What do you think?
Rate this book
Wan Tengri #1
Flame Winds
Turgohl...the rich, luxurious metropolis at the edge of the mysterious Karakorum Desert--living in dread of the Wizards of Kasimer, masters of the Flame Winds which cinder any man who dares challenge the Wizards' power.
Then Prester John came to Turgohl--the red-bearded ex-gladiator now wandering the East to win a fortune with his sword. He saw Turgohl as ripe for the plucking, in spite of the Wizards' magic--for, to Prester John, a flashing broadsword was more than a match for any sorcery!
Then Prester John came to Turgohl--the red-bearded ex-gladiator now wandering the East to win a fortune with his sword. He saw Turgohl as ripe for the plucking, in spite of the Wizards' magic--for, to Prester John, a flashing broadsword was more than a match for any sorcery!
Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1939
About the author
Norvell W. Page
211 books15 followersNorvell Wordsworth Page (1904–1961) was an American pulp fiction writer, journalist and editor who later became a government intelligence worker.
He was born in Virginia the son of Charles Wordsworth Page (1880 – 1947) and Estlie Isabelle Bethel Page (1880 – 1946). The name Norvell came from his maternal grandmother Elvira Russell Norvell Page.
He is best known as the author of the majority of the adventures of the ruthless vigilante hero The Spider, which he and a handful of other writers wrote under the house name of Grant Stockbridge. He also contributed to other pulp series, including The Shadow and The Phantom, and supplied scripts for the radio programs based on the characters he wrote, science fiction and two early sword and sorcery fantasy novels under forms of his real name, Norvel Page and Norvell W. Page. His 1940 Unknown novel, But Without Horns is considered an early classic explication of the superman theme. Under the pen name of N. Wooten Poge, Page wrote the adventures of Bill Carter for Spicy Detective Stories. His works only saw magazine publication during his lifetime, but his fantasies and some of the Spider novels were later reprinted as paperbacks.
The Spider was a crime-fighter in the tradition of The Shadow, wanted by the law for executing his criminal antagonists, and prefigured later comic book superheroes like Batman. Page's innovations to the series included a hideous disguise for the hero and a succession of super-scientific menaces for him to combat. One of these, involving an invasion of giant robots, was copied by an early Superman story and helped inspire the movie Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow.
The setting of Page's sword and sorcery novels is central Asia in the first century A.D., when the legendary Prester John supposedly established a Christian kingdom there. In Page's conception, the man behind the legend was hard-bitten Mediterranean adventurer Hurricane John, or Wan Tengri, a hero in the mold of Robert E. Howard's Conan, though more humorous, verbose, and exaggeratedly omnicompetent as a warrior. He comes close to taking over two cities in the course of his travels, but the series concludes before he establishes his empire. He was featured two stories Flame Winds and Sons of the Bear God. The magic John encounters is unconvincingly rationalized
He was born in Virginia the son of Charles Wordsworth Page (1880 – 1947) and Estlie Isabelle Bethel Page (1880 – 1946). The name Norvell came from his maternal grandmother Elvira Russell Norvell Page.
He is best known as the author of the majority of the adventures of the ruthless vigilante hero The Spider, which he and a handful of other writers wrote under the house name of Grant Stockbridge. He also contributed to other pulp series, including The Shadow and The Phantom, and supplied scripts for the radio programs based on the characters he wrote, science fiction and two early sword and sorcery fantasy novels under forms of his real name, Norvel Page and Norvell W. Page. His 1940 Unknown novel, But Without Horns is considered an early classic explication of the superman theme. Under the pen name of N. Wooten Poge, Page wrote the adventures of Bill Carter for Spicy Detective Stories. His works only saw magazine publication during his lifetime, but his fantasies and some of the Spider novels were later reprinted as paperbacks.
The Spider was a crime-fighter in the tradition of The Shadow, wanted by the law for executing his criminal antagonists, and prefigured later comic book superheroes like Batman. Page's innovations to the series included a hideous disguise for the hero and a succession of super-scientific menaces for him to combat. One of these, involving an invasion of giant robots, was copied by an early Superman story and helped inspire the movie Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow.
The setting of Page's sword and sorcery novels is central Asia in the first century A.D., when the legendary Prester John supposedly established a Christian kingdom there. In Page's conception, the man behind the legend was hard-bitten Mediterranean adventurer Hurricane John, or Wan Tengri, a hero in the mold of Robert E. Howard's Conan, though more humorous, verbose, and exaggeratedly omnicompetent as a warrior. He comes close to taking over two cities in the course of his travels, but the series concludes before he establishes his empire. He was featured two stories Flame Winds and Sons of the Bear God. The magic John encounters is unconvincingly rationalized
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
November 14, 2017
What a hoot! Such a blatantly extravaganza wonderfully over-the-top in this day and age, it roared like a breath of fresh cleansing flame gusting through my reading life. Page's version of Prester John is a delightful combination of bombastic bravado and extraordinary elan -- a man's man of adventurer, treasure-hunter, loyal friend, true warrior, raging adrenaline and glorious mirth. Dozens of wondrously descriptively rich wordings such as "His war bow began to pluck out its base lute notes of the song of Death." (though there were a few too many appearances of "humming through his nose strenuously"!).
Diabolical sorceries try to smother and enslave Prester as he strives to plunder a rich city and avenge a valued comrade. There's enough sword-slinging, mighty thews straining, great humor, speedy arrow-winging, and feats of strength of body and mind to thrill and S&S fan. Rich, rich read in the style of old, I loved it. My shelves are bursting and room is scarce, but I am sorely tempted to keep this treasure.
Diabolical sorceries try to smother and enslave Prester as he strives to plunder a rich city and avenge a valued comrade. There's enough sword-slinging, mighty thews straining, great humor, speedy arrow-winging, and feats of strength of body and mind to thrill and S&S fan. Rich, rich read in the style of old, I loved it. My shelves are bursting and room is scarce, but I am sorely tempted to keep this treasure.
July 19, 2008
I was thrilled when I found this book, because I was always hungry for more heroic fantasy. And even more thrilled to find that it was really good.
February 14, 2026
Flame Winds was published in the June issue of John W. Campbell's Unknown magazine in 1939. It's a historical heroic fantasy/swords & sorcery/action-adventure story about Prester John in the first century. Page was the main writer of the pulp superhero Spider series (and he was the pulpiest of the pulpsters) and gave himself free reign to fling the purple prose in this over-the-top fantasy story. The cover says, "Heroic fantasy in the great Conan tradition," which I don't think is at all accurate... it's similar to Howard's Breckenridge Elkins stories maybe, or some of his other humorous adventures. It was a fun story, perhaps done as Campbell's answer to Weird Tales.
February 15, 2009
It has a harsh start: Wan Tengri coasts along on his monumental impulse control problems, unpunctureable self-confidence, and the seeming desire to alienate those around him with verbal abuse. In addition to being a recipe for the usual trouble, it makes for a toxic work environment.
Yet somehow he continues to fail upwards, culminating in the usual arena combat scenario followed by civil uprising.
Page sets it in the ancient world but so loads it with sword and sorcery trappings that it makes you wonder why he bothered. The effort to shoehorn Wan Tengri into the Prester John legend felt like an unnecessary contortion
Yet somehow he continues to fail upwards, culminating in the usual arena combat scenario followed by civil uprising.
Page sets it in the ancient world but so loads it with sword and sorcery trappings that it makes you wonder why he bothered. The effort to shoehorn Wan Tengri into the Prester John legend felt like an unnecessary contortion
November 21, 2025
Garbage. 🗑️ Had to cut my losses at 50%. I have nothing wrong with playing with action figures, but that is how this book reads. 🤺“This guy hit this guy” “and then he went over here and used his sword and did this”.
It was good at that but a one trick pony and overstayed its welcome. 🐴 I have no idea why Isaac Asimov rated this book a 5/5… but that’s why I read it. 🚀 Great cover art.
I have no interest in continuing this. Nada. Keinen. Zilch. Zero. Goose egg.🪿🥚. 🥱 💤💤
It was good at that but a one trick pony and overstayed its welcome. 🐴 I have no idea why Isaac Asimov rated this book a 5/5… but that’s why I read it. 🚀 Great cover art.
I have no interest in continuing this. Nada. Keinen. Zilch. Zero. Goose egg.🪿🥚. 🥱 💤💤
May 21, 2020
Pure pulp from the creator of The Spider. The first half dragged too much to warrant more than 3 stars, but the second half was great fun. I picked this up to read, as Roy Thomas adapted it into a Conan take for _Conan the Barbarian_. I believe it was a three issue run. I plan to read it soon. I’m curious how the Rascally One turned this bombastic bit of pulp into a believable Conan tale. I’m eager to find out.
October 16, 2019
Very entertaining way to spend an afternoon! It’s not a good book by any stretch - most of what happens is complete nonsense - but it’s written in a wonderfully exciting old-fashioned manner. It’s pulpy to the fullest extent, but if you like that sort of thing, you’ll have a great time with this. The writing is vivid at times, which makes the nonsense plot surprisingly bearable. Not a literary masterpiece by any stretch. But, a refreshing palate cleanser when you’re in the mood for something fast-paced and wild.
December 9, 2007
Some good pulpy R.E Howard style swords & sorcery starring Prester John. looking for the second book, Sons Of The Bear God. Originally published in the pulps circa 1939, then brought back in paperback in the late sixties like a lot of other cool pulp stuff.
August 16, 2021
Wan Tengri aka Prester John is such a musclebound powerhouse, his massive frame and ego leave little room for interesting human characteristics like flaws. All that perfection is a bit monotonous.
The story is absolutely jam-packed with action, but even that can be monotonous when the hero and his challengers are not that interesting themselves.
The novel does get better as it goes along, with a climax satisfying enough to redeem what would otherwise rate only two stars.
The story is absolutely jam-packed with action, but even that can be monotonous when the hero and his challengers are not that interesting themselves.
The novel does get better as it goes along, with a climax satisfying enough to redeem what would otherwise rate only two stars.
August 25, 2021
The cover proudly proclaims this book to be written in the "Conan tradition" (though Conan had only been created 7 years before its first publication), but unlike the best Conan material, our intrepid hero here is, if anything, a smidge too verbose. The other characters paper thin, the set pieces too flimsily tacked together, the nuts and bolts of the action not fully fleshed out. It's not unbearable, but I found it decidedly not enjoyable.
December 31, 2025
I found this in a used book store for $4.00. Quite a bargain when compared to several online stores selling it for a great deal more. However, the story is long and drags in several sections. I suspect only Conan fans will be interested in this item, since the novel was adapted into several Conan comic books by Marvel.
Page wrote a second novel based on Prester John that Marvel also adapted into their Conan series, called Sons of the Bear-God.
Page wrote a second novel based on Prester John that Marvel also adapted into their Conan series, called Sons of the Bear-God.
March 11, 2025
Vivid prose with action-packed story. The protagonist is clearly of the same mold as the pulp hero, the Spider, which Page also writes. Over and over he boldly plunges into action with a lunatic laugh upon his lips.
November 29, 2022
House of Pain sings "Who's the Man" but Wan Tengri tells you, "I am the man".
Flame Winds Review
Sons of the Bear God Review
At first, John's arrogance was off-putting, continually demeaning a crippled thief and speaking highly of his own strength and courage. Slowly, the whole environment came off as a rough and savage place, where no one is to be trusted, so John wasn't as unappealing in that regard. You start to see John struggles with his own pride and vanity, cursing himself at times, though he always falls back on his anger and shows no regret in the aftermath. This angry berserker is what Norvell Page focuses on in the manner of "prester" and his youthful adventures in the world, a man learning his own faults as much as showcasing his strengths. Prester John sneaks I think Norvell wrote a good tale in the end, with interesting mythos and environment, even with some of the somewhat one-track character desires and the questionable spiritual realm at play. Some areas were tough to follow, but the environment did hearken to the landscape of Conan's adventures. John, though, was not much like Conan, and on occasion came off as more like one that Conan would humble eventually.
The legend of Prester John has a few variations but one is generally him being a Christian king. Norvell Page, from his introduction, doesn't want to focus on this legend of latter days, and therefore not on his Christian association as much, though John does call out to Christos and threaten to "cut throats" for Him and to make knees bow. He also finds his comfort, it seems, in touching a cross that he wears around his neck. This comes off, not as an evangelical or scripture-follower, but as any sword-and-sorcery conqueror who conquers in the name of their god. He will invoke the name of Christos and
A breakdown of characters, for my reference.
Flame Winds Review
Sons of the Bear God Review
At first, John's arrogance was off-putting, continually demeaning a crippled thief and speaking highly of his own strength and courage. Slowly, the whole environment came off as a rough and savage place, where no one is to be trusted, so John wasn't as unappealing in that regard. You start to see John struggles with his own pride and vanity, cursing himself at times, though he always falls back on his anger and shows no regret in the aftermath. This angry berserker is what Norvell Page focuses on in the manner of "prester" and his youthful adventures in the world, a man learning his own faults as much as showcasing his strengths. Prester John sneaks I think Norvell wrote a good tale in the end, with interesting mythos and environment, even with some of the somewhat one-track character desires and the questionable spiritual realm at play. Some areas were tough to follow, but the environment did hearken to the landscape of Conan's adventures. John, though, was not much like Conan, and on occasion came off as more like one that Conan would humble eventually.
The legend of Prester John has a few variations but one is generally him being a Christian king. Norvell Page, from his introduction, doesn't want to focus on this legend of latter days, and therefore not on his Christian association as much, though John does call out to Christos and threaten to "cut throats" for Him and to make knees bow. He also finds his comfort, it seems, in touching a cross that he wears around his neck. This comes off, not as an evangelical or scripture-follower, but as any sword-and-sorcery conqueror who conquers in the name of their god. He will invoke the name of Christos and
A breakdown of characters, for my reference.
February 2, 2013
Like any book that says 'in the tradition' of, this one is a weak shadow of any Conan book. And worse, they try to give it a flavor of Christianity in it, conquering the pagan gods of the barbarians....blah blah blah...I'd like the three days of my life back it took to force read this. Thanks.
June 23, 2011
3.5 stars..Review will be seen on www.fantasyliterature.com
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews