Conan the Usurper

Conan the Barbarian

by Robert E. Howard, L. Sprague de Camp

Heroic fantasy's mightiest adventurer storms his way through four thrilling tales:

- The Treasure of Tranicos (1953) with L. Sprague de Camp
- Wolves Beyond the Border (1967) with L. Sprague de Camp
- The Phoenix on the Sword (1932)
- The Scarlet Citadel (1931)

Conan, the mighty barbarian from the time before the world began, battles deadly magic, murderous demons and incredible monsters as he cuts his bloody swath through the Hyborian age.

Cover illustration by Frank Frazetta

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

203 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1967

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

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read and reviewed Conan: The Treasure of Tranicos, The Phoenix on the Sword and The Scarlet Citadel as part of other collections, but Wolves Beyond the Border was new to me. That, plus The Scarlet Citadel, are the highlights here.

Though Conan doesn't make an appearance in Wolves Beyond the Border, it's told with an engaging first person narration through the eyes of a soldier who lives on the borderlands with the barbaric Picts. The story takes place during the upheaval of Conan's rebellion to seize control of Aquilonia. The solider skulks about the eerie marshes and dense forests of the borderlands, uncovering treachery, devilish sorcery and a devious plot against Conan's allies. The cover illustration for the book is taken from a chilling scene in this story where a sorcerer charms an enormous snake and swaps its consciousness with that of a captured enemy spy before slaying both. Cool!

[Forrest · Rating 3 out of 5]

Robert E. Howard watered down with too many unnecessary adjectives and overtly archaic constructions. Not the best of the old Conan paperbacks, though it's adequate for a needed sword and sorcery fix. I like L. Sprague de Camp's work when it doesn't involve reinterpreting and editing Howard. Conan isn't such a primitive inexorable force when you continually point out that he's a primitive inexorable force.

But that cover . . . iconic!

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the fourth published volume of Lancer's editions of the Conan saga and is eighth in the series chronologically. L. Sprague de Camp, with the help of Lin Carter, expanded Howard's original Conan stories and edited them into chronological sequence in a twelve-volume series in the late 1960's-early '70's, and the controversy has never quite died off completely. Many people believe that only Howard's original versions of the complete stories are acceptable, and many believe that the Lancer series with the original Frazetta covers are canon (this one has a curious note on the inside that acknowledges Roy G. Krenkel as "advisor"), and then there are those who accept or reject the Bantam titles, the Jordan series (and/or/or not the other Tor titles), the comics or film or television versions, and on and on and on... They're all right and all wrong.... This Lancer series is the one I read while growing up, so I'm all for it. I can accept comics hero stories by different writers, and pulp heroes frequently had different writers under a house name, so... This one features a more mature Conan and has two of Howard's originals: The Phoenix on the Sword and The Scarlet Citadel, both classics. (The Phoenix on the Sword, which was a re-write of a King Kull story, was the first published appearance of everyone's favorite Cimmerian.) It also has two stories by de Camp based on fragments or outlines by Howard, Wolves Beyond the Border (which isn't a Conan story, so I never figured out why it was included), and The Treasure of Tranicos, which was published in 1953 as The Black Stranger. It was also printed in King Conan, one of the Gnome Press series volumes in the 1950s, along with the two Howard stories that are also in this volume. Howard was the consummate pulp adventure writer, and I think de Camp and Carter (though he did not work on this book) enhanced his legacy without tarnishing it. They helped Conan become one of the most recognized and popular literary characters of the last century.

[Rodrigo · Rating 3 out of 5]

En este caso el tomo o volumen son 4 historias que van en orden cronológico y estas han sido sus puntuaciones:
- El tesoro de Tranicos 7/10
- Lobos mas allá de la frontera 6.5/10; curioso relato en el que protagonista no es Conan de hecho no sale sino que solamente se lo menciona
- El Fénix en la espada 6/10
- La ciudadela escarlata 8/10; el mejor para mí de los 4. Debe de ser de lo últimos relatos de Conan, al menos cronológicamente ya que aquí ya es rey y tiene una edad de 40 años, veré que nos cuentan los siguientes tomos, aunque creo que como ocurriera en algún que otro tomo anterior el orden cronológico se va a perder.
Valoración: 6.88/10

[Olethros · Rating 3 out of 5]

-Espada y brujería, más y mejor.-

Género. Relatos.

Lo que nos cuenta. Cuatro trabajos cortos (uno casi novela corta más bien) de Conan, dos de ellos publicados tras la muerte del autor y con diferentes cambios, añadidos y reformas de los manuscritos inacabados de este, y otros dos publicados en los años treinta en vida de Howard, que nos llevaran hasta el camino de Conan hacia el trono y, una vez rey, cómo enfrenta un par de problemitas.

¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:

http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...

[Robert Day · Rating 5 out of 5]

The books I'd take to a desert island.
The books I'd save from a house on fire.
The books I read over and over.
The best of the best.

[Little Timmy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Another of the heavily edited collections of Robert E. Howards 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 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.

[Drew Canole · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Treasure of Tranicos [“The Black Stranger”] · Fantasy Magazine Mar ’53
Wolves Beyond the Border
The Phoenix on the Sword · Robert E. Howard · Weird Tales Dec ’32
The Scarlet Citadel · Robert E. Howard · Weird Tales Jan ’33

[Stuart Dean · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The night was as black as a witch's hate." REH doesn't offer much in plot, the stories generally following the same format, nor does he bother with character development, the evil being pure evil and the everyone else just trying to survive. But he more than makes up for the lack with imagery and scenery. Truly he is a grandmaster of prose poetry.

In four stories Conan achieves his dream. Not to give it away but it is called "Conan the Usurper" so a kingship is in the picture. Oddly, after so many stories foreshadowing the event, the actual coronation is not directly covered in any of the stories. Conan is exiled from Aquilonia then he is king of Aquilonia and that's all that is said about it. He spends time running from the Picts and finds yet another hidden treasure, and he once again demonstrates his lack of understanding of statecraft and has to beat back an invasion of his new-won kingdom. In between are two rather odd stories in that Conan is not really the main character in either one. In one Conan plays second fiddle to the story of the archwizard Thoth-amon and his righteous vengeance. The other is Conan without Conan at all. It follows a soldier on the Pictish border during the upheaval brought about by Conan's quest for the throne. It's a well written tale with savage Picts and an evil wizard and demons and Conan is talked about as a famous barbarian that no one has ever actually seen first hand. My favorite of the group.

Also, Conan meets a flight master and travels like a true member of the Horde. Zub zub!

[Malum · Rating 3 out of 5]

Treasure of Tranicos: I had forgotten that I had previously read this one (under the title of "The Black Stranger"). Conan gets himself into a Mexican standoff with two scumbags over a lost treasure. This is a classic A+ Conan tale.

Wolves Beyond the Border: An interesting Conan story in that it doesn't feature Conan at all. This takes places concurrently with de Camp's "Conan the Liberator". To make a Hyborean story without Conan work you need a really compelling character (like Red Sonja). This story lacks that and is just ok.

I have already read the other stories in this collection and didn't care to read them again with de Camp's edits.

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have always been cognizant of Conan throughout my life due to cultural osmosis and my long-term interest in the fantasy genre. However, up until last year I had never read or watched anything related to Conan, nor knew of the tremendous influence of Robert E Howard or his creation. Last year I watched John Milius’s “Conan the Barbarian,” which was an enjoyable fantasy film but one I found unfortunately somewhat boring. But even after watching that film, Conan has been on my mind (partially for my love of Arnold Schwarzenegger and my recent burgeoning interest in John Milius). Recently at a used book, I was looking for vintage/old editions of Frank Herbert’s work, and out of the corner of my eye I happened to see “CONAN THE USURPER”. I noticed it was the 8th book in a series but I read that the stories don’t need to be read in order so I bought it without hesitation. I had no idea what the book was about or the rich history of Conan’s development (the only thing I knew was that Robert E Howard’s life was tragically cut short by his own hand at just 30 years old). All of this preamble isn’t necessary, but it captures my headspace when I started this book and my newfound interest (and kindling of love) in the Conan mythos and the works of Robert E Howard.

“Conan the Usurper” is the 8th book in a semi-chronological series of Conan’s life, which is split between totally-Howard stories and works that were revised/rewritten by collaborator Sprauge de Camp. It wasn’t until after I started reading this book that I realized its place within the Conan mythos. One of the most fascinating elements of the Conan stories is that everyone is going to have a different experience with it, due to the wide variety of stories and their mismatched publication and chronology. Due to the idiosyncratic nature of approaching the Conan stories, I think I had the perfect introduction to the written works. I got a taste of the quality of writing of Sprauge de Camp’s revisions/reworking and of Howard’s first published Conan story, plus some extra. The Conan stories remind me a lot of Star Wars in that it was initially the vision of an artist and others later expanded on the works through various mediums and created a large expansive universe. Just as I have my own idea of Star Wars “canon” and what I consider to exist within my conception of “Star Wars,” the same can be said of Conan. I’m sure some consider only the works of Robert E Howard to hold any value in reading, while others are probably rabid completionists or who love comics or who only thing the original Conan film counts for anything.

Regardless of that useless rambling, I found “The Black Stranger” (a better title than “The Treasure of Tranicos) to be a great first story. It actually hardly features Conan, who is more of a background character who helps move the plot of the ensemble cast further along. I found the ensemble cast and their conflicts really interesting, especially the uncle, his niece, and the eponymous black stranger. The two pirate captains were also great and the development, twists, and plots of all these characters crashing against the weight of the Picts and the treasure was a blast to see unfold. The action scenes and the landscape descriptions were great, but it was really the drama that made the story work. The only thing I found disappointing was how quickly everything wrapped up, and I feel that I can’t complain too much because it’s only 120 pages, but the set up was so good that seeing Conan so swiftly defeat the black stranger, servant of Thoth-amon, was a less than stellar conclusion. However, I liked that it ends with everyone entrapped and slaughtered by the Picts, but I think the conclusion could have been a bit more interesting. Concerning Conan, this story captures the barbarism that is so central to his character, his wit and guile in pitting different factions against each other, and a whimsical-ness that I feel is so central to his character. He goes off to conquer a whole kingdom at the end of the story on a whim of fancy, thinking that “King Conan” has a nice ring to it. This story also shows how vast the world of Conan is, which I appreciate.

Immediately following “The Black Stranger,” “Wolves Beyond the Border” does not feature Conan at all, instead focusing on a small conflict within Conan’s bid for Aquilonia. I wasn’t too enraptured by it, but it did make for a good read, with more development of the world and some excellent imagery. That snake ritual and the end when the narrator unleashes a bag of demons upon his enemies still stand out to me.

“The Phoenix on the Sword” is the first published Conan story and definitely the best story in this book. Although short and quick, the imagery is great, the action is well written, and the world of Conan takes on something new—the world is darker and more mysterious than the first two stories portray. Of course, The Black Stranger featured a demonic creature from the outer world summoned by Thoth-amon, but that element takes on a new life in Phoenix. The world seems older, and within its age there are dark things forgotten by humans which only exist in buried, hidden architecture. Knowing the story of Conan is set in an age before recorded history, the idea that even these ancient peoples having their own ancient horrors really fascinates me. Howard’s descriptions of these other-worldly, inconceivable horrors is really great and something I did not expect. The irony of this story is that Conan, a barbarian, sits atop the throne of one of the most powerful countries on the continent. I felt I appreciated this irony more because I first read The Black Stranger, but it’s still interesting to imagine the kind of introduction to Conan that Howard created. Even amidst his regality, Conan’s barbarian reigns supreme in the heat of battle and proves to be his triumph. I also really liked Thoth-amon, a slave of undoubted evils but still trying to break free of his evil masters. Thoth-amon unknowingly unleashes the baboon-demon upon Conan but intends to kill Conan’s would-be-murderer and bidder for the throne. I liked this happenstance involvement with the horrors of outer-reality. After I finished Phoenix, I was excited to see if anymore stories featured Thoth-amon, but found that his inclusion to The Black Stranger was a decision of de Camp’s and Thoth-amon was only featured/mentioned in one other story written by Howard. Still, he was a great character. This story also continues Conan’s fear of the unknown, immaterial horrors of reality.

“The Scarlet Citadel” closes off this anthology book and follows Phoenix. Conan is betrayed and trapped in an evil wizard’s dungeon and is meant to be snake-food, but a slave seeking blood reprisal gives Conan his chance to escape, where he meets a character I love even more than Thoth-amon, Pelias, the rival of the antagonist. As soon as Pelias said the snake “looked upon his naked soul” where Conan only saw a fleshly guise really struck me. The sense of unknown and inconceivable horrors is also present throughout the story, but also of man-kind’s dabbling with these. This is of course present throughout all the stories, but in this I find it especially interesting because of the rivalry of Pelias and the antagonist wizard. Conan’s supposed death also reverberates chaos throughout Aquilonia and shows how fragile civilization can be, how quickly people turn on each other and how powerful people are only concerned with their own interests and are willing to play with the lives of others. One of my favorite moments of the book is Conan sweeping into the anarchy of Tarantia and laughing at all of it while standing on the palisades of the city wall. Ever the barbarian, he stands above the rot of civilization and laughs at their fickleness. Even better than this, though, is the ending scene, where Conan kills his imprisoner but watches the wizard rivalry unfold. The eagle swoops in and carries the antagonists head off towards the Scarlet Citadel, but the decapitated wizard’s body runs towards it into the horizon. My reaction was probably the same as Conan’s—horror. The world is deeper and the conflicts grander than Conan’s barbaric follies, but what I loved about this collection is Conan’s repeated happenstance involvement in these horrors and the interpersonal conflicts of the ensemble cast. Despite this, he defeats his would-be killers and survives to fight another day.

I’m really excited to see what the rest of the Conan stories have to offer. I also can’t help but think of the works of Jean Jacques Rousseau while reading Conan.

The stories ranked:
1. The Phoenix on the Sword
2. The Black Stranger/The Scarlet Citadel
3. Wolves Beyond the Border

Favorite characters:
Conan
Pelias
Thoth-amon

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book 8 in my re-read of the Conan series. Spoilers ahead!


The Treasure of Tranicos

The convoluted history of this story is detailed in L. Sprague de Camp's introduction to the book, but it's another of his revised versions of an unpublished Howard manuscript, and it's generally pretty good. It's a continuation of Conan's adventures on Aquilonian frontier fighting the Picts, which are basically Howard's version of Native American Indians. The pirate Zarano, and the Stygian wizard Thoth-Amon return, last seen in Book 6, Conan the Buccaneer, and there's a supernatural watchdog that materializes from a blue mist into a horned demon. After the climactic battle, the stage is set for the next chapter in Conan's life as he proposes to use the treasure of Tranicos to fund a revolution against the King of Aquilonia and take his place on the throne.

Wolves Beyond the Border

L. Sprague de Camp completed this half-finished manuscript concerning frontiersman having to contend with Picts taking advantage of the chaos generated by Conan's uprising. I enjoyed it even though Conan doesn't even appear in it except when referenced by characters discussing the events of the war, and it's how we learn that Conan has slain the king and become ruler of Aquilonia. I might be mistaken, but this seems like the first story where it's revealed how well known Conan's exploits have become.

The Phoenix on the Sword

As the story opens, Conan is already king and wondering if he's cut out to rule since he never actually envisioned anything beyond taking the throne and realizes what a bureaucratic nightmare it is. Numerous schemes are in motion to overthrow him, and Thoth-Amon resurfaces, but only now he's a slave to Ascalante, the chief architect plotting Conan's downfall. Events culminate with an assassination attempt that nearly exceeds if not for the demonic monkey wrench thrown into the works by Thoth-Amon who gets his mojo back.

The Scarlet Citadel

Although the previous plot failed, a trap set by two neighboring kingdoms secretly backed by a wizard named Tsotha-lanti proves more successful and five thousand of Conan's finest knights are massacred and Conan is taken away in chains. He's locked away in the Halls of Horror, subterranean passages beneath the city of Koth filled with monstrosities created by Tsotha-lanti through surgery and black magic. Out of all of the Conan stories I've read so far, this sequence is one of my favorites in regards to just how incredibly creepy it is. Obviously, Conan's story doesn't end there, so once liberated, he assembles what troops he can and rides to the rescue of his kingdom. What follows is the second standout sequence, six pages of carnage, strategy, and rivers of blood as Conan's outnumbered forces clash with his enemies. Conan crushes his opponents, but only five hundred of the nineteen hundred knights that rode with him survive. It's the most grueling battle since the one in Black Colossus from Book 3, Conan the Freebooter.

[Hellblau · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book contains four Conan tales originally written by Robert E. Howard and edited for publication by de Camp and Carter. Following are my comments on the stories.

Treasure of Tranicos - Rewritten by Howard from what was originally a pirate story set in the Americas, and it shows. The Picts are barely disguised Indians complete with tomahawks and moccasins. And instead of depicting them in the more ennobled light that was then popular in the 1930s, Howard takes us full back to the 1600s when people assumed (incorrectly) that they were mindless bloody savages. Kind of a pointless story really, the plot never resolves into anything interesting. De Camp added on an extremely corny extra two pages at the end in an attempt to tie it into his chronology. It is really unnecessary and badly written. The stories just don't need to fit that snugly together, and seeing as how the hero's identity as Conan was only an afterthought here, it's only really like a hypothetical Conan story anyway.

Wolves Beyond the Border - This story is half the length of the former and 10 times as much things happen. Overall not bad, it is a side story in the Conan saga, narrating events set into motion by Conan's battle for the Aquilonian throne against Numidides. It still sort of has the problem that the Picts and the frontier world described by Howard doesn't seem to fully belong in the Conan world but oh well, it's fantasy, you just have to suspend your disbelief.

The Phoenix on the Sword - This is the very first Conan story that Howard wrote and it is a good one. Conan is just settling into his role as king when a plot is hatched to unseat him from power. It has some political and social commentary and the beginning of the barbarism vs. civilization theme that Howard would continue develop in the Conan stories. He also noticeably uses some Lovecraftian language in describing the dark forces in the story.

The Scarlet Citadel - Another of the earliest stories and one of the best of them all. A must read! Conan is trapped by a wizard in a pitch black dungeon and has to find a way to escape.

The last two stories are two of the very best Conan stories, where the first two are really non-essential Conan tales. It makes for kind of uneven reading to have to slog though the early parts of the book to get to the rest.

[Redsteve · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid mixture of Conan stories - "The Phoenix and the Sword" and "The Scarlet Citadel" are original REH stories published in Weird Tales in 1932 & 1933; "The Treasure of Tranicos", re-written by de Camp from the unpublished Howard story "The Black Stranger"; and "Wolves Beyond the Border", a half-completed Howard story finished by de Camp based on the original author's notes. I really enjoyed "The Treasure of Tranicos" which has pirates, wild savages (Picts, which are basically American Indians in the Hyborean universe), a curse, revenge, double and triple crosses, and buried treasure protected by a demon. This is my first time reading the story and it seems to create some continuity errors with CONAN THE BUCCANEER (written by Carter and de Camp in 1971 but describing events prior to this story - which I suppose means that the errors lie with Messers dC&C): the Zingaran renegade Zarono and Stygian sorcerer Thoth-Amon had their plot foiled by Conan in CtB, but both only seem to know him by reputation in this story. It's possible to rationalize that Zarano is playing it cool in an attempt to put Conan off guard, but I don't picture Thoth-Amon letting bygones be bygones when it comes to the barbarian who prevented him from getting himself crowned King of Zingara. While the sorcerer is an ongoing antagonist in Howard's Conan stories, it makes me wonder why they didn't just use a different magician in CtB. "Wolves Beyond the Border" is unusual in that Conan doesn't appear in it at all - it's set on the Pictish border during the Aquilonian civil war while Conan is trying to seize the crown. Nevertheless, a good tale and Gault Hagar's son is an enjoyable hero. The other two stories take place after Conan becomes King of Aquilonia and are solid Sword and Sorcery tales. 3.5 stars.

[Capitalismissexy · Rating 5 out of 5]

SO great kids should read in school.
Just awesome.
When movie?
Pelias is my seond favorite magic user in conan after agohoth.
All characters could have entire novel series written about each of them, it's so awesome.
Robert e howards power to grab u and not let go on full display.
Arguably the best author ever.
Only ae van vogt and jack vance and maybe michael moorcock when he is on even compete.

[Ron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hard to beat the original Conan. The character never dies... Conan is forever.

[Balazs Badics · Rating 2 out of 5]

This review is only about the (originally unfinished) novel: "Wolves beyond the border, which was finished in 1967 by L. Sprague de Camp.

In his later years, King Conan of Aquilonia grows weary of ruling and longs for the thrill of adventure. When a veteran soldier brings troubling news of a cursed relic and unrest among the Pictish tribes, Conan seizes the chance to leave the throne behind. He journeys into the wild frontier, where old enemies and ancient magic stir once more. Along the way, he reunites with a mysterious figure from his past. The story unfolds as a final test of Conan’s strength, wisdom, and legacy.

While Wolves Beyond the Border offers a nostalgic return to the Hyborian Age, it struggles to bring anything truly fresh to the Conan mythos. The pacing feels uneven, with exposition-heavy dialogue slowing down the action. Fans of the character may appreciate the effort to adapt an unfinished Howard tale, but the execution feels more dutiful than inspired. Overall, it’s a respectful but ultimately forgettable entry in the King Conan saga.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably not my favourite set of Conan adventures, Howard (or de Camp, depending on which version one reads, I guess) doesn't quite get the balance right ... these are short stories but he's searching for something epic and grandiose whilst trying to make them chamber dramas. The climaxes don't feel climactic, the drama dramatic ... I guess a short story should fundamentally be about an idea and the curse of pulp was its need to remove that. These are still great pulp stories though, no doubting that, and it's interesting to see the Kingly side of Conan, he's got everything now and he's not comfortable with it and he's just struggling to hang onto it; that's the reality of his world and ultimately he needs to be out adventuring. Best story here would be Wolves Beyond the Border were it finished, since the first section - not viewed from Conan's perspective for once - is an interesting first person narration of a horrific event. The Scarlet Citadel has all of the ingredients and some fun twists too, I just wanted - needed - it to be longer.

[Wes · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one took a bit longer than it should have. Not because it isn't good, but because I think that I am burning myself out on Conan a bit. In this one, Conan has become King and needs to best a treacherous attack on his empire.

At a certain point all Conan material just kind of blends together, tropes take shape, and you can generally predict the path of the story. No lessons learned, no internal evolution of the character, but those are the hallmarks of pulp fiction.

Much like superhero comics, at this point you can't treat the character any other way because there is SO much material on him in the pulp format that it just isn't going to work. Conan is Conan, and has been Conan since day one. Life lessons don't really apply to him.

This was an inherited book from a dearly departed friend, and Conan (in any form) keeps the memory of him alive.

[Robert Fenske · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book collects two semi-pastiche stories based on unfinished drafts by Howard along with two of his original stories, albeit edited for this publication.

I found Wolves Beyond the Border to be a surprising story as it didn't feature Conan but instead follows the struggles of a frontier town under the threat of invasion. Following a character who lacks Conan's endless stamina shows how brutal this world is.

Of interest, The Phoenix on the Sword is actually a rewrite by Howard originally intended for King Kull (that version under the title of By This Axe I Rule). I personally prefer the Kull version but it's the same story and was entertaining nonetheless.

[Brook · Rating 1 out of 5]

Book 8 in the series, clearly a cash grab, this was given to me as a funny gift by a friend. This is not a serious read, and is in fact pretty damned racist ("black, evil savages" and the "white man in the woods" throughout).

It is a collection of four stories, of 100, 50, 30 and 50 pages. I read the first one, couldn't choke through the second, and by the third, had to stop reading because the entire collection was Conan (who is olive skinned and black haired in one story, white skinned and black haired in another) fighting black savages with face painted.

I appreciate the humor of the gift! But as a book it fails.

[Oliver Brackenbury · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first story is a great Howard beginning followed by more of Carter's Saturday Morning Cartoon buccaneer bullshit. The second is a decent half Howard, half Carter story that just sort of mentions Conan. So why give this book four stars?

The back end. You get literally the first ever Conan story, introducing him as King of Aquilonia, followed by another highly enjoyable King Conan story which demonstrates Howard's skill with the Weird. Bloody great and hey, if you've gone seven volumes into this series already then you'd be a fool not to read this one.

[Laurence Hidalgo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has two excellent original Robert E. Howard Conan tales: The Phoenix on the Sword, and The Scarlet Citadel. Of the two, the Scarlet Citadel is my favorite.

Conan, now king of Aquilonia, is betrayed by two neighboring kingdoms and with the aid of a villainous sorcerer, is imprisoned below the Scarlet Citadel, the sorcerer's hellish stronghold. What follows is a nightmarish passage through its menace-filled tunnels. This story has action, danger, monsters, wizards, revenge, and a satisfying ending.

Onto the next volume.

[Stephen Slater · Rating 4 out of 5]

The age of Howard’s work unsurprisingly sees dated portrayals, language, and uncomfortable perceptions of people of colour, preventing five stars. Aside from these distasteful drawbacks though, Howard’s enduring legacy as a master of sword-and-sorcery fantasy is entirely founded; the man was a genius. His Conan stories continue to bridge high-brow expansive fantasy like Tolkien’s with the gritty, swashbuckling adventure of Edgar Rice Burroughs.

[Nick Horvath · Rating 5 out of 5]

gets 5/5 for the Frazetta cover and the og Howard content. also includes two unfinished Howard short stories found after his death, finished by De Camp. Really enjoyed the first one, which actually includes Conan as the MC. the second one is from a random character’s perspective and didn’t hold my interest. still, just look at that cover! so fkn badass. read if you want the last Howard Conan tale he ever wrote (albeit didn’t finish).

[Angel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Otra recopilación de relatos, en este caso cuenta historias de un Conan de alrededor de 40 años justo antes y despues del asalto al trono de Aquilonia, tambien con una historia en la que no aparece Conan, en la frontera con los pictos, no hay historia sobre la guerra en sí, pero se llega al momento culmen del personaje acabando con un Conan rey.

[Evan Pacewicz · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really enjoy Conan stories and most, if not all, the collections I've read. Some are stronger than others, and this collection just never reaches past the rough first draft phase. The stories are long, bland and tread over old territory with no real shocks or new imagination running through them. One of the stories doesn't even involve Conan. Great cover art!

[Δημήτρης Αθανασόπουλος · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book in audio-book version uploaded on YouTube.
It sounds like an old audiotape from the 80s and had some audio artifacts but the narrator was great.
I know these stories but i enjoy hearing them again

It was a collection of the Black Stranger (or Treasure of Tranikos), Wolves Beyond the Border, Phoenix on the Sword and Crimson Citadel.

[Alejandro P. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sublime!!! For those that love the mixture of intrigue, magic, revenge, battles, and the indestructible will and force of Conan this is just a gem. Again sad to think how much joy and entertainment was lost forever when R.Howard passed away… Honor the creator and read this book!!!

[Johann Mahinay · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the last two stories because they really embodied the pulpy action fantasy that the character is known for. This being my first run in with Conan, I'm surprised to see how eloquent he is in comparison to the modern stereotype of a barbarian.