатляващ. - 3,5*
November 23, 2013
It may be just this reviewer’s “head space,” but this collection of Robert E. Howard’s work struck me as patently offensive. It may be because the first story in Black Hounds of Death: Volume Five of the Weird Works of Robert E. Howard was blatantly racist such that the “n” word was used excessively and the ex-slaves trying to throw off white dominion were automatically categorized as vile and evil (almost a palindrome, huh?). After that story, even the Conan story (“Red Nails”) seemed suspect because of statements which implied that a city could not possibly have been built by the black-skinned peoples who always lived in mud huts. Ouch!
Even the story about the “Witch from Hell’s Kitchen,” set in an analog for the ancient Mesopotamian city of Nippur (complete with wonderfully authentic Semitic names) seemed to follow this collection’s white dominance theme in that the protagonist is a blonde-haired hero from the North who overcomes the diabolical magic of the Semites…er…”Shemites.” Is it just me (and a result of the placement of the stories/poems in this collection) or doesn’t it make one uncomfortable to have echoes of Aryan Supremacy and anti-Semitic sentiments in a story from the late 1930s? If it were a German short story, I wouldn’t be as shocked (or possibly, as offended).
So, I must confess that in spite of all of the shocking political incorrectness and anachronistic racism, I actually enjoyed the story set in “Mesopotamia.” It would be a perfect scenario for a role-playing game from Green Ronin called Testament. It’s d20 role-playing in the “Old Testament Era.” Mix in a story with Howard’s dark supernatural elements (such as the visit to Shuala, Howard’s equivalent to “Sheol”) and I think it could be a great adventure for characters in that world. In fact, I’m thinking about hosting such a game in December.
The truth is, however, that it’s unusual for me to be this taken aback by archaic attitudes and expressions. I can usually contain my feelings with the buffer of knowing that certain phrases and attitudes are an artifact of their era. For some reason, that didn’t work for me with this collection. So, I warn off everyone who might be as stunned as I was. Here I’ve been reading Conan since I was a young man and I don’t ever recall having this reaction before. Caveat Lector!
Even the story about the “Witch from Hell’s Kitchen,” set in an analog for the ancient Mesopotamian city of Nippur (complete with wonderfully authentic Semitic names) seemed to follow this collection’s white dominance theme in that the protagonist is a blonde-haired hero from the North who overcomes the diabolical magic of the Semites…er…”Shemites.” Is it just me (and a result of the placement of the stories/poems in this collection) or doesn’t it make one uncomfortable to have echoes of Aryan Supremacy and anti-Semitic sentiments in a story from the late 1930s? If it were a German short story, I wouldn’t be as shocked (or possibly, as offended).
So, I must confess that in spite of all of the shocking political incorrectness and anachronistic racism, I actually enjoyed the story set in “Mesopotamia.” It would be a perfect scenario for a role-playing game from Green Ronin called Testament. It’s d20 role-playing in the “Old Testament Era.” Mix in a story with Howard’s dark supernatural elements (such as the visit to Shuala, Howard’s equivalent to “Sheol”) and I think it could be a great adventure for characters in that world. In fact, I’m thinking about hosting such a game in December.
The truth is, however, that it’s unusual for me to be this taken aback by archaic attitudes and expressions. I can usually contain my feelings with the buffer of knowing that certain phrases and attitudes are an artifact of their era. For some reason, that didn’t work for me with this collection. So, I warn off everyone who might be as stunned as I was. Here I’ve been reading Conan since I was a young man and I don’t ever recall having this reaction before. Caveat Lector!
May 3, 2020
Some of REH's final works, and some of his best. "Black Canaan" and "Black Hounds of Death" are two horror stories set in the swamp, with the first being one of his creepiest, but not fit for anyone born before 2018 who need therapy whenever exposed to anything offensive. "The Fire of Asshurbanipal" and "Dig Me No Grave" are the best of REH's Lovecraftian horrors, along with "The Black Stone" which is not presented here. And the last Conan story he ever wrote, "Red Nails", is also rightly considered one of the best of its kind. A great many poems are also included, but I am no good judge of poetry.
This is an excellent REH collection, showing a bit of his range beyond the sword and sorcery. Witchdoctors, werewolves, lurkers from beyond, Malik Tous, and Conan, who could ask for more? We all could, but REH was dead before some of these stories were first printed. It's mindboggling to imagine what he could have done if he had lived past 30.
Note: Any story written in 1936 is going to be racist by today's standards, and "Black Canaan" is blatantly racist even by 1936 standards. Given that, you just have to move on and accept that times have changed or your choices will be severely limited. I don't know where to go with the guy at work that complains about the overt racism in "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles."(True story)
This is an excellent REH collection, showing a bit of his range beyond the sword and sorcery. Witchdoctors, werewolves, lurkers from beyond, Malik Tous, and Conan, who could ask for more? We all could, but REH was dead before some of these stories were first printed. It's mindboggling to imagine what he could have done if he had lived past 30.
Note: Any story written in 1936 is going to be racist by today's standards, and "Black Canaan" is blatantly racist even by 1936 standards. Given that, you just have to move on and accept that times have changed or your choices will be severely limited. I don't know where to go with the guy at work that complains about the overt racism in "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles."(True story)
January 7, 2023
Vau. Defitivno odlična priča,a stil pisanja mi se jako sviđa.
February 12, 2025
Unexpectedly, I returned to this author after a 30-year hiatus - a good and fresh feeling for which I am grateful for long-forgotten emotions.
September 16, 2015
I know the Goodreads series list for Howard's "Weird Works" lists this further along, but my 2008 Wildside Press printing lists this as 5th in the series. It's got a lot of poetry and not quite as many tales as I would have liked, but it's all Howard, so I'm not gonna complain. "Red Nails" is a classic, as is "The House of Arabu" which is included here under the puzzling title "Witch from Hell's Kitchen". Anyhow, I got what I was looking for.
June 10, 2013
A very nice selection of Howard's weird fiction. There are a couple of stories here, including the title story, that have to be read while you keep in mind the time and and conditions under which they were written. They would not be politically correct today. However, the tales have Howard's narrative drive, which is outstanding. There are also a number of poems as well. Good stuff.
January 23, 2016
Excellent collection of stories by my favorite writer. This book collects the 9th year of his stories published in Weird tales. Highly recommended.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews