Tigers of the Sea

The Robert E. Howard Library #1

by Robert E. Howard, Tim Kirk (Illustrator), Sanjulian (Illustrator)

mass market paperback book

Genres: Fantasy, Sword and Sorcery, Fiction, Pulp, Adventure, Historical Fiction, Short Stories

212 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1974

About the author

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."

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.

Reviews

[East Bay J · Rating 4 out of 5]

Four fantastic tales of vikings, piracy and violence in the classic Howard vein. These stories are set in Britain after the fall of the Roman empire. Cormac is a hero in the same line as many of Howard's characters, including Kull, Bran Mak Morn and Conan. He's not nearly as developed as Kull or Conan, little information is given about his past, but his great feats of cunning and combat make for an exciting read.

Richard L. Tierney, in his introduction, reveals that two of the stories were unfinished when the manuscripts were found. He went ahead and wrote 700 words to finish off "The Temple Of Abomination" and a whopping 5,200 words to finish "Tigers Of The Sea." Something about this practice rubs me the wrong way, though I can understand the need to provide finished stories for publication. I will say that one of the greatest pleasures for me, so far as reading Howard goes, was getting my hands on the Del Rey volumes in which his work is presented without the meddling hands of posthumous editors. It's not that Tierney's contributions are drastically different, it's just that Howard's fans, including this one, want to read Howard's writing, not someone's idea of what it was supposed to be.

Also, Tierney makes note of why he chose to present the stories in the order he did. One reference is to the viking longship, the Raven, that Cormac and crew sale around in seeking adventure. The thing is, they have the Raven in the first story ("Tigers Of The Sea") then end up acquiring the Raven in the third story ("The Night Of The Wolf"). Am I missing something?

Ultimately, none of this robs from the quality of the stories. Howard's ability to create thrilling, fast paced action packed tales of great heroism is unequaled.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cormac Mac Art was one of Robert E. Howard's best and least-known historical action/adventure pulp heroes. He was featured in two completed stories and two fragments, none of which appeared in his lifetime. Cormac and his Viking partner, Wulfhere Skull-Splitter, are renegades and reavers of a thousand years or so ago, who with their staunch crew seek fame and fortune and engage in mighty feats of derring-do. Only one of Howard's stories has a supernatural element, though there was a dandy series of novels written by andrew j. offutt that continued his adventures in which the supernatural was de rigeur. There have been several editions of the book with slightly different contents and versions; I have the 1975 paperback that follows the original limited-edition Donald Grant printing. The two fragments were competently finished by Richard L. Tierney, who contributes an intelligent and comprehensive introduction explaining Cormac's provenance and Howard's use of the name for several characters. Good cover by Jeff Jones and interior illustrations from Tim Kirk.

[Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some of the best Norsemen stories ever written.

[Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

How can you not like Vikings man?

[Michael Sorbello · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the vein of Conan and Solomon Kane, Cormac Mac Art is a barbaric viking hero who travels the darkest reaches of the land during the reign of King Arthur, lending his savage might to those in need. Along with his crew and his trusted righthand man Wulfhere the Skull-Splitter, they take on many horrific jobs that always end with a mountain of corpses in their wake. From rescuing a princess from a savage tribe of brutes who torture for sport and sacrifice infants to wicked gods, to banishing the influence of eldritch horrors who haunt shadowy tombs, Cormac has his work cut out for him.

Out of all of Howard's tales of dark heroes, I think Cormac is probably the most bloody and gruesome. Though not nearly as interesting or fleshed out as characters like Conan, Kane or Kull, his adventures are full of all the hardcore action, chaotic adventures and haunting dark fantasy imagery that will satisfy any sword & sorcery fan. I wish I could've learned more about Cormac as he seemed like a cool guy and his crew was fun and memorable for the short time they were around. I also would've liked to seen further depth to the influences of Norse mythology sprinkled throughout each story, but I think Howard passed away before he could fully flesh out this character and the lore surrounding him which is a shame. Still a slashy fun time regardless.

***

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[Peregrine 12 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was pleasantly surprised. This collection of short stories features a character named Cormac mac Art. It was interesting and well written, if you enjoy a moment-by-moment, non-stop-action adventure story. Lots of killing in these pages.

Yes, the violence is over the top, the heroes are all hyper-masculine, and the bad guys are everywhere (and everyone), but the stories hold together alright and take us to a new environment in REH-dom.

I liked it, two thumbs up.

[Jessy · Rating 3 out of 5]

interesante, me gustaron los personaje y el contexto en general, pero todas las aventuras eran igual. Mismo plan, los descubren de la misma forma, mismo final... en fin, con leer una aventura ya sabes como siguen las demás. La única diferente fue la del templo, lo cual agradezco.

[Ignacio Senao f · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lo más flojo de lo que he leído de este SEÑOR. Por momentos muy gaseoso que da la sensación de que escribió obligado.

[Leothefox · Rating 3 out of 5]

This Cormac Mac Art book represents part of a big backlog of Robert E. Howard books I've been meaning to read. This one is 4 stories in large print, padded out with a forward and some illustrations. Also, two of the stories were never finished by Howard, so a Richard L. Tierney (apparently the co-author of a Red Sonja series?) fills in the blanks on those. The end result is a bit of a lightweight item, although Howard's rough and tumble adventures are still worth it.

If nothing else, these Zebra editions of Howard's stuff are pretty to look at. I'm looking forward to a more substantial volume from the old master of Sword & Sorcery in the near future.

[Little Timmy · Rating 1 out of 5]

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.

[Kione · Rating 5 out of 5]

NO bullshit.
Some serious ass kicking stories.

[Anca Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book.

[Keith B · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's Robert E. Howard, of course I like it. Not a big fan of David Drake normally but his stories weren't too bad in this edition.

[Rosa Dracos99 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Decepcionante. Me esperaba más del creador del personaje de Conan y de la sinopsis, más emoción, más monstruos.... pero me he encontrado relatos típicos de vikingos, eso sí, con muchas batallas.

[Stuart Dean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Four stories by REH and one by David Drake about the Irish pirate Cormac Mac Art and his Danish partner Wulfhere Skull-splitter. Fun hacking and slashing on the Britsh coast in the seventh century. Cormac is an Irish exhile, worldclass swordsman, and unearthly fighting man. In a Viking longboat he and a group of Danes wander aimlessly looking for villages to loot and enemies to fight. Since they have made enemies of just about everybody fighting comes easy. The general outline of each story is Cormac goes incognito into some Norse or British village to gain inteeligence, gets recognized, and fights his way out. Lots of blood and and skull crushing.

Straightforward entertainment. Not as in depth as any of REH's other creations, usually the story dives into action almost immediately. The Drake story is by far the longest, but it still follows the same format, just stringing several scenes together, interspersed with fighting. Good reading if you're not into all that plot and character development stuff.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another book I've had hanging around in my collection for decades and finally got around to reading. This one has two long(-ish) stories from REH, both centering on an Irish pirate named Cormac Mac Art and his Viking pal as they go and just beat the shit out of Jutes, Danes, Picts, and Scots. Deeply satisfying Sword&Sorcery, to say the least. I didn't read the first story which was a pastiche by the author David Drake.

[bluetyson]

Tigers of the Sea by Robert E. Howard (1977)

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this stuff while in Highschool

[Wayne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great little collection.Thankfully more sword than sorcery.2 strong lead characters,& while the stories can have a bit of sameness about them,it doesn't matter,still works for me.

[Ronald · Rating 3 out of 5]

read SOMETIME in 2001

[wayne mcauliffe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great writing from Robert E. Howard.A Gael & his Danish viking mates set in the times of King Arthur

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome viking tales. Loved them all. Good old fashioned sword and sorcery.

[Vladimir Ivanov · Rating 5 out of 5]

Не перестаю поражаться, насколько разносторонним талантом обладал Роберт Говард. Помимо слегка навязшего в зубах (но все равно нежно любимого) Конана, он за свою недолгую жизнь успел написать и про ковбоев, и про индейцев, и про гангстеров, и про нуарных сыщиков, и про моряков, и про боксеров... Оказывается, и про викингов тоже успел.

Все 4 новеллы сборника как на подбор — короткие, энергичные, запоминающиеся. Суровый быт северных дикарей, морские сражения, поединки, погони, сокровища! То Кормак с Вульфгером и своей бандой рыжебородых датчан-головорезов ищут похищенную принцессу, то попадают в бешеный замес между норвежцами и пиктами, то выручают из беды самого короля датских земель... и все это без капли так любимой Говардом мистики (разве что в последнем рассказе он не сдержался и подпустил таки шоггота, ну да ладно, простим).

Твердые 8/10. Всем ценителям исторических приключений — обязательно к прочтению.

[Christopher Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pretty enjoyable collection of stories by Robert Howard focusing on a different character than what people know him for (Conan, Kull, or even Solomon Kane). This short story collection is mostly unfinished stories which the editor David Drake finished, although one is unfinished, and one story is by Drake entirely.

Cormac is smarter and more cunning than Conan, but also less powerful and intimidating. He is quite capable and mostly works with his friend the Dane Wolfhere. Wolfhere is technically the captain of the ship Cormac sails on, so technically is Cormac's superior, but Cormac mostly calls the shots.

[Jordan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first story is pretty much all-Drake, and it shows. The tone and style just doesn't fit - it feels more like a Roy Thomas Conan comics tale than anything else. But oddly, when he's finishing a tale started by Howard, it flows better, feels more like REH's prose. And the pure REH stories are much stronger, though it's easy to see why Cormac doesn't have the same resonance as his other more famous heroes.

[Micah Atkinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Four excellent tales about Cormac Mac Art as he travels around Arthurian Britain with his friend Wulhere the Skull-Splitter.
All are excellent and filled with REH’s usual energy and incredible story telling.
The final story, although completed by the editor of this edition, from an incomplete fragment, I really enjoyed as it pulled together much of Howard’s mythology and put it into a coherent timeline to conclude the volume.
It’s Robert E Howard and Vikings! Arguably this says enough!

[Wes · Rating 3 out of 5]

This shouldn't come as a shocker, but this reads like Howard's Conan tales. The main character is even described in very Conan terms. In all likelihood, these are recycled tales as Howard was casting about for his place in the world.

In general, it's a fast and fun read, and interesting in way, but better to just stick to Conan.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as well fleshed out a character as Conan. Set in post Roman Britain, only two of the stories were completed fully by Howard. The first story by David Drake (The Land Toward Sunset) was not to my liking.

[Keith Boynton · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first two stories feel a bit redundant, but the historical setting (Vikings during the Arthurian age, in a fractured post-Roman Britain) is fascinating, and Howard's gift for superheated melodrama and balls-to-the-wall, cataclysmic set pieces is evident throughout.

[Otto]

A