The Hour of the Dragon in Sword & Sorcery: "An earthier sort of fantasy"

May 07, 2014 Jason Koivu rated it liked it

Shelves: adventure, fiction, fantasy

When you think of Conan you think of this...

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Then you think of the screaming barbarian...

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Whoops, sorry, I meant this...

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Fittingly, in reading Robert Howard's original Conan the Barbarian stories, what you soon realize is that Conan is a man of many faces: barbarian, lone wolf, war chief, king, pirate, thief. Ironically, that paradigm shifts somewhat in The Hour of the Dragon, which is a mishmash of, not so much the various Conans, but rather settings and, to steal a D&D term, encounters.

I think th When you think of Conan you think of this...

description

Then you think of the screaming barbarian...

description

Whoops, sorry, I meant this...

description

Fittingly, in reading Robert Howard's original Conan the Barbarian stories, what you soon realize is that Conan is a man of many faces: barbarian, lone wolf, war chief, king, pirate, thief. Ironically, that paradigm shifts somewhat in The Hour of the Dragon, which is a mishmash of, not so much the various Conans, but rather settings and, to steal a D&D term, encounters.

I think the reason for this is that, I believe, this was the only Conan story of novel-length Howard ever wrote. Though later serialized, it was originally sold to a book publisher, rather than Howard's usual sales of short stories to the magazine Weird Tales, which were often no longer than 10-20k words. These shorts were commonly centered around a single conflict and portrayed Conan in just one phase of his colorful career. However, here we have what feels like a collection of stories pressed together in order to fulfill a publisher's minimum word count for a novel. Conan is a king leading human hordes to battle in Medieval fashion and a few pages later Conan is trapped in a dungeon and has to fight his way through ghastly monsters to regain his freedom.

Howard wrote just about as fast as he could. This was during the Great Depression and coming by cash was not always easy. So some of the writing comes off as rushed. For instance, in Conan's world of Hyboria, if you are tall, 9 times out of 10, you will also be gaunt. Tall and gaunt, ad nauseam. By his own admission, he would occasionally turn in first drafts that then went to print. Sometimes it shows.

On the whole, there are some nice details about mythology, ancient tribes, past strategical war practices, and other aspects that purposefully relate to our real world (Hyboria is supposed to be Earth anywhere from 10,000 to 30,000 years ago). And if you're a fantasy fan, who enjoys hack'n'slash adventuring, there's something here for you as well. ...more

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Jul 18, 2016 S.E. Lindberg rated it really liked it

Shelves: reviewed-by-se, sword-sorcery-group-authors

"From death to death [ The Heart of Ahriman] came, riding on a river of human blood. Blood feeds it, blood draws it. Its power is greatest when there is blood on the hands that grasp it, when it is wrested by slaughter from its holder. Wherever it gleams, blood is spilt and kingdoms totter, and the forc es of nature are put in turmoil." -- Thutothmes of Khemi (The Hour of The Dragon, by REH)

The Hour of the Dragon (1934-1936), is Robert E. Howard''s only ...more

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Jul 13, 2016 Derek rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: sword-and-sorcery

I could read this many times (three, so far) and pick out some new facet each time. F'instance:

* Howard touches several times on the theme that Conan's lone-wolf nature is both strength and weakness. He is dedicated to his kingdom, but is not committed to it: he neither married nor produced an heir. Upon his presumed death, the barons cannot rally around an heir and thus the center of the kingdom will not hold.

* A foozle quest--in this case the Heart of Ahriman--is required to save the kingdom, I could read this many times (three, so far) and pick out some new facet each time. F'instance:

* Howard touches several times on the theme that Conan's lone-wolf nature is both strength and weakness. He is dedicated to his kingdom, but is not committed to it: he neither married nor produced an heir. Upon his presumed death, the barons cannot rally around an heir and thus the center of the kingdom will not hold.

* A foozle quest--in this case the Heart of Ahriman--is required to save the kingdom, but the need for it is strongly justified. As in, the characters run down the list of alternatives and the reasons why they will not work. The magic device really is the last resort.

* And, unlike many imitators, the Heart is not (now) buried in a eldritch-guarded labyrinthine tomb in some forgotten land. He must chase after the merchant who bought it, and those who stole it from him. (view spoiler)

* The image and set piece of the city of Tarantia in misrule by foreign invaders and a puppet king is one that I keep returning to as an idea never fully done, but done here first (view spoiler). The land is despoiled, the oppressor's excesses drain what is left, and a lack of governance will end everything. The puppet king wishes everyone to suffer, to thoroughly ruin and beggar the country, spoiling it for the conquerors.

* The turn of fate at the climax of the book is not decided by Conan. A group of broken refugees conspire and enact their own plan. Conan is barely present, only seen in the distance in the battle while the secondary support crew gets it done.

* The opening battle is described in dialog, as a squire narrates events to a stricken Conan. This is a peculiar choice, though it allows the characters to comment and react. I can't think of another author who would dare to do it this way. ...more

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Dec 30, 2015 Michael rated it it was amazing

Shelves: science-fiction-fantasy, fiction

This is the only novel Robert E. Howard ever wrote about Conan, and somehow I never got around to reading it. It is a lot of fun; like watching a cartoon or playing a video game: Conan has become the king of Aquilonia, Conan is deposed from his throne by an evil wizard who has been resurrected from the misty past of Hyperboria, Conan goes on a quest to find the one magical jewel that can send said wizard back to the Abyss, Conan beats the crap out of everyone who gets in his way. Plus: a lot of ...more

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