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The Complete Chronicles of Conan

by Robert E. Howard, Stephen Jones (Editor), Les Edwards (Illustrator)

4.27 · Rating Details · 3,145 Ratings · 127 Reviews

Conan the Cimmerian — the boy-thief who became a mercenary, who fought and loved his way across fabled lands to become King of Aquilonia. Neither supernatural fiends nor demonic sorcery could oppose the barbarian warrior as he wielded his mighty sword and dispatched his enemies to a bloody doom on the battlefields of the legendary Hyborian age. Collected here in the chrono ...more

Hardcover, Centenary Edition, 927 pages

Published April 1st 2009 by Gollancz (first published January 1st 2006)

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Feb 12, 2016 Olivier Delaye rated it really liked it

I’m glad I finally got around to reading the Conan stories, even if I did take my sweet time to do it. The reason for my delay is twofold: firstly, I thought these stories hadn’t aged well considering that they had been published for the most part in 1934, which is three years before The Hobbit itself was published (so to those out there who think that Tolkien created modern Fantasy, well, sorry guys, but even if his contribution is hugely seminal, Howard was there first. Don’t get me wrong, I a I’m glad I finally got around to reading the Conan stories, even if I did take my sweet time to do it. The reason for my delay is twofold: firstly, I thought these stories hadn’t aged well considering that they had been published for the most part in 1934, which is three years before The Hobbit itself was published (so to those out there who think that Tolkien created modern Fantasy, well, sorry guys, but even if his contribution is hugely seminal, Howard was there first. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love Tolkien’s work, but I think we should be fair and give credit where credit is due. That said, The Lord of the Rings is and will remain the most perfect piece of Fantasy literature the world has ever seen, and that’s my truth.); secondly, I wasn’t (and still isn’t) particularly attracted to Conan as a character, who, or so I thought, had about as much charisma as, say, a fruit fly, or even a yumushi (and for those out there who don’t know what yumushis are…well, let’s just say that you don’t know how lucky you are!!!).

Anyway, I’m pleased to admit that I was wrong on both accounts. The Conan stories haven’t aged much, or rather not as badly as I feared; and Conan isn’t as dumb and transparent a character as I erroneously thought. All in all I was agreeably surprised by Howard’s talent and found myself completely drawn into his world, leaving my apprehensions well behind after just a few pages into the first story. And speaking of stories, I won’t go through each of them––as there are simply too many in this book––but will instead share with you three of my favorite ones.

A WITCH SHALL BE BORN is IMHO the best of the bunch. The story is about a bitch––uh, sorry, a witch––who manages to take her twin sister’s place as queen of Khauran, a powerful city state, and turns into a blood-thirsty tyrant, allowing all kinds of atrocities to be carried out against her people and enemies. Thank the Gods, Conan is here to save the day, and it is with unfeigned relish that us readers get to see the evil witch get her comeuppance. The writing is misleadingly simple and straightforward, peppered at times with a touch of archaism which falls right into place with the literature genre we’re dealing with here. A total winner.

In RED NAILS we follow Conan and his pirate lover Valeria as the couple travels through a deadly jungle to a mysterious jade city which at first seems deserted. Ancient history somewhat reminiscent of that of the pre-Columbian Americas, adventure, sorcery, treachery, human sacrifices, last-minute rescue, everything here mingles and commingles in one hell of a good story which is considered by many to be Howard’s best effort. I can hardly disagree.

JEWELS OF GWAHLUR follows Conan as our pea-headed barbarian is searching for the titular jewels in the lost city of Alkmeenon. I particularly like this one because of where it’s set (a sort of Fantasy Africa), because of its plot twists, and because toward the end we get to see that Conan also has a heart (which I find salutary), and not only three hundred pounds of muscle and a big sword. A good story through and through.

OLIVIER DELAYE
Author of the SEBASTEN OF ATLANTIS series

The Forgotten Goddess (Sebasten of Atlantis, #1) by Olivier Delaye

...more

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Jan 28, 2010 Jayaprakash Satyamurthy rated it it was amazing

8/05/2011

Right. So I'm re-reading (and in a number of instances reading for the first time) the original Conan canon courtesy of this handsome volume (albeit my copy is a bit cat-scratched in a manner that actually makes it more befitting of its battle-scarred subject). I'll be updating this review with my comments on the stories as I read them.

The Phoenix On The Sword: It begins near the end. Near the end of Conan's career as a wandering thief, mercenary and pirate, when he has finally settled 8/05/2011

Right. So I'm re-reading (and in a number of instances reading for the first time) the original Conan canon courtesy of this handsome volume (albeit my copy is a bit cat-scratched in a manner that actually makes it more befitting of its battle-scarred subject). I'll be updating this review with my comments on the stories as I read them.

The Phoenix On The Sword: It begins near the end. Near the end of Conan's career as a wandering thief, mercenary and pirate, when he has finally settled down as king of Aquilonia, one of the lands in what roughly corresponds to modern-day Europe in Howard's map of the Hyperborean age. Conan in maturity is a formidable man, invested with all the experience and authority of a man who has clawed his way to the top in a savage, perilous world; and he still has more than a touch of the worlds-defying, against-all-odds bravado of the barbarian. He needs it, because a cabal of conspirators is scheming to overthrow him. There's some weird sorcery, some stirring battle scenes and interesting asides on the power of the poet, a figure even Conan respects for his ability to move people's hearts in a way he cannot. Suffers a little from a deux ex machina ending.

The Scarlet Citadel: Is set in the same era as its predecessor and roughly the same plot - a conspiracy against King Conan, but everything is taken up a notch or two - the enemies are more, and more deadly, the wizardry is more weird and powerful and Conan battles against ever more insurmountable odds. Again, sorcerous intervention saves Conan at the end, but this time it is honestly won when Conan rescues a trapped sorcerer. Once again, Howard shows that he is equally adept at conjuring scenes of high weirdness, such as the scenes in Tsotha's dungeons, and stirring action, including a truly magnificent large-scale battle. Much as I liked The Phoenix In The Sword I think this story takes everything it did well and does it even better.

The Tower Of The Elephant: Takes us back to Conan's years as a wandering rogue. This is where the quintessential Conan stories really begin, even though I like the early tales of Conan. Begins with a vintage display of Howard's scene-painting abilities, in a vivid snapshot of a seedy tavern in the thieves' quarter of a Zamoran city. This is the story where Howard's theme of the difference between civilized man and a barbarian, and the superiority of the latter, really begins to be developed. Conan is brash, impulsive, deadly when crossed, but also clever, resourceful and ultimately capable of acting according to a moral code that has its own rigour even if it has little respect for worldly laws. Less action than the last two stories, even though Conan does slay a lion, and a plot that hinges on elements of cosmic weirdness that are next-door to science fiction at times. Also has a tinge of the genuinely tragic. I felt that Howard's prose was evolving and has shed the occasional clunkiness of the last two stories for a leaner, more sinewy style that effortlessly keeps pace with its irrepressible protagonist. It's also where Howard really starts giving us a sense of the larger world surrounding Conan.

12/05/2011

Black Colossus
The last story took us back into the long backstory to Conan's eventual kingship, changing the focus of the series to Conan's wandering-rogue years, thereby establishing the milieu that this character is most associated with. This story brings back the martial setting of the first two stories, and adds one more element that was to become a hallmark of the series: the wench. In this case, a princess, no less, who is being taunted in a manner fraught with erotic tension by a mysterious sorcerous stalker. An appeal to the god Mitra suggests she go out on the streets and entrust the fate of her fraught kingdom to the first man she meets; the man of course turns out to be Conan. A touch of humour in the depiction of Conan's rough-and-ready table manners, an undercurrent of erotic suggestion, memorable opening in a lost city, a knock-out epic battle, an evil sorcerer and a sexy pay-off - this story has it all. Equally important, even though Conan's involvement in the story is somewhat the product of chance (or Destiny?), his victory is mainly his own, the product of superior tactics on the battlefield.

The Slithering Shadow Howard ups the erotic tension in this one with suggestions of depraved orgies and a girl-on-girl whipping scene. He also furthers his theories re: civilization and barbarism by contrasting the effete ineffectualness of a highly sophisticated but decadent civilization with Conan's rough and ready dynamism. This time, Conan runs up against a truly weird enemy, described in terms that HP Lovecraft would have approved of (and surely did). A creepy, almost claustrophobic interlude that doesn't outstay its welcome.

The Pool Of The Black One While this tale introduced Conan-the-pirate, it does very little else for me. Conan is depicted as an amoral opportunist to an extent that does not go well with the essential gallantry that is alluded in tales such as the last two, the weird menace is a little too generic to really stand out, and very little is really achieved except that Conan outpaces a monster, gains control of a pirate ship and wins another interchangeable wench. Not a highlight. ...more

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Feb 05, 2012 Carl rated it it was amazing

Shelves: nprs-top-100-science-fiction-and-fa

Sexist. Racist. Culturally imperialist. But, you know what . . . I had a dang fun time reading them! What? It's pulp fiction about a barbarian who doesn't understand "civilization" and has a personal code of ethics and the swordarm to enforce it among the "civilized" people of the mythical Hyborean age. Were you expecting Shakespeare?

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Jul 04, 2012 Mark rated it it was amazing

Robert Ervin Howard (January 22, 1906 – June 11, 1936) lived a short live but created some brilliant characters, for example Solomon Kane the puritan swashbuckler & Kull. Most famous is his creation of Conan the Barbarian. About whom he wrote between 1932 & 1934, lots of short stories and one whole novel "The hour of the Dragon" and while that book did borrow somewhat from his earlier stories it did have the excitement and tension of the shorter Conan stories.

This book contains most shor ...more

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Oct 17, 2011 Scott Gray rated it it was amazing

It's hard to make adequate comment on a writer whose work created an entire genre and the larger creative industry that genre spawned. Conan the Barbarian means different things to different people, because the character exists in so many different versions — the original Robert E. Howard stories; the de Camp and Carter pastiches that expanded on Howard's vision and popularity; the new generation of books that the original pastiches inspired; the Marvel comics that pushed sword-and-sorcery into It's hard to make adequate comment on a writer whose work created an entire genre and the larger creative industry that genre spawned. Conan the Barbarian means different things to different people, because the character exists in so many different versions — the original Robert E. Howard stories; the de Camp and Carter pastiches that expanded on Howard's vision and popularity; the new generation of books that the original pastiches inspired; the Marvel comics that pushed sword-and-sorcery into the pop-culture mainstream; the Dark Horse comics that revitalized and revisualized the character; the 1982 film that first set Arnold Schwarzenegger on the path to pretending to be an actor. As a result, it's entirely possible to "know" Conan without really knowing the original stories in their original forms — a problem that this weighty collection addresses nicely.

The Complete Chronicles pulls together all of the original Howard stories in their original forms (including those edited as a part of the Howard/de Camp/Carter paperback collections that cemented the character's popularity). Unlike previous multi-part Conan collections, this book anthologizes the stories in the order Howard wrote them, rather than in chronological order according to the character's history. This means a lot of jumping around through the different ages of the character (the first two Conan stories Howard published are actually two of the last Conan stories, both taking place when Conan is king of Aquilonia; the familiar thief, barbarian, slayer, et al came later). However, i prefer this arrangement because it shows off how Howard's own understanding of the character changed and grew over time, the narrative and the character becoming more and more complex.

Some of the Howard stories are better than others; some are more properly about the world than the character. (A surprise to a lot of people who read the Howard pieces for the first time is how often Conan appears only after other secondary characters have set the story up.) Many of the stories show their 30s pulp origins a little too strongly (most commonly with lines like " 'By the gods!" Conan ejaculated.'). But taken all in all, the Howard canon creates a haunting and memorable mythology that stands the test of time, and which can't help but make one wonder to what greater heights Robert E. Howard might have taken the character and the world of the Hyborian age if he'd had more time. ...more

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Dec 19, 2012 Evgeny rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy

The original Conan the Cimmerian - what more needs to be said? Robert E. Howard is the grandfather of sword and sorcery genre; Conan is the grandfather of all barbarians (the most recent example that comes to mind: Karsa Orlong from House of Chains is exact copy of Conan) and mighty sword-fighters (too numerous to name). The stories are written almost 100 years ago, they are still very entertaining and impossible to put down; their age did nothing to diminish their fun value.

The plot of most of ...more

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May 19, 2011 J. Hamlet rated it it was amazing

Shelves: epic-tomes

Despite the unfortunate racial attitudes in Conan the Barbarian lore (as he was writing these in the 1910s through 1930s, he has some of the same problems his contemporary HP Lovecraft had), Robert Howard was perhaps one of the greatest pulp writers ever. After treading through nearly 1000 pages of Conan stories, Howard's imagination never falters. Conan himself is a complex character, a prototype and ancestor of all the anti-heros we see popping up in movies and books. Usually portrayals of Con ...more

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Mar 11, 2009 Simon rated it it was amazing

Shelves: short-stories, long-term-project

Although I've only read about five stories from this edition (so far), I've read most of the Conan stories before in various collections over the years. I already know that it's going to get five stars because most of the stories are great. Those that aren't are still good and are not going to detract from overall high standard of this collection.

This collection contains all the Conan stories written by Robert E Howard in the order they were published including those published posthumously and ...more

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Jun 26, 2012 Susan Laine rated it it was amazing

Conan is my favorite hero, and sword & sorcery has been a favorite genre of mine since I was a kid. I have read all these stories before in other anthologies, some in English, some in Finnish, but it's good to have them all in one book. My favorite stories in this are The Tower of the Elephant, The Slithering Shadow, Red Nails, and The Pool of the Black One. Highly recommended!

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Jul 26, 2015 Craig rated it it was amazing

This is a very handsome edition collecting all of Howard's wonderful Conan stories. I've read them all before over the years in various versions, but it's nice to have them all in a single volume. This one would be on my list if I were to be marooned on an island for a year and could only pick five books to take with me.

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Jun 07, 2013 Rachel the Book Harlot marked it as to-read

Shelves: on-hold-for-now, fantasy

Story 1: The Phoenix on the Sword - rating: 4 stars
Story 2: The Scarlet Citadel - rating: 4.5 stars

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Apr 22, 2008 Steven rated it it was amazing

Shelves: pulps, anthology-collection

The woman who became my wife gave me this as the first birthday gift from her in 2006. I'd better get around to reading this soon, as I've been reading bits and pieces of it over the years since...

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Oct 13, 2011 Josh rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites

I originally bought this tome for a friend for christmas, but whilst wrapping it up i thought i'd give it a quick look and found myself instantly enthralled. Over the next few months i would i constantly ask myself 'where has conan been all my life?'
Up until Conan, i, and im sure the rest of you, have had to make do with whoosy lead characters who are described as tough but dont do anything?! And when they do finally kick back their chair and roll up their sleeves, they take one smack on the ch ...more

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Sep 07, 2010 Krzysztof rated it really liked it

The Conan stories are great, even though many of them follow a very similar pattern, and some even "copy-and-paste" sentences between them. The language of the stories is terrific, however, despite some words being archaic as this point. It certainly cracks you up when Conan 'ejaculates' (shouts). The quality of the stories is pretty constantly high, with some of them a bit weaker than others. None of them aren't bad in any way, however.

I can wholeheartedly recommend this book to all who haven't ...more

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Aug 09, 2012 David rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy

This was a great collection of Robert E. Howard's stories centering around Conan the Cimmerian (a.k.a. Conan the Barbarian). A very complete appearance of his published Conan stories and of The Hyborian Age, an article describing the peoples and regions of Hyboria. The stories are among the most influential of fantasy, and a must for serious fans of the genre.
Also included are story drafts, a fragment, and synopsis for works that were not completed during Howard's life. A valuable addition to fa ...more

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Apr 01, 2010 Libromaniac rated it really liked it

Robert Howard gets short shrift in any discussion of important 20th century authors. He founded an entire genre of literature, and is indirectly responsible for Arnold Schwarzenegger being governor of Kahlifohnia. While this collection, when read in it's entirety, points up the somewhat formulaic nature of Howard's writing, it never fails to thrill. Mildly sexy and exuberantly violent, these tales make for an excellent escape from humdrum modernity, where life's Gordian knots cannot be simply he ...more

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Aug 03, 2011 John Montagne rated it it was amazing

Good old Conan. You love this work or you hate it. I consider them classics so to review it would inevitably repeat much of what has been said by countless others. Personal opinion, I love it. It is straight forward escapism. Character development? Not so much... is it needed? Not so much... I always loved Howard's history of Conan's world, in fact, I have just as much enjoyment reading about the world and the tribes as much as the stories. And this particular book is a work of art, a leather to ...more

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Aug 25, 2009 Vomithatsteve rated it really liked it

This is a whole lot of Conan. Let's be honest. It's WAAAY too much Conan! If you like classic, misogynistic dark fantasy, there'll be something for you to enjoy here.

It's stories are actually pretty fun in a pulpy, over-the-top way. It's always fun to read about some giant barbarian killing some horrid monster from beyond the stars with his teeth.

It's way more conan than you'll ever actually need, but I still enjoyed reading it.

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Nov 01, 2014 Dan McClure rated it really liked it

Once you get past all the racism and misogyny (but be warned - there's a lot), you can easily see why Howard is the father of sword and sorcery fantasy. He wrote as if in a fever dream (he likely was) and the resulting Conan stories pull the reader along like his hero drags distressing damsels past their various plights, usually naked. You don't have to be naked to read it, but I recommend the no-pants option.

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Oct 20, 2012 Paul rated it it was amazing

Shelves: reviewed, novels, conan

Fans of REH'S Conan stories have been waiting for this book for years!
And I was all giddy to get this and re-read the stories within.
WOW! These are not the watered down verions I'd read as a teen. This is Howard as his crudest Weird Tales versions.
This is THE book displayed prominently on my bookshelves!

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Dec 29, 2013 Heath Lowrance rated it it was amazing

Well, it's Conan, the ORIGINAL Conan, by Robert E. Howard. So hell yeah, I loved it. If you're interested you can find my entire review here: http://psychonoir.blogspot.com/2014/0...

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May 27, 2010 Bill rated it it was ok

If you like 1930s-style eugenics racial theory, the inherent sexism of the period, and blood 'n' guts, this book is for you!!!

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Jun 13, 2015 Michael rated it it was amazing

The Conan stories are brilliant, I am a big fan, many of the stories follow a very similar pattern, but each hold their own as a great story. The language of the stories is terrific. The quality of the stories is high.

I highly recommend this book to all who haven't read Conan stories yet.

The Stories:

The Hyborian Age
This is an essay by Robert E. Howard pertaining to the Hyborian Age, the fictional setting of his stories about Conan the Cimmerian. It was written in the 1930s but not published dur ...more

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May 26, 2017 Awet Moges rated it it was amazing

By far the best pulp story writer I've ever come across. Howard's rich imagination had rarely been equaled in the subsequent 100 years, much less a character as memorable as the invincible Cimmerian.
Upon the second reread, Howard is even better than I remember - especially if you read the stories in a chronological order, from the Frost Giant's Daughter to the Hour of the Dragon. Sometimes the stories descend to formula with plot armor, the payoff is always satisfying.

You will not find a finer ...more

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Oct 23, 2016 Heather rated it it was amazing

Shelves: own-it, fantasy, skimmed, short-stories

These stories are fantastic and surprising! Howard is an incredible writer who is far less sexist and racist than I thought he would be. While he does use stereotypes, his characters never feel like the cardboard cutouts that so many racist caricatures wind up being. They have their own internal lives and motivations, and feel like real people.

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May 22, 2017 Bill Harrison rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites

The Conan stories by Robert E. Howard are some of the best you will ever read. It is such a shame the Howard died at such an early age. I would love to have seen where he would have taken Conan.

I can't recommend these story highly enough!!

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Jun 05, 2017 Allyn Nichols rated it really liked it

Too much skull crushing to handle in one go. Much more fun split down into its constituent parts over a period of time.

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May 14, 2017 Paolo Di Lello rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy

Very Strong

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Mar 12, 2013 Ана Хелс rated it it was amazing

Shelves: must-have

Конан не е просто мускулягата с лош акцент и тъповато-стероиден поглед, насаден ни от екранизациите с младия бате Арни. Конан е абсолютния образец, символ, бенчмарк, зрънцето изначална идея за това какъв трябва да е един истински фентъзи герой – физически внушителен, външно привлекателен за женското око, безспорен майстор на меча и всякакво друго оръжие, което може да унищожи или поне нарани кожените торби с вътрешности, наречени човешки или не точно тела. С неясно минало, без роднини, за които Конан не е просто мускулягата с лош акцент и тъповато-стероиден поглед, насаден ни от екранизациите с младия бате Арни. Конан е абсолютния образец, символ, бенчмарк, зрънцето изначална идея за това какъв трябва да е един истински фентъзи герой – физически внушителен, външно привлекателен за женското око, безспорен майстор на меча и всякакво друго оръжие, което може да унищожи или поне нарани кожените торби с вътрешности, наречени човешки или не точно тела. С неясно минало, без роднини, за които да се грижи, без любов, за която да гори, без богатство, което да пази. Сам, но рядко самотен, напълно самодостатъчен и откровено саможив. Заемащ винаги правилната страна, дори и в ролите си на пират, крадец или откровен разбойник. Защитаващ онези, които имат най-голяма нужда от помощ, но не защото те са безволеви и безмозъчни жертви, а тъй като в някои ситуации и смелите, и гордите не успяват да преодолеят проклятието на живота и магиите. Като говорим за магии, Конан е заклет противник на всякакви видове вълшебства и всичко, което не може да се разреши с разцепване на череп с една ръка. Въобще – истинския герой на подрастващите мечти, който с една ръка души мамут, а с другата потупва по заоблените задни части някоя знойна, но доста злонравна красавица, просеща си да бъде сломена с мъжественост и аромат на кървава пот. Или нещо подобно.

Конан е всичко, което малкото пъпчивче с развинтена фантазия не е, и знае много добре, че и след десетилетия няма да бъде. Това е образът еманация на винаги печелившия срещу съдбата, вечния победител в което и да е единоборство, никога несломимия, никога отхвърляния. Конан не притежава ограниченията на добрите принцове, нито техните обноски, скрупули или алтруистични цели. Ако му се спасява някоя девица, може и да й обърне внимание, но ако нещо го е подразнила, може и да я изостави някъде в полето, като, разбира се, не вдигне и пръст срещу нея, освен ако последната наистина не си го иска. От феминистична гледна точка това е най-противоречивият образ вероятно в цялата фентъзи вселена, но пък немалко жени цвилят пред този мачизъм в стил Бойко Борисов, Антонио Бандерас и Скалата в едно. Ходещият тестостерон не пролива сълзи, стиска зъби пред болката и локвите кръв, които враговете процеждат през титаниевата му кожа, и никоя купчинка плът с женски полови белези не може да спре напиращия си гнездещ инстинкт, който хвърля и кралици, и робини, и разбойнички, и благороднички еднакво бързо в краката на хладния самотен рейнджър от Кимерия. Това изграждане на острия образ на изгубеното мъжество си е достойно за цял научен труд по психология, сексология или метафизична антропология, ако щете, говорещо за цяла епоха от въжделения, сблъскала се челно с ограниченията на леко скопената ни реалност.

Пред лика на Конан се прекланят абсолютно всички живи и преминали отвъд фентъзи автори, като откриваме студената усмивка на северния воин по много други обветрени лица на защитниците на едностранчиво добрите уж главни герои, като им отнемат огромна част от блясъка на славата на идеалните протагонисти. За него пишат не само величественият Хауърд, разпознаваем на секундата със своя богато-витиеват стил, велики описания и зловещо въображение, но и вечният КНВ-бог Робърт Джордан, страхотният Лин Картър, незаслужено непознат на българския пазар, екшън-ориентираният Джон Мадокс Робъртс, както и повече или по-малко познати имена на фентъзи майстори като Лионард Карпентър, Ел Спраг де Камп, Пол Андерсън, Бьорн Найберг, Андрю Офът, Джон Хокинг, Карл Уогнър. И въпреки различните стилове и подходи образът на Конан стои все така непипнато начумерен, повлякъл тежестта на цяла изгубена планета, изпълнена с магии и приключения, срещу които се възправя нетрепващо със силата на единия гол меч в ръка и тоталната липса на възпитани страхове или инстинкти за самозащита чрез здравословно избягване на опасностите.

За всички почитатели на мъжките приключения с алтернативен, оригинален и сам герой, в стил Елрик на Муркок или Фафрд на Лейбър – това са книгите, които на всяка цена не трябва да пропускате. Всъщност Конан си е направо задължителен за всеки, който претендира да се нарича фентъзи фен – толкова огромен крайпътен камък на идеите и стила на отминалата ера на мъжествеността е, че зад напрегнатите приказни истории, изпъстрени с разкъсани стомаси, отрязани глави и разтопени с магия крайници, може да се намери огледало към целокупната човешка душа на хормоните, страстите и инстинктите за самосъхранение в степен на невъзможен варварски крясък, а не на реалистичното цивилизовано шептене по темата. За съжаление на български е невероятно трудно да се съберат всички Конанови книги, издавани хаотично и леко апокрифно от сума ти малки и големи издателства преди двадесетина години, и мисля, че е крайно време някой сериозен издател да вземе да събере всички оригинални истории и ги преиздаде с осъвременен превод и достойно за мащабността на образа оформление. Фенове на Конан никога не могат да липсват в която и да е читателска ера.
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Conan the Cimmerian continues to capture the imaginations of readers 80 years after Robert Ervin Howard penned the first Conan story, The Phoenix on the Sword, in 1932. Since then, the iconic character of Conan has graced magazines, books, comic books, cartoons, television serials, video games and the big screen. This particular tome contains all of the original tales written by Howard and published in Weird Tales during his lifetime, including thirteen novelettes, three novellas and the novel T Conan the Cimmerian continues to capture the imaginations of readers 80 years after Robert Ervin Howard penned the first Conan story, The Phoenix on the Sword, in 1932. Since then, the iconic character of Conan has graced magazines, books, comic books, cartoons, television serials, video games and the big screen. This particular tome contains all of the original tales written by Howard and published in Weird Tales during his lifetime, including thirteen novelettes, three novellas and the novel The Hour of the Dragon. The stories are presented in the order they were written and published, rather than in the linear order of events in Conan’s life. Although each story deserves to be reviewed individually (a few of which I have already reviewed in the past), this particular review attempts to capture whether the stories have truly stood the test of time.
Conan is the definition of a character larger than life. His fiery blue eyes, Herculean physique and box cut mane could be a template for superheroes, video game avatars and screen stars. His physical strengths are very near superhuman, making him stronger, faster and more agile than any civilized man, and combined with his fierce intelligence, command of languages, military tactics and encyclopaedic knowledge of the world, make him the most dangerous man walking the face of the Earth during the Hyborian age.
The Hyborian age is a lost period of time that between the fall of Atlantis and the rise of the known civilisations. The world of Conan is made familiar due to the parallels of architecture and people in the modern world, though it seems rather inconceivable that so many different races would live in lands neighbouring each other. Maps of Hyboria suggest that it combines southern Europe, Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and the Indian sub-continent as one linked up landmass, and as a result, each of the lands posses a unique characteristic and social order. The Hyborians are the predecessors of the white, Aryan races and dominate the middle kingdom of Hyboria, with the other races pushed to the frontiers of the known world and the black people typically portrayed as savages and a slave race. It could be argued that Howard was writing within accepted norms within the West, but then it is not the job of a writer to reinforce social norms, and read with the sensibilities of our post-post-modern world, it does leave the reader with a sense of ire. The Cimmerians have more in common with Norsemen and Visigoths in their barbaric nature, and although Conan often describes ‘whites selling whites into slavery’ as the most reprehensible act, he has adventured and fought alongside every race in the Hyborian age. The treatment of women in the Conan stories is just as eyebrow-raising as the evident racism. Most of the female characters fall into the staple damsel-in-distress stereotype, albeit in an advanced stage of undress in comparison to medieval romances, but even the strong female characters, like Valeria in Red Nails, eventually fall for Conan’s unsubtle advances and eventually require rescuing.
Sword and Sorcery is described as low fantasy and the Conan tales were written as pulp fiction. But by today’s standards, the language is of a good standard and the writing doesn’t have the archaic, lofty voice of high fantasy epics. The stories are formulaic in their pacing and exposition in the style of pulp fiction and the outcome is rarely surprising. Conan is such a fiercely elemental character that you rarely ever fear for his life, and even a normally debilitating injury does little to slow down Conan. When you contrast this with nail-biting reads by David Gemmell, James Barclay and George R R Martin, then the Conan stories don’t fair as well.
Essentially, the Conan stories, despite his iconic place in fiction, rarely transcends its low-brow roots of pulp fiction, and combined with its now archaic treatment of race and gender, means that although it will continue to enjoy a cult following, its appeal remains narrow. Although the barbarian remains an evocative character in modern sword and sorcery fiction, the genre has evolved with each generation of writers. The Conan stories will remain an essential study for writers of fantasy fiction, but do not merit an entry in the annals of masterworks of fantasy.
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About Robert E. Howard

Robert 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."

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The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian (Conan the Cimmerian, #1)

The Conquering Sword of Conan (Conan the Cimmerian, #3)

The Bloody Crown of Conan (Conan the Cimmerian, #2)

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“Hither came Conan, the Cimmerian, black-haired, sullen-eyed, sword in hand, a thief, a reaver, a slayer, with gigantic melancholies and gigantic mirth, to tread the jeweled thrones of the Earth under his sandaled feet.” — 131 likes

“Know, oh prince, that between the years when the oceans drank Atlantis and the gleaming cities, and the years of the rise of the Sons of Aryas, there was an Age undreamed of, when shining kingdoms lay spread across the world like blue mantles beneath the stars.” — 39 likes

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