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Hawks of Outremer
This early work by Robert E. Howard was originally published in 1931 and we are now republishing it with a brand new introductory biography. 'Hawks of Outremer' is a story in the Cormac Fitzgeoffrey series about a knight fighting in the Crusades. Robert Ervin Howard was born in Peaster, Texas in 1906. During his youth, his family moved between a variety of Texan boomtowns, and Howard - a bookish and somewhat introverted child - was steeped in the violent myths and legends of the Old South. At fifteen Howard began to read the pulp magazines of the day, and to write more seriously. The December 1922 issue of his high school newspaper featured two of his stories, 'Golden Hope Christmas' and 'West is West'. In 1924 he sold his first piece - a short caveman tale titled 'Spear and Fang' - for $16 to the not-yet-famous Weird Tales magazine. Howard's most famous character, Conan the Cimmerian, was a barbarian-turned-King during the Hyborian Age, a mythical period of some 12,000 years ago. Conan featured in seventeen Weird Tales stories between 1933 and 1936 which is why Howard is now regarded as having spawned the 'sword and sorcery' genre. The Conan stories have since been adapted many times, most famously in the series of films starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.
58 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1931
About the author
Robert E. Howard
3,207 books2,733 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 - 9 of 9 reviews
April 20, 2013
Originally reviewed at Bookwraiths Reviews
Robert E. Howard was one of those prolific writers that could churn out stories, characters, and ideas seemingly at will. In just 10 years, he penned approximately 300 short stories, two novels and countless poems featuring numerous characters in a wide variety of genres, including heroic fantasy, western, horror, historical and humor. Without a doubt, Conan the Barbarian is the most famous of his creations, but his stable of protagonists span the gamut from Sailor Steve Costigan (1930s tough guy sailor), to Dark Agnes de Chestillon (red-haired 16th century French swordswoman), and include such notable heroes as Soloman Kane, El Borak, De Montour, Kull the Conqueror, and Bran Mak Morn, last king of the Picts. One character who is usually not found among Howard's "top creations" list is the half-Norman, half-Gael knight named Cormac Fitzgeoffrey, but just like his more famous siblings, Cormac is yet another sword wielding hero who is hard as nails.
In Hawks of Outremer, Howard gives a reader a series of stories set in the Holy Land at the time of the Third Crusade. Cormac Fitzgeoffrey of Ireland has accompanied the armies of Richard I, King of England, nicknamed "Coeur de Lion" or "Richard the Lionheart" to Palestine to vanquish the hated infidels of Saladin and recover Jerusalem for Catholic Europe. But while Cormac nominally rides under the banner of King Richard, he is a man who recognizes no one as his king, owes allegiance to no man and follows his own personal sense of honor - especially toward his friends. And - like most Howard characters - he is a man of strength - both physically and mentally - and one who has a deep belief in personal justice, or vengeance for any slight. Plus, Cormac feels like an outsider to the civilized world, seeing in himself a superior breed of natural man; one whose inherent superiority is shown by his ability to kill/maim those weaker in spirit and physical strength than himself.
The story itself begins in earnest when one of Cormac's friends is killed at the border of Muslim controlled territory in the Holy Land. Naturally, our hero decides that such a heinous crime cannot go unpunished and decides to avenge his friend. So as not to incite any renewed hostility between the Christians and Muslim states, Cormac goes alone to exact vengeance. Typically, Howard swashbuckling ensues thereafter until a satisfactory conclusion is reached.
The book also contains two other short stories involving Cormac, albeit in different yet similar adventures. No need to describe the actual action: it is more of the same. In fact, one of these tales was changed a bit to make it into a Conan adventure by writer, Roy Thomas, back in the day.
Overall, this book is a typical Howard testosterone feast. Nothing deeply philosophical here that I caught, but it is worth a read if you are a Howard completionist or just want something to pass the time away. Since I found this book online for free and tend to enjoy anything Howard writes, I probably enjoyed it more than I would have otherwise.
Robert E. Howard was one of those prolific writers that could churn out stories, characters, and ideas seemingly at will. In just 10 years, he penned approximately 300 short stories, two novels and countless poems featuring numerous characters in a wide variety of genres, including heroic fantasy, western, horror, historical and humor. Without a doubt, Conan the Barbarian is the most famous of his creations, but his stable of protagonists span the gamut from Sailor Steve Costigan (1930s tough guy sailor), to Dark Agnes de Chestillon (red-haired 16th century French swordswoman), and include such notable heroes as Soloman Kane, El Borak, De Montour, Kull the Conqueror, and Bran Mak Morn, last king of the Picts. One character who is usually not found among Howard's "top creations" list is the half-Norman, half-Gael knight named Cormac Fitzgeoffrey, but just like his more famous siblings, Cormac is yet another sword wielding hero who is hard as nails.
In Hawks of Outremer, Howard gives a reader a series of stories set in the Holy Land at the time of the Third Crusade. Cormac Fitzgeoffrey of Ireland has accompanied the armies of Richard I, King of England, nicknamed "Coeur de Lion" or "Richard the Lionheart" to Palestine to vanquish the hated infidels of Saladin and recover Jerusalem for Catholic Europe. But while Cormac nominally rides under the banner of King Richard, he is a man who recognizes no one as his king, owes allegiance to no man and follows his own personal sense of honor - especially toward his friends. And - like most Howard characters - he is a man of strength - both physically and mentally - and one who has a deep belief in personal justice, or vengeance for any slight. Plus, Cormac feels like an outsider to the civilized world, seeing in himself a superior breed of natural man; one whose inherent superiority is shown by his ability to kill/maim those weaker in spirit and physical strength than himself.
The story itself begins in earnest when one of Cormac's friends is killed at the border of Muslim controlled territory in the Holy Land. Naturally, our hero decides that such a heinous crime cannot go unpunished and decides to avenge his friend. So as not to incite any renewed hostility between the Christians and Muslim states, Cormac goes alone to exact vengeance. Typically, Howard swashbuckling ensues thereafter until a satisfactory conclusion is reached.
The book also contains two other short stories involving Cormac, albeit in different yet similar adventures. No need to describe the actual action: it is more of the same. In fact, one of these tales was changed a bit to make it into a Conan adventure by writer, Roy Thomas, back in the day.
Overall, this book is a typical Howard testosterone feast. Nothing deeply philosophical here that I caught, but it is worth a read if you are a Howard completionist or just want something to pass the time away. Since I found this book online for free and tend to enjoy anything Howard writes, I probably enjoyed it more than I would have otherwise.
June 22, 2026
A collection of the Crusader stories of Cormac Fitzgeoffrey. One of Howard's darkest, most brooding characters, he is essentially a 12th century Conan with all of the giant melancholies and none of the giant mirth.
Unfortunately, as much as I love the character, and I love the subject matter, be short cycle of stories is decidedly uneven. While the first, "Hawks of Outremer," really invokes the time and place, and almost seems to be an REH take on something like Sir Walter Scott's THE TALISMAN (which REH likely read), the second, "Blood of Belshazaar" could be set anywhere, and could as easily be an El Borak or pirate tale. Howard himself was not fond of the final product, noting the complicated plot ends with three pages of exposition to solve. It's a great setup for a story, and the short history of the titular Jewel would have probably been better served in one of his sword and sorcery stories than a straight historical because too much time has to be spent explaining the plausible mundane reasons for everything we just saw happen.
The final story, "the Slave Princess" as the final 3000 words added by Richard Tierney, so there's no way to know for sure if it ends the way Howard himself intended, or if he wasn't sure where he was going to go with it and just never got back to it. Ironically, as a story it's stronger than the second and actually wraps the collection of nicely.
Cormac Fitzgeoffrey is mentioned in conjunction with a specific adventure in the otherwise unrelated story "The Sowers of the Thunder", and Howard also mentions another story idea he had for him. Neither has ever come to light so whether these were loose ideas that never involved paper put to typewriter, or there somehow lost papers, these three stories are all that we have.
Unfortunately, as much as I love the character, and I love the subject matter, be short cycle of stories is decidedly uneven. While the first, "Hawks of Outremer," really invokes the time and place, and almost seems to be an REH take on something like Sir Walter Scott's THE TALISMAN (which REH likely read), the second, "Blood of Belshazaar" could be set anywhere, and could as easily be an El Borak or pirate tale. Howard himself was not fond of the final product, noting the complicated plot ends with three pages of exposition to solve. It's a great setup for a story, and the short history of the titular Jewel would have probably been better served in one of his sword and sorcery stories than a straight historical because too much time has to be spent explaining the plausible mundane reasons for everything we just saw happen.
The final story, "the Slave Princess" as the final 3000 words added by Richard Tierney, so there's no way to know for sure if it ends the way Howard himself intended, or if he wasn't sure where he was going to go with it and just never got back to it. Ironically, as a story it's stronger than the second and actually wraps the collection of nicely.
Cormac Fitzgeoffrey is mentioned in conjunction with a specific adventure in the otherwise unrelated story "The Sowers of the Thunder", and Howard also mentions another story idea he had for him. Neither has ever come to light so whether these were loose ideas that never involved paper put to typewriter, or there somehow lost papers, these three stories are all that we have.
August 27, 2020
I read the Dark Horse graphic novel version of this book by Robert E. Howard. If you want to see an
earlier hero of REH other than Conan and Kull this would be the book to read. If you get this version of the book, I encourage you to read Mark Finn's Afterword. Mr. Finn has done a biography on Robert E. Howard and his insights into Cormac Fitzgeoffrey, the hero of this book, is very insightful. So if you have enjoyed the tales of Conan, Kull, and Solomon Kane all written by REH, then you will enjoy this book too.
earlier hero of REH other than Conan and Kull this would be the book to read. If you get this version of the book, I encourage you to read Mark Finn's Afterword. Mr. Finn has done a biography on Robert E. Howard and his insights into Cormac Fitzgeoffrey, the hero of this book, is very insightful. So if you have enjoyed the tales of Conan, Kull, and Solomon Kane all written by REH, then you will enjoy this book too.
November 15, 2021
https://archive.org/details/OrientalS...
https://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks06/060...
This story starts with a quote from chapter VII, The Heart of the Slave, from The Singing Caravan -- A Sufi Tale, by Robert Vansittart, which is available here: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/49385...
https://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks06/060...
This story starts with a quote from chapter VII, The Heart of the Slave, from The Singing Caravan -- A Sufi Tale, by Robert Vansittart, which is available here: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/49385...
May 13, 2023
Great episodic stories. While reading these short stories, I couldn't help think how well they would translate to movies, action, adventure, intrigue, betrayal, violence, a dark horse literally and figuratively. These are great short grim dark stories, written well before grimdark was a thing. Sad that more stories weren't written about the Irish Crusader.
A note on the Donald M Grant edition, I love it! Great quality, awesome illustrations and an all around pleasure to read!
A note on the Donald M Grant edition, I love it! Great quality, awesome illustrations and an all around pleasure to read!
June 18, 2024
An excellent tale of an Irish crusader off to avenge the death of a friend of his against an officer of Saladin who has gone off the reservation
October 30, 2025
Des nouvelles d'aventures, encore des fonds de tiroir quand même
June 18, 2013
Robert E. Howard is better known for his sword and sorcery stories with stars like Conan the Cimmerian and Solomon Kane battling enemies that more-often-than-not have some supernatural qualities about them.
Hawks of Outremer is a welcome breath of fresh air to this and tells the story of Cormac Fitzgeoffrey, a half-Norman, half-Gael crusader who serves in King Richard's army during the 3rd Crusade. It is very much a historical fiction short story and sets the historical context for the story very well, even though the story itself is fictional. In typical Howard fashion, however, the hero is somewhat of an outsider to the civilised world and this naturally leads to a unique ability to kill and maim weaker (= civilised) men.
Very much worth a read!
Hawks of Outremer is a welcome breath of fresh air to this and tells the story of Cormac Fitzgeoffrey, a half-Norman, half-Gael crusader who serves in King Richard's army during the 3rd Crusade. It is very much a historical fiction short story and sets the historical context for the story very well, even though the story itself is fictional. In typical Howard fashion, however, the hero is somewhat of an outsider to the civilised world and this naturally leads to a unique ability to kill and maim weaker (= civilised) men.
Very much worth a read!
July 8, 2013
I haven't read much of Robert E Howard's non-Conan fare, but I have read most if not all of his Conan stories. This might have been one but for the setting and name of the character. This isn't a bad thing, for me, as I very much enjoyed the Conan stories and this was a nice find.
The story is basic enough, Cormac FitzGeofrey, Norman-Celt, returns to the outremer to find his friend slain and betrayed. He goes off to avenge the death and it leads him to helping a young man rescue his lady and then to the meeting hall where the man who slew his friend was present.
If you know Conan stories, you don't need any more details. I enjoyed the story very much, including how it ended.
The story is basic enough, Cormac FitzGeofrey, Norman-Celt, returns to the outremer to find his friend slain and betrayed. He goes off to avenge the death and it leads him to helping a young man rescue his lady and then to the meeting hall where the man who slew his friend was present.
If you know Conan stories, you don't need any more details. I enjoyed the story very much, including how it ended.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews